International Journal of Education & the Arts

Volume 16 Number 10

June 19, 2015

Improv and Ink:
Increasing Individual Writing Fluency with Collaborative Improv

Mary DeMichele
Lake Ozark, Missouri, USA

Citation: DeMichele, M. (2015). Improv and ink: Increasing individual writing fluency with collaborative improv. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 16(Number 10). Retrieved [date] from http://www.ijea.org/v16n10/.
Abstract
This article explores how short form/comedic improvisational theater impacts the development of writing fluency. Students in all disciplines need to be able to purposefully write, however by the time students reach high school many have already given up trying to express even their own thoughts in free writing. Two quasi-experimental action research studies in two school districts, one urban and one suburban, were conducted to determine if the length of the students writing would increase after exposure to a sequence of improv story-telling and story-writing games. Data analysis revealed that both regular education and special education populations showed increases in both their word and sentence usage. The article examines how improvs collaborative nature supported by the rule of Yes, and..., may addresses deficits in both social-emotional and literacy skills that effect writing fluency.

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