TITLE:
The Improvement of Mental Rotation Performance in Second Graders after Creative Dance Training
AUTHORS:
Petra Jansen, Jan Kellner, Cornelia Rieder
KEYWORDS:
Mental Rotation; School-Aged Children; Motor Performance; Creative Dance; Regular Sports Class
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.4 No.6,
June
13,
2013
ABSTRACT: The study
presented here investigated the influence of creative dance training on mental
rotation performance. Two groups of second graders solved
a paper-pencil mental rotation test and a motor performance test.
Afterwards one group received five weeks of normal physical education lessons,
while the other group received five weeks of creative dance training. At the
end of the training period all children solved the mental rotation again. The
results show that the dance-training group improved their mental rotation
performance more than the physical education group. Further studies should investigate whether this positive effect of creative dance training
transfers to cognitive, social, and emotional skills, such as a possible
enhancement of self-esteem.