Drama Education and Critical Thinking

Academic Insights

Academic Insights
This study explored how drama education can improve critical thinking through collaboration and communication. Survey and interview data from university students showed that teamwork and expressive interaction in drama activities had significant positive effects on critical thinking. Working together in performance settings pushed students to consider multiple perspectives, solve problems, interpret situations, and evaluate ideas more carefully. Communication strengthened this effect by helping students articulate meanings, respond to others, and refine their judgments. The core message is that drama is not only creative or expressive; it can also become a rich learning space where structured collaboration and communication build stronger analytical thinking.

Apply This Now
Use role play or performance tasks that require students to discuss viewpoints and solve shared problems.

Add This in Your Lesson
Ask groups to interpret a scenario from different perspectives before presenting their reasoning.

Avoid This Mistake
Do not treat drama as performance alone; the thinking happens in discussion, interpretation, and reflection.

Keywords
drama education, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, perspective taking