Education Commons^™

New Book Promotes Democracy, Power Of Drama In Teaching, Kay Hyatt

General University of Maine Publications

Drama brings democracy to learning, yet it's an under-used technique in American classrooms, says an author of a new book that presents drama as a powerful and inclusive way of teaching abstract concepts, supporting reading and writing, and understanding different perspectives of life. "Drama is not theater, and it's not about performance. It's exploration," says Jeffrey Wilhelm, assistant professor of literacy education at the University of Maine, who with colleague Brian Edmiston of Ohio State University wrote "Imagining To Learn: Inquiry, Ethics, and Integration Through Drama" (Heinemann 1998).