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Embodied Learning of Graphs: A Psychodramatic Approach in Primary School

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Title: Embodied Learning of Graphs: A Psychodramatic Approach in Primary School
Language: English
Authors: João Marcelo Borovina Josko (ORCID 0000-0002-8654-5866), Sérgio Ferreira do Amaral (ORCID 0000-0002-3536-2226)
Source: Informatics in Education. 2026 25(1):1-35.
Availability: Vilnius University Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. Akademjos str. 4, Vilnius LT 08663 Lithuania. Tel: +37-5-21-09300; Fax: +37-5-27-29209; e-mail: info@mii.vu.lt; Web site: https://infedu.vu.lt/journal/INFEDU
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 35
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Grade 5
Intermediate Grades
Middle Schools
Descriptors: Elementary Education, Grade 5, Foreign Countries, Graphs, Intervention, Teaching Methods, Elementary School Mathematics, Cooperative Learning, Role Playing, Drama, Elementary School Students, Reflection
Geographic Terms: Brazil
ISSN: 1648-5831
2335-8971
Abstract: While graph theory plays a foundational role in informatics and computational thinking (CT), its instruction in elementary education remains underexplored, particularly through embodied or arts-based methods. This study examines a low-tech, psychodrama-based pedagogical intervention designed to introduce graph theory as a data structure to fifth-grade students in a Brazilian public school. Students engaged in dramatizing connections and structural changes within friendship networks, enabling experiential learning of concepts such as adjacency, traversal, and modification of graph-like structures. Data were collected through teacher interviews, classroom observations, and post-intervention assessments. Findings indicate strong student engagement, symbolic appropriation of key graph concepts, and the development of abstraction and reflection skills central to computational thinking. These results suggest that educational psychodrama offers a culturally responsive, embodied strategy for introducing core CT concepts in early education, expanding the repertoire of practices in computing education.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1506549
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Embodied Learning of Graphs: A Psychodramatic Approach in Primary School
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22João+Marcelo+Borovina+Josko%22">João Marcelo Borovina Josko</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8654-5866">0000-0002-8654-5866</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sérgio+Ferreira+do+Amaral%22">Sérgio Ferreira do Amaral</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3536-2226">0000-0002-3536-2226</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Informatics+in+Education%22"><i>Informatics in Education</i></searchLink>. 2026 25(1):1-35.
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  Data: Vilnius University Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. Akademjos str. 4, Vilnius LT 08663 Lithuania. Tel: +37-5-21-09300; Fax: +37-5-27-29209; e-mail: info@mii.vu.lt; Web site: https://infedu.vu.lt/journal/INFEDU
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  Data: 35
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Brazil%22">Brazil</searchLink>
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  Data: 1648-5831<br />2335-8971
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  Data: While graph theory plays a foundational role in informatics and computational thinking (CT), its instruction in elementary education remains underexplored, particularly through embodied or arts-based methods. This study examines a low-tech, psychodrama-based pedagogical intervention designed to introduce graph theory as a data structure to fifth-grade students in a Brazilian public school. Students engaged in dramatizing connections and structural changes within friendship networks, enabling experiential learning of concepts such as adjacency, traversal, and modification of graph-like structures. Data were collected through teacher interviews, classroom observations, and post-intervention assessments. Findings indicate strong student engagement, symbolic appropriation of key graph concepts, and the development of abstraction and reflection skills central to computational thinking. These results suggest that educational psychodrama offers a culturally responsive, embodied strategy for introducing core CT concepts in early education, expanding the repertoire of practices in computing education.
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    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 35
        StartPage: 1
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      – SubjectFull: Elementary Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Grade 5
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Graphs
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      – SubjectFull: Intervention
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teaching Methods
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      – SubjectFull: Elementary School Mathematics
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