Capstone Project Proposal

Introduction

For my Capstone Project, I will be exploring The Role of Music in Regulating Emotions in Musical Theatre. I will be researching the artistic, psychological, and sociological aspects of Musical Theatre education within my presentation. This topic is meaningful to me both personally and professionally, as it combines my two teaching subjects, Music and Dramatic Arts. This semester at school, we are putting together our first musical production since the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the first production I am Music Directing in the teacher role, and I hope to take some of the strategies and learnings from my research and apply it to my professional practice. Furthermore, I recently became the interim Department Head of our school’s Arts department, and I am hoping to use ideas from this Capstone to provide more interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities for my colleagues.

Musical Theatre brings together students from multiple backgrounds, disciplines, and ages. It is a place for them to come together and work towards one common goal: To put on a successful show. Unlikely friendships and connections are made when schools and educators provide extra-curriculars. Musical Theatre gives students a safe community to learn skills that can be applied to their academics and beyond. Mental wellness strategies they learn through the art form are highly applicable both inside and outside of the classroom.

Rationale for Choice of Format

The information will be presented in the form of a Google Slides Professional Development presentation. Our school board uses Google software, and a Google Slides presentation could be easily shared to participants within my board. This format will allow me to include interactive elements, text, audio, and videos into my presentation. There will be interactive polling elements to encourage participation and real-time feedback from the audience.

The target audience will be Arts educators, curriculum leaders, administrators, and policy holders that design interdisciplinary elective subjects. As The Arts are often underfunded in public education systems, I hope to reach this audience through a format that is accessible, reusable, and simple to edit and revise.

Research Methodology

My research will include a combination of peer-reviewed and academic articles, previous course learnings, as well as connections to my personal experiences. There is an abundance of resources on how emotional well-being connects to different Art forms. There are also links to 21st century learning skills and creative collaboration that I could reference. Sources that I have continuously drawn from during my time in the PME program such as Dewey et al. (1986), Robinson (2016), and Bolden et al. (2019), are resources I hope to explore further. I will be combining these resources into my presentation to create a toolkit for Arts educators. I want to present my findings using educator-friendly language, as there can sometimes be a disconnect between theory and practical application.

Conclusion

By providing Musical Theatre opportunities for students, we are encouraging the use of critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills that can be applied to all areas of their lives. We are also creating a safe space for students to feel included and represented. I am appreciative of the Musical Theatre experiences I had as a student that taught me the importance of socio-emotional learning and well-being strategies. Many of these strategies are ones I continue to implement as an educator and Department Head. I believe it is important to bring awareness to this topic, so that all school stakeholders can see the benefits and connections of bringing Musical Theatre and mental wellbeing to our schools.

References

Bolden, B., DeLuca, C., Kukkonen, T., Roy, S., & Wearing, J. (2019). Assessment of creativity in K‐12 education: A scoping review. Review of Education, 8(2), 343–376. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3188

Dewey, J., Boydston, J. A., Rorty, R., & Dewey, J. (1986). Essays and How We Think, Revised Edition. Southern Illinois University Press.

Robinson, K. (2016, May 18). Why creativity is important in education. [Video]. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee5A5NSbMN4 (2:58)

Bluffer's Park, June 2024