Prof. Mario Moroni, University of Pisa

Speaker: Prof Mario Morroni, University of Pisa

On 16th March 2023, Prof Morroni’s gave a talk on Didactic theatre, an innovative technique of teaching through theatrical readings. 

A video recording of this event is available below.

In this seminar, I discuss the features of an innovative technique of teaching economics through theatrical readings, that is writing and staging plays addressing economic issues. Theatre is a powerful tool because it brings about an emotional involvement of the performers and the audience. Theatre allows emotions to improve learning; these are usually neglected in economics pedagogy.

 

We have verified that theatrical readings represent a fruitful complement to the usual ‘chalk and talk’ lectures based on textbooks. Public readings in courses of Economics have given significant results in terms of students’ satisfaction and final marks, especially when the students’ experience encompasses writing plays and staging them. Another advantage of using theatre as a learning instrument is that it allows the performers and the audience to compare different visions in dialogical form, encouraging critical reflection.