Breaking silos: the effectiveness of a knowledge integration approach for dance curricula

The knowledge integration (KI) approach has been widely studied and recommended for improving the learning and teaching of science subjects (biology, physics, etc.). If the cognitive processes of learning, however, do not vary across domains, then what is helpful for science should also be helpful for dance. Choosing the teaching and learning of an improvisational and creative dance as a case on the far opposite end from the usual seated and normative science curriculum, one randomized-controlled trial and one before-after intervention trial were conducted to test if a KI curriculum is more effective than a common curriculum. Both trials found the KI approach significantly more effective in improving the performance of young dancers. As found, KI can be effectively applied to the curriculum design of breakdance, thus providing evidence to support the universality of this approach. It is implied that KI can, ergo, benefit learners of more subjects, including the artful ones, and need not be siloed as relevant only for science education.