2. The Relationship between Dance and the Attention Skills of 18 Kindergarten Students Ila De Vuyst Final project presentation Spring 2008, ED 703.23

3. Table of Contents 1.Abstract 2.Introduction Statement of the Problem Review of the Literature Statement of the Hypothesis 3. Method Participants and Instruments Experimental Design Procedure

4. Table of Contents (cont.) 4. Results 5.Discussion 6.Implications

5. Abstract

6. Statement of the Problem Many Kindergarten students in room 111 at PS 58 struggle to stay focused on the required learning material throughout the school day. The Kindergarten curriculum only allows for 15 minutes of daily outdoor play and one hour of physical education a week.

7. Literature Review Pros: The benefits of dance and art on cognitive skills: Burton, Horowitz & Abeles (2000); Hanna (1983); Rivkin (2006); Heath (2001) Lobo & Winsler(2006); Sharpe, Harris & McKeen(2005); Stinson(1985); Swaim(1997); Tarnowski(1999) Early childhood cognitive skills: Greenspan (2004); Stinson (1985) Cons: Keinanen, Hetland & Winner(2000); Martin & Mann(2002); Moga, Burger, Hetland & Winner(2000)

8. Hypothesis HR1 Ila De Vuyst’s dance activities will enhance the attention span of the Kindergarten students in room 111 at PS 58

9. Method Participants (N) 18 kindergarten students from a total of 96 kindergarteners at an upper-middle class public school in Brooklyn, New York

10. Method (cont.) Instruments: Observations Parent Questionnaire Student Sentiment Survey

11. Quasi-experimental Design Individuals were not randomly selected One designated treatment group and no control group One single group was pretested (o) exposed to a treatment (x) and then post tested (o). Instruments: Pretest: parent survey, student sentiment survey Treatment: observation Post-test: observation, student survey

12. Threats to Internal Validity ◊History: what doesn’t distract kindergarteners? ◊Maturation: ◊Instrumentation: self-created survey, not been pilot tested. ◊Differentiation Group threats ◊Selection Maturation Interaction: different ages. ◊History: what doesn’t distract kindergarteners? ◊Maturation: ◊Instrumentation: self-created survey, not been pilot tested. ◊Differentiation Group threats ◊Selection Maturation Interaction: different ages.

13. Threats to External Validity ◊Generalizability ◊Ecological Environment ◊Selection-Treatment Interaction: students weren’t individually selected ◊Confounding Variables: any type of change is distracting. ◊Generalizability ◊Ecological Environment ◊Selection-Treatment Interaction: students weren’t individually selected ◊Confounding Variables: any type of change is distracting.

14. Survey Questions 1.I feel relaxed after yoga class. 2.I feel relaxed after dance class. 3. I have more energy after yoga class. 4. I have more energy after dance class.

15. Survey questions (cont.) 5. Writing is always easier after dance class. 6. Writing is easier after yoga class. 7. Writing is always hard even after yoga or dance. 8. Dance center time gives me energy. 9. I would rather watch t.v. than play outside.

16. Survey Results (pre-test) Q1Q2Q3Q4Q5Q6Q7Q8Q9 Oscar234233344 Eva334444244 Evan444424234 Dahlia444434144 Chrystal433413344 Raul434313244 Brandon414444241 Conrad443444244 Feiyan442444144 Grace224444244 Lucy222332443 Noah223323443 Walker444444343 Imani --------- Laura234444243 Isabella444444243 Ben344344444 Robert323344224

17. Results

18. Correlation

19. Data Analysis(correlation) Independent variable: Question 5 Dependent variable: Students’ attention span during writing. Rxy: 0.435 Conclusions: There is no correlation between question 5 and the students’ level of focus during writing.

21. Data Analysis (bar graph) Independent variable: movement activities Dependent variable:Students’ Attention Span Mode: dance:14, yoga:14, no movement: 11 Conclusion: More students were focused during writing after participation in yoga or dance. Independent variable: movement activities Dependent variable:Students’ Attention Span Mode: dance:14, yoga:14, no movement: 11 Conclusion: More students were focused during writing after participation in yoga or dance.

22. Discussion

23. Implications