Dance for wellness

Integral education:

Integral education: combines the valuable contributions that both progressive and mainstream approaches bring to education (Murray, 2009 and Esbjorn-Hargens,  Gunnlagaugson and Reams, 2010)

Elements of integral education used in this resource are: (source for elements: Esbjorn-Hargens, Gunnlagaugson and Reams, 2010)

 

• Honouring other approaches to education: this program incorporates holistic, artistic, nature and movement education.

 

•     The weaving together of self, culture and nature.  This program aims to incorporate and develop the diversity of the class by encouraging individual expression, both individually and in groups.

 

•             Including the insights from constructive-developmental psychology.  By using a creative movement approach children construct their own meanings.

 

•             Combining critical thinking with experiential feeling.  This program endeavours to give the opportunity to practice skills and create dance sequences in real situations and provide opportunity to then reflect.  The creative approach enhances critical thinking skills as will be discussed under arts education.

 

•             Including multiple ways of knowing.   Kinaesthetic intelligence; an alternative way of knowing, combined with reflective discussion is the main focus of the program.

 

• Engaging regular personal practices of transformation: as above.

 

•             Recognizing various types of learners (and teachers):  as above, it is noted that teachers who are not kinaesthetically gifted can simply instruct.

 

•             Encouraging “Shadow work” within learners and teachers.   The intention of the program is to improve emotional and social capacities including being reflective and knowing emotions.

 

•             First, second and third-person methodologies of learning and teaching.  AQAL model has been used in the overarching philosophy of this program.

 

Holistic teaching/integrated:

Holistic: “Understanding with both the body and mind” Geršak (2012, p.3).

 

This resource uses dance as the medium for a holistic/cross curriculum approach to teaching physical education; movement framework and health and wellness; SEL (social and emotional learning).  In doing so the Domain of The Arts (dance, drama and music), Literacy and the cross curriculum priorities of Sustainability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures are also taught.  Extension activities can provide opportunity to integrate Visual Arts, Maths, Science, Humanities and Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia.  The teaching of health, wellbeing and physical education needs to be “integrated” in pedagogical approach so that students can relate to the concepts in the context of their everyday life; this will help the concepts become routine in their lives.

 

Geršak’s study showed that through using holistic pedagogies, with dance as the approach, there was a “positive influence on children's motivation, understanding, memory, creativity, self-esteem, inter-personal relationships, co-operation, and tolerance between pupils and between pupils and their teacher” (2012, p. 4,5)  Further he states that “Such a climate contributes to better academic results and to a longer lasting knowledge” Geršak (2012, p. 8).

 

Holistic education includes Spiritual consciousness: love, life, wisdom and the human voice, which are central to Steiner education (Gidley, 2007, p. 130).   Montessori philosophy also includes “liberating children by providing education that suits the developing soul of the child” (Chattin-McNichols, source: Tregenza, 2008, p. 6).  “The word ‘spirit’ is derived from the Latin ‘spirare’ to breathe, which may resonate with the view that in our fast-paced, scheduled world, children currently have very little opportunity to breathe deeply or ‘take a breath’” (Tregenza, 2008, p.4).  Dance provides this opportunity to take a breath.

 

Arts Education:  Dance is unique as it fits the domain of Physical Education and the domain of The Arts; when combined Dance is a powerful tool for increasing wellness.

Some attributes of arts education:

 

• Learning through the Arts and integrating subjects with the Arts stimulates both students and teachers to look at the environment around them in different ways.  It helps them to learn about their world and to see it as an interconnected place ((Koster,2009, p.212) (Barnes, 2011, p.236) and (Russell-Bowie, 1997, p.227)).

• Central to arts education is the theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner claims “that we each have a unique blend of intelligences”.  For explanation on the benefits of teaching through multiple intelligences, in particular kinaesthetic learning (see page 'elaboration on benefits of dance' for full decription of benefits of kinaesthetic learning), brief description below under creative movement.  

• Education through Aesthetic Appreciation:  Rathunde explains this as “capacity to inspire and motivate learning through experiences of beauty and awe” (p. 74).  ACARA state that students who study the Arts have a higher life satisfaction and a greater sense of meaning in life (2014f).

• Robinson (2009) discusses finding your “element”, which is the thing that we are good at and also passionate about, and is quite often is found within the Arts, once found brings balance and fulfilment to our lives.

• Robinson also argues that the Arts are important as they allow us to develop our creative minds.  Our creative minds can then be used in other subject areas to solve problems (2009).  It is beyond the scope of this resource to develop this concept further, I have done so in my paper “Arts Education Philosophy” (Ellis, 2014); Ellis (2014) also enlarges on more benefits of an arts based education.

• During the lesson children should have as much freedom in their movements in order to express their feelings.  This is a characteristic of arts education.  Smith-Autard expresses the importance of their being an emphasis on feeling.  She quotes Foster “In dance movement takes on very closely the shape of sensation and in turn shapes it” (2002, p.12).

 

 

 

Creative Movement Education:  “children use movement to express, form, and create various educational contents” Geršak (2012, p.2).  Encompassing Arts Education, creative movement education combines physical movement with creativity to enhance the health, wellbeing and physical outcomes of the Dance for Wellness Program.

 

Gidley discusses that “some creative approaches are based on earlier ‘progressive’ theories such as Jean Piaget’s constructivism, John Dewey’s experiential education, Paulo Friere’s critical pedagogy, and more spiritually oriented approaches. They are all critical of the formal, modernist ‘factory-model’ of mass education, instead they are holistic, multifaceted, and embodied in approach” (2007, p.120).

 

Central to creative movement is the intelligence of kinaesthetic learning (Gardner, 1999) which encompasses Embodied Education: An embodied educational environment is one that is in tune with the intimate connection of the body and the mind (Rathunde, 2009, p.69).

 

Movement Framework:   Gallahue and Donnelly (2003, pp.384 & 385) describe Rudulf Laban’s movement framework which promotes movement development and movement concept learning; it is described as being comprised of four components:

• Body; what the body can do

• Effort;  how the body moves

• Relationship; with whom and with what the body can move

• Space; where the body can move

Similar to the above components of Laban’s movement framework are the elements of dance as described by Zakkai (1997, pp. 60-64 & p.110; see 'elements of dance' for description of elements), Griss (1998, pp. 19-28) and Brehm and McNett (2008, pp. 27-61); it is suggested that at least one of these elements are included in a dance lesson, they are:

• Space; includes size, shape, directions, pathways and relationships

• Energy; force, weight, quality, motion and stillness

• Time; speed, rhythm

 

Further on movement education Trawick-Smith describes how movement can foster brain growth through activating and clustering neurons; forming a neural map, organising the brain (2006, p. 337).

 

Nature Based Education:  As nature plays such an important role in my wellness I have included a nature focus in this resource.  Though it is beyond the scope of this resource to discuss the benefits of nature on wellness it can be said that nature based education gives us insight about connections to something larger than ourselves.   “Maria Montessori (1973) is one of many educators who have recognized this instinctive connection between children and nature and incorporated it into her pedagogy” (Rathunde, 2009, p.  73).

 

Assessment Strategies: Formative, informal, assessment as learning: aimed at providing feedback to the student, feedback can come from the child themselves, from other students or the teacher as needed.  The following ideas are put forward by Churchill et.al, 2011, pp. 402,403:

• It is important that it is the process that is being assessed and not the end product.

• Assessment should be related to the concepts that have been learnt through the Dance experience.

• Students self-assess by communicating what they have learnt in discussions that take place at the end and even during a lesson.

• The Teacher will observe progress throughout the lesson and ask informal questions to gage understanding.

To follow the progress throughout the program students will write a diary at the end of each lesson outlining their reflections about the task, diary entries can include questions such as Zakkai includes (1996, p. 141, see 'lesson reflection') more questions to be included in “assessment as learning” should be considered “What did I do well? What did I not do well and How could this piece of work have been improved?”(Churchill et.al, 2011, p. 403).   Some lessons may include a think, pair, share activity, which would also address such questions