Note: The writer of this story is a student in Grant Williams’ acting class.
Two University of Indianapolis faculty members are conducting an interdisciplinary study on the social effects of an acting class on students with learning-related disabilities.
Co-author of the study and Assistant Professor of Theatre Grant Williams is teaching the same acting class to two cohorts of students. As of February 2026, he is teaching a class for the general student population. In the fall semesters, he teaches the same class to students enrolled in the Build program, a service for UIndy students with learning disabilities.
Students in the current class will be used as the control group for the study, while the target group will be students in his fall 2026 Build class. The study will utilize surveys given to students at the beginning and end of each class, measuring their mood.
The study’s other co-author, behavioral specialist and College of Education and Behavioral Sciences Assistant Professor David Schena, is evaluating and assessing the data for the study. Williams teaches the class and collects the raw data. Williams and Schena both praised what they saw as the other’s strengths, with Schena calling Williams a “great actor,” and Williams calling Schena an “expert” in psychological data. Schena introduced the study to students on the first day of the class; however, he plays no role in teaching the class itself.
The study came about through an introduction by the Director of Disability Services and Build Betsy McGill. Previously, Williams taught one acting class that included both Build and non-Build students, with around half of the class typically being in Build, according to Williams. He said that the outcomes typical of his acting class were different for Build students.
“A lot of the typical acting exercises that I would include in a typical class, or a non-Build class, didn’t hit properly with those [Build] students, or they didn’t respond in the same way,” Williams said. “It was very interesting to me that the same methods need to be tailored or shifted.”
Williams added that he did not think this was a bad thing, only that it meant his teaching style needed to be adjusted. McGill said she placed many of her students in Williams’ acting classes before the shift. An acting class helps teach her students skills, such as flexible thinking, according to McGill, who added that many of her students struggle socially. McGill said she worked with Williams to create a new section of the acting class designed specifically for Build students. McGill said that this class was so successful for her students that she and Williams decided to open another section to non-Build students.
Williams said he sees a positive impact of the class on Build students and would like to teach this section every semester. However, due to his time constraints, he said he could only offer it once per year.
“You, in some ways, practice being a little awkward and doing things you’re not comfortable, intrinsically, doing,” Schena said of students in acting classes. “But you gain that confidence, and you practice those skills, which is wonderful for a lot of skill learning, social anxiety, etc.”
Schena and Williams also said they would consider publishing their research. Schena said that existing research related to the effects of acting classes on students with learning-related disabilities is largely experimental and primarily focuses on school-age children. He hoped this study, if published, would expand the literature in this area as it relates to college students. Williams agreed, saying that he is a strong believer in the positive effects of acting and believes that research in this area, as it develops, will support this notion.
