An Action Research of Integrating Modern Prose into Performing Arts Instruction

• Main Authors: Chen, Pin-Tung, 陳品彤
• Other Authors: Dai, An-Li
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/80789313716539564125

碩士 === 國立臺灣藝術大學 === 藝術與人文教學研究所 === 101 === In 2012, the researcher was invited to hold a performing arts lecture featuring essays as the theme at a junior high school in Taoyuan. The lecture generated positive feedback from most participants. Even students who were not interested in reading were eager to learn more. The success of the seminar had the researcher pondering on how beneficial such classes can be if combined with literature with a goal to develop students’ morals. Students will be encouraged to learn languages as well as how to better conduct themselves and treat people. They will be inspired to reflect on their relationships with their family members, and how they interact with their parents. These classes will teach them how to love others, how to be loved and to be considerate and forgiving to others. Step by step these future pillars of our nation will learn to care and respect others, thus bringing peace and harmony to our society. Combining literature elements with performing arts classes is an attempt to inspire students and show them the importance of reading. The classes will teach these students how to read and interpret a script, help them better understand the meanings of the lines in movies or manuscripts and to excel at choosing the right words and vocabulary while writing a dialogue. Literature elements can enrich performingance arts classes and break the barriers between different disciplines while furthering students’ morals, capabilities and attainments. The 12-year compulsory education, which will be implemented soon, has five principles, including “allowing each child to develop and exercise their unique strengths” and “helping each child to find and succeed on their optimal paths with diversified choices”. Multiple intelligences are a crucial issue in the modern education, which include verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial, musical-rhythmic, interpersonal and naturalistic intellignces. Among them, bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial and musical-rhythmic intelligences are often associated with performing arts. Combining them along with verbal-linguistic intelligence with performing arts classes will contribute to a more comprehensive class structure. This research aims to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of combining modern essays with performing arts classes in junior high schools. Two essays (“A Walk with Me” and “The Sight of My Father’s Back”) were combined with the performing Arts classes, which allowed students to demonstrate their dominant intelligences and in turn improve the effectiveness of their studies. This study also aims to explore the difference in effectiveness between essays from different periods of time when combined with performing arts classes. Action research was adopted in this study. Approximately 120 students from four seventh grade classes where this researcher teaches participated in the study. Data was collected via questionnaires, video recordings, audio recordings, feedback sheets, checklists, observation record and teaching logs. The entire study took 720 hours in a total of 16 weeks to complete. Questionnaires were given before and after the combining of essays to explore the difference in attitudes that students have demonstrated. Interviews include interviews with students and observation records by teachers from performing arts, music, visual arts and Chinese teachers. Through the action research with modern essays combined with performing arts classes, the researcher was able to evaluate how the classes have been conducted and determine the challenges are in such classes. The research findings and conclusion from this study will serve as reference for future teachers in performing arts. After four class activities with the same class of students, the researcher has discovered, based on quantitative and qualitative results, that combining modern essay with performing arts classes is indeed effective in helping students who become more interested as well as helping them establish correct concepts towards performing arts. Therefore such a class is feasible. This is researcher’s hope that in the future, more researchers will engage in related researches and help the class become more comprehensive and deeper.