Browsing by Subject "luova ympäristö"

Objectives. In this study, the aim is to analyze whether the learning environments of drama lessons support creativity. Based on earlier research, creativity was understood as an ability that can be found in everyone. Creative environment, however, was considered to have several characteristics, two of which are; positive climate and student-centered teaching. The purpose of the study is to find out whether the drama lessons have positive climate and whether the teaching is student-centered or not. In addition, the aim is to analyze how these two phenomena function as a part of the creative environment of drama lessons. Furthermore, the aim is to test and develop The Classroom Assessment Scoring System™ (CLASS) observation tool in the context of drama lessons. Methods. The study is defined as a qualitative case study although some quantitative measures were also made. The subject of the present study was eight drama lessons which were given to pupils ranging from first to third graders. The research material was collected by videotaping two lessons from four class teachers all specialized in drama. The material was analyzed by using two of the CLASS observation tool's parts; one for observing positive climate and another for observing student-centered teaching. In addition to the CLASS tool, the research material was analyzed by measuring the time used for creative and student-centered action. Results and conclusions. The research shows that drama lessons support children's creative learning as pupils generated new ideas and solutions, on average, half of the time during the lessons. The drama lessons received high grades (5–7 on a scale of 1–7) with the CLASS tool, both in positive climate and in student-centeredness. This implies that the drama lessons' learning climate was positive and their teaching was student-centered. On average ⅔ (64%) of the time, the lessons were student-centered. The connection between student-centered teaching and creative action was clear as an average of 80 % of the student-centered action was also creative. The current understanding is that positive climate is one of the key components of creative learning environments. This is why it is justifiable to assume that the drama lessons' high levels of positive climate were one of the reasons why their learning environments supported children's creative learning. In conclusion, positive climate and student-centered teaching are key elements of the creative environment of drama lessons, and the CLASS tool offers one possible framework for developing a new instrument for analyzing the quality of teaching in drama lessons.