STEAMed Magazine January 2016 | Page 30

THE FINDINGS

Upon completion of the residency , 45 % of students felt more positive about math and dance . From review of pre-assessments to post-assessments , there was a 13 % increase in the students ’ belief that dance can help teach them math and 71 % of the students believe dance teaches you how to solve a problem .

Throughout the residency , the teaching artists watched personalities blossom . Children who exhibited introvert traits ( for example , those that were noticed in the research like smaller local movements ) ended up confidently and fearlessly exhibiting global movements , more associated with extrovert traits . Students who exhibited nervous , jerky or high-strung tendencies at the beginning of the residency ( suggesting neuroticism in their personalities ) were able to exhibit calmer more relaxed movements by the end of the residency .

DANCE IN THE CLASSROOM

Dance education is reserved mostly for gym classes , however , it has the ability to be used as a valuable tool for educators : a door inside to students ’ distinct personalities and a door outside to new thoughts , ideas or innovative thinking .

For example , educators can use movement and dance to teach students how to wake up when their bodies are experiencing sleepiness or distraction . A simple stretch , moving to fasttempo music , flipping your head upside down , or standing on your toes are quick movement ideas to waking up a tired body .

Using dance movement to connect with language and sequencing helps develop emotional intelligence and literacy skills . Arts for Learning , a groundbreaking literacy curriculum that blends the creativity and discipline of the arts with learning science to support student achievement in reading and writing and develop young people ’ s learning and life skills , is also bringing dance into Virginia classrooms .

STEAMed Magazine

30

January 2016 Edition