I recently read a paper about the effects of dance and movement therapy (DMT) on adolescents’ mathematics, social skills, and dance skills by professor Alida Anderson at American University. In Anderson’s literature review, she evaluates Karen Bradley’s study in Deasy’s 2002 book on the effect of “learning in the arts” on students’ academic and social development. In terms of mathematics, it was said that dance/movement education research contributes to critical thinking skills that are essential to the development of mathematics skills (Bradley, 2002; Anderson, 2015). Dance can impact mathematic skills through the application of spatial learning, engagement, and simply strengthening the social skills required for participation in the classroom which was positively correlated with academic achievement. What fascinated me was Anderson’s study took subjects— all of whom were either primarily or secondarily diagnosed of LD, ADHD, or EBD—and implemented a mathematics integrated DMT program into their curriculum. Upon doing so and observing changing attitudes and behaviors, subjects had improved attitudes toward math, increased math vocabularies and increased rubric scores on math objectives. In terms of social-emotional scores, teachers, as well as subjects themselves, reported improved social-emotional skills along with increased rubric scores on social objectives in the classroom. The reasons for this included a greater positive reinforcement for engagement and maintaining personal space during DMT activities and using DMT as a way to regulate hyperactivity and impulsivity. Next, I would like to learn more about specific neurological processes that occured while students participated in DMT and how, if any, of these neurological processes translated into long-term improvements both academically and socially.
Anderson, A. (2015). Dance/Movement therapy’s influence on adolescents’ mathematics, social-emotional, and dance skills. The Educational Forum, 79(3), 230–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725.2015.1037512
Deasy, R. (2002). Critical links: Learning in the arts and student academic and social development. Arts Education Partnership.