How to close the reading achievement gap among K-12 students is an ongoing emphasis for educators in the 21st century. The purpose of the study was to determine if using kinesthetic movements from the Brain Gym® program improved the reading achievement of Grade 3 Hispanic and African American students. Students from four elementary schools participated in the study. The students in the control and experimental groups completed a 2004 release TAKS third grade reading assessment for the pretest and posttest. Students in the experimental group completed five selected kinesthetic movements from the Brain Gym® program five minutes at the beginning of each Monday through Friday school day. The intervention lasted 30 days and a total of 150 minutes. Data were analyzed using a 2 x 2 mixed between-within subjects analysis of variance. Findings revealed that performing the five kinesthetic movements from the Brain Gym® program did not increase students' reading achievement scores. Only the variable of time between pretest and posttest affected students' reading scores. The results from this study did not support the findings of other studies of the effectiveness of kinesthetic movements.

This thesis investigates the intersection of physical and non-physical choreographic practices, culminating in a performed solo dance work titled Lilith. In a world increasingly consumed by virtual technology, the investigation is increasingly relevant to explore both in our personal lives and in the field of dance and choreography. This thesis examines the relationship between embodied and disembodied experiences while exploring the affect of these experiences on the mind cognitively and emotionally. In this thesis I investigate performances and written work about other choreographers’ investigations into computer-mediated methods of disembodying dance, laying the foundation for my own solo performance. Through experiential research into computer mediated-methods of altering choreography, I have explored the effect of non-physicalized ways of generating choreographic movement. I have equally investigated how a physically impulse driven movement has influenced the choreographic process. In the end, this work explores the tensional forces that lie between the physical and non-physical in a creative, choreographic process and attempts to find ways to create balance between the two. / text

Learning styles may play an important role in how students learn. Three primary types of learning styles are visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Visual learners prefer to see information to process and retain it. Auditory learners prefer to listen to or discuss information and kinesthetic, learners use their bodies and movement to take in knowledge. Students can learn through any modality, but some researchers argue they do so most effectively when their particular learning style is accommodated. Several populations of students that may be labeled as underachievers, possibly due to their preferences not matching the classroom environment. Visual and auditory learners are most frequently catered to within the classroom. Seemingly, students with kinesthetic learning preferences are often not given the chance to move and experience lessons. This prevents them from using their preferred style which allows them to concentrate on the task at hand and keeps them challenged. Experiential learning also allows students to connect classroom content to real-world applications. Educators, including school counselors, have a responsibility to educate students, teachers and parents about learning styles. Counselors can also advocate for students with different learning styles. Diversifying teaching and counseling interventions to accommodate student learning styles will help American schools function more effectively. / text

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to compare persons with trained voices and persons with untrained voices in their abilities to utilize tactile-kinesthetic feed-back when attempting to control vocal intensity.

Researchers have shown that movement increases brain function, improves mental health, supports cognitive development for students, and reduces sedentary time, all which can influence overall health. Research concerning learning with intentional movement is limited. In the United States, Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are being mandated, and teachers are challenged to teach the standards creatively and to maximize time used for instruction. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of elementary general education (GE) teachers who taught CCSS using a kinesthetic learning plan (KLP). Bandura's self-reinforcement and social learning theories provided the conceptual framework; the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis were used to structure the study. Research questions were framed to understand how the teachers experienced teaching the KLP and their perceptions related to how students learned the CCSS. Data were elicited through individual interviews with 11 GE teachers from primarily rural areas in the western part United States. In vivo coding and iterative analyses revealed themes and findings. Themes included teacher understanding (confidence and comfort), implementing resources (creativity and resourcefulness), teacher feelings (pressure and success), making the mind-body connection, and teacher beliefs and perceptions about their practices. Teachers perceived KLPs as useful in teaching the CCSS and experienced support for expanding their teaching practices. Positive social change implications include helping teachers maximize instructional time and helping students achieve standards and address health needs.

An instructor's personality may influence his or her teaching strategies and instructional style. Correspondingly, a student with a particular learning style may respond more readily to one teacher personality type as opposed to another. This quantitative research, guided by theories of personality and learning, examined the relationship between instructor level of extraversion and student visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning modalities in a community college setting. A cross-sectional correlation design was implemented. Three hundred and two students from a community college in the southwestern United States were asked to select an instructor (past or present) they thought taught effectively and complete an observer-rated extraversion scale from the Big Five Inventory on the selected instructor. The students also self-reported their learning style using the Barsch Learning Style Inventory along with a demographic questionnaire. Upon establishing the dominant learning style of each student, a one-way ANOVA was conducted to analyze instructor's extraversion level with student's dominant style of learning. Pearson correlations were examined to determine relationships between instructor extraversion and auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning style scores. While findings did not indicate a positive correlation between instructors' degree of extraversion and students' visual learning style scores, it did show that visual learners rated effective instructors higher on the trait of extraversion than did auditory or kinesthetic learners. In addition, further analyses indicated that auditory and kinesthetic learning style scores negatively correlated to an instructor's level of extraversion. This study's results emphasize the importance of considering both instructors' personality traits and students' learning styles in fostering an advantageous learning environment.

abstract: Embodied Continuity documents the methodology of Entangled/Embraced, a dance performance piece presented December, 2011 and created as an artistic translation of research conducted January-May, 2011 in the states of Karnataka and Kerala, South India. Focused on the sciences of Ayurveda, Kalaripayattu and yoga, this research stems from an interest in body-mind connectivity, body-mind-environment continuity, embodied epistemology and the implications of ethnography within artistic practice. The document begins with a theoretical grounding covering established research on theories of embodiment; ethnographic methodologies framing research conducted in South India including sensory ethnography, performance ethnography and autoethnography; and an explanation of the sciences of Ayurveda, Kalaripayattu and yoga with a descriptive slant that emphasizes concepts of embodiment and body-mind-environment continuity uniquely inherent to these sciences. Following the theoretical grounding, the document provides an account of methods used in translating theoretical concepts and experiences emerging from research in India into the creation of the Entangled/Embraced dance work. Using dancer and audience member participation to inspire emergent meanings and maintain ethnographic consciousness, Embodied Continuity demonstrates how concepts inspiring research interests, along with ideas emerging from within research experiences, in addition to philosophical standpoints embedded in the ethnographic methodologies chosen to conduct research, weave into the entire project of Entangled/Embraced to unite the phases of research and performance, ethnography and artistry. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.F.A. Dance 2012

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the effects of induced fatigue on performance of the balance, lengthwise test, the leg raise test, the vertical space te4st, and the separate feet test.