There is increasing evidence that dance can improve learning by drawing on the energy gained through movement. Julia Snow from Creative Partnerships, Norfolk introduces Norfolk Dance?s approach to kinaesthetic learning.
Norfolk Dance is Norfolk?s dance development organisation. Focusing on performance, training and professional development, it works across all sectors, ages and abilities. Maximising Minds is an action research project in partnership with North Walsham High School, due for completion in Spring 2006.
With the Government?s agenda set on increasing attainment in core subjects and testing through the traditional pen and paper methods, schools are placing less emphasis on physical activity in their curriculum. And yet all the evidence suggests that young people learn more efficiently if they are physically active. Carla Hannaford in her book ?Smart Moves ? why learning is not all in your head? suggests that muscular activity appears to directly benefit the nervous system by stimulating the production of nerve cells and increasing the links across the neural networks of the brain. The more neural pathways that are built up, the more efficiently the brain can function. She is not the only researcher who wonders if schools shouldn?t actually be looking to increase their provision of physical activity to enhance academic results, advocating more creative ways of including physical activity in the curriculum.
Maximising Minds aims to discover such creative approaches by devising lessons that integrate movement alongside visual and aural learning. The Accelerated Learning model of ensuring students can apply new skills to new environments is a key component of the project which incorporates current scientific research into how the brain functions optimally together with current trends in teaching practice. By working with English, French and Geography teachers, the benefits of more kinaesthetic learning opportunities are explored. First, a Norfolk Dance Artist spent two days shadowing students? daily activities, gauging the time they actually spent moving. Students appeared restless; attention spans diminished and students got bored and tired while sitting still. But there will be no specialist movement teacher delivering workshops to replace lessons: the team feels activities need to be tied-in to the subject matter of the lesson. The skills of the subject teachers themselves will be developed, so they can include kinaesthetic experiences in their lessons as a matter of course. The aim is to try ideas in the classroom and establish methods that work for staff, students and artists at Norfolk Dance.
To disseminate the findings of this ?rigorous investigation of movement in the classroom? Norfolk Dance will contribute to teacher INSET days and also produce a CD-Rom and online education pack for teachers to access nationally. As Elsa Bradley, Senior Dance Artist with Norfolk Dance says, ?To me it?s important that we have Creative Partnerships financial support and interest in the research area because it means that we have the time to explore issues fully, as they arise. We have the chance to accurately analyse the long-term effects of integrating movement into different subject areas.?
Norfolk Dance, t: 01603 283399