Bakiak as Choreographic Code: An Embodied Computational Framework for Dance Pedagogy in Elementary Teacher Professional Learning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58258/8h0b7781Abstract
Generalist elementary teachers need ways to teach creative dance without reducing culture to display or technology to decoration. This conceptual article develops Bakiak as Choreographic Code, treating the Indonesian collective game as a materially coupled movement system whose shared footwear makes rhythm, balance, interdependence, disruption, and repair jointly consequential. A targeted integrative mapping of 34 peer-reviewed publications informed conceptual framework analysis and design synthesis. The resulting BAKIAK framework comprises six recursive processes: Read cultural movement patterns, Abstract movement principles, Code movement relations, Iterate through sensing and feedback, Articulate artistically as choreography, and Contextualize for elementary dance pedagogy. Computational thinking functions as reflective vocabulary rather than a model of dance, while micro:bit sensing remains sensor-informed, not sensor-determined. The contribution is a bounded, testable account linking cultural practice, embodied choreographic reasoning, physical computing, and teacher professional learning. Effectiveness is not claimed; staged empirical validation is specified carefully for subsequent empirical professional-learning studies.References
Adi, B. S., Irianto, D. P., & Sukarmin, Y. (2022). Teachers’ perspectives in motor learning with traditional game approach for early childhood. Cakrawala Pendidikan, 41(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.21831/cp.v41i1.36843
An, S. A., Tillman, D. A., & Hachey, A. C. (2021). Off the paper and into the dance: Investigating preservice elementary teachers’ experiences with dynamic spatial reasoning choreography tasks. Research in Dance Education, 22(1), 17–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/14647893.2020.1814231
Avalos, B. (2011). Teacher professional development in Teaching and Teacher Education over ten years. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(1), 10–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.08.007
Barsalou, L. W. (2008). Grounded cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 617–645. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093639
Bers, M. U. (2019). Coding as another language: A pedagogical approach for teaching computer science in early childhood. Journal of Computers in Education, 6(4), 499–528. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-019-00147-3
Butterworth, J. (2004). Teaching choreography in higher education: A process continuum model. Research in Dance Education, 5(1), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/1464789042000190870
Cederqvist, A.-M. (2022). Designing and coding with BBC micro:bit to solve a real-world task—A challenging movement between contexts. Education and Information Technologies, 27, 5917–5951. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10865-w
Chappell, K. (2007). Creativity in primary level dance education: Moving beyond assumption. Research in Dance Education, 8(1), 27–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/14647890701272795
Ciolfi Felice, M., Fdili Alaoui, S., & Mackay, W. E. (2021). Studying choreographic collaboration in the wild. In Proceedings of the 2021 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (pp. 2039–2051). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3461778.3462063
The Design-Based Research Collective. (2003). Design-based research: An emerging paradigm for educational inquiry. Educational Researcher, 32(1), 5–8. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X032001005
Desimone, L. M. (2009). Improving impact studies of teachers’ professional development: Toward better conceptualizations and measures. Educational Researcher, 38(3), 181–199. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X08331140
El Raheb, K., Stergiou, M., Katifori, A., & Ioannidis, Y. (2019). Dance interactive learning systems: A study on interaction workflow and teaching approaches. ACM Computing Surveys, 52(3), Article 50, 1–37. https://doi.org/10.1145/3323335
Giguere, M. (2011). Dancing thoughts: An examination of children’s cognition and creative process in dance. Research in Dance Education, 12(1), 5–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/14647893.2011.554975
Grover, S., & Pea, R. (2013). Computational thinking in K–12: A review of the state of the field. Educational Researcher, 42(1), 38–43. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X12463051
Hanna, J. L. (2008). A nonverbal language for imagining and learning: Dance education in K–12 curriculum. Educational Researcher, 37(8), 491–506. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X08326032
Henley, M. (2021). Thinking about thinking: Dance education and 4E cognition. Journal of Dance Education, 21(3), 129–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/15290824.2021.1949185
Hsu, T.-C., Chang, S.-C., & Hung, Y.-T. (2018). How to learn and how to teach computational thinking: Suggestions based on a review of the literature. Computers & Education, 126, 296–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.07.004
Jabareen, Y. (2009). Building a conceptual framework: Philosophy, definitions, and procedure. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 8(4), 49–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690900800406
Jeong, J. S., & González-Gómez, D. (2026). Integrating and developing computational thinking in higher education using micro:bit: Examining the influence on pre-service teachers’ self-perceived content knowledge, attitude, and emotion toward further K-12 mathematics education. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, 1742317. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1742317
Kwon, K., Jeon, M., Zhou, C., Kim, K., & Brush, T. A. (2024). Embodied learning for computational thinking in early primary education. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 56(4), 410–430. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2022.2158146
Kwon, K., Kim, H., Kim, K., Seo, M., & Brush, T. A. (2025). Computational thinking through embodied learning: A comparison of mixed-reality and unplugged activities. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2025.2492604
Lindgren, R., & Johnson-Glenberg, M. (2013). Emboldened by embodiment: Six precepts for research on embodied learning and mixed reality. Educational Researcher, 42(8), 445–452. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X13511661
Melchior, E. (2011). Culturally responsive dance pedagogy in the primary classroom. Research in Dance Education, 12(2), 119–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/14647893.2011.575223
Mujriah, M., Siswantoyo, S., Sukoco, P., Rosa, F. O., Susanto, E., & Setiawan, E. (2022). Traditional sport model to improve fundamental movement skills and social attitudes of students during COVID-19. Physical Education Theory and Methodology, 22(3), 309–315. https://doi.org/10.17309/tmfv.2022.3.02
Møller-Skau, M., & Lindstøl, F. (2022). Arts-based teaching and learning in teacher education: ‘Crystallising’ student teachers’ learning outcomes through a systematic literature review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 109, 103545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103545
Paris, D. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93–97. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X12441244
Payne, H., & Costas, B. (2021). Creative dance as experiential learning in state primary education: The potential benefits for children. Journal of Experiential Education, 44(3), 277–292. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825920968587
Schwender, T. M., Rudi, H., & Stortz, S. (2025). Creating, framing, reflecting—dance as embodied reflective practice in professional development for physical education teachers. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1542371. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1542371
Shen, Q., Bailey, R. P., Pickard, A., Judge, S., & Samsudin, N. (2026). Dance teachers’ competency in school education: A narrative systematic review. Research in Dance Education, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/14647893.2025.2610936
Shute, V. J., Sun, C., & Asbell-Clarke, J. (2017). Demystifying computational thinking. Educational Research Review, 22, 142–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.09.003
Skulmowski, A., & Rey, G. D. (2018). Embodied learning: Introducing a taxonomy based on bodily engagement and task integration. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 3, Article 6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-018-0092-9
Vergara, K., Rossel, P. O., & Herskovic, V. (2025). Understanding the use of physical computing in K-12 education: A systematic literature review. Educational Research Review, 48, 100705. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2025.100705
Wilson, M. (2002). Six views of embodied cognition. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 9(4), 625–636. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03196322
Wing, J. M. (2006). Computational thinking. Communications of the ACM, 49(3), 33–35. https://doi.org/10.1145/1118178.1118215
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Rosarina Giyartini, Agnestasia Ramadhani Putri, Adam Hermawan, Tb. Moh. Irma Ari Irawan, Anggit Merliana, Juju Masunah
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright Notice
Authors who publish with JISIP (Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Pendidikan) agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.Â
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
