Abstract
Can an internationally recognized early childhood educational concept, known as the Reggio Emilia approach, provide an effective philosophy for teaching theater arts university students? Effective theater arts education includes opportunities for collaboration, social interaction, and experimentation (Mardirosian & Lewis, 2009). Key principles of the Reggio Emilia approach include collaboration, documentation and reflection, group-based knowledge construction, and a negotiated curriculum (Edwards, Gandini & Forman, 1993). Both approaches build on social constructivist theories of cognitive learning, including the works of Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, and John Dewey. This paper documents an action research project designed to implement theory to practice within a university course combining effective instruction of theater technology with the philosophy of the Reggio Emilia approach. The research location is a course titled Theater Technology being offered within the Theater Department of a flagship state university in the eastern United States. Participants include students enrolled in the course, the course instructor, and an educator with expertise in the Reggio Emilia approach. Data consists of interviews with participating students and faculty, audio transcripts of class discussion, photographs, student class journals, and video. This research has implications for teaching theater technology, course design in theatre arts, and implementing theory to practice. 43