Atom Surprise: Using Theatre in Primary Science Education |
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Authors: | Ran Peleg and Ayelet Baram-Tsabari |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Education in Technology and Science, Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel;; |
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Abstract: | Early exposure to science may have a lifelong effect on children’s attitudes towards science and their motivation to learn
science in later life. Out-of-class environments can play a significant role in creating favourable attitudes, while contributing
to conceptual learning. Educational science theatre is one form of an out-of-class environment, which has received little
research attention. This study aims to describe affective and cognitive learning outcomes of watching such a play and to point
to connections between theatrical elements and specific outcomes. “Atom Surprise” is a play portraying several concepts on
the topic of matter. A mixed methods approach was adopted to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of children (grades 1–6)
from two different school settings who watched the play. Data were gathered using questionnaires and in-depth interviews.
Analysis suggested that in both schools children’s knowledge on the topic of matter increased after the play with younger
children gaining more conceptual knowledge than their older peers. In the public school girls showed greater gains in conceptual
knowledge than boys. No significant changes in students’ general attitudes towards science were found, however, students demonstrated
positive changes towards science learning. Theatrical elements that seemed to be important in children’s recollection of the
play were the narrative, props and stage effects, and characters. In the children’s memory, science was intertwined with the
theatrical elements. Nonetheless, children could distinguish well between scientific facts and the fictive narrative. |
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