the effects of movement on the engagement of secondary learners

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The Effects of Movement on the Engagement of

Secondary Learners

An Action Research Report By Eric Ljosenvoor


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The Effects of Movement on the Engagement of Secondary Learners

By Eric Ljosenvoor

Submitted on May 17, 2008

in fulfillment of final requirements for the MAED degreeThe College of St. Catherine

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Advisor__________________________________ Date____________


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Abstract

In this research an attempt was made to find the effects of movement-based

exercises on classroom manageability and the engagement of secondary school

learners. The movement exercises were designed to teach students specific

mathematical concepts. The research was performed with about fifty 6th and 7th

grade students at a small, semi-rural private Catholic school. Data was collected

through teacher observation, a survey, an interview, an analysis of student

grades. The data indicated that students were more engaged and motivated

when exposed to movement-based lessons, but that the levels of noise and off-

task movement also increased. These results indicate that teachers who are

comfortable with a slight increase in chatter would be well-served by

incorporating movement into their lessons.


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The Effects of Movement on the Engagement of Secondary Learners

Eric Ljosenvoor

May 2008

Abstract

In this research an attempt was made to find the effects of movement-based

exercises on classroom manageability and the engagement of secondary school

learners. The movement exercises were designed to teach students specific

mathematical concepts. The research was performed with about fifty 6th and 7th

grade students at a small, semi-rural private Catholic school. Data was collected

through teacher observation, a survey, an interview, an analysis of student

grades. The data indicated that students were more engaged and motivated

when exposed to movement-based lessons, but that the levels of noise and off-

task movement also increased. These results indicate that teachers who are

comfortable with a slight increase in chatter would be well-served by

incorporating movement into their lessons.

Advisor: Grace Vos


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Give a school daily dance, music, drama, and visual art instruction in which there is

considerable movement, and you might get a miracle.

- Eric Jensen, Teaching With the Brain in Mind

I have a long-held interest in theatre, having now spent nearly half of mylife involved with the dramatic arts in one form or another. I have found that

theatre and dance open up multiple avenues of thinking, and force the brain and

body to reconcile with each other. When involved in theatrical activities, one

must be able to function on multiple levels, intellectually aware of what one must

be doing and why, while at the same time processing a good deal of sensory

input and coordinating bodily movements. On top of all of that, of course, is

the frequent need to improvise to cover up some stumble or mistake, a skill that

is endlessly handy. I have realized that the loss of art programs in the schools is

denying students the opportunity to develop these skill sets. It is this realization

that led me to pursue research that explored the effect of theatrical exercises in

the mathematics classroom.

Theatre and dance engage students on multiple levels, tapping into variedintelligences: bodily-kinesthetic, verbal-linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal,

spatial, and musical (Pica, 2007). Thus, using theatre and dance to approach a

problem can allow participants to see a problem from multiple angles, facilitating

analysis and allowing for a greater spectrum of possible solutions. There is a

growing philosophical movement centered on the idea that the mind and body

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are more strongly linked than the last several hundred years of Western thought

might indicate. This idea, that physical sensations and experiences alter the way

we perceive things mentally, has come to be known as embodiment (Bresler, 2004).

Put forward as a simple analogy, embodiment is to the body what textuality is to

a text; it is the give-and-take interaction between the body and meaning (Bresler,

2004).

The idea that the body and movement can play an important role ineducation has a growing basis in research that ranges from ethnographic case

studies to brain scans. Recent studies of the brain have shown that the

cerebellum, previously thought to be utilized only to process movement and

action, is involved in a good deal of cognition, and that it is particularly vital to

memory, attention, spatial perception, and complex decision making (Jensen,

1998). Thus, the ability of a student to learn depends quite heavily on the

development of her cerebellum; such development is aided by routine physical

activity. Countries that tend to rank highly in math and science scores also tend

to have strong programs in both arts and physical education (Jensen, 1998).

Indeed, in Japan, a country that remains steadily high-ranking in math and

science, children are expected to spend much of their pre-school and early school

time engaging in climbing, jumping, running, and balance activities such as

swinging on parallel bars and riding unicycles (Walsh, 2004).

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In spite of the mounting evidence in favor of full-bodied learning, manyteachers seem to cringe at the idea of attempting movement-based activities in

their classrooms. We have come to associate students being out of their seats

with chaos and poor classroom management (Overby, Post, and Newman, 2005).

Since many movement activities become both creative and collaborative, the

teacher often cannot be in complete control. On top of these issues, we tend to

heap other fears and concerns. Physical activities can often involve physical

contact, both between students, and between student and teacher, and touch is

something we tend to shy away from in the current school climate (Tobin, 2004).

We also tend to associate physical activity with sports, and by extension with

competition, yet we seek in many classrooms to foster cooperative learning

(Overby, Post, and Newman, 2005).

Although the idea of pushing the desks back and getting everyone out oftheir seats can be harrowing to teachers, students are thrilled by the opportunity.

A study by Werner (2001) found that elementary-level students involved in a

combined dance/math program improved their attitudes towards math while

their counterparts in a traditional math class grew less fond of math. Indeed,

with 40% of students in grades K-12 describing themselves as tactile or

kinesthetic learners (Pica, 2007), it is no wonder that engagement runs high when

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physical activity is involved. Further studies have shown that the strong desire

for tactile, active learning extends into the college years (Bingham, 2005).

This yearning for active learning over passive makes good sense when oneconsiders the physiological state of young students. The National Middle School

Association (NMSA) (2007) notes that adolescents have significant fluctuations in

their basal metabolic rates during puberty, and advocate giving students both

periods of activity and periods of rest. The brain is still undergoing a great deal

of development in school-aged children, and activity can help forge better links

between areas in the brain, increase cognitive speed and proficiency (NMSA,

2007). More than one researcher has noted that physical activity releases

endorphins and other pleasure-inducing chemicals into the body, and the link of

pleasure and learning can lead to greater intrinsic motivation in school (Pica,

2007; Jensen, 1998). To further cement the mind-body link to learning, work by

Lakoff and Nez (2000), among others, suggests that the entire language of

math is rooted in metaphors that stem from bodily and sensory experiences; all

humans have an innate mathematical understanding in regards to collections of

objects and relative scale. In essence, their work seems to indicate that humans

developed math through the use of ideas and activities not far removed from

modern classroom manipulatives.

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My research into the impact of physical activity on education, as well asmy own experiences as student and educator, left me wanting to find non-

traditional ways to engage students. I think most teachers would be willing to

cede that math phobia runs strong in schools across the country; students

dislike math and seem convinced that they cannot learn it. I wanted to change

those attitudes. The volumes I had read indicated that movement-based learning

increased motivation for learning, but nearly everything I read, from theory to

practice, was centered on elementary-age learners. Why, I wondered, when the

research so strongly backed the idea of movement in the classroom, was no one

creating active lessons for older students? I wanted to find ways to get students

excited and engaged in mathematics.

When I began student teaching at a small semi-rural private Catholicschool, I felt I had an opportunity to reach students. I was teaching one 6th grade

class of about 25, two 7th grade classes that totaled about 30, and an 8th grade

class of about 20. I decided to make the 6th and 7th grade students the target of

my research. The question I sought to answer was what are the effects of

movement-based exercises on classroom manageability and the engagement of

secondary school learners. Finding the answers proved to be a long but exciting

process.

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Description of Research Process

I chose to collect data through four avenues in this project. Two of mydata sources, a student survey and the grades students received on their

homework, were quantitative. The other data sources, my observations of

student behavior and an exit interview, were more qualitative, as were some of

the more open-ended survey questions. My hope was to get a good balance of

numerical evidence and emotional responses.

The survey (see Appendix A) was given to the students twice: first, beforethe introduction of any movement-based lessons, and again towards the end of

my student teaching placement. The primary purpose of the survey was to track

changes in student opinion towards the idea of using movement in the

classroom. Questions on the survey approached movement in the classroom

from many angles; it asked students how they preferred to learn, what helped

them focus on homework, and how they felt about movement specifically. The

types of questions ranged from open response to adjective checklists to semantic

differential scales.

During my high school placement, I gave the survey a trial run with a 9thgrade algebra class to help me fine tune the questions I was asking, as well as the

instructions I gave. I found that the instructions were clear, but that some of the

vocabulary used in the adjective checklists and semantic differential scales were

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beyond the reach of most ninth grade students. In the end, however, I chose to

keep the difficult words, and just explain what they meant to the students who

were taking the survey, as several of them hit upon ideas or concepts I really

wanted to collect data on.

The pre-survey was given to both the 6th and 7th grade students on thesame date, although at the time I was not yet teaching the 7th grade class. It was

given before incorporating any of the movement exercises into the lessons with

the hope of preventing bias. The post-survey was given very close to the end of

my placement. I did not script the verbal instructions for the survey, but

attempted to keep my instructions as consistent as possible between classes; in

retrospect, a script might have been a wise idea. When receiving the post-survey,

students expressed a familiarity with it from several weeks earlier, and I chose to

abbreviate the verbal instructions.

In the weeks between the surveys, I began teaching some movement-based lessons, in addition to more traditional lessons, at an average of one

movement-centered lesson per week. During each lesson, I made observations

on the level of student engagement, and on any off-task behaviors. Engagement

was measured by looking for visual cues such as where the student was looking,

and whether or not their body language indicated alertness. Off-task behavior

included talking out of turn, working on other homework, and disruptive

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movement. I compared the observations from the embodied lessons to the

occasional regular lesson, trying as best I could to control for confounding factors

such as the day of the week or special events occurring at the school. In addition

to my own observations, my cooperating teacher often made notes on student

behavior during my lessons that helped me verify my data.

A wide range of topics were covered in the lessons that includedmovement. The 6th grade lessons included a musical chairs activity about place

value, and a baseball game that had students answering questions to travel

around the bases. With the 7th graders, activities included creating a prime

factorization tree with members of the class, and using a sorting algorithm to

organize students with fraction cards from least to greatest, followed by Around

the World, a perennial favorite.

It is difficult to describe what an embodied lesson looks like, but I will usethe place value musical chairs as an example, and attempt to show how the

movement was used to clarify the concepts involved. For the activity, a group of

nine students was selected randomly, and each was given a card with one of the

nine non-zero digits to wear around her or his neck. At the front of the room,

twelve chairs were placed in a straight line. As in a normal game of musical

chairs, the students were instructed to circle the chairs when music was played

and then sit in any empty chair when the music stopped. The empty chairs were

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then filled in with cards bearing a zero, to emphasize the role of zero as a

placeholder with no intrinsic value. After the students were seated, I would hold

a decimal point card between two random chairs and have the remainder of the

class speak the generated number out loud. If there were zeroes at the end of the

number, the class was instructed to pronounce the number both as written and

in truncated form, for example .120 would be both one-hundred twenty

thousandths and twelve hundredths. Through this activity, a potentially dry

lesson centered on saying numbers aloud became a thoroughly engaging game.

In addition to my observations of behavior during embodied lessons, Imade notes in my grade book as to when each lesson occurred. From this, I

could compare student performance on content that was taught through

movement to performance on content that was taught through other means, such

as constructivist discussion, visual aids, or traditional lecture. Particular

attention was paid to lessons that occurred the day before or the day after a

movement lesson, under the theory that comparing lessons that happened close

together would mitigate the impact of outside factors, such as big projects in

other classes or special events in or out of school.

Finally, I chose to interview a few small groups of students about theirexperiences. The interviews occurred about a week after my placement had

ended, at which point I felt the students would be better able to reflect on the

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lessons in question, and when I felt they would, perhaps, be more honest, since,

unlike the survey, the interview could not be anonymous. I chose to interview

small groups of three to four students. I interviewed two groups from the 6th

grade classroom and one group each from the accelerated and regular 7th grade

classes. The students in each group were selected randomly, though effort was

made to keep a gender balance.

The questions asked during the interview (see Appendix B) were open-ended prompts designed to elicit thorough responses, although I did

occasionally follow up on a response with an unscripted question in order to get

more detail. The interview was designed to focus much more on the movement

lessons specifically, as opposed to the survey, which was about learning styles.

Although the bulk of the questions in the survey were neutral (How did the

movement in the classroom affect your ability to focus?), other questions were

designed to encourage students to highlight problems in the lessons. These

questions were, in part, for my benefit, so that I can create more effective

embodied lessons in the future. After conducting the interview, I began to

analyze the information I had collected.

Analysis of Data

The results of my research were mixed; there were both benefits anddrawbacks to embodied lessons. The primary benefit of embodied lessons was

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an increase in the engagement of the learners. However, although the majority of

students were more engaged with the lessons, the high level of activity in the

classroom brought with it greater off-task behavior. There was no noticeable

increase in the skill level or scores of the students after embodied lessons. There

was, on the other hand, an increase in positive attitudes towards math and

movement, specifically, and learning in general.

First, we will look at the positive results. The primary benefit ofembodied lessons was an increase in learner engagement. This increase was

confirmed by my own observations, as well as those of my cooperating teacher,

and the students themselves. The most obvious indicator of increased

engagement from my own observations was the number of eyes on me at any

given moment. During a typical lesson, about half of the students would be

looking at me, with most of the rest looking at their books, and one or two

looking elsewhere. Nearly every student was focused on what was going on at

the front of the room during the a movement-based lesson. One student

explained that watching ones friends was more exciting than watching a teacher,

while others said that just seeing something different was exciting enough to

capture their attention.

The student body language also signaled an increased focus andengagement. My cooperating teacher noted that during the 6th grade lesson on

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place value, many students were sitting forward in their seats, while others

actually got out of their seats and moved forward to get a better look. Generally

speaking, during movement-centered lessons, students who were not

participating physically were still less likely to be slumped in their seats or

showing other signs of disinterest.

Additionally, the eagerness with which students volunteered to take partin the embodied lessons showed them to be active and involved learners. Not

only did every student ask to come to the front of the room for most of the

embodied lessons, but those who were not up front were more likely to ask

questions and call out answers when prompted. On average, about one-and-a-

half times as many students sought to be called on during a movement lesson.

During the interview, a student noted that the games, as they typically referred

to movement lessons, made them more curious as they tried to figure out what

the activity meant, which led to greater participation.

The second benefit to embodied lessons was a greater desire to learn, andmore positive attitudes towards movement and learning. Many of these

indicators come from the survey given to the students, and from the interview.

When asked what they like best about math class in an open-ended survey

question, the number of students who responded that they preferred activities or

games nearly doubled in both classes, going from 8 to 17 out of 25 in the 6th

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grade class, and from 12 to 20 out of 30 in the 7th grade classes. Thus, in both

classes, two-thirds of students felt that active lessons were the best part of math

class by the end of my placement. An interesting corollary to this can be found in

the survey question that asked students what they liked least about math class.

In the post-survey, a new theme emerged from their responses, with a handful of

students reporting for the first time that what they liked least about math class

were those occasions where they simply sat in a chair and did not actively

participate.

When asked how they felt the space to move affected the learningatmosphere, the number of students who responded positively to the idea of

movement increased slightly in each grade level. The number who felt that

movement had a negative impact in the classroom was halved in the post survey,

from a total of 11 between the two grade levels, to a total of 6. This sentiment

was echoed in the interview, where one student noted that the embodied lessons

really changed the mood in the classroom, creating an environment where

learning was exciting.

Every student interviewed stated that they would like to see moreembodied lessons in the future, and several were very emphatic about it. One

student said that math class was more exciting after adding movement, and was

now something he looked forward to. Other comments by students also hinted

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at a greater passion for learning. One 6th grade student said that the movement

lessons reenforced math outside of the book and helped create connections

between math and life. Another student expressed surprise at the secret

learning that took place: learning that happened without the students

knowledge, but that, in the words of another student got into your brain.

Students scores showed no real difference between content learned in embodied

lessons or in traditional lessons, but many students interviewed said that they

had an easier time recalling what they learned during the active lessons, and that

they understood some of the concepts more deeply.

Although students were more engaged, there were many problems anddifficulties to overcome with movement-centered lessons. Foremost among these

difficulties is the potential for more off-task behavior. The embodied classroom is

one with a great deal of energy, and students often express that extra energy by

chatting with their fellow students. My own observations, and those of my

cooperating teacher, found that the number of students who were talking

increased dramatically during movement-based lessons. Whereas there might

only be two students chatting during a normal lesson, if any at all, the number of

students talking out of turn during the average movement lesson ranged from

three to nearly a dozen, and often was in the neighborhood of five to seven.

Students agreed in the interview that some people seemed more distracted by the

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high level of activity. One student, however, pointed out that a seemingly off-

task conversation she took part in was actually the two of them wanting to talk

about what we were doing. Their conversation was reenforcing the learning

taking place, not distracting from it.

Since movement activities are often noisy themselves, it provides a level ofcover for students who wish to chat. The combination of students who are

talking and students who are actively participating can create a particularly loud

classroom. This should be taken into consideration by teachers who might wish

to plan such a lesson, particularly if they have thin-walled classrooms. There are

other aspects of the classroom that must be considered as well. In particular,

many students felt that there was not enough space to perform the actions they

were asked to do, and thus did not get as much out of the activity as they could

have.

The classroom in which I did my research was not very large, and theamount of usable space was particularly small. Because of this, it was impossible

to plan activities that involved the whole class at once. This led to several

complaints during the interview sessions from students who felt they missed out

by not getting to participate as fully. One 6th grade student was particularly

upset that she had not gotten to take part in any movement lessons (participants

were chosen randomly), and her frustration provided a sharp contrast to the

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excitement for learning the activities inspired in most students. When asked how

to improve embodied lessons in the future, every student questioned said that

getting everyone involved was key.

A final challenge to overcome is that of student discomfort. Several of mystudents reported that, at first, they felt a little nervous or embarrassed if they

were at the front of the room. However, they all also said that as they got into the

activity, they no longer felt awkward, and started to enjoy the activity more. Still,

particularly for shy students or those who are uncomfortable with their bodies,

standing up in front of the class and taking part in a movement activity can be a

source of distress. On the post-survey, a half-dozen students from each grade

level reported that they found movement activities embarrassing to some degree.

Likewise, three 6th grade students and nine 7th grade students reported that

movement activities could be scary. Some students also felt, since the activity

was generally not possible to demonstrate in full before they participated, that

the activities could be confusing at first.

I would like to make one final note on the data from the surveys. I foundthat there were several instances where I presume the student either did not read

or did not care about questions on the survey, particularly on the semantic

differential scale, where some students just checked down one column with

seeming disregard to the content. However, since this could conceivably have

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been the students opinion, I left that data in. I also found that, with some of the

open-ended questions, it felt more like the students were evaluating me than the

content and methods, a problem which I hope to resolve in the future. As nice as

it was to have a few students say that what they liked best about math class was

Mr. Ljosenvoor, it was not very useful from a data standpoint.

Action Plan

Having looked at the data in detail, it is important to step back and look atthe big picture again. The crux of this study is the effect of movement-centered

learning on the engagement and manageability of students in the math

classroom. Based on my research, I have concluded that, at least for my own

classroom, the benefits of embodied learning far outweigh the drawbacks.

Through my work with the 6th and 7th graders, I found an increase in motivation

and engagement. Students became excited about math. Whether or not that

excitement made a difference in how well they learned the content, it made the

math classroom a more enjoyable place for students and teacher alike. In

addition, there exist the many benefits to mental and physical health that have

been borne out through the research discussed in the introduction. I feel these

benefits make movement something that is vital to the classroom. This is

especially true in the middle school classroom, but I am confident the benefits

extend to all ages.

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I do realize, however, that movement is not something with which allteachers and students are comfortable. There is the potential for embarrassment

whenever we start using our bodies in the classroom; it is important to make sure

students still feel safe doing any movement activity. Freeing young people from

their seats also seems to free their tongues. There is an undeniable element of

chaos with any high-energy activity, and teachers must be prepared for the noise

and bustle that comes with an embodied lesson. Furthermore, the teachers must

have the space available to them in which such a lesson can safely and effectively

take place, and in many schools, space is at a premium.

In the future, there are several other aspects within embodied teachingthat I or others could explore. Given a longer span of time in which to work with

students, an ideal topic for future research would be the effect of movement-

centered learning on retention. Future research could also examine other age

groups, particularly older students, to see if the effect on engagement holds true

across grade levels. I would also like to see research that compares different

types of movement activities, such as movement-as-metaphor and active games,

so that a set of best practices can be developed.

One other area of interest arose in my research that I gathered some dataon but did not include in the analysis section, as it was not central to the question

at hand. Students responded differently to activities that were collaborative as

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compared to those that were competitive. On the whole, I found that students

preferred the collaborative games. I think some students are encouraged by the

prospect of non-competitive movement. For many secondary students, the

physical changes they are undergoing leave them feeling uncomfortable with

their bodies; other students may always find themselves on the losing team in

sporting events. Many of these students still crave physical activity, and a

cooperative learning game might be just the thing to engage them. This is

something I hope to examine in future research, perhaps in conjunction with a

physical education teacher.

Given what Ive learned, my action plan centers on continuing toimplement and refine movement lessons with my classroom. I will keep

teaching embodied lessons, I will work to overcome issues of mechanics and

space, and I will generate a library of embodied lessons. The continued use of

embodied instruction is the easiest of these goals to achieve. Most of the

embodied work I have utilized so far I created from scratch. The dearth of

resources for upper-level movement left me with few other options. Thus, I have

learned the basics of putting together a movement-centered lesson, and feel

comfortable creating such lessons in the future.

The mechanical issues I hope to overcome center on three overlappingoutcomes: developing clear, repeatable instruction; incorporating as many

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students as possible into each activity; and creating a usable space. Since the

instructions will vary with the activity, refining them may be, primarily, a matter

of trial and error. A key element will be the use of a set vocabulary to describe

the action, which students will become more familiar with over many weeks of

embodied lessons. Getting more students in on the action will be easier as I

develop better lessons and as I resolve the final issue of space. My primary

approach to generating a useable space in which students can move will be to

vary the layout of my classroom, with the hopes that I can find an arrangement

that lends itself to a variety of teaching styles. I will also speak with

administrators at the school in which I work and seek out other spaces I might be

able to utilize, such as a cafeteria, gymnasium, or theatre.

I plan to keep detailed notes on each embodied lesson I teach to help builda library of movement-centered math activities. The core of these notes will be a

detailed plan for each lesson, with thorough descriptions of the layout of the

space, the materials needed, and the instructions to be given. Attached to each

plan may be supplemental information, such as floor plans, illustrations, and

hand-outs. I will also note how successful each lesson was in engaging the

students, and in clarifying the content. Finally, I will note what went well with

each lesson and what caused problems. My goal is to develop a collection of

lessons that can be shared with other educators.

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References

Bingham, A. D. (2005). Teaching transformations of functions using modern dance:

An experiment pairing a modern dance class with college algebra. Retrieved

April 23, 2007 from http://www.rume.org/crume2007/papers/

bingham.pdf

Bresler, L. (2004). Prelude. In L. Bresler (Ed.) Knowing bodies, moving minds:

Towards embodied teaching and learning (pp. 7-11). Boston: Kluwer Academic

Publishers.

Jensen, E. (1998). Teaching with the brain in mind. Alexandria, Va.: Association for

Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Lakoff, G. and Nuez, R. (2000). Where mathematics comes from: How the embodied

mind brings mathematics into being. New York: Basic Books.

National Middle School Association. (2007). Young adolescents developmental

characteristics. Retrieved September 29, 2007 from http://www.nmsa.org/

portals/0/pdf/research/Research_Summaries/

Developmental_Characteristics.pdf

Overby, L. Y., Post, B. C., and Newman, D. (2005). Interdisciplinary learning

through dance: 101 moventures. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

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Pica, R. (2007). Moving and learning across the curriculum: More than 300 activities

and games to make learning fun. Clifton Park, NY: Thomas Delmar

Publishing.

Tobin, J. (2004). The disappearance of the body in early childhood education. In

L. Bresler (Ed.) Knowing bodies, moving minds: Towards embodied teaching and

learning (pp. 111-125). Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Walsh, D. J. (2004). Frog boy and the american monkey: The body in Japanese

early schooling. In L. Bresler (Ed.) Knowing bodies, moving minds: Towards

embodied teaching and learning (pp. 97-110). Boston: Kluwer Academic

Publishers.

Werner, L. (2001). Changing student attitudes toward math: Using dance to

teach math. Retrieved April 28, 2007 from http://cehd.umn.edu/carei/

Reports/AAA/docs/mathattitude.pdf

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Student Survey

1. What do you like most about math class? Why?

2. What do you like least about math class? Why?

3. Circle each word that describes how you feel as you are working on a math problemActive Apathetic Excited Alive Frustrated

Confused Interested Challenged Antsy Creative

Intrigued Bored Motivated Stressed Dead

4. Do you prefer your math class to follow particular learning structures that you are

accustomed to or to break from routine and offer new ways of learning? Why?

5. How do you feel that the space for students to move around in class would affect the

learning atmosphere?

6. Carefully consider each pair of adjectives, and then place an X on the space that you

feel best represents your opinion about using movement and dance to help yourself gain a

new perspective on mathematical concepts.

Helpful_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Unhelpful

Challenging_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Simple

Worthwhile_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Worthless

Discouraging_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Encouraging

Interesting_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Dull

Appendix A


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7. When considering different types of learning styles (hearing, visual, kinesthetic

doing) what ways work best for you? Explain.

8. What helps you to stay focused on your math work?

9. Carefully consider each pair of adjectives, and then place an X on the space that you

feel best represents your opinion about using movement and dance to help yourself gain anew perspective on mathematical concepts.

Confounding_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Clarifying

Informative_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Uninformative

Embarrassing_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Freeing

Inspiring_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Disheartening

Scary_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ Safe

Appendix A


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Interview Questions

1. Did you find the movement activities to be unenjoyable or enjoyable? Why?

2. Did you find the activities to be helpful, unhelpful, or just different? Why?

3. Did you feel self conscious when participating, or not? Why?

4. Did you find it easy to focus during the activity?

Were you able to stay on task?

5. Would you like to do more activities like this in the future? Why?

6. What did not go well?

What went well?

Appendix B

the effects of movement on the engagement of secondary learners

Documents