When I think about a classroom one of the first things I think about is movement.
A classroom is a small hive buzzing with energy and diversity. And in this hive, when you pay attention closely, you can see a host of dances taking place.
In a recent post, Ways to think about movement, Celine Llewellyn-Jones shares her thinking about the connection between dance and classroom activity. According to Llewellyn-Jones, dance embodies four specific elements that she learned from the work of Anne Green Gilbert, Director of Creative Dance Center Seattle, Washington, :
SpaceLlewellyn-Jones also reminds us that movement can also be defined as loco and nonlocomotor skills such as crawling, rolling, running, leaping, skipping, dashing and bending, twisting, stretching, swinging, melting, gliding, kicking, slashing and so on.
1. Place self space (personal space), general space (room space)
2. Size big (far reach), medium (mid-reach), small (near reach)
3. Level high, middle, low
4. Direction forward, backward, right, left, up, down
5. Pathway curved, straight, zigzag
6. Focus single focus, multi-focus
Time
7. Speed fast, medium, slow
8. Rhythm pulse, pattern, grouping, breath
Force
9. Energy sharp (sudden), smooth (sustained)
10. Weight strong, light
11. Flow free (continuous, off-balance), bound (controlled, on-balance)
Body
12. Parts head, neck, shoulders, arm, wrists, elbows, hands, fingers, hips,
pelvis, trunk, spine, stomach, sternum, legs, knees, feet, toes, heels, etc.
13. Relationships over, under, around, through, above, below, beside, between, near, far,
in, out, on, off, together, apart, alone, connected, mirror, shadow
14. Shapes curved, straight, angular, twisted, symmetrical, asymmetrical
15. Balance off balance, on balance
Thinking Aloud
The language of dance gives us a common lens to approach movement in the classroom, a common vocabulary to describe our action, our individual and collective activity. This vocabulary provides a way to re-vision the ways that we teach and learn. Such a reframing provides another set of triggers that can possibly lead to deeper and more effective learning.
In this sense, the connections between dance/movement and the classroom are both physical and metaphysical. Physically one can express feelings about words in movements, role-play, own, re-enforce, translate words and concepts. Role-playing reinforces the the importance of living an idea, acting out a concept. This builds on mental, emotional, and physical connections to our knowledge and understanding (Moyles, 2005).
Metaphysically, the four major components of movement described above can provide a framework to look at "translating movement from one body into another medium and back" [2]. In this case, when thinking of ways in which to organize a learning environment, it is important to remember that there is a dance taking place, that there are movements both within and without participants' thoughts and actions. Multiple dancers requires coordination of multiple movements sometimes happening all simultaneously. As a classroom leaader, it is important to provide participants guidance when needed, point towards pathways when warranted, allow participants to zigzag, focus, fold, relate, weigh in, breathe in, breathe out. As a classroom leader it is also important to recognize participants' needs to flow free, work off-balanced as well as within bounded and controlled settings. Words and ideas can twist, extend, shape, force ways of thinking. It is important for members of a learning community to pace themselves, to reach, to share, to extend interactions in meaningful and supportive ways for the learning community to offer value. This dance involves learning to express oneself and how to participate. If this dance offers no joy, no reward for the effort, we are probably want to walk away. When the dance is fun, when we enjoy the company and commitment, we begin to develop trust and experiment with rhythms and energy levels, moving forward, backwards, skipping, kicking, flipping topics, activities, across multiple exchanges.
Like bees, our hive dances attract attention across consciousness levels as well [3]. Stances, postures, positions all offer hints at the way we feel and what we're thinking. Tip-toeing is a different approach than slashing, spinning, and melting.
Does the dance evolve over time? In what ways are time, context, intention, and design related to message content and the levels at which participants are finding value and engaging with one another?
Further reflection and research required....
Notes:
[1] Celine Llewellyn-Jones Haphazard Journey by Starlight. http://www.ambientperformance.com/haphazard/2009/11/ways_to_think_about_m Retrieved 16 November 2009.
[2] ibid
[3] Bee learning and communication. From Wikipedia--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee_learning_and_communication.
Reference:
Moyles, J. R. (Ed.) The Excellence of Play. Second Edition. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Images:
bee dance--http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3008/2953440576_f0904a839b.jpg
bee-waggle-dance--http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Bee_waggle_dance
Keywords: dance, leadership, learning, movement, teaching
