Extreme Puppet Theater as a Tool for Writing Pedagogy at K-University Levels

Authors

  • Mark Spitzer University of Central Arkansas Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v6i1.121

Keywords:

interactive pedagogy, hybrid pedagogy, puppet theater, educational motivation, writing innovation, creative writing

Abstract

The pedagogical technique of “extreme puppet theater” is posited as a collaborative and novel learning tool for motivating students to study texts by creating new ones. Examples are provided of how this approach has worked in university courses in literature, composition, and creative writing. By extension, extreme puppet theater can be applied to other subjects, at all levels of academia, in order to offer an effective and engaging alternative to traditional teaching conventions.

Author Biography

  • Mark Spitzer, University of Central Arkansas

    Mark Spitzer earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Louisiana State University and is now an Associate Professor of Writing at the University of Central Arkansas, where he founded the Arkansas Writers Workshop M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Spitzer specializes in teaching poetry, creative nonfiction, ecopoetics, and editing and publishing. As the author of twenty books, he is known for his research on the ferocious gar fish and his translations of devious French authors. Spitzer is the editor of the awardwinning Toad Suck Review (toadsuckreview.org). For more information see www.sptzr.net.

References

Abbey, E. (1975) The Monkey Wrench Gang. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott.

Camoin, F. (1994) The workshop and its discontents. In W. Bishop and H. Ostrom (eds.) Colors of a Different Horse: Rethinking Creative Writing Theory and Pedagogy 3–7. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English.

Carson, R. (1962) Silent Spring. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

Snyder, G. (1974) Turtle Island. New York: New Directions.

Shepard, S. (1984) Cowboy mouth. Fool for Love and Other Plays 145–165. New York: Bantam.

Vanderslice, S. (2006) Workshopping. In G. Harper (ed.) Teaching Creative Writing 147–157. London: Continuum.

Downloads

Published

2014-06-10

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2014)

Section

Reflections on Practice

License

© Equinox Publishing Ltd.

For information regarding our Open Access policy, click here.

How to Cite

Spitzer, M. (2014). Extreme Puppet Theater as a Tool for Writing Pedagogy at K-University Levels. Writing and Pedagogy, 6(1), 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1558/wap.v6i1.121

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