Movement Class as an Integrative Experience: Academic, Cognitive, and Social Effects
by Svetlana Nikitina
I believe the benefits of
this type of course reach beyond the obvious possibilities of professional
and academic achievement. The degree of personal discovery, creativity,
self-development and insight are immeasurable. I am particularly referring
to my experience here at Harvard.
— Claire Mallardi, from course syllabus
Performing arts courses at research institutions such as Harvard University
are often seen as extracurricular with only tangential or imperceptible
effect on students' academic interests. Yet, when I interviewed biology,
math, or neuroscience concentrators who took Claire Mallardi's Movement
for Actors and Directors course at Harvard in the spring of 2000, most
of them told me that it was one of the most meaningful experiences in their
academic development, and, according to one psychology concentrator, "the
best psychology course" she ever took. In spite of boundaries separating
the arts courses from hard and soft sciences, in students' experience the
connections run deep. What were those connections that students made from
their dance class experience to their academic and social development? And,
what in the teaching and nature of the course supported this highly integrative
experience that allowed students to reach beyond mastering an artistic medium
and become better learners in general? These were the two major questions
that guided this study.
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