Bio

Katie Dawson uses the arts to increase equity, access, and belonging in education for all learners. She is an associate professor at The University of Texas in Austin, where she heads the MFA in Drama/Theatre for Youth and Communities and the Drama for Schools professional learning program for K-16 educators. Katie has won multiple teaching and research awards. She partners with the US Embassy system across eastern Europe to improve critical and creative thinking in education. She recently held a two-year appointment in pedagogical innovation at The University of South Australia and The Department for Education focused on creative body-based learning. Katie’s co-authored book, The Reflexive Teaching Artist: Collective Wisdom from the Drama/Theatre Field, received the 2015 Distinguished Book Award from the American Alliance of Theatre and Education. Her second book Drama-Based Pedagogy: Activating Learning Across the Curriculum is used as global text in alignment with her website https://dbp.theatredance.utexas.edu/

Project

I plan to explore data from a mixed-methods research study which seeks to document and analyze the experiences of participants (artists, scientists and facilitators) in a year-long program (the Planet Texas 2050 Artist Fellowship) focused on the facilitated interactions between artists and scientists at research intensive university. Specifically, I hope to consider: What is the experience of artists and scientists in a heterogenous collaborative research project focused on climate change resilience research? How do participants’ (artists and scientists) understanding of their independent research activity change as a result of participating in this heterogeneous collaborative space?