Thesis abstract:

«p»This research aims to examine the potential of drama-rich processes (Ewing, 2009) to enhance Chinese creative writing. Since creativity and new literacies have been emphasized to prepare young people for the future world, educators worldwide have conducted many studies about embedding arts-rich pedagogies in language learning class to address this issue (Bamford, 2006; Ewing, 2019; Saunders, 2019; Winner, Goldstein, & Stéphan Vincent-Lancrin, 2013). However, the current Chinese language class remains traditional and rigid due to a lack of teacher training in arts-rich pedagogies. To fill this gap, this study will conduct a mixed method case study to pilot a sophisticated teacher professional training program, School Drama, in a Chinese primary school. Four teaching artists will be invited to the school. Each of them will team-teach 16 classes incorporating drama-based pedagogies with a class teacher in two semesters. Data gathering will include interviews with students, teachers, and artists, benchmarking student literacy achievement in creative writing, and in-class observations. Findings have the potential to validate the effectiveness of the co-mentoring teacher professional learning program in a Chinese educational context and offer feasible drama strategies for Chineselanguage teachers. This pilot program might encourage more arts-rich programs in Chinese schools, and would probably further enhance Chinese teachers’ confidence in employing arts-rich teaching methods and increase Chinese students’ creativity in writing.«/p»