DANCING THROUGH COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Review Comment

Noted educational psychologist Howard Gardner views dance as an important area of cognition related to bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, yet it is often overlooked as a means for learning and comprehension. He believes that dancing is essentially a cognitive activity, a way to enhance memory, and a method for grasping abstract ideas. Additionally, dance can serve as a tool for interdisciplinary integration, incorporating spatial-visual, musical-rhythmic, and interpersonal or collaboration skills. Gardner's Multiple Intelligence (MI) theory suggests that incorporating dance into classroom settings makes learning more inclusive of various learning styles. Hence, dance as a medium of classroom instruction is capable of transforming education from a passive, sedentary experience into an active, embodied learning process. It moves beyond teaching dance as a mere skill, treating it instead as a tool of knowledge construction that engages bodily-kinesthetic, musical, spatial, and interpersonal intelligences simultaneously.

An Ode to Dance as Instructional Medium

Move your feet, let learning flow,

Not just sit, but really know.

Gardner's smarts, a rainbow bright,

Dance unlocks a classroom light.

Body speaks, a story told,

Kinesthetic hearts unfold.

Children learn, with leaps and turns,

Every lesson brightly burns.

Teach with joy, with grace and ease,

make learning as flowing breeze.

Plan lessons, to make it right,

Reflective teacher true ‘n bright.