Here is what a preschool teacher beautifully articulated about the ‘learning bodies’ in the classroom,
“Perhaps one of the most challenging things for us teachers, is the varied levels of energies in the classroom.
While there is a child who waltz around the classroom like it is a lovely sunny day… there is another child who struggles to comprehend where their hands are going how their legs are tripping.
And with their varied energies, children colliding with one another in the classroom. All these are situations that are less shared, but real challenges of a classroom.”
Our bodies are designed to move. Once born the human body knows to create dialogues to communicate, for sustenance and expression. We are born with an instinct for movement (Kashyap, 2005).
Dialogues in the learning spaces
In a learning space, the learners interact with a teacher facilitator at two levels, one is the verbal- oratory instructional level and the other is what is NOT being said via body-language.
We know that physical activity enables children and adults to maintain a healthy body. As the heart rate increases, it naturally allows the brain to be exposed to more oxygen and nutrients from the body. Another way to look at this from a neurological lens is that when the body moves, there is a shift. The shift causes a release of chemicals in the body such as endorphins and dopamine, called the feel-good hormones, bringing in the body’s awareness to the moving body part.
This shift of awareness helps the body and the brain to make that crucial connection that helps build and regulate positive emotions.
In the previous articles we discussed how dance and movement is the body’s primal function to express and communicate. Going a step further let us see why movement experience nourishes, toddlers and children in their growing bodies and minds, especially in a learning space. Movement experiences in the classroom enhance the cognitive, social and emotional aspects of learning, teaching children how to understand and negotiate their place in this world (Lorenzo-Lasa et al., 2007).
The activities developed within the context of dance and movement therapy can support the teacher and the curriculum in addressing movement behaviours of the children. This is done by directly focussing on cognitive, social, emotional and physical needs of children, using the body.
Picture this, teaching a dance using a prop, say a handkerchief or a ribbon would typically involve the teacher ‘demonstrating’ the steps to imitate. Setting the instructions for moving in one order. However, when encouraged to move the ribbon/ handkerchief in any way with their hands, removes the demonstration, encouraging creative thinking, problem solving and also aiding in awareness of how my hands move.
The idea to encourage body awareness in a learning space helps the learning bodies towards an ‘aware expression’ —an expression that unifies the physical, emotional, spatial, creative and sometimes even spiritual experiences. This goes a step beyond curated learning into participatory learning, expressions not demonstrated but revelations of learning with their bodies.
- Kashyap, T. (2005). My body my wisdom: A handbook of creative dance therapy. New Delhi, India: Penguin Group.
- Lorenzo-Lasa, Riolama & Ideishi, Roger & Ideishi, Siobhan. (2007). Facilitating Preschool Learning and Movement through Dance. Early Childhood Education Journal. 35. 25-31. 10.1007/s10643-007-0172-9.
SMITA RAJAN |
About the Author
Smita Rajan a certified Dance and Movement Therapist and Mental Health Practitioner is a Co-founder (Programs and Outreach) at Thunai Trust (www.thunai.org) – An organization working in Trauma-Resilience building and Maternal Mental Health. She also teaches Bharathanatyam and Movement classes at her institution, Parampara—Dance for wellbeing. |
