Theatre educators have an obligation to the theatre arts, but more importantly, they have an obligation to educate their students. All too often, school arts programs are deemed less important than the imperative subjects of reading and mathematics. In actuality, these arts programs add alternative dimensions to student education, cultivating the personality behind the brain. Because of the importance of the arts, theatre educators must pride themselves on their ability to educate, keeping up with educational research as well as studies in theatre and creative dramatics. By tapping educational resources, theatre educators can ensure effective and productive classrooms. One educational theory, Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, is particularly well-suited to the theatre classroom. The theory states that, although student intelligence is typically determined based on verbal and mathematical skills, students may possess various categories of intelligence, which often remain unmeasured. These intelligences include: verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal and, most recently, natural. Because of the various elements encompassed in theatre arts, students with any combination of these intelligences could benefit from the study of theatre. In this paper, I begin by examining theatre education today, based on Gardner's framework. By looking at specific practitioners and their methodologies, I determine the trend of theatre education and how it can best utilize the multiple intelligences. From this point, I divide theatre education into two age ranges: elementary and secondary. I propose suggestions for incorporating Gardner's theory in both instances, citing applicable exercises and games. For the purpose of this thesis, I focus specifically on linguistic, musical,spatial and intrapersonal intelligences. This thesis is constructed to present the benefits of using Gardner's Theory in the theatre classroom and to guide teachers through its implementation. / A Thesis submitted to the School of Theatre in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. / Spring Semester, 2003. / April 4, 2003. / Theatre Education, Educational Theory / Includes bibliographical references. / Laura Edmondson, 1970-, Professor Directing Thesis; Carrie Sandahl, Committee Member; Emil Joseph Karioth, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_182594 |
| Contributors | Ferris, Gretchen K. (authoraut), Edmondson, Laura, 1970- (professor directing thesis), Sandahl, Carrie (committee member), Karioth, Emil Joseph (committee member), School of Theatre (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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