Comments on some features of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Describes the NAEP assessment of student achievement in theater. Evaluates the NAEP assessment in theater, focusing on (1) what can be learned from the assessment, (2) what the NAEP is assessing, and (3) the authenticity of the assessment. (CMK)

Explores the concept of "theater of the mind" and discusses design factors in creating audio works that effectively stimulate mental pictures, including: narrative format in audio scripting; qualities of voice; use of concrete language; music; noise versus silence; and the creation of the illusion of space using monaural, stereophonic,…

Argues that reading rate should not be ignored, but rather seen as evidence of excessively slow processing of text, and thus as a diagnostic indicator. Describes how excessively slow, disfluent reading leads to less overall reading, to reading frustration, and is associated with poor comprehension. Describes authentic and engaging instructional…

Discusses the REAP (Reviewing Education and the Arts Project) Report, a quantitative meta-analysis of arts education studies of the last 50 years. Finds little quantitative support that the arts improve reading skills, but finds a strong link between classroom drama and various language outcomes. Discusses the nature and direction of arts…

Describes how teachers can use likeness statements (analogies, metaphors, and similes) as a means for helping students understand musical concepts during rehearsals. Explains that likeness statements encourage problem solving and address the needs of different kinds of learners. Stresses the importance of using likeness statements that are…

While several developmental models of aesthetic understanding, experience, and appreciation exist in the realms of visual art and music education, few examples have been proposed in regard to theatre, particularly for child audiences. This author argues that children gaze upon theatre in differential ways by including age as a variable…

This article examines the "My True Voice Project," a mentorship-based program that uses principles of theater education to teach students effective oral communication skills. This project offers a unique model for how arts education can teach children vital thinking skills, strengthen traditional skills, and build community. As such, the…

As a new century unfurls, the "downsizing" and continuing marginalisation of theatre programmes in American higher education correspond to two curricular trends. First, the coupling of fiscal crises and the "back-to-basics" movement has prevailed at all levels of education since the late 1970s. Since then, secondly, students intentions for the…

As educators of gifted students, the authors see more schools climbing aboard the differentiation wagon, and students who have been identified as cognitively gifted receiving services beyond logic worksheets. Everyone still has a long way to go, however. As classroom teachers become more familiar with characteristics of giftedness and begin to…

This paper focuses on Greece's arts and cultural education. The main intention of the curriculum is the cultivation of pupils' creativeness and action, the production of artwork, the appreciation and awareness of cultural dimension and the contribution of art in the process of the society diachronic and synchronic. In this context, the main aims…

Arts education is compulsory for all pupils aged 6 to 11 in primary education (ISCED level 1) and for all pupils aged 12 to 15 in lower secondary schools (ISCED level 2). The following arts subjects are included in the arts curriculum: (1) Visual arts; (2) Music; (3) Drama (as an optional subject through the two theatre groups proposed in the…

Theatre and drama are areas of performance and inquiry which usually assume engagement and commitment to the ensemble or group process, supported by strong individual input. How can this "dynamic" be brought into a fully online distance course? In this article we analyse and reflect on the design and implementation of an online theatre…

This monograph presents a sampling of papers delivered at a multidisciplinary conference focused on two dominant entities in African American cinema: religion and music. Papers in the monograph are grouped into three sections: the scholar's involvement in the filmmaking process, early Black theater and film, and contemporary issues in Black cinema…

Intended for all performing artists and students in the performing arts, this book begins with a history of mime through the ages (Chapter 1). Chapter 2 (Warming Up) discusses technique and artistry and offers an illustrated class exercise. Chapter 3 (Premise Work) continues with class exercises and considers how a teacher designs exercises and…

Based on the idea that drama (a medium that children relish and are good at) offers a context and a powerful motivation for learning, this book is intended for the teacher who wants to use drama in the classroom for its own sake or as a tool in other areas of the curriculum. The book looks at the many common concerns teachers have and offers…