Acting Lessons for Teachers: Using Performance Skills in the Classroom

Teachers find themselves competing with high-powered media to win the attention and interest of students. Many are adopting a variety of performance skills to reach, hold, and convey information to a diverse and demanding audience. Tauber and Mester stress the essential qualities that make up a good teacher/actor: deep familiarity and understanding of the subject matter, use of a battery of communication skills, enthusiasm for the subject matter, and evidenced love of the art and craft of teaching/learning. Lessons taught involve the use of physical and vocal animation, classroom humor, space, teacher role-playing, props, suspense, and surprise. Each lesson contains actual examples and scripts with testimony as to their effectiveness by award-winning college faculty. An entertaining and effective manual for all levels of teachers, sure to inspire clever and effective new ways of teaching and learning.

ROBERT T. TAUBER is Professor of Education at the Behrend College of the Pennsylvania State University.

CATHY SARGENT MESTER is Instructor in Speech Communication at the Behrend College of The Pennsylvania State University.

Both have written books on classroom management and oral communication skills for students and teachers.