Process drama: Bridging the arts and the sciences

Process drama involves participants using improvisation techniques in role-play to enact real-life scenarios. It focuses on the process rather than the final product and therefore allows students and teachers to simulate actual situations experientially and, in the process, develop problem-solving skills. It has been used as learning and teaching strategy in various disciplines in the arts and the sciences. Students enjoy situated learning through contextualisation of concepts within their fields, acting out scenes that deal with issues pertaining to their fields of study. Process drama is, in essence, learning by doing while at the same time creating a real-life environment in the classroom that makes the educational process organic. It is a useful tool with which to help develop the social interactional skills of people of the sciences.