Creative dance techniques and memory retention among preschool children a mixed method approach.
Abstract Name of Institution De La Salle University Dasmarinas Address Dasmarinas City, Cavite Title Creative Dance Techniques and Memory Retention Among Preschool Children: A Mixed Method Approach Authors Ma. Julie Anne M. Gajudo Sherheen T. Rabano Patricia Marie V. Vullag Funding Source Parents Cost Php 8, 000. 00 Date Started June 2011 Date Finished March 2012 Statement of the Problem The study on creative dance techniques and memory retention aims to answer the following questions: 1. What is the mean score of the participants in the experimental group (with creative dance techniques) and control group (plain storytelling) 2. Is there a significant difference between the scores of the participants in the experimental group (with creative dance techniques) and control group (plain storytelling) vii 3. What are the emotional experiences of the preschool children after applying creative dance techniques? Scope and Coverage The study focuses on the application of creative dance techniques as a teaching aid and its significance on memory retention among preschool students of Lancaan Learning Center in Dasmarinas, Cavite. The participants of the study are thirty (30) preschool students. The children were randomly selected and assigned to the two treatment groups using simple probability sampling. Since creative dance techniques are used to improve broad areas of development, this study will only seek to measure the effectiveness of said techniques on the cognitive domain of the preschoolers, particularly on memory retention, by means of giving them object recall tests. However, experience of preschool children subjected to creative dance techniques were assessed and evaluated qualitatively, particularly through one on one interviews. Methodology The study focuses on the application of creative dance techniques as a teaching aid and its significance on memory retention among preschool students of Lancaan Learning Center in Dasmarinas, Cavite. The participants of the study are thirty (30) preschool students. The children were randomly selected and assigned to the two treatment groups using simple probability sampling. Since creative dance techniques are used to improve broad areas of development, this study will only seek to measure the effectiveness of said technique on the cognitive domain of viii the preschoolers, particularly on memory retention, by means of giving them object recall tests. However, experience of preschool children subjected to creative dance techniques were assessed and evaluated qualitatively, particularly through one on one interviews. The research design is mixed method, which specifically employs the Embedded Experimental Method. This method primarily makes use of a quantitative approach in gathering data but uses qualitative information to support the quantitative results. The data gathered was analyzed by using T test for independent samples and Content Analysis. Major Findings After gathering sufficient literature and analyzing the results of the experiment, the researchers were able to arrive at these results: 1. The raw scores of the experimental group, or those who underwent creative dance technique intervention, were consistently higher than those who were a part of the control group, or those who had only experienced the plain storytelling strategy. Mean scores of the two groups also display noticeable differences, with higher mean found in the experimental group. 2. There exists a significant difference between the children who underwent creative dance technique intervention and those who did not. At 0.05 level of significance, the researchers were able to identify a statistical significant difference between the two treatment groups. Along with this result, a memory retention variability percentage of ix 22.63 is said to have been accounted for by the creative dance techniques that the researchers had implemented. 3. The emotional experiences of the children from the experimental group who experienced the creative dance technique intervention were mostly positive: happy feelings were elicited from all of them, most preferred this type of teaching style, and all wanted to repeat such intervention. Conclusions The extensive review of related literature and studies, along with the findings and analysis of the experiment proper led the researchers to the following conclusions: 1. The application of creative dance techniques on teaching preschool children proved to be more effective on increasing memory retention than a simple storytelling strategy. Since the scores of the creative dance group are obviously higher than the scores of the storytelling group, it indicates that mixing creative movements into the lesson will help it to be more understood and chances of retained to the memory of the students. Also, there is a significant difference between the scores of the participants in the experimental group and the control group, as stated by the results from the statistical treatment given to the data. The study had reached the statistical significance level. 2. In line with most of the literature and similar researches, the findings of the present study connive with those related researches. Interactive forms of classroom discussions prove to be more effective, as supported by the literature claims and the results of the present study. Although the variability accounted for the memory retention by the creative dance x techniques is small, it is significant to note that this intervention had served to be an important factor contributing to the memory retention of the preschool children. 3. The small variability that can be accounted for memory retention by the creative dance intervention could be because of the duration of the technique. A one time session might have been insufficient to test whether such intervention would be more effective in a daily application. Also, familiarity of the participants to the experimenters could have contributed to this. A twice or thrice meeting was not enough to establish authority and gain the trust of the preschoolers. Though the accountability for the intervention is small, it is still important to note. 4. The positive emotional experiences elicited from the children who underwent creative dance techniques supports the favorable difference in scores by the experimental group compared to the control condition. Thus, when the children were able to enjoy the activity and interaction, the tendency to remember the material in the lesson is higher. The emotional and cognitive aspect of the children could be intertwined. Recommendations For teachers and educators. Preschool teachers, particularly those teaching in public schools or day care centers, should try to include dance techniques in their weekly teaching strategies. It would liven up the class making it more enjoyable, thus, encouraging students to learn and remember more correctly. Dancing would help in motivating children to develop an innate love and interest for learning and discovering. xi The positive feelings that they get from dancing is associated with learning, thus, making learning and studying more fun. For parents. Parents could take part in the creative teaching process. If such technique is not yet implemented in school, the parents could start the creative process by practicing it in home when they are trying to study with the child. The parents are the first teachers of the children. With encouragement and implementation of dancing and learning in home, it would not be hard to motivate them to do such technique in school. Also, if the parents encourages and shows that they support the act, the children would learn to build selfesteem. Thus, refusal to join activities would be lessened. For future researchers. Those who would engage in studying creative dance techniques could probably try to change the duration of the experiment by increasing the number of intervention sessions. Instead of giving the technique in a one time basis, future researchers could make it longitudinal. Thus, results would strengthen the claim that creative dance technique is more effective. For the therapists (psychologists) Since retaining the lesson in the memory of the students is the most important part of education, it was seen that creative dance techniques can be a great help not just for the students and teachers, but also for patients. It is noted that these techniques are used by the teachers on the students, but if the creative dance will be done to patients, a therapist should administer that.