A Quasi-Experimental Examination of Drama Frames: A Teacher Professional Development Program Targeting Student Reading Achievement

This study examined a professional development (PD) intervention that provided kindergarten-through third-grade teachers with drama-based pedagogy to improve student reading achievement. The PD consisted of collaboration between teaching artists and teachers to integrate drama into English language arts instruction for a school year. Twenty-six classroom teachers and their 815 kindergarten, first-, second-, and third-grade students participated in this quasi-experimental study. Student reading achievement was measured with the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) in the fall, winter, and spring. With the exception of first-grade students, results indicated statistically significant student growth in favor of the experimental group relative to a business-as-usual comparison group. Implications in terms of embodied theories of cognition and classroom practice are discussed.