Evaluating the constructivist potential of the multimedia software "Stage struck" in drama education

Deposited with permission of the author. © 2005 Susan Mansfield.This project compares the educational aims of the designers of the educational title “Stage Struck” with those of two separate groups in the process of learning and teaching; namely the aims of teachers and students. This method of comparing the observations of two key stakeholder groups with the objectives of the designer is part of an instrument proposed by Squires and McDougall (1994) called the Perspectives Interaction Paradigm. This instrument diverges from traditional models of software evaluation in that it has encompassed multiple points of view in the determination of whether a piece of software is useful in educational environments. This project hypothesizes that the Squires/McDougall approach shows how software can be utilized in ways that can be complimentary or contrary to the intentions of designers. It is for this reason and the multi-pronged method of data collection that the instrument is considered a more appropriate tool for the project than other evaluative checklists. “Stage Struck” has been chosen because a number of items in the education literature indicate clearly articulated aims that the software be used in a manner befitting constructivist approach. Using interviews with two teachers and observations of two students within the scope of the controlled setting, this project will identify where and why aims are transformed/modified and how the expectations of the educational merit of “Stage Struck” correspond or fail to correspond