upper secondary students' perception towards kinesthetic learning
TRANSCRIPT
UPPER SECONDARY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION TOWARDS KINESTHETIC LEARNING ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED IN AN ENGLISH CLASSROOM:
AN INSIGHT
NORIDAH BINTI SAIN
A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Education
Faculty of Education
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
OCTOBER 2007
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincerest and deepest appreciation and thanks to my
supervisor Dr. Norazman Abdul Majid of Department of Modern Languages, Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia for his guidance and assistance throughout the length of this
research. His criticisms, suggestions, and words of encouragement have enabled this
research to be completed.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to teachers and students of MARA Junior
Science College Batu Pahat, Johor for their participation in this study. My appreciation
also goes to my two best friends, Hazila and Fairus for their co-operation, assistance and
advice as well as words of comfort.
To my family, who has given me a lot of moral support and above all, I thank
God the Almighty for providing me with the will and strength to complete this study.
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ABSTRACT
This research focuses on upper secondary students’ perceptions of kinesthetic
learning activities conducted in secondary level English classroom. It also investigates
the types of kinesthetic learning activities that are beneficial to upper secondary students
and the challenges that the students encounter while taking part in kinesthetic learning
activities. This research which is mainly qualitative and descriptive in nature employs
the use of several research strategies utilizing written Style Analysis Survey, written
journal responses, direct observation and interviews. The sample of six subjects
comprised of form four students of Mara Junior Science College Batu Pahat, Johor.
These subjects were identified through purposive sampling after they have taken the Style
Analysis Survey. This study reveals several important findings, one of which is that
kinesthetic learning activities benefited learners in a number of ways: movement to
prevent boredom, movement to eliminate stress and movement to encourage social
interaction. Subjects mainly agreed that they do rely on teacher guidance to be catalyst
for the kinesthetic learning activities and realized that there were negative factors about
kinesthetic activities. The research also discovered that subjects equated kinesthetic
learning activities with learning which would encourage fun learning experiences.
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ABSTRAK
Kajian ini menyelidik persepsi pelajar-pelajar menengah atas terhadap
aktiviti-aktiviti pembelajaran secara kinestetik yang dijalankan dalam kelas Bahasa
Inggeris tahap menengah . Kajian ini juga menyelidiki jenis-jenis aktiviti pembelajaran
secara kinestetik yang bermanfaat kepada para pelajar menengah atas dan cabaran-
cabaran yang terpaksa mereka hadapi semasa mengambil bahagian dalam aktiviti-aktiviti
tersebut. Kajian yang secara keseluruhannya bersifat kualitatif dan deskriptuf ini
mengaplikasikan beberapa strategi kajian menggunakan laporan ‘Style Analysis Survey’,
respons-respons jurnal, pemerhatian terus dan temubual. Enam sampel subjek terdiri
daripada pelajar-pelajar tingkatan empat di MRSM Batu Pahat, Johor. Subjek-subjek ini
dikenal pasti melalui sample bertujuan selepas mereka mengambil ‘Style Analysis
Survey’. Kajian ini mendedahkan beberapa penemuan penting seperti aktiviti-aktiviti
pembelajaran secara kinestetik memanfaatkan pelajar melalui pelbagai cara: pergerakan
mengelakkan perasaan bosan, menghilangkan tekanan dan menggalakkan interaksi sosial.
Subjek-subjek secara keseluruhannya bersetuju bahawa mereka perlu bergantung kepada
bimbingan guru sebagai pemangkin dalam aktiviti-aktiviti pembelajaran secara kinestetik
dan sedar bahawa aktiviti-aktiviti tersebut turut mempunyai kesan-kesan negatif. Kajian
ini juga mendapati subjek menyamakan aktiviti pembelajaran kinestetik dengan
pembelajaran yang dapat menggalakkan pengalaman pembelajaran yang menyeronokkan.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TOPIC PAGE
DECLARATION ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii
ABSTRACT iv
ABSTRAK v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
LIST OF APPENDICES vii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Background of the problem 2
1.3 Statement of the problem 4
1.4 Purpose of the study 4
1.5 Research objectives 4
1.6 Research questions 5
1.7 Significance of the study 5
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 7
2.1 Introduction 7
2.2 Differences in the way people learn 8
2.2.1 Learning styles defined 8
2.2.2 Learning styles and academic success 10
2.2.3 Learning style awareness 11
2.2.4 Abilities vs. styles 11
2.2.5 Multiple intelligences 12
2.3 Identification of kinesthetic learner 13
2.3.1 Kinesthetic awareness 14
2.3.2 Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence 14
2.4 Kinesthetic activities which benefit learners 15
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2.4.1 Dance and drama design 16
2.4.2 Creating literary video 17
CHAPTER II I METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH 19
3.1 Introduction 19
3.2 The research design 19
3.3 The conceptualization stage 20
3.4 The pilot study 21
3.5 The actual study 22
3.6 Participants of the study 22
3.7 Research instruments 23
3.7.1 Style Analysis Survey 24
3.7.2 Kinesthetic learning activities 25
3.7.2.1 Vocabulary cards / Flash cards 25
3.7.2.2 Vocabulary Games 26
3.7.2.3 Jeopardy 27
3.7.2.4 Literary video 27
3.7.3 Journal questions 28
3.7.4 Classroom observation 29
3.7.5 Group interview 29
3.8 Data collection 30
3.9 Analysis of the data 31
3.10 Reliability and validity 31
CHAPTER IV FINDINGS OF THE STUDY 33
4.1 Introduction 33
4.2 Students’ perception of kinesthetic learning activities 33
4.2.1 Previous elementary experiences with kinesthetic
Learning activities 34
4.2.2 Comparisons of elementary experiences with 35
Secondary experiences
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4.2.3 Students’ perceptions of kinesthetic learning 37
activities conducted in an English classroom
4.2.4 Strengths of kinesthetic learning activities 39
4.2.5 Weaknesses of kinesthetic learning activities 41
4.3 Beneficial kinesthetic learning activities to upper 42
secondary students
4.4 Challenges that students encounter in taking part in 47
kinesthetic learning activities
4.4.1 Teacher as catalyst 48
4.4.2 Teacher as “borer” 49
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS OF THE STUDY 50
5.1 Introduction 50
5.2 Overview of upper secondary students’ perceptions 50
towards kinesthetic learning activities
5.2.1 The shift from rigidity to mobility 50
5.3 Kinesthetic learning activities promotes fun learning 52
5.4 Challenges in kinesthetic learning activities 55
5.4.1 The role of teacher and the influence of teaching 55
style
5.5 Implications of the study 57
5.6 Limitations of the study 60
5.7 Directions for further studies 60
5.8 Conclusions 61
REFERENCES 63
APPENDICES
Appendices A- E 70 - 74
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Educational researchers postulate that every individual has a different learning
style and we learn through several ways. Some ways allow us to breeze through
smoothly while some others do not seem to enable us to reach our intended target. There are certain learning styles with which we feel very comfortable because the
learning process seems to take place best when we employ such styles. Hence, teachers
should be aware of the fact that their students have different learning styles. Their
learning styles may vary according to their personal and cultural backgrounds.
Therefore it is crucial for a teacher to plan the teaching process in such a manner that he
or she can cater to the students’ learning style preferences, which would then result in
effective learning. On the contrary, looking at our traditional secondary classroom
practice as teachers insist on rigid rules of instruction, students would suffer physically,
mentally and emotionally. The irony of this situation is that students who are active by
nature are forced into passive roles in the classroom setting. Cohen (1987) contended
that teachers traditionally are seen as truth tellers who inculcate knowledge in students.
Students play a relatively passive role; they accumulate material, listen, read and
perform prescribed exercises.
In view of this, it is often claimed that educators do not believe that all learners
are the same. Learners whose styles are accommodated more frequently in school
achieve more immediate success. Students who struggle to adapt to an uncomfortable
way of learning often underachieve. These students, the under achievers, most visibly
reflect the idea that some vital part is missing in the secondary classroom setting.
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1.2 Background of the problem
Despite acknowledgment of important differences among learners, uniformity
continues to dominate school practices. Too often, teachers continue to treat all students
alike while paying lip service to the principle of diversity. More than 50 years ago,
Nathaniel Canter observed that "the public elementary and high schools, and colleges,
generally project what they consider to be the proper way of learning which is uniform
for all students" (1972). In 50 years, too little has changed. Most schools still function as
if all students were the same. Students use the same textbooks and the same materials for
learning. They work at the same pace on the same quantity of material. They study the
same content and work through the same curriculum on the same schedule. Teachers
talk with whole groups of students, delivering the same information at the same time to
everyone. And, of course, schools use the same tests for all to measure the success of the
learning.
As mentioned earlier, currently not all learning styles are equally valued in
schools. Most schools do a more effective job with learners who are reflective, linear, or
analytic than those who are active, holistic, personal, or practical. Nevertheless, it is
crucial for teachers to be aware of his or her learner’s learning style in order to
accommodate to his or her students’ needs. O’ Brien (1989) posited that “like
fingerprints and voices,” each person’s learning style varies. It determines how students
approach a task and remember information. Traditionally, schools have taught students
in a left-brained way. For example, only in the past 15 years have educators come to
understand that the left side of the brain is primarily responsible for verbal behaviour,
analysis, and logic. O’Brien postulated that since 75% to 80% of curriculum is oriented
towards left-hemisphere processing, the right hemisphere strengths remain undervalued
and underutilized. O’Brien explained that the left and right hemisphere of the brain have
many different functions. We all use our whole brain, yet many students seem to show a
preference for using one side. This situation can be a cause for concern due to a
growing number of individuals who seem to learn best via their right hemisphere.
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O’Brien concluded that perhaps it is time for us to take a closer look at how we are
educating our students.
Bearing this in mind, teachers who understand learning differences will strive for
intentional variety in instruction, curriculum, classroom management, and assessment.
Seldom is there only one way to learn. While the schooling process can help to
strengthen other avenues, students’ individual styles remain dominant for the most
efficient learning, and the most effective teachers will cater these individual learning
styles. It is this understanding that should encourage us to value students’ differences.
Teachers who comprehend these concepts consciously attempt to respond to the
diversity they regularly encounter in schools. Consequently, educators should be able to
recognize that each student has a dominant style consisting of a particular combination
of analytic or global, and auditory, visual, tactile or kinesthetic component. It is because
of these differences in style that the classroom lecture, appropriate on occasions, should
be rare. Most secondary classrooms rely on the traditional lecture-based format for
instruction. Even when supplemented with visual slides, this format is primarily a
passive form of education. As such, this format often “suffers from student engagement,
frequent student inattention, and the exclusion of nonverbal learning modalities”
(Bonwell, 1996).
Kinesthetic learning activities serve to offset these shortcomings. A kinesthetic
learning activity (KLA) is a pedagogical tool involving physical movement by students.
They can be used in the middle of a long lecture to re-energize that class by creating a
new perspective from which to consider the topic. Pedagogical research indicates that
kinesthetic learning is a “fundamental, powerful, and ubiquitous learning style” (Sivilotti
and Pike, 2007). Hence, teachers must become aware of students’ views towards
kinesthetic learning activities so as to provide a classroom environment which is hoped
to meet the demands of learners in a given teaching situation.
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1.3 Statement of the problem
This study investigates upper secondary students’ perceptions towards
kinesthetic learning activities conducted in an English classroom. It also attempts to
gain insight on kinesthetic learning activities that are beneficial to secondary students. In
addition to this, the study also seeks to find out the challenges that the students face
while participating in kinesthetic learning activities.
1.4 Purpose of the study
The main purpose of the study is to apprehend upper secondary students’
perceptions towards kinesthetic learning activities regardless of their dominant learning
styles while discussing useful kinesthetic activities along side with its benefits and also
the challenges in incorporating these kinesthetic activities in an English classroom.
1.5 Research objectives
The objectives of this study are:
i. to gain insights into upper secondary students’ perceptions towards
kinesthetic learning activities in an English classroom,
ii. to investigate beneficial kinesthetic learning activities to upper secondary
students and
iii. to investigate the challenges that the students face in participating in
kinesthetic learning activities.
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1.6 Research questions
The main questions that this research will attempt to answer are:
1.6.1 What are students’ perceptions of kinesthetic learning activities conducted in an
English classroom?
1.6.2 What kinds of kinesthetic learning activities are beneficial to upper secondary
students?
1.6.3 What are the challenges that the students face while taking part in kinesthetic
learning activities?
1.7 Significance of the study
First of all, this study is significant because it explores students’ perceptions
towards kinesthetic learning activities and determines whether or not they reveal
important insights that are supported by the existing research. Since traditional lectures
appeal primarily to a single learning style, research in pedagogy indicates that multiple
modalities are more effective, so incorporating kinesthetic learning activities will
broaden the scope for students to achieve positive learning outcomes. It is also claimed
that kinesthetic learning activities employ underutilized learning styles. Kinesthetic
activities tap into what Piaget termed “sensorimotor learning,” in which physical
participation transfers into mental symbols representing that experience (Hergenhahn
and Olson, 1997). Kinesthetic learning activities can also engage other important
learning styles, such as Felder and Silverman’s active, sensing, intuitive, visual, or
global learners (Felder and Silverman, 1988). These benefits are said to raise the level
of students’ engagement during the learning periods instead of having to endure long
series of lectures.
Hence, this research needs to be carried out to investigate whether or not
kinesthetic learning activities have a positive impact in the upper secondary level
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English classroom as the findings from this study may offer valuable insight into
engaging learners in learning English as a second language. Knowing our students’
preference learning mode will help teachers develop appropriate learning approaches
and explore opportunities so that they will be able to make educational experience more
productive. This is highlighted by Loper (1989) who implied that if a teacher instructs
and evaluates in only one cognitive mode, he or she is adequately serving only those
students who prefer to learn in that mode. To give every learner the opportunity to
succeed, teachers can expand their repertoires to include a variety of cognitive modes.
Last but not least, it is also hoped that this study will help teachers to adopt
approaches that will aid to orchestrate active student-centered activities in our teaching
and learning process that has been one of our goals since the key characteristic of
kinesthetic learning activities is that “students are actively, physically engaged in the
exposition and assimilation of classroom material” (Sivilotti and Pike, 2007).
In the next chapter, a review of existing literature on learning styles, cognitive
styles, and multiple intelligences is provided in order to portray that differences do exists
in the way people learn. Examples of kinesthetic activities that were carried out
previously by educators and researchers who have had success with transforming their
classrooms into places where students’ needs were met is also explained.
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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction
As presented in the previous chapter, all too often secondary education
establishes an environment which encourages students to accept passive roles in the
classroom. This passive role can sometimes be the result of a teacher’s lack of
knowledge about students’ learning styles. In trying to remedy this situation, some
researchers have identified ways of knowing that have established a kinesthetic
component of development that is vital to the well-being of students, while other
researchers have asserted that students’ mind and bodies should be dynamically engaged
in the learning process. Accordingly, teachers need to make some changes in their
classrooms in order to create an environment which recognizes and furnish the needs of
their learners. Section 2.2 and 2.3 describes a review of the literature from the leading
researcher in the fields of learning styles, cognitive styles, and multiple intelligences
which offers insight and identifies the varying needs of students in a secondary
classroom. The research and underpinning philosophies will establish the fact that
differences do exist in the way people learn and illuminate the needs of kinesthetic
learner. In section 2.4 suggestions about various types of activities that would be
beneficial to learners is discussed.
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2.2 Differences in the way people learn
McCarthy (1987) examined research from many fields including learning styles,
right and left brain dominance, creativity, effective management, art, and movement or
dance, concluded that learning is not all cognitive, nor is it all theoretical. There is more
to learning than increasing rationality. There are two major differences in how we learn
– the first is how we perceive; the second is how we process. McCarthy contended that
according to available data, 70% of the students learn most comfortably in ways not
generally attended to in most schools.
Guild (1990), noted that style exists from the research that has been conducted in
schools. As a result of the research, we are beginning to know some things about the
kinds of learners we have in schools and about which learners traditionally do better
than others. The key issue is that people are different. Learners will respond differently
to a variety of instructional methods, and we need to respect and honor the individual
differences among us. Guild continued that we are beginning to be a little bit clearer
about the differences between learning style and intelligence – people who have
different styles can be equally intelligent (Brandt, 1990).
2.2.1 Learning styles defined Keefe (1979) defined learning styles as characteristic cognitive, affective, and
psychological behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners
perceive, interact with, respond to the learning environment. Gregorc (1979) defined
learning style as distinctive behaviors which serve as indicators of how a person learns
from and adapts to his environment. Learning styles also give clues as to how a person’s
mind operates. Although most people operate to some extent in all four styles (e.g.
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perception, ordering, processing, and relating), 90% of the general population use one or
two learning styles much better than the others (Gregorc & Ward, 1977)
Dunn, Beaudry, and Klavis (1989) defined learning style as a biologically and
developmentally imposed set of personal characteristics that make the same teaching
method effective for some and ineffective for others. Dunn et al. (1989) agreed with
Guild that every person has a learning style and that it is as individual as a signature. By
knowing our student’s learning styles, teachers can organize classrooms to respond to
their individual needs, recognize patterns in which people tend to concentrate best, and
become aware of the senses through which people remember difficult information most
easily (e.g. auditory, visually, tactually, or kinesthetically).
Hidi (1990) posited that although most teachers agree individualization is
desirable in their classrooms, few teachers have the time needed to individualize
efficiently enough to profoundly affect learning. Many schools have experimented with
approaches to style using one or a combination of the many style models currently
available. These schools report that using the technique allows more students to succeed
and erodes the argument that children who misbehave or fall behind academically in
traditional classrooms have limited learning ability. Some researches believe that the
unwillingness of schools to adapt to student style becomes more pronounced as students
work their way from elementary through high school (O’Neil, 1990). This is
unfortunate, however, because Caferty (1980) found that, at the secondary level, the
greater the match between the student’s and his or her teacher’s teaching style, the
higher the grade point average, the lower the match, the lower the grade point average.
Copenhaver (1979) also discovered that significantly more positive attitudes result when
student’s style are similar to their teachers’, and a wide range of learning styles exists in
a single classroom.
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2.2.2 Learning styles and academic success
Orsak (1990), reported a pilot program that was carried out in Texas, USA where
the school used learning styles to initiate a more effective approach to teaching. The
teaching design of the school was changed from lecture to activities-based learning
centers, or working with tactile/kinesthetic activities on the floor at tables. It is found
that the students’ grades improved dramatically, and the students became responsible for
their own learning. This program was for a group of students who had, for the third
time, failed the state’s minimum skills test of reading, writing, and math. Two reading
improvement and math improvement classes were formed to help these 34 at-risk
students. Since the strongest perceptual strength of a majority of these students was
tactile or kinesthetic, the teachers developed many hands-on activities and frequently
used small groups and peer coaching. The end result of this eight-month effort was that
all 34 students passed the test.
One program based on students’ learning styles also improved the quality of
instruction in an Ohio high school, reported Cavanaugh (1981). Teachers throughout the
school initially introduced the concept of learning styles. Some only tested their students
and provided feedback, while others introduced selected students instructional strategies
that complemented specific learning style characteristics. One teacher designed such
activities as games, slides, task cards, learning circles, and electroboards to help students
with auditory, visual, or tactual/kinesthetic strengths. When this teacher later reported
his students’ growing excitement and improved achievement at one of the monthly
meetings, other teachers were encouraged to try these resources. One of the fringe
benefits of this program was that the academic success of previously underachieving
students translated into improved attitudes as well for both teachers and students.
Cavanaugh reported that their program was the first schoolwide secondary program to
use diagnostic or prescriptive education by means of learning style identification, and
they had every reason to believe that they had made a breakthrough in high school
instruction.
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2.2.3 Learning style awareness
Once seen as a powerful tool for teachers, learning styles is equally valuable to
students. Hand (1990) perceived that it was her purpose to help students become more
aware of their own styles and to help them develop strategies dealing with the diverse
demands of school and of life in general. Her classes learned about styles in two ways:
through informal debriefing of class activities and through formal instruction in style.
Besides helping students become more aware of their own styles, these informal sessions
had an added benefit. By hearing how other students tackled particular problems or
assignments, students were able to add many new strategies to their repertoires. This
meant that they were better equipped to deal with assignments that did not match their
strengths. Hand concluded that style is a tool and never an excuse. This focus on
learning styles benefits students in many ways. They obtain confidence in their
strengths and develop strategies for coping with the challenging situations that inevitably
arise. Students begin to see how they learn most effectively and efficiently; therefore,
they are better able to take responsibility for their own learning.
2.2.4 Abilities vs. styles
Sternberg (1997) defined “style” as a way of thinking. It is not an ability, but
rather, a preferred way of using the abilities one has. The distinction between style and
ability is a crucial one. An ability refers to how well someone can do something. A style
refers to how someone likes to do something. In school, children who are viewed as
stupid often suffer from nothing more than a style that mismatches that of their teacher.
A teacher’s goal should not be always to use the mode of teaching or testing that
matches each student’s preferred style but to use each student’s preferred style as a point
of entry. Sternberg (1990) argued that students need to develop ways to capitalize on
their stylistic strengths, but they also need develop the ability to move from one style to
another.
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2.2.5 Multiple intelligences
Gardner (1987), a leading proponent of multiple intelligences, emphasized that
early identification of strengths can be very helpful in indicating what kinds of
experiences students might profit from, but early identification of weakness can be
equally important. If a weakness is identified early, there is a chance to attend to it
before it is too late and to come up with alternative ways of teaching or of covering an
important skill area. It is Gardner’s belief that intelligences work together to solve
problems, to yield various kinds of cultural end states-vocations, avocations, and the
like. In his view, the purpose of school should be to develop intelligences and to help
people reach vocational and avocational goals that are appropriate to their particular
spectrum of intelligences.
According to Hatch (1997), instead of asking how much intelligence each
student has, teachers need to ask, “In what way does this student demonstrate
intelligence?” To do this, we must take into account a constellation of factors – what
intelligences they possess, their interests in and knowledge of particular fields, and the
contexts in which they live and learn. In addition, helping students develop specific
strengths needs to be balanced with opportunities to develop all the skills they need to
succeed in school. Armstrong (1994) agreed that the theory of multiple intelligences can
serve as a template in constructing strategies for student success. Of course, some
educators may think that this learning philosophy works fine with younger children but
that when students reach middle or high school age, they need to put these frills aside
and get serious learning. Unfortunately, this narrow perception of learning helps
contribute to the alienation of adolescents. Students do not leave their multiple
intelligences behind once their reach puberty. If anything, the intelligences become even
more intense-especially bodily-kinesthetic. But how do secondary teachers identify these
students?
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2.3 Identification of kinesthetic learner
Hatch (1997) identified students who do well on tasks in athletics or dance as
having strengths in the bodily-kinesthetic realm. Kinesthetic students like whole body
movement and enjoy working with tangible objects, collages and other media (Oxford &
Anderson, 1995). Sitting at a desk for very long is uncomfortable for these students; they
need frequent breaks and, above all, physical action in games and dramatic activities.
According to Guild (1994), an active, kinesthetic learner has more difficulty in school
because of the limited opportunities to use that approach, especially for the development
of basic skills. However, Guild argued that the kinesthetic approach is a successful way
to learn, and many adults, including teachers, and administration use this approach quite
effectively.
Dunn and Dunn (1993) found in their research over the past two decades that
many students who do not do well in school are tactual or kinesthetic learners. These
students tend to acquire and retain information or skills when they either are involved in
handling manipulative materials or are participating in concrete activities. Because so
little of what happens instructionally in most secondary classes responds to the tactual
and kinesthetic sense, these students are, in a very real sense, handicapped. Once they
begin to fall behind scholastically, they lose confidence in themselves and either feel
defeated and withdraw (physically or emotionally) or begin to resent school because of
repeated failure. When teachers fail to recognize the needs of these students, then the
classroom becomes a place of inequity where these students struggle along while feeling
somewhat deprived or confused, and others just drop out (Oxford & Anderson, 1995).
Fadley and Hosler (1979) noted that students were referred to psychologists because of
their consistent hyperactivity; their teachers complained that such students were unable
to sit quietly and pay attention during lessons. Those psychologists reported that most
students sent to them were not at all clinically hyperactive; instead they were normal
students in need of movement. To boot, the less interested they were in the lesson, the
more mobility the students required.
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2.3.1 Kinesthetic awareness
McCarthy (1987) identified Type-Three (Common-Sense) learners as those
students who seek solutions to problems, judge things by their usefulness, and function
through kinesthetic awareness. As learners, they perceive information abstractly and
process it actively. They learn by testing theories and applying common sense. They are
skills oriented and enjoy experimenting and tinkering with things. They need to know
how things work. Type-Three Learners rely heavily on kinetic involvement to learn,
using body sense as a focus for understanding. They are concerned with finding out the
answer to the question, “How does this work?” McCarthy added that Type-Three
learners are anxious to engage themselves in the learning process and are constantly
editing reality. The teacher’s role is to provide the materials necessary for a “trying
things out” environment. It is within this type of environment that the learners with
kinesthetic preference can begin to enhance his or her skills.
2.3.2 Bodily kinesthetic intelligence
Gardner in his book, Frames of Mind (1983), defined bodily-kinesthetic
intelligence as the ability to use one’s body in highly differentiated and skilled ways, for
expressive as well as goal-directed purposes. Characteristics as well is the capacity to
work skillfully with objects, both those that involve the fine motor movements of one’s
finger and hands and those that exploit gross motor movements of the body. This
intelligence includes specific physical skills such as coordination, balance, dexterity,
strength, flexibility, and speed, as well as proprioceptive, tactile, and haptic capacities
(Armstrong, 1994). Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is the ability to solve problems or to
fashion products using one’s whole body, or parts of the body; dancers, athletes,
surgeons, and craftspeople all exhibit highly developed bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
(Gardner, 1987). Thus, in order to design teaching activities which appeal to bodily-
kinesthetic learners in the secondary classroom, it is necessary to design a variety of
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activities which incorporate find and gross motor movements. Grinder (1991) noted that
in every group of 30 students, an average of 22 are able to learn effectively as long as the
teacher provides a blend of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities
2.4 Kinesthetic activities which benefit learners
Teachers of language arts, assessed Gage (1995), are probably in a better
position than those in other disciplines to begin to critically evaluate our methods in
order to address the needs of our kinesthetically oriented students. Gage designed a
number of activities to suit the needs of his kinesthetic learners. For instance, some of
the items that particularly appealed to kinesthetic learners were projects such as making
a cover for the texts or books, including a pictorial representation of its contents as well
as a written blurb on the back. Other activity-related projects included making display
boards, plot diagrams, portraits of characters, making comic books to interpret a piece of
literature and role-playing of scenes in small groups. One advantage of implementing
kinesthetically oriented methods is that they often involve one or both of the other
modalities as well.
One specific unit Gage (1995) designed that involved role-playing was entitled
“Meet the Poets.” After researching the lives of three American poets, the groups then
presented their findings using a talk show format in which a moderator interviewed the
three guests poets. Many groups appeared complete with make-up, costumes, and props,
with formats ranging from séances to raps. This activity suited kinesthetic learners since
the students were actively gathering material and playing out their roles as poet or
moderator. Videotaping was another idea that involved bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.
When covering a unit on advertising or something similar in manner, the students
conceived and videotaped their own television commercials. Gage believed that all
students appeared to enjoy and learn from these projects while being able to move
16
around, draw things, cut things, were generally able to remain active in the learning
process.
2.4.1 Dance and drama design
Pirie (1995) reported that movement activities inspired by dance and drama can
be designed so as to enhance the study of literature. An easy starter was simply to
instruct students, all together, to try to walking the way they though a particular
character from literature would walk. Ultimately, there was discussion about the walks,
but silence during the moments of movements permitted students to concentrate on their
own bodies and to discover their reactions to the movements of others around them. In
another activity, groups of students searched a text, looking for lines of dialogue that
epitomized the relationship between two key characters, and rehearsed those collected
lines as choral readings with carefully thought-out expressive movements. This was
then followed by text and talk. Another activity was more individual task. The students
were asked to shape themselves into “statues” that represented the essence of a particular
character from a work under study. An interesting refinement of this activity was
pairing up students who represented two characters with a strained relationship. Both
students took their statue positions, and on the teacher’s signal began walking towards
the other which he transformed himself into the opposite character.
The final activity Pirie (1995) shared was called the “dream”. The students were
instructed to find bits of language that might echo in the character’s ears. Then they
took that language and wove it into group movements that created the character’s dream
world. These dreamscapes were rehearsed and presented, group by group, in
uninterrupted flow – one continuous night of dreams. It was important for the dreams to
be devoid of logic or narrative sequence. Fragmented and recursive “dream-logic”
allowed them to tap into more profound insights and symbols. Pirie concluded that in
17
secondary school, movement is a vital form of learning for many adolescents, whether
schools recognize it or not.
2.4.2 Creating literary videos
English instruction runs the gamut from the grammatical and syntactical analysis
to discursive literary analysis. Simeone (1995) postulated that if English teachers do not
employ concrete connectives, many if our learners will never fully comprehend the
power of language. Simeone utilized video cameras in her world literature class. She
found that video cameras have always been a great resource for the active classroom.
Students working on both sides of the camera can develop a personal understanding of a
literary, social, or political concept through creative interpretation. An awareness of
racial, religious, or ethnic injustice can be heightened through a multicultural film
documentation in conjunction with the reading of books of the same theme. Simeone
demonstrated this by conducting a small group, cooperative learning activity which
involved a filmed interpretation of “Hamlet.” Students were expected to demonstrate
mastery level understanding of character development through video translation. Other
video projects included an independent reading, character analysis, and interpretation of
“King Lear,” as well as collaborative learning projects in mythology and folk tales.
Simeone’s final suggestion was a kinesthetic language arts activity called “Chalkboard
Pictionary.” After forming teams, the students then used African proverbs and
interpreted the proverb on the chalkboard through symbols and picture
conceptualization.
Integrating these kinesthetic activities seemed to yield positive outcomes to those
who are involved. This is supported by Smagorinsky (1995) who reported that students
who were low achievers were often among the most enthusiastic and productive workers
on these projects. Students who had previously failed to turn in simple homework
assignments would spend all weekend producing elaborate video productions
18
dramatizing their interpretations of literary relationships. Besides being engaged,
students were clearly demonstrating and understanding of literature in ways not
accessible through their writing. Not only were they active, they were learning in the
process.
After having described a review of the existing literature, the next chapter will
now discuss the research methodology that was employed in this study. The research
purpose, research participants, research design and research instruments will be
explained in more detail in Chapter III.
19
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH
3.1 Introduction The ultimate goal of the researcher is to gain insights into upper secondary
students’ perception towards kinesthetic learning activities while looking to the benefits
and challenges in integrating kinesthetic learning activities in upper secondary English
classroom. This chapter deals primarily with the type of research method, the research
design and the research instruments employed in this research. This chapter ends with a
section that explains how kinesthetic learning activities were implemented and how the
data was analyzed.
3.2 The research design The objectives of the study are to gain insights into upper secondary students’
perception about the processes and benefits of kinesthetic learning activities conducted
in the secondary classroom setting and to find out the challenges that the students face
while participating in kinesthetic learning activities. The researcher began the research
by hypothesizing that the students regardless of their schooling level and dominant
learning styles are in favour of the utilization of kinesthetic learning activities in their
learning environment. This aids the researcher to hypothesize the research findings as
the hypotheses guided the researcher in selecting the population and eventually, the
sample of participants, to be employed for this research.
20
In this research, qualitative method was the method utilized to acquire data. This
type of educational research focuses on the question “What is the structure and essence
of experience of this phenomenon for these people?” (Patton, 1990). Patton explained
that the first implication of this type of study is that what is important to know is what
people experience and how they interpret the world. The second implication is that the
only way for us to really know what another person experience is to experience it for
ourselves which leads to the importance of participant observation.
3.3 The conceptualization stage
The conceptualization of this study started when the researcher discussed the
potential of kinesthetic learning activities in promoting a more active learning
environment in secondary school setting with English language teachers and students in
Mara Junior Science College Batu Pahat. Following this, several questions surfaced so
as to gather students’ perceptions toward kinesthetic learning activities.
Upon completing the questions to be asked to the future participants, the
researcher proceeded with discussing with two English teachers – Miss X and Miss Y,
who frequently made use of kinesthetic learning activities in their upper secondary
classrooms. They provided the researcher with information to identify potential
participants of this research. The potential participants were given a series of questions
so as to identify their learning styles before they were selected. (The research procedure
thus far can be referred in Appendix A).
When the sample of participants had been identified, arrangements were made
with Miss X and Miss Y, so that the researcher could observe three of their English
classes when conducting kinesthetic learning activities and students from their classes
21
would respond to several journal questions and selected students be called in for a group
interview.
3.4 The pilot study
Before the actual sample of participants were called in, a pilot study was
conducted in early February 2007 to validate the research instruments. Four form three
students were chosen for the pilot study. These participants were of different levels of
language proficiency and had varying level of familiarity with kinesthetic learning
activities which were used as a part of their revision sessions after completion of their
English syllabus. All research instruments, Style Analysis Survey by Rebecca Oxford
(Appendix B), journal questions (Appendix C), classroom observation during kinesthetic
learning activities and group interview questions (Appendix D) were tested on these
subjects.
The pilot study exposed the researcher of ways in which the use of research
instruments could be improved. For instance, when taking the Style Analysis Survey,
instead of having to manually calculate the students’ scores, the researcher came across
with the online version of the survey which would help the researcher and students from
having to do all those calculation since the scores will be calculated automatically by the
webpage. The researcher also discovered that these subjects tend to have limited
response to the questions posed to them. Consequently, the researcher decided to opt for
more vocal subjects in the actual study with the intention of acquiring better insight on
students’ perceptions towards kinesthetic learning activities.
22
3.5 The actual study
The actual study was conducted in mid August through early October 2007. At
the beginning of the study, the researcher explained to the participants about the purpose
of the research, some background information of kinesthetic learning activities and
about what was going to take place in the study.
When the classroom observation ended, the researcher then interviewed the
participants based on the group interview questions that were assigned to them when
they were called in. After the data was collected, the researcher immediately transcribed
the data recorded during the interview. This was done to reduce loss of valuable insights
obtained from the study. Transcriptions were re-checked twice to counter-check against
the earlier transcribed text.
3.6 Participants of the study
The sample of participants consisted of six students referred to as P1, P2, P3, P4,
P5 and P6 who were all Form Four students from different classes of MARA Junior
Science College Batu Pahat. These Form Four classes were taught by Miss X and Miss
Y. The school is a boarding school consisting of students from Form One to Form Five.
The participants were chosen from the school where the researcher is serving in order to
serve the purpose of carrying out the research and ease the data collection process.
All of the participants had been exposed to at least nine years of formal English
language instruction while they were in primary school and secondary schools. Three of
the participants, P1, P2 and P3 were the school English debaters and had achieved
excellent scores in the final examination for semester 1, 2007. The other participants
also had experience in taking part in competitions held in English such as story telling
and elocution.
23
The sample of participants comprised three male (P1, P3 and P6) and three
female students (P2, P4 and P5), four of which are Malays (P1, P2, P3, P6), one Chinese
(P4) and one Indian (P5). For the Malay participants, the English language is a second
language to them while Bahasa Melayu is their native language. As for the Chinese and
Indian participants, Bahasa Melayu and English language are two languages they are
familiar with.
The six Form Four participants were selected from the population of upper
secondary students upon the recommendation of Miss X and Miss Y since the Form Five
students were occupied with their preparation for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM)
examination. The idea of qualitative research is to “purposefully” select informants that
will best answer the research questions (Creswell, 1994). Hence, there is no attempt
made to randomly select informant. These six participants were chosen due to their
varying learning styles that were determined from the Style Analysis Survey so as to
prove that various learning styles do exist among students and also their abilities to
voice out their thoughts in English proficiently since all of the questions posed to them
were all in English.
3.7 Research instruments
Multiple research strategies were utilized in this study. The term multiple
research strategies is also commonly known as triangulation. Triangulation is typically a
strategy used for improving the validity and reliability of research or evaluation findings.
Patton (2001) promoted the use of triangulation by stating triangulation “strengthens a
study by combining several methods of data collection” which included interviews,
observations and document analysis. To echo this, the research instruments employed in
this study included Oxford’s Style Analysis Survey (1993), journal questions, classroom
24
observation during kinesthetic activities and group interview. The research tools that
were used in this study are described in this section.
3.7.1 Style Analysis Survey
There were eleven parts in the Style Analysis Survey created by Rebecca Oxford
(1993) with each having a set of statements to be used as a benchmark for the
identification and description of a student’s learning style(s). These parts were – how
students use physical senses to learn, how students expose themselves to learning
situations, how students handle possibilities, how students manage ambiguity and
deadlines, how students receive information, how students further process information,
how students commit material to memory and how students deal with language rules.
The total number of questions was a hundred and ten. Scores were determined based on
the numerical values for options circled by respondents.
Total scores for the first part of the Style Analysis Survey ranged from 0-120
points while the second and third parts ranged from 0-48 points. Part four ranged from
0-32 points. Part five and six ranged from 0-40 points. Parts seven to ten ranged from 0-
24 points while part eleven ranged from 0-16 points. In order to interpret the scores, the
selected values were calculated separately according to the eleven parts. In the first part,
items 1-10, 11-20 and 21-30 identified a student’s preference for visual, auditory or
kinesthetic respectively. The section that registered the highest score indicated a
respondent’s preferred sense for learning. Each style preference indicates the comfort-
zone of a respondent where he or she can work well. (This can be referred in Appendix
B)
The survey was done by all the Form Four students online so as to save time and
energy of the party involved (http://www.uky.edu/~jrouhie.sas.html). Before the survey
was administered, their respective teachers discussed how learning styles were
determined and used by students and teachers, how to tally results of survey and lastly
25
persuade students of the benefits of identifying their learning styles. Upon completion
of this online survey, this paperless survey was proven to be user-friendly and hassle
free. The questions were worded in simple English and the Form Four students seemed
to be able to comprehend what were asked without any problem. The students were
required to take this survey to prove that differences in students’ learning styles do exist.
This survey would also help the researcher from selecting participants with similar
learning styles as having a variety of learning styles would reduce biasness in this study.
3.7.2 Kinesthetic learning activities A kinesthetic learning activity is a physically engaging classroom exercise. As
part of such activity, students might stand, walk, talk, point or even work with props.
Generally, kinesthetic learning activities are short (20 minutes or less) classroom-based
activities, and may involve a small number of students or the entire class. Kinesthetic
learning activities engage students by putting them in motion and sometimes even
require real exertion, raising heart rates that tend to lag during lecture (Bligh, 2000). In
this study, several kinesthetic learning activities were conducted for upper secondary
students. A brief description of these activities is provided in this study.
3.7.2.1 Vocabulary cards / Flash cards Students construct vocabulary cards on 4 x 6 white index cards. The vocabulary
word, definition, and part of speech appear on the ruled side of the card. Students
illustrate the meaning of the word on the blank side of the card either by cutting and
pasting pictures in a collage fashion or by producing free-hand sketches. Students then
use these in small groups in order to discuss to new words, or to review before a test.
26
3.7.2.2 Vocabulary games
Several games such as ‘Hot Seat’, ‘Pictionary’ and ‘Scrambled Letters’ were
carried out during the research.
To play ‘Hot Seat’, the class is divided into Teams A and B. Team A sits in a
group on one side of the classroom, Team B sits on the other side. Bring two chairs to
the front of the room so that when seated, a student is facing his or her respective team
and their back is to the blackboard or white board. One member from each team sits in
their team's chair. The teacher writes a word, phrase, or sentence on the board. The
students in the chairs mustn't see what's written on the board. Once the teacher yells 'go',
the teams have one minute, using only verbal clues, to get their seated teammate to say
the item written on the board. The only rule is that they must not say the item written on
the board, in full or part. The first student in the hot seat to utter the word scores a point
for their team. When the round is over, two new team players are rotated into the hot
seat and a new item is written up. The first team to score X number of points wins. To
ensure a slightly quieter and less chaotic game, the teams can take it in turns. Rather
than two students in the hot seat, only one member from each team plays at a time. The
teacher as usual scribbles a word on the board and gives the team one minute to get their
teammate to say the item. If the hot-seated player manages to say the word, the teacher
quickly writes another item on the board and so on until the minute is up. The team
scores a point for every item they manage to say within one minute.
In ‘Pictionary’, the class is divided into Teams A and B. Team A sits in a group
on one side of the classroom, Team B sits on the other side. One member from each
team goes to the board. The teacher flashes them a word, phrase, or expression written
on a piece of paper. The students have one minute to get their respective team to say the
item only by drawing pictorial clues on the board. Written words, verbal clues, or
gestures are forbidden. The first team to say the word scores a point.
27
For ‘Scrambled Letters’, the teacher would write up eight words with their letters
shuffled (e.g. ‘eicscen’ for science) on the board. When the teacher says 'go', the
students, individually or in pairs, endeavor to untangle the words as quickly as they can.
The first student or pair, to do so wins. The teacher can then quickly run through each of
the scrambled letter groups on the board, eliciting information about each word or
concept. Phrases, expressions, and idioms larger than 2 words can also be used (e.g.
“you're having when time flies fun” for “time flies when you're having fun”.)
3.7.2.3 Jeopardy
Designed like the commercialized version. Jeopardy is a game of trivia, covering topics
such as literature and current issues. During the game, competing studentss select clues
from a game board, up to 11 clues per game. To play, pick a category and a ringgit
value. The teacher will give the students a “clue”, and then if they know the answer,
they would “buzz in” and give their responses to the clue in the form of a question. An
example of a Jeopardy clue would be, “Emily Dickinson was born in U.S.A” The
corresponding response would be, “What is Amherst, Massachusette?” The question
cards have varying point values for increasing difficulty. Jeopardy is used as students
review with one another on an individual basis or in groups where they compete for
bonus points on a particular topic.
3.7.2.4 Literary video
Students are assigned a section of a short story or novel, or a poem that they must
role play and record on video. They could choose whatever locations would best suit
28
their assignment. Music has to be incorporated into the video in some way and all
members of the group are required to share a designated task in the project. The list of
the casts and crew of the video production should be submitted to the teacher in charge
along with the script upon the completion of the video literature. The video literature
has to be in compact disc form. The length of the video should be between 30 to 40
minutes. Normally the students are given one week to complete the task.
3.7.3 Journal questions
Robinson and Lai (2006) espoused that journal questions enable teachers to
“uncover actions and constraints that they may not be privy to.” Hence, written journal
responses to a range of questions about kinesthetic learning activities revealed students’
perspectives about these types of activities conducted in their learning environment.
There were six questions put forward for the participants to respond. These
questions were in English and the participants did not have any problem in digesting the
questions due to their competency level in English. The teacher would also clarify any
part of the questions when it was deemed necessary. These questions were posed to the
participants so as to gain understanding of their perceptions towards this study.
The first and second questions required the participants to talk about their
favourite learning activities in primary school while giving their opinion whether
secondary classroom learning activities differ from the learning activities that they had
in primary school. These questions were related to the first research question in this
study – what are students’ perceptions of kinesthetic learning activities conducted in an
English classroom? This is followed by question three and four which asked the
partcicipants to share their positive and negative learning experiences in English
classroom in secondary school level. Question five prompted the participants to give
their views on types of learning that they think would be beneficial to promote a better
29
learning environment. These questions attempted to answer research question two and
three – what kinds of kinesthetic learning activities are beneficial to upper secondary
students? ; What are the challenges that the students face while taking part in kinesthetic
learning activities? Question six concluded the participants’ responses in their journals
whereby they had to give their honest opinion about the learning activities in the English
classes that they had in secondary school.
3.7.4 Classroom observation during kinesthetic learning activities
Direct observation was carried out where the researcher herself sat in the Miss X
and Miss Y’s English classes when kinesthetic learning activities were conducted. The
researcher observed and compiled field notes on the participants’ responses when taking
part in kinesthetic learning activities. According to Patton (1990) field notes consisted
of detailed descriptions of students’ activities, behaviours, and interpersonal interactions.
The role of the researcher in this study was complete observer. This is viewed as
useful considering the researcher would have firsthand experience with the participants
while recording information as it occurs.
After the classroom observations ended, these field notes were referred to by the
researcher who continued with the interview questions. Questions were posed to the
participants in order to obtain clarification on points observed while the participants
were engaged in their learning activities.
3.7.5 Group interview
The main purpose of this interview was to validate and help furnish more
information pertaining data obtained from the journal questions and also classroom
30
observations. For this study, the participants had to participate in a group interview
consisted of all six of the participants. Group interview provided a convenient way to
accumulate the individual knowledge of their members and gave rise synergistically to
insights and solutions that would not come about without them (Brown, Collins, &
Duguid, 1989). Participants would also get to hear each other’s responses and to make
additional comments beyond their own original responses as they hear what other people
have to say. This semi-structured group interview took about 30 minutes and was
conducted after class time in a small meeting room in the school resource center.
During the group interview all six participants were given the opportunity to
respond to a series of pre-designed questions (Appendix D). Ten questions were posed
to the participants. All the questions proposed were related in attempt to answer the
three research questions mentioned in Chapter 1. Since this was a qualitative study,
however, probing questions were also utilized so as to clarify answers periodically.
3.8 Data collection procedures
In mid August 2007, the online Style Analysis Survey was administered to all
Form Four students in MARA Junior Science College Batu Pahat. Afterwards, these
students were exposed to a wide range of kinesthetic learning activities for four weeks.
During this period, these students were asked to respond to several journal questions
designed for this study to obtain a daily grade for a warm-up writing exercise; however,
the students who eventually became a part of the study submitted their written journal
entries as a part of the data collection. The researcher attended three English classes
which incorporated kinesthetic learning activities in order to observe students’ responses
towards these activities. Upon the recommendation of subject teachers, six participants
were selected. These participants were required to submit their journal responses to the
researcher and participated in a group interview. Once the interview was completed, the
materials were transcribed and then the copies of the transcripts were shown to the
31
participants for member checking before it was analyzed. (The procedures can be
referred in Appendix E)
3.9 Analysis of the data
In this research, qualitative data were gauged through the use of multiple
research strategies. Once the interview had been transcribed, the journal responses had
been collected, and the field notes were complete, the data analysis involved methods
such as member checking and triangulation in order to examine the data.
Member checking requires the participants to read through the transcribed
interviews and make whatever changes to the text that they determined is necessary for
clarification as this is useful in increasing the validity of the research.
The data analysis process also used triangulation in comparing the information
found in all the data sources (journal questions, classroom observations, and group
interview) to determine whether or not there are identifiable emergent patterns. The
primary patterns in the data will then be identified, coded, and categorized by unitizing
the responses to the interviews, journal questions, and field notes. Once this was
accomplished, the information was chunked to identify emerging themes
3.10 Reliability and validity
Patton (2001) stated that validity and reliability are two factors which any
qualitative researcher should be concerned with while designing a study, analyzing
results and judging the quality of the study. On the aspect of validity of a qualitative
research, Winter (2000) contended that the reliability of the research findings is not a
32
single, fixed or universal concept but “rather a contingent construct, inescapably
grounded in the process and intentions of particular research methodologies and
projects.”
In this study, several attempts were carried out to minimize differences resulting
from the participating individuals so as to increase the reliability of the study. One
attempt was to provide the same set of instruction to all participants. This is crucial
since incomplete instruction may lead to differences in interpretation among the
participants.
Another measure to maximize the reliability of the data was to give the same
information regarding the research purpose and procedures, to all participating
individuals. Pertaining the research purpose, all the participants knew that the research
they were going to take part was related to kinesthetic learning activities. The
participants were also aware that they will not be academically assessed during the
research by their respective teachers or the researcher. This made a difference because
knowing that they would not be evaluated and the researcher were only interested in
researching their learning behaviours, participants could then behave more naturally and
in a more relaxed manner. If the participants had thought that they would get extra
marks by participating in this research, they may then have behaved differently in order
to please and make an impression on the researcher. The participants’ knowledge of the
role of the researcher played an important factor in determining the reliability of the
research.
33
CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS OF THE STUDY
4.1 Introduction
This chapter reports the findings of this study. It reports upper secondary
students’ perspectives related to kinesthetic learning activities and describes the
kinds of kinesthetic learning activities that are beneficial to the students and the
challenges that emerge when using kinesthetic learning activities. The report of
the findings here is organized according to the sequence of the research
questions in Chapter 1. As stated in the first chapter, the first research question
is What are the students’ perceptions of kinesthetic learning activities in an
English classroom? The first part of this chapter thus responds to this first
research question.
4.2 Students’ perceptions of kinesthetic learning activities
This section begins with an overview of the qualitative data of the students’
perceptions that were gathered from six upper secondary students (form four). Before
examining the first part, which focused on students’ perceptions of kinesthetic learning
activities in upper secondary English Classroom, it was crucial to establish participants’
backgrounds and previous experiences with kinesthetic learning activities before
secondary school. After examining their background knowledge about kinesthetic
experiences, it was then favorable to gain their insights on kinesthetic learning activities
in upper secondary English classroom. As stated by Robinson and Lai (2006), journals
questions enable teachers to “uncover actions and constraints that they may not be privy
to.” Hence, written journal responses to a range of questions about kinesthetic learning
34
activities revealed students’ perspectives about these types of activities prior to this
study. This data served as a framework for the first part covered in this chapter.
4.2.1 Previous elementary experiences with kinesthetic learning activities
One of the participants’ journal questions called for them to discuss their
favourite learning activities in elementary school. As a result, an array of activities
involving kinesthetic learning activities surfaced. P4 fondly remembered using “flash
cards” during math and “writing on the chalkboard.” P1 also admitted that he
particularly enjoyed “building things” in connection with projects. His reasoning was
that if you “colour a picture or build a visual example, you remember things better.”
Besides colouring, P6 liked to “play games” because he “liked to move a lot” when he
was “little”. P5 expressed her artistic interests by suggesting that “art class” was her
personal favorites, because she can express herself by “doing it” but she also enjoyed
“going to the library” and “going on school trips” as well. In elementary school, P3
especially enjoyed being involved in “hands-on activities such as projects.” His
response to this particular question continued to reflect his enthusiasm obviously
experienced at the time of the project by his description of it. “I can vividly remember
planting herbal plants in the school garden. I watched them grow as I grew too.”
Another activity he recorded was a class in which the students “were allowed to read a
book and present it as a puppet show.” In P3’s opinion, this combined two activities in
the classroom which he considered to be important to a positive learning environment,
“working with classmates and learning about books as well.”
In addition to her earlier response, P2 also reflected the concept of getting all of
the students involved with physical activities. One of her classes created a “learning
center” or pondok ilmu. After the students “made a tent and decorated it,” they brought
“stuff that was related to that subject and put them in to make it just like a real learning
center.” For P2, the creativity and group participation of the activity made it more
interesting to her as an elementary school student. Similarly, taking an active part in the
35
educational environment was also important to P1. He liked “the hands-on events that
involved you more.” After he described a math activity which had presented this type of
opportunity for him, he reflected, “I think this hands-on style of learning made me
develop more interest in school and eager to learn more.”
This eagerness to learn could be seen in some of the other participants’ responses
as well. P4 enjoyed the kinesthetic learning activities which an elementary school
environment had provided them. “My favorite learning activities,” noted P4, “were the
ones where we moved around and we had to do them in groups” while, P5 not only
“enjoyed hands-on activities” but also appreciated the inventive teachers and their
“clever way of teaching.”
4.2.2 Comparisons of elementary experiences with secondary experiences
Once the participants had cited the types of kinesthetic learning activities that
had appealed to them on the elementary school level, it was important to examine their
perceptions about how these activities compared to the types of activities that had been
most common in their secondary school experiences as stated in one of the journal
questions. P5 wrote, “In elementary school we got to do fun things. Usually in
secondary school things are pretty boring.” She asserted that the biggest differences
between her experiences were that elementary school involved more “hands-on
learning” while in high school “all we do is listen, take notes, and then sit for exams.”
Elementary school obviously provided a more social and exciting atmosphere to the
classroom as P4 explained, “In elementary school we would get to move about and to be
involved with other students.” She went on to complain that most secondary school
students “don’t like to sit, listen to lectures, and take notes for forty minutes.” Her
journal entry concluded that “we need to able to talk and move about freely.” P5’s
summed it up by stating, “secondary school activities are limited” and admitted that “we
do not do many activities in my class.”
36
P2 and P1 echoed these journal responses; however, they were much more in-
depth and descriptive at times in their responses probably due to their debating skills
since they were the school debaters.
P2: In elementary school, activities were fun and lenient where the activities
involved getting up and moving around a lot. In secondary school, I recall not
doing a lot of activities that involved body movement. Reading used to be a
group participation out loud, but now it’s individual and silent. There aren’t
really any fun or free learning activities in secondary classes. Maybe teachers
think we need to grow up now instead of having a little fun and recreation.
Learning activities now are mostly dull and boring.
P1: Secondary learning activities seem to be more exam-oriented, and solitary;
whereas, in elementary school, we did much more hands-on, up-and-going,
interesting activities. In secondary school most of everything will be based
solely on the textbook involving activities that include writing and reading on a
daily basis. These activities are dull and boring as they are done too frequently.
P2 also appeared to perceive an established pattern in the progression of
activities from elementary to secondary school. She contested that the teacher was an
important factor in this established pattern.
P2: In secondary school, learning activities become stricter and fewer. It is also
dependent upon the teacher. Some teachers like to lecture, and some enjoy
having their students in a more fun and comfortable learning environment which
usually includes activities that involve hands-on experiences and interesting
learning activities.
P1’s response seemed to be in agreement with P2’s in that he perceived a
recognized pattern to the progression of activities from elementary to secondary school.
37
P1: We were so young that teachers thought we couldn’t be taught in a
“conventional” or “traditional” way. We were read stories, played games and
watched movies. Socializing was also considered an essential part of school.
Somehow in secondary school it seemed as if we needed to learn personal
responsibilities, so a more lecture-oriented class took effect.
According to P1, two factors missing from the secondary classroom which had
been an integral part of the elementary school environment were variety and excitement.
P1: In elementary school there was more of a variety of learning varieties. In
secondary activities, most of the classes are the same old boring learning styles:
take notes, lectures and homework. I hate that. In elementary school, I used to
get excited about going to school. Now, that doesn’t happen very often.
Two other participants specifically complained about the lecture and note-taking
methods in high school classrooms. P6’s comparison of elementary school was short and
concise. “In elementary school we would get up and move around a lot more. Now we
come in and just sit and take notes.” P3 agreed that “there is more lecture and note-
taking” on a secondary level. This passive classroom atmosphere was mentioned in P3’s
response as he noted, “In secondary schools we are expected to sit there quietly and not
ask questions.” His conclusion in his journal response was that elementary school “was
not so monotonous.”
4.2.3 Students’ perceptions of kinesthetic learning activities conducted in an English classroom
As the Form Four participants reminisced about hands-on learning in elementary
school, the researcher asked the students during first interview to cite any example of
some of the most memorable kinesthetic learning activity they had experienced in an
38
English classroom. The following section of the interview with all of them revealed a
grammar lesson they had early this year.
P2 : In Miss X’s class, she had these funny songs and they were about
different parts of speech, like prepositions, tenses etc. And she made us
do short sketch and have like choreography to them [because] we were
[going to] present them in front of the other form three classes.
P4: Mine was conjunctions and I will always remember what a
preposition is just [because] we had that song thingy where we had to
dance while we sing the song. I can still sing my conjunction function.
P2: I can still….I can sing you the song.
(While the girls were sharing this, the others were nodding their heads
and quietly mentioning their part of speech as well)
P4: And if I don’t know what a conjunction is, you can just go and sing it.
P1: We were the first class that she did it on. And then Miss Y and Miss
Z’s class had to do the same activities too. The students especially the
boys didn’t take it seriously but then even you said that you find fewer
mistakes on our papers and all kinds of stuff. I guess after that everyone
got [kind of] serious about it.
P6: Yeah.
P1: So maybe, I mean, you never know. We remembered it because of
those songs and short sketches that we did.
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As this discussion progressed, when the participants were prompted to explain
what an exiting classroom looks and sounds like; types of activities that ensure long-
term memory, the participants also mentioned a poetry unit that this same Form Four
teachers had designed. The teachers assigned the students to various groups and told
them that they were to write a group poem about an environmental issue. Each student
was responsible for composing at least one line of the poem. Afterwards they took
pictures which would be visual representation of the poem. P2’s group poem was about
pollution. She recalled, “I remember dressing up like Mother Earth while looking really
old and grumpy. I can never forget that. I mean we really did a good job at writing the
poem. Each person did a line. That helps me write poems today.” P1 then added on other
activities that they did with their teachers on selected poems and short stories in form
four’s literature component where they would have to write a script and dramatize each
poem and short story. The students would have to record their work using camcorders
to be submitted to their respective teachers in compact disc form. Upon discussing this
P3 commented on how he would “definitely remember all the characteristics of the main
and minor characters in Looking For A Rain God” while P5 responded on how she
“understood” why symbolism were used in Monsoon History since she had to be the
“fat white slug” in the drama.
4.2.4 Strengths of kinesthetic learning activities
For all the participants, one of the strength of kinesthetic activities was that they
facilitated the learning. P4 was absent during the first couple of day when the class was
engaged in The Necklace unit. It was her belief that the task cards activity helped her to
get caught up on the unit and she “learned the material a lot better” as a result. P6 agreed
about the task card activity when he replied, “It just helped everybody learn better. And
like they said, you did not have to think of something, it’s just right there in front of you.
And then it puts together, so it’s easier to learn it.” P1, who had already recognized that
he learns better in small group activities, added that the discussion about the material
40
which takes place during the kinesthetic activities facilitates the learning process for
him. He reiterated, “When I heard everybody going over the facts, I learned all the facts
that we did.” It was P6’s perception that it was a combination of learning styles which
benefited him the most when he reflected “I like to see it, and then put it together.”
When the other participants were asked about what they perceived to be the
strength of the kinesthetic activities their reactions were very similar to P4, P1 and P6’s.
P1: You can learn a lot.
(Others replied in unison, “Yeah. You can learn a lot.”)
P5: You remember.
P3: The whole The Necklace activity that we did; we all learned from it, I think.
P5: You learned together.
P2: And it will stay in our head. Not only do you learn stuff, but you also make like …
what you were saying about little things, little comments you get in between those
activities. I mean it’s memories, that any time anybody says something for the rest of
your life that has to do with you’ve learned you’ll automatically think about it.
The idea of memorable learning experience was reinforced by P1 as he suggested, “It’s
the same thing with associating a certain song to a certain someone or event. Whenever
you hear that song on air, you’ll quickly remember that particular person or event.”
4.2.5 Weaknesses of kinesthetic learning activities
It appeared in the beginning that designing multiple kinesthetic activities for a
single literature lesson would offer variety to the students. This would probably have
41
been true had each of these activities been implemented during separate days. When the
activities were, however, implemented on the same day, it proved to be more chaotic
then instructive. Therefore, the first example of the kinesthetic activities cited by these
participants was disorganization. Two participants complained about the disorganization
but also offered some suggestions.
P1: They need to be a little more organized, I think. You know some may not
want them more organized, but I do.
P4: I think we should all do the same thing the same day, that it would have been
a little better. Like we did Jeopardy while someone was doing the game and
someone was doing the task cards, and people at the cards, they were really
learning, and then jeopardy we were just kind of reading and saying it. But like if
everyone would do it all together, it would make it more positive.
P1: I think I learn better in a small group than in a large group.
P4: Same with me. I mean, keeping the small groups. Make us do the same thing.
P1: If you get into a larger group, you’ll have somebody blurt out the answer real
quick, and I wouldn’t even have time to think about what the question is. That’s
why I like being in a small group. You can slow down a little bit.
While P1 and P4 agreed that working in groups increased their learning potential, they
also contended with the rest of the sample students that whether they were designing or
participating in kinesthetic activities, there were times when group works definitely had
its drawbacks.
These Form Four participants indicated that a second weakness of kinesthetic
activities was associated with working on group projects. All of them had been revolved
with fellow students who would not participate in the activities and disproved to be a
42
hardship on those in the group who were attempting to do a good job. P2 singled up an
example in which she and those in her group were involved in a poster presentation
project in literature during the colonial period. One of her complains was that “all the
people were never there.” She went on to argue, “It just seems like certain people just
take responsibility for the whole group and everybody else gets the grade.” While others
in the group immediately agreed with her, P5 admitted, “that happened to me several
times.” P3 and P6 also offered this lack of participation as a weakness, but they
suggested an alternative. Like P2, P4 complained, “Not everyone participates.” P1
added, “or one person does the whole thing.” As others in the group offered prior
experience, P2 contended, “that brings the group down.” When asked if they thought it
would be better to offer those students who did not enjoy participating in group activities
the choice of individual activities, they had mixed feelings.
P4: Yeah, to give them choices.
P2: Even us…even those people that don’t learn the right way, will still have to
do it…so you know they need to.
P4: They need to adapt; I guess you could say.
P3: I think you should give them a choice and then they’ll see how much fun
everybody else is having, and then they’ll regret not doing it and end up doing it
anyway.
4.3 Beneficial kinesthetic learning activities to upper secondary students
The second research question that was stated in Chapter 1 is What kinds of
kinesthetic learning activities are beneficial to upper secondary students? This section
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now presents the types of kinesthetic learning activities that are seen as beneficial to
upper secondary students.
During the interview when asked which kinesthetic activities benefited them the
most in a secondary classroom setting, the six participants mainly discussed the task
cards and the jeopardy game they designed for The Necklace unit. The boys tended to
associate secondary school kinesthetic activities with childhood experiences and fun, but
they also argued that these types of activities helped them to retain information and they
helped to alleviate the stress associated with other types of learning situations.
P6 admitted that he liked the task cards his class designed for The Necklace unit
because “when [he] was a little kid, [he] used to do puzzles all the time.” P2 especially
liked jeopardy.” Jeopardy was fun” because it was “just like competing in the actual
Jeopardy!” P4 liked the task cards as well, but her reason was that, “you were having fun
while you were learning…you didn’t have so much stress.” P5 echoed P4’s train of
thought when she added, “Really it just give you a chance to learn and have fun at the
same time, and made it easier.” P3 enjoyed the task cards as well because, “when they
go together, you remember which ones go together.” For P1 the thing that triggered his
memory was if you “stress the main points, and make it really big and crazy looking,
you’ll remember it best.” He felt that “you remember more stuff like that than you do if
it’s just written down.” P2 continued, “They [kinesthetic activities] were colorful, and
they were creative. And the ones that were in different shapes and everything, you
remembered them most.”
Another element that arose in these participants’ journal responses involved the
perception that movement in the classroom stimulated the learning environment.
Therefore, when asked directly in the interview how important activities which involved
movement were to them, P2 was the first to respond, “You got to do things that move
you out…’cause if you don’t, you’ll be bored to death.” P6 agreed with her, “If I sit still,
I go to sleep every time.” P4 was adamant in her complaint, “in classes [where] we just
sit there…I cannot sit still!” P1 was unhappy with one of his classes because it was “not
a relaxed environment.” The classroom policy was, “don’t talk; don’t move.” P5 quickly
44
admitted that if she were in that class she would, “have to go to the bathroom or the
clinic or the sick-bay.” P5 realized that she “learns through hands-on activities.”
Therefore, “the activities we did through The Necklace were very helpful for her. While
discussing some of their experiences with this unit, P1 asserted the idea of kinesthetic
learning activities adding an element of fun to the learning environment.
P4: Of course, it made learning actually a little bit fun ‘cause in all of our classes we’re
bored you know, we have nothing to do.
P6: You remember stuff better when it’s fun.
Researcher: Remember stuff better when it’s fun?
P6: Yeah. (Others nod or verbally agree)
P2: I can think back to like when P4 and I had to create our “super-cute” task cards, and
I could remember things like some of the questions were the same as the stuff you had
put on the little task cards. And I could remember to one thinking, “Oh, yeah, that was
the question that made no sense.’(laughter from the group).
P5: And you start to relate actions and stuff that you do and you start putting it with the
questions to help you remember, so it’s not even a chore.
P4: It’s not a chore. That’s the main thing.
P5: Yeah. It’s…it’s fun.
In the same interview with these participants, one participant cited an example of how
even vicariously being a part of kinesthetic activities not only was fun but also helped
her to remember.
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P4: Who’s [going to] remember what you’re reading about something like ten
minutes…ten after eleven or something? But you will remember sitting there watching
W’s pants fall down.
She is referring to a video that the English class created early in this year about Mat
Kilau – a local hero. At one point in the video, a student (W) who is portraying the
British army character in the story is on patrol, and as he is marching his pants fall to his
knees. Although it was a blooper and was not in the story line, the students who made
the video decided to keep it in for comic relief. The students involved in the interview all
laugh as they recall this particular scene in the video as P4 continues, “I remember the
story. And I remember exactly how it went. And I don’t think I would have done that if I
just would have read about it.”
These students juxtaposed remembering with learning activities which were fun
or interesting. “The stuff you don’t enjoy goes in your short-term memory,” declared P5.
When asked what types of activities will insure long-term memory, P2 said, “Action.”
P4 added, “Experience.” P6 replied, “Memories. That’s exactly what it is, making
memories.” P2 noted, “The conversations we had about the funny things on the
vocabulary cards, you know, helped me to remember.” P4 supported this assertion about
the vocabulary cards as she recalled, “I remembered the word we used because we had
fun doing it.” P2 proposed that “it’s just silly to try to educate someone if it’s boring
because they’re not going to remember the boring stuff.” P2 agreed, “I think we
remember more of the things we do when they are interesting and hands-on than we do
lecture.”
After the participants had explored the idea of learning activities as fun in the
classroom, they began to recall other kinesthetic activities which they perceived as being
beneficial to them during the study. Besides the ones associated with the literature unit
in The Necklace, P4 also recalled the vocabulary cards they had designed a few weeks
earlier. She was amazed at the fact that she could “remember those.” The year before
they “had just memorized random vocabulary and put them in sentences,” and she
46
“couldn’t remember.” However, “after we’d done vocabulary cards, I could,” she
asserted. Once the vocabulary cards were mentioned again, others joined into the
discussion, “I can remember… I can remember my vocabulary cards until now,” P3
added in a reflective tone. Like P4, his experience with vocabulary in the past was more
of a memorization process for the test and he “wouldn’t remember the words the next
day.” P4 reasoned that since she was a visual learner that “the pictures on the cards
helped.” P5 agreed, and P2 argued that “the pretty colors and the illustrations and stuff
helped me a lot.” It was P5’s opinion the most important element of the vocabulary card
was that “it displays an action so you can put it a sentence.” P6 summed up to the
vocabulary card discussion by adding that you can always “associate a picture or
something that you did or some sort of experience that you had that relates to what
you’re that makes it easier for your to acquire the words.”
This combination of the visual and experiential was reemphasized by P6 when he
responded that his “favorite activity was ‘What If’ thing where me and Z did the video.”
Z and P6 were two members of a group of five students in their English class who were
assigned the task of creating a video which explained character development. The video
cleverly portrait static, flat, and round characters in a television talk-show-like scenario
which all the students in class could understand. The utilized props, costumes, a set
which looked like one from a television talk-show, and they even had the scenario with
commercials which they felt were appropriate to the point they were trying to make
about character development. The video was so skillfully created, that it could be
utilized as a teaching tool in other level English classes as well.
When asked if were any of the kinesthetic activities that they would like to do
again, P5 said, “those little games.” She was referring to unit on The Drover’s Wife
where there were three kinesthetic activities taking place simultaneously as groups
moved around the room from station to station with a fifteen minutes time limit for each
activity. As others agreed with her, she emphasized that she “liked switching from
station to station; therefore we were always in action.” P2 explained that she “liked the
learning station idea…and kind of making it … exciting where we were like, ‘Ok,
47
what’s this? Oh! What’s next?” P4 thought that the abbreviated time factor encourages
the students to “stay focused and alert.”
P4 suggested, “you want to be able to say ‘I did that’ and not just like Miss X
told me that.’” P6 interjected, “it gives a kind of practical sense to what you’re doing.”
P5 decided kinesthetic activities are “solid,” and P2 added that they are important
because they are “tangible” When the researcher followed this response by asking how
important “tangible” classroom experiences were to them, P5 answered, “Extremely,”
and the others nodded their heads in agreement. P4 argued that “experience is the best
teacher because you can read about everything, but you won’t remember it unless you
actually get involved in it and become apart of it.” P4 even suggested that “experience is
the best teacher.”
4.4 Challenges that students encounter while taking part in kinesthetic activities
The third research question is What are the challenges that the students face
while taking part in kinesthetic learning activities? The final part of this study examines
the challenges that might exist when utilizing kinesthetic learning activities in upper
secondary English classroom. Of course, one of the elements in these challenges directly
involved the role of the teacher in a secondary classroom setting. Since this was true,
one of the interview questions addressed what the role of the teacher should be in the
kinesthetic activities. Two distinct metaphors evolved from the journal responses and
interview. One appeared to be a positive role while the other appeared to be negative.
These metaphors can best be characterized by teacher as catalyst and teacher as borer,
respectively.
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4.4.1 Teacher as catalyst
Teacher as catalyst was the metaphor which best described the participants’
perceptions since a catalyst precipitates a process or an event. P6 and P5, both reflected
teacher as catalyst when they suggested that the teacher should “give us the
instructions.” P2 asserted that “The teacher should guide and direct the students
throughout the activity in order to ensure that the students understand what they are
doing and benefit from the activity.” P3 agreed and added, “Tell us what to do, and the
just let us go with it; let it flow.” P5’s argument for this approach was that “we can be
more creative with it, you know, give us the basic idea.” P2 enthusiastically interjected,
“I think you should play [referring to the kinesthetic activities] with us!” And others
immediately laughed and responded with, “Yeah!”
These selected participants agreed with the catalyst approach when P4 asserted,
“Just organize it and sit back and let it go” P2 felt that it was the teacher’ responsibility
to “spark it.” P6 added, “They have to show their excitement about it.” P5, a student
who admitted she was often intimidated by teachers who distance themselves from
students, agreed with P6. “Be energetic,” but also, “take part in it.” P4 realized that
creating the opportunity and implementing these activities would not be enough,
however, as she noted, “I think [teachers] have to be interested in the opinion of how it
works…. And seeing what [students] got from it….if it helped us in any way.” P4
understood that evaluating the kinesthetic activities was important as she concluded that
teachers could “improve on it or change things or whatever.” While these boys and girls
voiced their perceptions about what role the secondary teacher should play in the
implementation of kinesthetic activities, they continued to interweave complaints about
the role that secondary teachers had all too often played in their previous or current
experiences. Since this role appeared to be one to which the participants were adamantly
opposed and since this role surfaced as an interlocking theme in their journal responses
as well as in the group interview, the complaints merited a closer examination of what
appeared to be a negative perception of a more common role that secondary teachers
appeared to play.
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4.4.2 Teachers as “borer”
Teachers as “borer” was the metaphor that best described participants’
complaints. An image of the secondary teacher who goes about teaching in a repetitive
manner was reinforced time and time again as these students even utilized repetitive
terminology to emphasize the argument they were attempting to make. “It just gets so
boring when the lecture, and lecture and lecture, and all you have to do is sit there,”
complained P2. P4 had voiced a similar complaint in her journal that sitting in a desk all
period during a lecture “is bad for the mind and body.” P3 agreed that too often the
teacher “just lectures and gives us work, lectures and gives us work.” The only recourse
for P6 in this type of classroom setting was “finding sanity in the same old thing by
thinking about fun things.” This is followed by another complaint of their teachers’
repetitive methods of conducting their classes when P1 rolled his eyes and sighed as he
explained that one of his classes consisted of “just listening and writing and go to tea
break, come back and more listening and writing. It’s really boring.” This type of
atmosphere had the same effect on P3 who claimed, “They talk in the same tone and it
makes me so sleepy. It’s just the same old class day after day. It really gets very boring.”
As a secondary teachers continued to cling to lecturing and note-taking, students’
frustration levels continued to rise. Some argued that it infringed on their ability to think
for themselves. P1 recorded in his journal, “I can’t stand when teachers merely read their
facts from textbook or lecture notes. P3, obviously an exasperated by this method stated,
“It kills me to just sit there and listen to people read especially when the teacher was
occupied reading the textbook aloud and didn’t even glance at the students when half of
the class were already asleep!” Other teachers would take an even more passive
approach to note-taking when they, “[wrote] the notes on the projector and mumbled,
‘Here are your notes; copy them in your books,’” revealed P5. The one teacher whom
these students cited as being good at lecturing included “jokes into her explanation while
the students are listening attentively to her explanation and laughing along with her.”
This teacher, however, is clearly an exception to being the “borer.”
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSIONS OF THE STUDY
5.1 Introduction
Several conclusions can be made from this study. The conclusions will again be
organized as responses to the research questions stated in Chapter 1.
5.2 Overview of upper secondary students’ perceptions towards kinesthetic
learning activities
The data from the journal responses and the interview with six participants
revealed themes which agreed with various researchers whom had previously argued
about kinesthetic learning. The themes identified how students viewed kinesthetic
learning activities – shift from rigidity to mobility, equation between kinesthetic learning
activities and learning experience which would promote a fun learning experiences and
cognizance of challenges associated with kinesthetic learning activities.
5.2.1 The shift from rigidity to mobility
The first research question asked about students’ perceptions of kinesthetic
learning activities conducted in an English classroom. From the findings discussed in
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Chapter Four, one of the first perceptions of kinesthetic learning activities cited by the
participants was the positive addition of physical movement in the traditionally passive
secondary classroom environment. This revelation is valuable as Raffini (1996) argued
that when students’ minds and bodies were dynamically engaged in the construction of
meaning and in the integration of ideas and skills, they became active participants in
learning, rather than mere observers. The data from this study supported this research.
The participants argued that movement during the learning process was crucial to
holding their attention even if that movement was limited to activities such as board
games or puzzles. It appeared that this was one of the greatest appeals of the kinesthetic
activities to this group of students. They equated lack of movement such as that
experienced during a lecture-based class with boredom. When these students were
involved in constructing and implementing kinesthetic activities designed to cover
material in the unit of study, they became excited about learning. Kinesthetic activities
not only facilitated and promoted a positive learning environment but also provided an
element of fun to the daily routine of learning.
As these participants cited kinesthetic learning experiences that had occurred
during the study as well as those which had taken place years before, it was easy to see
that for them the richest learning experiences incorporated many elements of
movements. Gage (1995) asserted that one advantage of implementing kinesthetically
oriented methods is that they often involve one or both of the other modalities as well.
While these participants attested that the visual appeal of such activities as vocabulary
and task cards and the auditory appeal of conversing about the material in the learning
stations were beneficial, whole body movement such as drama, song, and dance greatly
appealed to them as well. It appeared that the most memorable kinesthetic activities had
involved whole body movement like acting in short stories, poetry, and grammar rules.
This type of learning environment created what Brunner referred to as a “wholeness” in
the learning environment, which combined the iconic, enactive, and symbolic ways of
knowing (Samples 1992).
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The rigidity of secondary classroom environment was highlighted again when
the participants associated their inability to stay focused in a lecture-based classroom
due to the lack of movement which caused them a considerable amount of stress. This is
in line with Dunn and Dunn (1993) who noted that because so little of what happens
instructionally in most secondary classes responds to the tactual kinesthetic senses, some
students are in very real sense, handicapped. When these students are “handicapped”
they would in turn have restricted authority over their learning process which may affect
their academic achievement. In this instance, kinesthetic learning activities appeared to
be beneficial since they presented an alternative to note-taking. Such learning activities
as task cards and the jeopardy game exposed them to facts which could have easily as
appeared in notes through a lecture; however, they were able to manipulate and control
the learning materials which contained the facts of the unit they were studying. Another
benefit they cited was that the kinesthetic activities had alleviated the stress involved in
catching up on material missed during an absence. Additionally, the kinesthetic activities
had provided a way to learn the material for test purposes in order to improve their test
scores.
5.3 Kinesthetic learning activities promotes fun learning The second research question prompted the participants to cite the types of
kinesthetic learning activities are beneficial to upper secondary students. From the
findings presented in Chapter Four, it was concluded that the participants preferred
kinesthetic learning activities that involved games such as Jeopardy and activities that
involved simulation such as Flash Cards. A chorus of proclamations has arisen in recent
years about the potential of games and simulations to facilitate learning. Games and
simulations have become the learning resource in “providing solutions to a wide range
of learning objectives” (Gee, 2003). This is due to the fact that when students engage
themselves in games, they tend to forget about their stress or other concerns. What is
important for them is to win the game, get ahead or solve the puzzle. Simulations on the
53
other hand, will attract their attention to the materials being taught. When they are
responsible to create their own flash cards, their thoughts will be immersed in decorating
and producing well-made cards and organizing the content of the cards. This again will
take the students’ minds away from any worries that they might have.
The participants also noted that kinesthetic learning activities provided a fun
social atmosphere to the classroom setting that was often missing on a secondary level
whereby kinesthetic learning activities offers movement that would encourage social
interaction. These participants all agreed that the social experiences which elementary
school had provided appeared to vanish at a secondary level. Armstrong (1994)
recognized that some educators would suggest putting the frills used with young
children aside and getting serious about learning on a secondary level. What is more
serious than creating a learning environment which encourage students to learn? By
incorporating a student-friendly atmosphere through social interaction this would
actually go hand in hand with the Interactionist’s view of second language acquisition
where they acknowledge the role of two-way communication. As stated by the
Interactionists, there are two main theories of language learning – The Interaction
Hypothesis and The Comprehensible Output Hypothesis. It is generally acknowledged
that The Interaction Hypothesis deals with the importance of modified input in language
acquisition. This is due to the fact that interactional modifications promote
comprehensible input to the learners. The Interaction Hypothesis of Long and Robinson
(as cited in Blake, 2000) suggests that when meaning is modified (negotiated), input
comprehensibility is usually increased and learners tend to focus on important linguistic
features as interactional modifications are meant to better enable the learner to
understand the comprehensible input available. Examples of interactional modifications
are comprehension checks, clarification requests and confirmation checks. These
examples actually take place when the students exchange information or input while
engaging themselves in kinesthetic learning activities. In order for them to solve a given
task, they would have to sometimes modify their sentences so as to make it
comprehensible to their peers. Cognizance of these language forms and structures is
54
seen as beneficial to second language acquisition which is the aim of all English
language educators.
Last but not least, these participants also perceive that these fun social elements
of kinesthetic activities promoted a positive learning environment. The conversations
they had about the materials as they constructed and then implemented in the learning
activities facilitated them to remember the materials better because it they had fun doing
these learning materials. It was their belief that experiences of this nature committed
information to long-term memory. These experiences could be retrieved from memory at
a later date and utilized in some other manner in the future. It was interesting to note that
there were so many levels of learning taking place through the activities in these Form
Four English classes. Students had embraced learning grammar, literature and so on and
appeared not only to remember what they had learned but also to understand how to
apply it. They had gained an appreciation of literature through writing poems, drama
scripts and working together to demonstrate both kinesthetically and visually the concept
that was created in the poems and short stories. When the participants were asked by the
researcher whether they would like to have more of these kind of learning activities, they
immediately said “yes, definitely” in chorus. All of them seemed to be in favour of these
kinesthetic learning activities and claimed that they had gained self-confidence in
learning, writing and speaking in English in a fun and relaxed environment as opposed
to a passive classroom. This fun social learning environment provided them with a
pleasant atmosphere which created learning memories. An undistinguishable line existed
between remembering for information sake and the memories created by events in the
classroom which were educational and fun at the same time as the Chinese proverb sums
it best, “Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll
understand.”
55
5.4 Challenges in kinesthetic learning activities The last research questions as stated in Chapter Four, talked about are the
challenges that the students face while taking part in kinesthetic learning activities.
Kinesthetic activities and learning experiences, the selected Form Four students noted,
incorporated an element of fun into the secondary classroom setting. However, it was
their belief that fun should be controlled while carrying out the lesson to avoid
disruption. If this were to happen, this type of learning environment made it difficult for
them to focus, and they complained that this approach was “disorganized” and this will
definitely not benefit the students. The teacher should plan his or her lesson ahead of
time to have the upper hand of the intended lesson and not let his or her teaching
materials to go to waste. In view of this, when the participants talk about control and
organization, what was also highlighted was the teacher’s role in facilitating the lesson.
5.4.1 The role of teacher and the influence of teaching style
Throughout the interviews, the participants exhibited rather clear cut
expectations of the role of the secondary teacher. They longed for the teacher to be
catalyst, one who would set things in motion and then to be there to see that the results
were satisfactory. All of participants contented that this type of teaching give them an
opportunity to be creative. It was then the teacher’s role to monitor, to evaluate, and
ultimately to improve the activities. Secondly, the participants expected the teacher to be
excited about teaching. A passive approach to teaching did nothing but created passive
students. If teachers want students to be excited about learning, then they need to design
positive learning experiences which encourage excitement.
Although these participants agreed that kinesthetic activities provided them with
a fun and relaxing learning environment, they actually admitted that they cannot express
their creativity fully on their own and needed the guidance that a teacher could provide
56
to assist them in designing their learning materials. McCarthy (1987) contended that
when working with kinesthetic learners in the classroom, it is the teacher’s role to
provide the materials necessary for a “trying things out” environment. All the
participants agreed that they needed the structure of a classroom setting and the
prompting of a teacher who would provide the time, materials, and ideas in order to
engage in kinesthetic activities.
However, it was also important for a teacher to be able to recognize when the
kinesthetic activities were detrimental to the learning process at least for some students.
This is when the Style Analysis Survey would serve as a useful tool in matching the
teacher’s teaching style with the learning style of the students. Each learner’s progress
in learning and acquiring a language is influenced by a number of factors particular to
that learner. Firstly, there are cognitive factors which relate to the learner’s thinking,
such as intelligence, aptitude and learning style. Secondly, there are ‘affective’ factors
which are “emotional factors that may influence language learning” (Richards &
Schmidt, 2002), such as the learner’s motivation and level of anxiety. Some students are
just not motivated to partake in class activities while some students are just too shy to
participate in activities that involve bodily movement as they get too embarrass or
conscious of their appearances while some others may feel too inferior to compete or
communicate with their peers. Next, there are social factors such as the learner’s social
status, gender and ethnicity and finally, the learner’s age can have an influence on
learning. This would then make demands on the teacher where he or she has to be
sensitive to the learner’s needs, aptitudes and attitudes which are the main components
of his or her learner’s motivation. The teacher, thus, has to plan his or her teaching in
such a way that he or she has to take the factors of the physical condition of the
classroom, the method in which he or she uses to teach the subject, the tasks or activities
that are carried out and the most important factor is his or her personality and character
into serious consideration so as to support, encourage or increase the motivation among
his or her learner to be interested in taking part in the learning process and activity. In
this context, it is the teacher’s role to prepare such learners to be involved in kinesthetic
learning activities that would be suitable for all learners. As Harmer (2003) points out
57
that ultimately the students’ success or failure is in their own hands, but the teacher can
influence the course of events in the students’ favour.
When discussing teacher’s influence in students’ learning experience, many
researchers have hypothesized that a match between teaching style and learning style
would improve learning, attitudes, behaviour and motivation (Willing 1988); Reid 1987,
1995; Oxford et al. 1992). They suggest that matching style to students’ learning styles
will provide all students with equal opportunity to learn and would build students’ self
awareness. Hence, teachers require a shift away from the traditional strategies of
teacher-dominated and teacher directed classes where giving long lectures and note
taking activity are no longer appropriate. Being the “borer” is not acceptable to all
teachers. Teachers being professionals encompass all aspects of teaching to learners. It
means possessing knowledge and being able to transmit it to learners, and being able to
create an environment in which learning takes place. If students are in favour of
kinesthetic learning activities, then teachers should accommodate such interest.
Teachers would have to be up to date with the current learning strategies, theoretically
and with developments in technology. As we know, for instance, theories and
knowledge in language teaching and learning are constantly developing and being
modified. Therefore, we need to keep abreast with these changes to provide a quality
service to our students.
5.5 Implications of the study
One of the most poignant educational implications raised by the participants in
this study was the role of the teacher in the secondary classroom setting. They echoed
Prawat (1992) who characterized traditional classroom practice as a transmission
approach to teaching and “absorptionist” approach to learning. Their perceptions also
reiterated Cohen (1988) who contended that teachers have traditionally been seen as
“tellers of truth” and students play a passive role as they “listen, read, and perform
58
prescribed exercises.” These participants argued that the teacher’s role should be that of
a catalyst or one who sets the learning process in motion. They even suggested that
when students were engaged in kinesthetic activities that the teacher “take part” in the
activities. They also added that teachers should “spark” an interest and “show their
excitement” about teaching as well as learning. All the participants expressed boredom
with lecture, note-taking, and homework, methods that they argued were most
commonly utilized across the curriculum on a regular basis. These participants also
admitted that they were not always attentive in a class which employed these lecture-
based methods. These participants perceived that it was the teacher’s ultimate
responsibility to create a classroom setting which held their attention. None believed
that lecture-based method to be the most effective method for facilitating and promoting
a positive learning environment. It appeared that this type of learning environment
promoted a need to “be free” since this type of lesson presented a passive learning
environment often created in them a need to escape. Some expressed this need to escape
by day dreaming, drawing pictures, writing notes to friends, working on other class
assignments, or sleeping during class. Some insisted on repeated trips to the bathroom
during the day, while others would go as far as to ask permission to go to the clinic or at
times check out for the day.
This study by no means suggested that all secondary teachers eliminate the
traditional approach to the classroom setting. The study, however, did raise some
questions about some teachers’ traditional methods and how they might be tied
inextricably to the ultimate success or failure of their students. According to the
participants, traditional methods encouraged not only passive students but also passive
teachers at times. Those teachers who directed the students’ attention to the notes on the
overhead projector and instructed the students, “Here are your notes; copy them in your
books” appeared to be playing a passive role as well. This typical scenario in our
classroom setting may have happened as some teachers lack the classroom experience or
the knowledge about how to make the adjustments. Teachers have to be familiar with
their personal teaching styles and be familiar with students’ learning styles so as to
facilitate a positive learning environment. It is vital that secondary teachers create an
59
atmosphere in which all take active roles in the learning process, both the teacher and
the students. Researchers in the field of learning styles and multiple intelligences have
stated that incorporating a variety of learning activities into the classroom is beneficial to
students. It was the experience of the researcher not only during this study but also in the
past six years with other students and different levels of English classes that
implementing kinesthetic activities in the classroom appeals to most students.
While this study showed that kinesthetic learning activities could be beneficial in
a secondary English classroom setting, it is important to note that the design of the
activity could affect the successful outcome of the implementation. Variety in design
appeared to be a key factor for the participants involved in the study. As with any
method, monotony becomes a negative factor if the method is overused. The literature
review in this study cited some successful approaches to a variety of designs which have
been incorporated into a secondary English classroom setting. It is also important to note
that designing or developing kinesthetic learning activities require careful planning. A
poorly planned activity will waste class time, and may even be pedagogically harmful,
undermining the intended lesson. The design of kinesthetic learning activities should
begin with an explicit statement of the learning objectives it is meant to support. The
activity should then be designed around these learning objectives. Teachers should
anticipate and accommodate mistakes. There will almost certainly be too many
concurrent activities to be able to monitor them all. The activity should either be robust
enough to tolerate occasional mistake, or checks should be incorporated to reduce the
chances of such a mistake occurring. Bear in mind that the activity should engage the
entire class. If the activity cannot be scaled to include every student directly, it should
be designed to encourage non-participants to identify with participants, and thus be
involved at least vicariously. Teachers ought to provide simple directions to participants
or learners. If the instructions are complicated, there is a greater chance of mistakes
being made. To get a better impression on how to go about with kinesthetic learning
activities, journal articles are an important source for what works. There are also
seminars, workshops, teacher in-services, and books which may offer ideas for
60
kinesthetic activities design which could be utilized across the curriculum on a
secondary level.
5.6 Limitations of the study
One limitation of the study is that this study incorporated only a limited number
of kinesthetic activities because of the time factor. The students in Form Four classes
tended to focus on the ones which had been most recently completed. This study was
limited to Form Four English classes. There is no way of knowing how beneficial
kinesthetic activities would be to other levels or to the lower secondary students.
Students in this study were relatively mature and well-behaved. If these activities were
implemented in a class where there were behavior problems, the outcomes could have
been different.
5.7 Directions for future studies
More studies are recommended so as to explore and investigate the benefits of
kinesthetic activities on a secondary level. It is not clear whether this study’s findings
were unique or applicable to other student populations. For this reason, this study calls
for replication not only with other groups of students in other secondary level but also in
other academic areas to determine whether the perceptions that emerged from this study
are supported in other student populations. Furthermore, since the number of kinesthetic
learning activities implemented in this study were limited in design and in the limited
time, further research could determine perhaps a wider range of designs which would
benefit secondary level students. It is also important to note the students’ concern that
was addressed to the teacher’s role in a secondary setting in connection to implementing
kinesthetic learning activities specifically in relation to the role most often played by the
61
secondary teacher. This study calls for research into what is being done by teachers and
parties involved to prepare the teachers to meet the needs of their learners in the
secondary classroom.
5.8 Conclusions
In conclusion, this research examined students’ perceptions about kinesthetic
learning activities, examples of beneficial kinesthetic learning activities and challenges
in taking part in kinesthetic learning activities conducted in an English classroom.
The participants asserted that they benefited the most from the task cards and
game-like activities. These kinesthetic learning activities reinforced the material in the
lesson that they had learnt and allowed them to catch up on learning material quickly
after an absence. Some of them also argued that small groups worked best when all
students were focused on the same kinesthetic learning activities. Nevertheless, all
participants agreed that teachers should utilize a variety of approaches to the classroom
in order to accommodate all types of learning styles.
In line with this, the participants also noted that they benefited not only from the
task cards, vocabulary cards and games but also from video presentations. These
participants were also motivated by the social interaction during kinesthetic learning
activities which they claimed to initiate what they referred to as “long-term memory
experiences,” and the whole body movement encouraged creativity.
The participants also recognized that one challenge in implementing kinesthetic
learning activities would be poorly planned kinesthetic learning activities. Such learning
activities would only lead to a chaotic environment. This would certainly be a waste and
defeat the whole purpose of serving multiple learning styles among the students. Hence,
62
it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure that the teaching and learning process would
be executed so as to achieve the intended objectives.
Traditional secondary classroom environments do not always accommodate all
students’ learning styles. All too often, secondary teachers encourage students to accept
a passive role in the classroom by adhering to traditional teaching method. These
methods at best appeal to auditory or visual learners. Both the researcher and the
participants involved in this study argued that students’ minds and bodies should be
dynamically engaged in the learning process. It is time to examine the traditional
method of teaching and to create an educational environment which will accommodate
all learners.
63
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APPENDIX A Research procedures
Step 1:
Discussed the potential of kinesthetic learning activities with English teachers
and students in MARA Junior Science College Batu Pahat
Purpose: to identify potential respondents and generate possible questions
to be asked to the participants
Step 2:
Administered Style Analysis Survey to potential subjects
Purpose: to prove differences in learning style among students and to select
potential subjects with varying learning styles
Step 3:
Engaged potential subjects with kinesthetic learning activities
Purpose: to expose potential subjects to kinesthetic learning activities so as
to gain their perceptions regarding these activities
Observed classroom activities which involved kinesthetic learning activities
Purpose: to observe the behaviours of potential subjects
Assigned journal questions to potential subjects
Purpose: to obtain students’ perceptions of kinesthetic learning activities
Selected students upon criteria set forth – e.g. English proficiency and ability to
express oneself efficiently
Purpose: to ease data collection
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APPENDIX B
Style Analysis Survey by Rebecca Oxford (1993)
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APPENDIX C
Journal questions
1. What were your favourite learning activities during elementary school?
2. Do you think secondary school classroom learning activities are different
from the learning activities you had in elementary school? How? Explain
your answer
3. What positive learning activities have you experienced in the past here at the
secondary school?
4. What negative learning activities have you experienced in the past at the
secondary school?
5. What types of learning activities do you think need to be implemented in a
secondary school classroom which would promote a better learning
environment?
6. What is your opinion about the learning activities in the English classes you
have had here at the secondary school?
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APPENDIX D
Group interview questions
1. What types of activities create a stressful classroom setting?
2. Give me an example of some action that you associate with learning.
3. What types of activities will ensure long-term memory?
4. Explain what a boring class looks and sounds like.
5. Explain what an exciting classroom looks and sounds like.
6. Do kinesthetic activities promote a favourable learning situation in a secondary
English class? How?
7. What are the strengths of the kinesthetic learning activities?
8. What are the weaknesses of the kinesthetic learning activities?
9. What learning opportunities do kinesthetic learning activities offer you as
secondary learner that other type of teaching method do not?
10. Could you offer any suggestions for kinesthetic learning activities that might be
useful in the future?
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APPENDIX E Data collection procedures
Classroom observations during kinesthetic learning activities in Form Four English classroom
Administer Style Analysis Survey to all Form Four students
Select six participants with varying learning styles
Form Four students to respond to journal questions
Instruct the six participants to submit journal
Conduct a group interview for the six participants