Abstract
The present study examined effects of junior high school students' group experiences in their classrooms when preparing dramas for school festivals. Classroom teachers used the classroom activities to form the students into groups. The main results were as follows: (1) Through the drama activities, students increased their recognition of their own activities (independence, cooperation, and management) and of mutual understanding with others. This effect was larger in the more advanced students than those who were behind the rest of their class.(2) Helpful interventions by the classroom teachers promoted the development of the students' groups. The teachers' interventions influenced the students' recognition of their own self-evaluation, as well as their mutual understanding with others.(3) In “divisional cooperation,” students did each activity while aiming at a common goal. The students' understanding of the class group was greater in students who showed higher divisional cooperation than in those who were less cooperative.
