The use of technology in drama to increase 21 st century thinking skills

Introduction

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds,
so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” –
Plato

Technology can be a remarkable tool for education. Particularly as a resource in building the higher
order 21st century thinking skills of communication, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.
(Chiruguru, Suresh 2020) The perceived importance of these skills can be seen in the International
Baccalaureate’s (IB) enhanced emphasis on higher order thinking (HOT) skills within teaching and
learning and the extension of Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills to the enhanced Primary Years
Program (PYP). (Dix, K. and Sniedze-Gregory, S., 2020). The training of these HOT skills is also a common
intention of primary drama curriculums. (Hendrix, R., Eick, C. and Shannon, D., 2012.) and so by
partnering modern technology and tools with drama within an inquiry-based and student-led curriculum
it stands to reason that we can increase the efficacy of the learning of these intelligences as students
become engaged in group projects through drama and IT which actively engage these skills. ( Chu,
S.K.W., Tavares, N.J., et al. 2012. P11.)

21st century skills aim to create future proof graduates which are prepared for an increasingly online,
interconnected world. ( Lamb, S., Maire, Q. and Doecke, E., 2017.) A world which requires creative
thinkers to solve 21st century problems. This is a connected world where information is at the fingertips
of anyone who knows how to find it and means that the transferable skills of how to access, analyze,
create, and communicate information is increasingly more important than facts learned at school
(Wagner, T., 2010. Pp162 - 177.). Research in 2018 suggested that an astonishing 60% of jobs in 2030
have not been conceived yet replaced by jobs from the industrial revolution 4.0 ( Halkias, D., Neubert et
al. 2020) so by preparing our students with these trans-medium skills we give them the best possibility
of success in their academic career and beyond. (cite)

There is a lack of hard research on the use of technology for use within the primary standalone drama
classroom to facilitate the learning of 21 st century skills meaning that this paper will the take the
approach of reviewing the literature on technology and drama as tools for increasing these skills
separately before combining the research to show why they should work together. This essay will then
explore possible methods in integrating technology into a grade 3 primary classroom firstly, to increase
communication within and outside the classroom, secondly to build a system of collation and review as
a tool for interclass collaboration, thirdly to use technology to boost creativity in the drama class, and
fourthly, to increase critical thinking as part of a student led, connectivist approach to teaching and
learning and within the context of the PYP program of a bilingual school in China.
Literature Review

- Connectivist
- Technology use in pyp drama (web 2.0) story telling
- 21st centuary thinking skills
- Drama as a method to increase these skills
- Technology to increase these skills.
- Technology for a Student led approach
- Technology for communication and review
- Use of technology as a review

interest

Implementation - a description of the process of adoption and required changes drawing on the
literature

Confucioun education system of past not giving students in china the best chance of future success

In an effort to differentiate themselves from mainline schools, bilingual schools are increasingly offering
creative subjects such as drama as a standalone subject as part of their school curriculum

This is particularly important as I only see each class, for one forty-minute session a week and between
classes students sometimes forget what they studied the previous week. I felt that students did not have
the platforms they needed to communicate their ideas to one another as well as no space to combine
and curate their ideas.

Conclusion - a review of strengths and weaknesses of the challenge solution including the theory

Conclusion

Despite many administrators pushing their teachers to use technology in the classroom it can be
challenging for some educators to make the most of modern technology(cite). A perceived lack of
access, lack of information technology literacy and a lack of knowledge about how best to use the wide
range of resources which have been developed for the educational sector can stand as a barrier to
use(cite). Information technology is often students’ first language as digital natives but educators
second, because of this, educators struggle with the how, when, and why to use technology rendering
the technology they use either entirely ineffective or not as effective as it could be, we therefore should
be research informed and problem analytical when entertaining a plan for including technology in the
classroom.(cite) Educators should look at the personal needs of their students and analyse the tools
which would work for them instead of simply using technology for technologies sake or as a panacea for
the issues facing education today.

Chiruguru, Suresh. (2020). The Essential Skills of 21st Century Classroom (4Cs).
10.13140/RG.2.2.36190.59201.

Dix, K. and Sniedze-Gregory, S., 2020. The impact of the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) on student
wellbeing and other related social-emotional learning outcomes.

Hendrix, R., Eick, C. and Shannon, D., 2012. The integration of creative drama in an inquiry-based
elementary program: The effect on student attitude and conceptual learning. Journal of Science Teacher
Education, 23(7), pp.823-846.

Johnson, C., 2002. Drama and metacognition.

Lamb, S., Maire, Q. and Doecke, E., 2017. Key skills for the 21st century: An evidence-based review.

Chu, S.K.W., Tavares, N.J., Chu, D., Ho, S.Y., Chow, K., Siu, F.L.C. and Wong, M., 2012. Developing
upper primary students’ 21st century skills: inquiry learning through collaborative teaching and Web 2.0
technology.

Halkias, D., Neubert, M., Thurman, P.W., Adendorff, C. and Abadir, S., 2020. The Innovative Business
School: Mentoring Today’s Leaders for Tomorrow’s Global Challenges. Routledge.

Wagner, T., 2010. The global achievement gap: Why even our best schools don't teach the new survival
skills our children need-and what we can do about it. ReadHowYouWant. com.