Action And Learning: Making Sense Of And Giving Meaning To. A Research On Enquiry Based Learning In An Applied Theatre Model

Abstract

This article presents the results of a three year research conducted by the author based on an educational project which was implemented in a Greek Secondary school for two years (2009-11). ‘We organise a conference’ was a project that presented students with an open-ended key evaluative question which they were required to answer. It was based upon enquiry based learning and it used the methods and techniques of applied theatre. Over the school year students researched an issue through role play (related to the process of organizing and taking part in a conference), which led to improvements in their cognitive skills while at the same time gaining greater insight into the issue and their own attitudes and practices. This is the educational way of ‘making sense of’ and ‘giving meaning to’ an issue related to students’ lives. The author discusses the learning outcomes of the process and the educational importance and value of the method in the larger context of educational design. Empirical methods such as texts and by-products of the project, a research journal and semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and observation provided the basis for the hermeneutical analysis method which was used in the quantitative and qualitative survey, the findings and results of which are presented in the article.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n11p333