Health education and interactive drama: Findings from a service learning project

Objective: Within Canada, health education is generally taught by teachers who are subject generalists, or subject specialists within other disciplines, with little-to-no formal teacher training in health education. Without teacher training related to curriculum and instruction in health education, teachers are effectively required to adapt their developing pedagogies to unique health contexts. This article highlights findings from a recent study in which pre-service physical education (PE) teachers implemented interactive drama (ID) as a pedagogical practice to engage adolescent students (aged 13-16 years) in meaningful learning opportunities related to particular health education curricular outcomes. Design: The study was part of a Service Learning Project (SLP) within a secondary physical education curriculum and instruction course at Atlantic Canada University.(1) During the SLP, pre-service PE teachers (n = 21) engaged adolescent students (n = 162) in ID presentations and discussions. After completion of the SLP, pre-service PE teachers shared their perspectives of ID as a pedagogical practice capable of meaningfully engaging themselves and their students within health education. Setting: Atlantic Canada University has a population of approximately 5,000 students, the majority of whom come from Atlantic and Eastern Canada. The SLP occurred at Melmerby School,(2) a P-12 school with a student population of approximately 500 students. Method: Applying case study methodology, the researchers examined pre-service PE teachers' written responses to a post-SLP survey. These data were collected so as to gain an in-depth understanding of ID as a perceived appropriate pedagogical practice for health education. Results: Three primary themes were identified through the data analysis. These were: enabling teachers; engaging students; and real-life connections. Conclusion: ID can be a beneficial pedagogical practice for health education; it has the potential to benefit both pre-service PE teachers and their adolescent students.