| Process drama is a form of drama that is designed for the benefit of participants, not for performance. It is based in improvisation and led by a trained facilitator. Creative problem solving is a format used for developing solutions, following a model of stages and led by a facilitator. In that similarities exist between process drama and creative problem solving, this dissertation is a study in creating a drama session within which a creative problem solving model is followed.; My theory is that participants in a process drama session can learn to solve a problem following a specific state-of-the-art creative problem solving model. This model is described in the book, Creative Problem Solving: An Introduction, Third Edition, 2000, by Donald J. Treffinger, Scott G. Isaksen and K. Brian Dorval. The model is widely used and accepted in the field of creative problem solving today. The purpose of this study is to explicitly combine process drama and the Treffinger model with the goal of testing the feasibility of this union.; Action research was the method of choice for this project. Action research, a type of qualitative study, was chosen because its primary goal is to assist the researcher in finding ways to refine his own actions. An actual process drama session was conducted. The process drama session was designed to include the steps of the Treffinger model. The participants were chosen randomly based on responses to solicitation for participation posted around the campus of Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. The data was collected by observation, written survey, director's notes, and oral discussion, and videotape.; The results showed that it is possible to design such a drama session. The participants were able to engage themselves in the drama and simultaneously incorporate the stages of the Treffinger model, however, not without direction from the facilitator. The facilitator was encouraged to incorporate these techniques into his own teaching and to further explore possible uses for this combination activity. It was a successful first step in combining these two methods. |
