Articles & Papers: All

Oreck, B. and McAndrews, D. "My words fly up, my thoughts remain below":The challenge of assessing student learning in the Shakespeare classroom. A paper presented at the American Education Research Association Annual Meeting March 25, 2008, New York City.

ABSTRACT: How does acting in a Shakespeare play differ from reading it? What theatrical approaches will be effective in reaching students who have never read a Shakespeare play before? For theater companies working in schools, the answers to these questions are critical to understanding and demonstrating the value of their work as part of the language arts, classics, and drama curricula. Over the last eight years the Shakespeare Theatre Company has studied those basic questions through the development of a new student assessment process to better understand what students are learning through its Text Alive! program. This paper presents the results of the initial testing and research conducted between 2005 and 2008. [ Download PDF ]

Oreck, B. (2008). STAA Survey Report: Report to the National Endowment for the Arts on the initial survey of Shakespeare Theatre Companies.

ABSTRACT: The first stage of this investigation yielded an interesting (but far from complete) picture of the state of Shakespeare education programs in schools. 84 theater companies representing all regions of the country as well as Canada, Britain and South Africa responded to the online survey. The responses provide a broad general overview of the programming professional theater companies provide in collaboration with schools. The statistical data on the types of programs, numbers of schools, students and teachers reveal the magnitude of drama-based Shakespeare programming across the country but cannot be considered a reliable statistic due to the different ways in which the companies count their activities and participants. While this is just a first step, it is perhaps the broadest investigation to date of this particular aspect of arts education programming in the U.S. and sets the stage for further research. [ Download PDF ]

Oreck, B. (2006). Artistic choices: A study of teachers who use the arts in the classroom. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 7(8).

ABSTRACT: In recent years the arts have been introduced into many pre-service and in-service professional development programs for general education teachers. At the same time, pressure for immediate test-score improvement and standardization of curriculum has limited the creativity and autonomy of teachers. This study, the qualitative part of a mixed-methods investigation of teachers across the U.S., involved six New York City elementary school teachers who found ways to use the arts in their classrooms on a regular basis despite the pressures they faced. The study investigated the personal characteristics and the factors that supported or constrained arts use in teaching. The results suggest that general creative and artistic attitudes rather than specific skills as a maker of art are key to arts use. A willingness to push boundaries and take risks defined this group of teachers. They recognized obstacles and challenges to arts use, but made choices that helped them maintain a sense of independence and creativity in teaching. The strongest motivation to use the arts use was their awareness of the diversity of learning styles and needs among their students. The teachers articulated a variety of ways in which arts-based professional development experiences encouraged them to bring their creativity into the classroom, expand their teaching repertoire, and find effective ways to incorporate the arts in the academic curriculum. [ Download PDF ]

Oreck, B. (2005). A powerful conversation: Teachers and artists collaborate in performance-based assessment. Teaching Artist Journal, 3 (4), 220-227.

ABSTRACT: Coming Soon.... [ Download PDF ]

Oreck, B., Baum, S., & Owen, S. (2004). Assessment of potential theatere arts talent in young people: The development of a new research-based assessment process, Youth Theatre Journal, (18).

We report on the results of a new process for identifying potential talent in a diverse population of untrained elementary school students.

Oreck, B., & Piirto, J. (2004). Through the eyes of an artist: A study of teaching artists engaged in educational assessment. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association, San Diego.

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Oreck, B. (2004). The Role of Classroom Teachers in Identifying and Nurturing Students' Artistic Abilities. Ohio Alliance for Arts Education.

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Oreck, B. (2004). The Artistic and Professional Development of Teachers: A study of teachers' attitudes toward and use of the arts in teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 55 (1), 55-69.

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Oreck, B. (2004). Project Start ID: Statewide Arts Talent Identification and Development: Assessment and Identification Results. Ohio Alliance for Arts Education.

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Oreck, B. (2004). Enhancing Self-Regulatory Behaviors in the Classroom Through Arts-Infused Curriculum Ohio Alliance for Arts Education.

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Oreck, B. (2001). The Talent assessment process in dance, music and theater (D/M/T TAP): New research on the assessment and identification of talent in young people

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Oreck, B. (2001). The arts in teaching: An investigation of factors influencing teachers' use of the arts in the classroom (Doctoral dissertation, University of Connecticut, 2000). ProQuest cat. #9999695.

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Oreck, B., Baum, S. & McCartney, H. (2000). Artistic talent development for urban youth: The promise and the challenge. Research Monograph for the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.

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Oreck, B., Baum, S. & McCartney, H. (1999). Artistic talent development for urban youth: The promise and the challenge. Champions of Change: The impact of the arts on learning. The Arts Education Partnership, Washington, D.C.1999.

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ArtsConnection. (1998). The Talent Assessment Process in Dance, Music and Theater. Brochure for D/M/T TAP.

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Baum, S., Owen, S., & Oreck, B. (1997). Transferring individual self-regulation processes from arts to academics, Arts Education Policy Review, 98 (4), 32-39.

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