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ArtsLit fosters literacy education and engagement with the larger world by building partnerships between students and performance artists. The program, based at Brown University, makes literature meaningful for academically-challenged students through an interactive, collaborative, approach to learning in which students reflect on characters and core themes through journal writing and performance exercises. Coordinated by actors and other theater veterans, the program engages students in short, on the spot, activities that increase comprehension of the works involved and longer exercises that allow students to explore literature on their own terms.
While increasing awareness of the text per se, these activities help participants find parallels between their own experiences and the ideas explored by a wide range of authors, increase empathy through team-based learning, and make students more confident. The program has increased standardized test scores, and evidence suggests that students show more confidence in public speaking and develop a lasting interest in reading.
Although still largely based around Brown University, the program’s creators hope to expand the idea by hosting a series of workshops for teachers and by making the ArtsLit manual available online. The handbook offers an overview of the program’s philosophy, as well as a set of activities that nurture active engagement with literature while developing comprehension and social skills.
. Historian Shae Davidson's research interests include public policy and the relationship between culture and civil society. His publications range from articles on industrial history to absurdist poetry.
