Browsing by Subject "Improv"

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    Active Learning on Center Stage: Theater as a Tool for Medical Education
    (Association of American Medical Colleges, 2019-01-30) Hobson, Wendy L.; Hoffmann-Longtin, Krista; Loue, Sana; Love, Linda M.; Liu, Howard Y.; Power, Christine M.; Pollart, Susan M.; Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine
    Introduction: Knowledge and skill development related to communication must incorporate both affective and behavioral components, which are often difficult to deliver in a learning activity. Using theater techniques and principles can provide medical educators with tools to teach communication concepts. Methods: This 75-minute faculty development workshop presents a variety of techniques from theater and adapts them for use in medical education. Using examples related to diversity and inclusion, this session addresses general educational and theater principles, role-play, sociodrama, applied improvisation, and practical aspects of involving theater partners. The session materials include a PowerPoint presentation with facilitator notes, interactive activities to demonstrate each modality, and an evaluation. The sessions can be extended to longer formats as needed. Results: Forty-five participants at Learn Serve Lead 2016: The AAMC Annual Meeting attended the 75-minute session. We emailed 32 participants 5 months after the conference, and eight responded. Participants reported that their confidence level in using theater techniques as a tool for medical education increased from low-to-medium confidence presession to high confidence postsession. All survey respondents who were actively teaching said they had made changes to their teaching based on the workshop. All commented that they appreciated the active learning in the session. Many indicated they would appreciate video or other follow-up resources. Discussion: Principles and techniques from theater are effective tools to convey difficult-to-teach concepts related to communication. This workshop presents tools to implement activities in teaching these difficult concepts.
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    Improvisational Theater as a Tool for Enhancing Cooperation in Academic Libraries
    (Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), 2009-03) Stamatoplos, Anthony C., 1958-
    This paper examines the concept of improvisation and its potential role in fostering collaboration and teamwork in academic libraries. It explains basic principles of theatrical improvisation and discusses their practical value in organizational culture. The discussion draws from the literature of organizational improvisation to identify skills applicable to academic libraries and make recommendations for developing improvisational cultures within libraries. The author presented this paper at the 14th National Conference of the Association of College and Research Libraries in Seattle, Washington.