Thursday, January 14, 2016

Impact of Positive Reinforcement for Children Learning Dance

Introduction:
There is no doubt that the education system needs a bit of serious revamping. Researchers have pointed out the lack of creative thinking abilities in children leads to poorer performance in education and other avenues of life. In order to nurture this ability in children so that they become successful, fully functioning adults who can contribute to society, it is crucial to include artistic disciples in education. Research shows that children are incredibly impressionable till the age of 8; and providing a positive environment that supports physical, social, and emotional development can help in improving a child’s cognitive abilities.

Why Dance?
Dancing exemplifies the manifestation of our primal relationship with the universe. Long before spoken language came about, dancing was used to convey messages and express thoughts to others. For centuries, human beings have been programmed with an innate sense that takes over where words fail to do the job. Children move to express their feelings and joys as well, and when movement becomes structured and is performed with awareness, it takes on the shape of dance. Young children in particular, enjoy using their energy to indulge in physically demanding activities; and dance is a great way to help children experience the developmental benefits of this ancient art.

The Educational Advantage:
Dance is mostly viewed as a fun activity for the weekends, or while celebrating special events with family and friends. There is also one more side of dance that is perhaps less well known – and that is kinesthetic learning. Kinesthetic learning involves “learning by doing” and has been established by cognitive theorists as an effective instructional technique that promotes learning.
Dance integrates kinesthetic learning with multiple mental functions; including a comprehensive understanding of the intended purpose for a set of movements. Furthermore, dance also contributes to associating movement and physical expressions with effective communication, improving children’s understanding of the world by showing them multiple perspectives on which society is built.
Additional Benefits:
In addition to feeling natural and being fun for kids, dance has several additional benefits, most of which have only recently been associated with healthy development. Some of these benefits are:

1.     Improved Physical Development:
By incorporating a wide range of movements and multiple steps that require physical coordination and balance, dance helps utilize every part of the body for improved strength, flexibility, and endurance. Together with other elements, this helps children stay healthy, strong, and better resist diseases.

2.     Emotional and Social Advantages:
Dance promotes psychological health as well. In addition to using movements to express their thoughts and emotions, children also gain emotional maturity by becoming more aware of their actions. Furthermore, by working in groups with others, children develop vital social interaction skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

3.     Complete Cognitive Development:
Dance can be used to approach multiple lessons in a creative manner – for example, learning about shapes and colors. Studies indicate incorporating dance and movement based instruction techniques leads to measurable improvements in student performance.
Together, the sensory, cognitive, and conscious awareness brought about by dance contribute to a heightened state of reasoning and lead to improved performance at 

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