Drama as a valuable learning medium in early childhood
The article “Drama as a valuable learning medium in early childhood,” by Victoria Brown in 2017 is mainly about the use of dramatic art as a learning tool. Brown’s (2017) choice of the article’s title is appropriate since it gives the reader a clear picture of what the essay is all about. Looking at the title, one immediately understands that the article encourages using drama to teach young children. The abstract gives an overview of what the paper consists of and its application in early education. For instance, from the abstract, the reader derives the different skills a child acquires from drama and the teacher’s role in guiding the child to understand different situations and problem-solving skills using through drama. The abstract also hints at the author’s research process. Therefore, the reader already understands the contents of the article without necessarily reading through it.
Although the abstract seems clear, the introduction is not. The first impression to the reader is a bit confusing because it begins with a dialogue that seems to start in the middle of an activity or conversation. One may think that the article is about a couple of children in distress. It is not until one reads further that one gets to understand what the author is addressing. However, reading towards the end of the introductory paragraph reveals that the author explains the importance of using drama to help Lydia and Ian (Brown,2017) understand their current study topic on immigration to America. The author further explains that exposing children to drama early in life helps them achieve higher performance scores in school grades. Therefore, they exhibit more significant academic gain than those with no exposure to drama.
The author seems to have done enough research to support her claims of the importance of incorporating drama in early childhood.She has cited several researchers’ findings on the relationship between drama and early childhood development among children in the 3-8years age bracket. Most, if not all, researchers concur that integrating drama into the curriculum is highly beneficial to the learners. The article realizes the advantages of dramatization in teaching and improving a child’s speech and developing literacy skills. According to the article research, a child’s development through drama is also seen to improve their cognitive, social, critical thinking, and conception skills. The study shows that an earlier and more prolonged exposure to dramatic arts has more beneficial results in a child’s life. Therefore, integrating dramatic arts into the curriculum ensures that all children participate in drama regardless of their socio-economic background.
The author creates awareness of the difference between process drama and performing arts. Most people are only aware of performing art during learning, but few are aware of the latter. Performing arts involve the presentation of drama, music, and dance to an audience. They are primarily geared towards educating the community. However, process drama consists of a scenario presented by the teacher, and all the pupils take part in different roles. Process drama is usually beneficial to the learner. According to Brown (2017), children from the age of three effortlessly imitate people they see and use their active imaginations to try and be someone else. Therefore, using process drama under the teacher’s guidance in early childhood helps learners understand their surroundings better and sharpen their socio-educational skills.
The author quickly points out inadequate policies to guide teachers on the most appropriate dramatic activities to incorporate into the curriculum. Lack of such important policies may be detrimental since different teachers will use other, unguided activities that may not be age-appropriate. Fortunately, the recent interest by education panels to develop guidance policies for teachers will have far-reaching benefits to learners through to higher learning. The Arts Education Partnership of 2000, National Core Arts Standard document of 2014, The United States government’s
Department of Education, among other stakeholders, has given hope to incorporate drama in the early childhood education programs. Brown (20170) provides an excellent example of how a teacher offers materials for the children to use in different contexts to symbolize different meanings. For example, a group of learners were given paper tubes and imagined the tubes were food. They also used fabric to illustrate houses, rivers, and blankets to act out different scenes.
Although the author only leans towards the advantages of integrating drama in the curriculum, she is correct in concluding that there is a need for more awareness of drama’s impact on young learners. More research is essential in effecting widespread assimilation of drama in the learning process. The government’s involvement is crucial to ensure all teachers and other stakeholders embrace drama by promoting suitable programs to enhance training and exposure. The author’s arguments are clear enough for the reader to understand the purpose of the article. However, perhaps the introduction would have started by defining the topic for the reader to comprehend the article’s contents in the first few lines of the introductory paragraph.
In conclusion, Victoria Brown’s article, “Drama as a valuable learning medium in early childhood,” effectively emphasizes the importance of including drama in the early childhood education curriculum to help learners acquire wholesome cognitive, social, critical thinking, and comprehension skills. The skills not only benefit the learners themselves, but the effects spill over to the entire community. Having structures that enhance teacher training skills will ensure that children from all backgrounds benefit from the curriculum diversity.