Thinking through Movement and Dance: Creative Movement As a Teaching Approach in Slovenian Primary Schools

10.6303/TDRJ.2014.9.2

Vesna Gersak

creative movement approach ； dance ； kinesthetic learning ； active learning ； embodied cognition

台灣舞蹈研究

9期（2014 / 12 / 01）

19 - 39

英文

The use of creative movement and dance as a teaching/learning approach in school settings is an example of holistic teaching that integrates kinesthetic, dance, verbal and nonverbal activities. Creative movement is an active approach to teaching varied content and subjects (science, language, mathematics, social studies, art, and music) by means of the body. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is recognized as one of our multiple intelligences, but is one of the most undervalued at our schools. This paper highlights the importance of the creative movement teaching approach in child development and includes an overview of certain theories, approaches and practices that emphasize the use of the body and movement in the learning process. This paper also presents some new research findings about the human brain, findings that highlight the use of kinesthetic lessons and active learning through creative movement in the classroom. A qualitative research study about the use of the creative approach in primary school was performed on a sample of 148 Slovenian primary school teachers, who attended the workshops on creative movement. This paper presents the teachers' views on the changes they observed in the classroom when using creative movement as a teaching approach. The results showed positive effects on the educational process and in different areas of child development: the social-emotional, cognitive and psychomotor development. The results highlight that creative movement had the greatest impact on cognition. We conclude that creative movement as a teaching/learning approach can make the curriculum more tangible, accessible, memorable, and affective for children.

1. (2005).Partnerstvo fakultete in vzgojno-izobraževalnih zavodov.Ljubljana, Slovenia:Faculty of Education University of Ljubljana.
2. Anttila, E.(2014).Dance as embodied learning: communities in motion.Contemporising Past envisaging the Future. Angers: World Dance Alliance Global Summit,Angers:
3. Bresler, L.(Ed.)(2004).Knowing bodies, moving minds: towards embodied teaching and learning.Dordrecht, the Netherlands:Kluwer Academic Publishing.
4. Damasio, A.(2010).Self comes to mind: Constructing the conscious brain.New York:Pantheon Books.
5. Feldenkrais, M.(1990).Awareness through Movement.San Francisco:Harper Collins Publishers.
6. Frostig M.(1989).Physical education.Ljubljana:Svetovalni center.
7. Gardner, H.(1983).Frames of Mind.New York:HarperCollins.
8. Geršak, V.(2012).Creative movement - An opportunity for affective education.Dance, young people and change: Proceedings of the daCi and WDA Global Dance Summit,Taipei:
9. Geršak, V.(2007).Creative movement as a teaching method in affective education.Proceedings of affective education in action,Adana, Turkey:
10. Geršak, V.,Prunk, M.(2010).Creative movement as a teaching approach in arts.A Child in motion, Proceedings,Koper, Slovenia:
11. Gesell, A. et al. (1940). The first five years of life - a guide to the study of the preschool child. New York: Harper.
12. Gibbs, R.W., Jr.(2006).Embodiment and cognitive science.Cambridge, MA:Cambridge University Press.
13. Goswami, U.(2008).Cognitive Development. The Learning Brain.New York:Psychology Press.
14. Griss, S.(1998).Minds in Motion.Portsmouth, NH:Heinemann.
15. Havighurst, R. J.(1953).Human Development and Education.New York:McKay.
16. Hribar, P.,Geršak, V.,Vute, R.(2006).Ljubljana, Slovenia,Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana.
17. Johnson, M.(2008).The meaning of the body.Developmental perspectives on embodiment and consciousness,New York, NY:
18. Joyce, M.(1994).First steps in teaching creative dance to children.Mountain View:Mayfield Publishing Company.
19. Katz, M.(Ed.)(2013).2013. Moving ideas: Multimodality and embodied learning in communities and schools.New York, NY:Peter Lang.
20. Koff, S.(2000).Toward a definition of dance education.Childhood Education,77(1),27-31.
21. Kroflič, B.(1999).Creative movement - the third dimension of teaching.Ljubljana, Slovenia:Znanstveno in publicisti?no sredi??e.
22. National curriculum(1999).Ljubljana.Ljubljana, Slovenia:Ministry of Education and Sports.
23. Nelson, J.,Erwin, C.,Duffy, R.(2007).Positive Discipline: The First Three Years.New York, NY:Three Rivers Press.
24. Nicolosi, L.,Harryman, E.,Krescheck, J.(1989).Terminology of Communication Disorder: Speech-Language-Hearing.Baltimore:Williams &Wilkins.
25. Overby, Y. L.(2014).A dance/arts integration approach to embodied cognition.Proceedings of 2nd International dance pedagogy conference,Velenje, Slovenia:
26. Piaget, J.(1954).The construction of reality in the child.New York:Basic Books.
27. Piaget, J. (1926). The language and thought of the child. New York: Harcourt.
28. Piaget, J.(1952).The origins of intelligence in children.New York:Int. Univ. Press.
29. Pišot, R.(Ed).International Symposium A Child in Motion, Portorož, Slovenija,Koper, Slovenia:
30. Road map for Arts Education (2006). UNESCO. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from http://portal.unesco.org/culture
31. Serlin, I.(1997).Root images of healing in dance therapy.Somatic,11(2),4-9.
32. Shapiro, L.(2011).Embodied cognition.New York, NY:Routledge.
33. Shapiro, S. B.(2008).Dance in a world of change: Reflection on globalization and cultural difference.Champaign, IL:Human Kinetics.
34. Tancig, S.(2008).The development of empathy, theory of mind and metarepresentation: interdisciplinary perspectives.Proceeding of 11th International multiconference Informational Society- IS 2008, 13.-17. October 2008,Ljubljana, Slovenia:
35. Thomas, M. R.(1992).Comparing Theories of Child development.Belmont, California:Wadsworth Publishing Company.
36. Vygotsky, L. S.(1977).Thinking and speech.Beograd:Nolit.
37. Žagar, S.,Geršak, V.,Cotič, M.(2006).Creative movement as a method of teaching math.4th international symposium A Child in Motion, Portorož, Slovenija,Zbornik izvlečkov in prispevkov,Koper, Slovenia:
38. Zakkai, J. D.(1997).Dance as a way of knowing.Portland, ME:Stenhouse.
39. Zupančič, L.,Geršak, V.,Vute, R.(2007).Ljubljana, Slovenia,Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana.