ERIC Number: EJ1427669
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1464-7893
EISSN: EISSN-1470-1111
Healing Minds, Moving Bodies: Measuring the Mental Health Effects of Online Dance during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Rachel Rugh; Ashlee Humphries; Noor Tasnim; Julia C. Basso
Research in Dance Education, v25 n2 p137-157 2024
Use of breath, close physical proximity, and tactile cues are some of the unique facets of dance training. In March of 2020, as COVID-19 lockdowns occurred, these aspects were removed from the lexicon of dance educators as virtual learning took the place of in-person training. This data-driven project explores the benefits and challenges of virtual dance, examining whether online dance can acutely improve mental health and enhance social connectivity. We explore our findings from an education perspective, focusing on learning style, class experience, and dance history. Our findings suggest that online dance can improve mood and increase community connectedness in healthy adults. Importantly, we found that an individual's trait learning style can influence the effectiveness of online learning, with tactile learners benefitting the most in terms of mood state and visual learners benefitting the most in terms of social connectivity. Additionally, we found that greater levels of experienced enjoyment provided the greatest benefits to mood state, whereas greater levels of perceived difficulty may have detrimental effects. We suggest best practices for online dance learning, provide future areas of research, and highlight the importance of using online learning to increase dance accessibility to diverse populations.
Descriptors: COVID-19, Pandemics, Distance Education, Dance Education, Mental Health, Psychological Patterns, Sense of Community, Multisensory Learning, Observational Learning, Visual Learning, Anxiety, Depression (Psychology), Cognitive Style
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) (NIH), Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Beck Anxiety Inventory; Beck Depression Inventory
Grant or Contract Numbers: UL1TR003015; KL2TR003016