An interventional study of Dancing in Educational Activities, sponsored by Skidmore College. Terminated at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 6 Years to 12 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2023-04-11.
Sponsored by Skidmore College · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The purpose of this study is to assess changes in benchmark and state assessment scores in a public elementary school following an intervention of dance integration into the daily routine of the classroom. Furthermore, this study aims to assess if dance may improve student behavior, teacher perception of student behavior, reading level and attendance.
The use of movement in primary school classrooms is a longstanding practice drawn upon by teachers in various ways. Dance movement in particular is popular among teachers for several reasons: it is enjoyable for students, it can be imaginative, it engages the body as well as the brain, and it can be made accessible to students of varying abilities.
In the field of education, the use of brief bouts of physical activity (PA) or 'brain breaks' have been gaining attention. Teachers have reported perceived improved student concentration during the academic school day by utilizing PA in both elementary and middle school populations. Carlson et al. suggest that PA breaks can indeed improve overall student behavior in the classroom while Donnelly and Lambourne report a 6% improvement on standardized tests in classrooms incorporating PA into academic lessons. Erwin et al. describe improvements in math and reading fluency standardized test scores following an intervention of PA incorporated into an elementary classroom. More conclusive research is indeed needed, yet incorporating PA into the culture of an academic environment appears to hold some merit.
The US Department of Education alongside the National Dance Education Organization published a paper outlining the research priorities for dance education in 2004.
"Of 20 Issues researched in the Research Dance Education project, 15 Issues were identified as gaps, and are therefore identified as Issues in need of future research...The 15 severely under-researched issues over decades impact policy and pedagogy at state and national levels, specifically: Multicultural Education, Integrated Arts, Policy, Affective Domain, Interdisciplinary Education, Student Achievement, Equity, National Content Standards, Funding, Student Performance, Children at Risk, Certification, Teacher Standards, Uncertified Teachers, and Brain Research."
Despite this call to action over a decade ago, to the investigators knowledge, a study assessing change in academic performance following an intervention of dance in a public school serving students with high rates of economic disadvantage has not been published.
The purpose of this study is to assess changes in benchmark and state assessment scores in a public elementary school following an intervention of dance integration into the daily routine of the classroom. Furthermore, this study aims to assess if dance may improve student behavior, teacher perception of student behavior, reading level and attendance. The investigators hypothesize that positive improvements may be observed in all variables by integrating dance into the academic classroom.
Inclusion criteria:
Inclusion criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
Students will participate in dance activities from a video with their teacher in class.
Behavioral: Dancing
Students will continue with typical classroom activities in class and will not participate in dancing activities
Participants in the intervention group will participate in daily dance activities with their teacher by following along with a video created by the dance researchers at Skidmore College. Teachers will be specifically asked to utilize the movement phrases just prior to administering any formal assessment activity within their classroom (tempo may be chosen at teacher's discretion). Furthermore, teachers may choose to utilize the dance phrases as 'brain breaks' at any point throughout their school day.
Change in Benchmark/Summative assessments
Unit/chapter assessments in Math and English Language Arts
Time frame: Baseline, 8 weeks, 16 weeks, 24 weeks.
Change in State Assessment scores
Time frame: Baseline and 9 months.
Attendance/tardiness
Student attendance
Time frame: 10 months.
Change in Reading Level
Fountas and Pinnell reading level
Time frame: Baseline, 8 weeks, 16 weeks, 24 weeks.
Teacher perception of dance intervention
Survey of teachers knowledge and perception of dance in the classroom
Time frame: Baseline and 9 months.
Documented Student Behavior
Referrals to principals office
Time frame: 10 months.
Plan to share: No — A linking list for students will be compiled by the school Principal, numerically coding each student into a password protected document. This student linking list will be kept on a locked district owned, password protected computer at the school, separate from this database. It will be kept solely on that computer hard drive so it will not be accessible to Principal at home. Neither the PI, nor any other Skidmore researchers will have access to this locked computer and therefore, will not have ability to gain access to this list in any capacity. Skidmore researchers will never have access to student names/identities.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
This study is terminated, as verified in Apr 2023. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Skidmore College