Due to the worldwide Covid-19 epidemic, we found ourselves living a completely altered way of life. To prevent the virus from spreading, we have physically distanced ourselves from others, relocating all unessential activities and contacts online and behind computer screens. Teachers were made to explore new ways and methods of remote teaching. One such method appears to be teaching through creative movement, which introduces exercise to remote classes and sedentary learning.
This Master’s thesis explores the advantages, disadvantages, opportunities and obstacles to including creative movement in remote teaching and learning recorded by teachers. Moreover, the thesis examines the responses and feelings of students who apply creative movement in remote learning according to their teachers, as well as searches for the teaching through creative movement cases which developed into examples of good practice. The theoretical part describes the time of the epidemic and the measures affecting education at that time. I documented the characteristics of remote teaching and learning. I presented the results of certain studies and expert opinions on the effects of social distancing, remote education and the termination and interruption of activities on the physical development and (mental) health of children and adolescents. I defined the concept of creative movement and emphasised its positive influences on students’ learning and well-being. I presented the connection between physical and mental health with the help of communication through movement and highlighted the importance of the holistic approach. In the empirical part, I carried out a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis. The focus group included teachers who usually use creative movement as a teaching method. The SWOT analysis inspected the advantages, disadvantages, opportunities and obstacles to including creative movement in remote teaching. I conducted a semi-structured interview with a smaller number of teachers from this group, through which I collected the good practice examples of this method in remote education. Furthermore, the research included a smaller occasional group of female students from the first, third and fourth year of grammar school. I prepared creative movement activities for remote learning or relaxation during remote learning for this group. Their responses were gathered in a questionnaire. The results include the advantages of the integration of movement in remote learning for both the students and the learning process, such as exercise, which is less frequent during remote learning, higher motivation for work and studying, relaxation and fun, development of creativity and innovativeness, and others. The disadvantages include the organisation and technical execution of remote education through creative movement. The opportunities open new ways and possibilities of including this method in education, while the obstacles introduce the question of how to include movement into remote education despite its disadvantages. The results also revealed that the students experienced positive feelings while applying creative movement techniques remotely. With the research, I hope to raise awareness of the positive effects of creative movement on the physical and mental health of children and adolescents among teachers, as well as present some examples of good practice which may help teachers plan and generate new ideas for including creative movement in remote education.
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