Promotion of scientific literacy on global warming by process drama

Before the drama workshop, it showed that some of the keywords related to global warming were more widely known among students than the others. Most of those who had heard these terms, however, gave non-scientific explanations. When probed in-depth, the majority of students held alternative conception about the cause, process, and consequences of global warming. In addition, the ideas about the engagement against global warming were on an individual basis. They perceived, understood and interpreted solving global warming in terms of the self. The action on climate change, in fact, can take many forms; individual action, protest action, political action, and international political framework.

The difference in students’ perception of the nine keywords might be the result of the presentation of such terms by mass media in Thailand. According to Corbett and Durfee (2004), the issue of global warming presented in the media was quite superficial and alternative to scientific conceptions. So, it is often misleading the public. This confirms Marshall McLuhan’s statement, “The medium is the message.” Media coverage has focused on carbon dioxide and physical effect of global warming. In this study, the students understood greenhouse gas partially; CO2 was the one and only greenhouse gas. The majority of students thought that global warming resulted in catastrophes such as tsunami and a collapsed Thai temple which crashed by the sea during high tide. The great loss was shaken and stirred by Thai mass media influencing public perception on the consequences of global warming. The ecological, social or economic effects of global warming were unnoticed. Other sources of alternative conception are language and logic (Gautier, Deutsch, & Rebich, 2006). For instance, some students thought that the global warming would result in hot and dry weather, higher sunshine level, polar ice caps melting, sea level rise and flooding. This may be due the descriptive terminology "global warming" which describes the Earth as getting hotter and the use of logical thinking to derive their answers.

After the drama workshop, the results indicated that process drama could help develop all aspects of scientific literacy on global warming. In terms of conceptual understanding, it could make the previously unknown/unfamiliar keywords better known in scientific way. In the workshop, process drama provided an experience that allowed the students to explore, question, investigate and draw conclusions about global warming. The Drawing Global Warming activity on the first day made students clarify their existing knowledge. The exchange of these ideas led to conceptual conflict among students and they were encouraged to do experiments to test their ideas out. The series of lab exercises demonstrated the mechanism and the consequences of global warming.

In the critical review of global warming in the selected printed media activity on the first day, the students read, extracted the essential points and discussed the credibility of the texts from Thai mainstream newspapers and internet web-sites. Exemplars of alternative conceptions and common flaws in the news were identified and discussed. Linked to the lab exercises, they corrected the message. The class concluded in the end that the writers had a purpose for what they wrote; they would choose or emphasize facts and details which supported their purpose, and ignore facts which did not. As a scientifically literate person, the student needed to be skeptical of the implicit bias.

The discussion about the results of the experiment, issues in the Inconvenient Truth documentary film and the critical review of global warming in the selected printed media enhance students’ understanding of the science, complexity, and mitigation measures of global warming. This is the message to the audiences. Their understanding was strengthened while they were making and developing a story. Each group of students had to elaborate about what and how to tell. In accordance with the studies of Bailey (1993), the script is the evidence that the children utilized play to clarify their scientific thinking. They mentally played with the concepts they were dealing with, incorporating them into an imaginary setting.

For example, the students had transferred their understanding from the lab exercise into a play. They knew that ozone depletion was actually not the cause of global warming and many of them had not thought this way at the beginning. When they wrote a script, this warning was communicated to the future audience. Soonthara said, “I strongly believe they [audience], just like us at first, would think that way [alternative conception]. So we decide to put this on stage and point out. Therefore, I hope they would get it and circulate the correct message to the public.” Play allows students to rehearse material that can be encoded into long-term memory and leads to deeper understanding of the concepts (Budzinsky, 1995; Butler, 1989). Students remembered the dramatic exercises vividly and could quote details of the text they used and acted. In process drama, the students had to think hard how to present the drama message in not only educational but entertaining and inspirational ways. This is the science and the art hemispheres of process drama.

In terms of engagement, the second element of scientific literacy, there is improvement. Based on the written response, student journal and drama script, their ideas on the solution of global warming are more integrated regarding all stakeholders in decision making process. This might be the result of the last activity in a lab series on global warming, called Heal the World, in which a member of the group was asked to list his or her daily activities that involved electricity consumption and consumption behaviors. The group calculated an electricity bill for a month using an assigned formula. The group interpreted, reflected on the results, making a connection to global warming, and created an Electricity Saving program to be implemented as well as other strategies to cut down greenhouse gas emission. Their program was shared and discussed with the whole class. Many of the curing strategies, in addition, were written on heart-shaped paper which was put up on the wall and exhibited throughout the drama workshop. In this way, the knowledge was made explicit and accessible for the students.

Not only their ideas have become more integrated, they have increased intensity of engagement against global warming. Based on the Ladder of Participation (Hart 1992), the workshop participants have stepped forward from being told what to do, to be informed, to lead and initiate action. Chum, in his journal, wrote, “Start with yourself! Educate yourself about global warming and then educate others. Talk to everyone you meet; neighbors, friends, family and community groups about ways to reduce global warming”. Korawee wrote, “I think everyone should jump in this circus. You should find your way to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas and you must act now. This is life threatening. It is social responsibility”. The students took leadership in environmental protection. The deep engagement after the workshop may be the result of the process drama’s learning environment that are aligned with Hart’s conditions for youth engagement: the students are respected, valued, trusted, feel appreciated, safe and comfortable; they feel they are working in a youth friendly environment and involved in a meaningful way; their voices are being heard; they are given the chance to be involved, make decisions, gain leadership skills and see their ideas realized; there is a social aspect to their involvement; their imaginations are touched and they are valued; and they are in a place where they have ownership and control.

Process drama involves personal involvement and commitment on the part of students, according to Erikson (1988), Kentish (1995) and McCaslin (2006). They become good at what they do only when they become totally immersed in it because a sense of ownership and responsibility may have been initiated. Drama can be used to motivate students and to show students’ talents, from acting to writing, in the science class. Some students, who usually do not participate in scientific discussions, might find themselves good at writing a script, production or acting.