Dance Pedagogy

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Dance Pedagogy

• Goals, Objectives, Standards, Curriculum, Unit
  Overview, Lessons

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Goals

• A goal is an overarching aim that we are trying
  to reach
• A series of dance classes could lead to achieving
  a goal
• An example of a goal is Through instruction and
  practice in dance, students will know how
  particular dance forms relate to cultural, social
  and historical contexts.

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Objectives

• An objective is more specific than a goal
• Many different objectives could be used to attain
  a single goal
• An example of an objective is Through
  instruction and practice in dance, students
  explore the movement range of parts of the body.

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More Goals Objectives

• Goal Students will learn to develop and draw
  freely on dance movement vocabulary to
  communicate through dance.
• Objective Students will brainstorm a list of
  many movement possibilities suggested by a theme.
• Goal Students will make and share dance through
  fluent use of images, ideas, feelings, themes and
  structures.
• Objective Students will contrast strong and
  gentle movements.

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Standards

• A standard is a measurement of competency.
• If you achieve a certain standard, you are
  considered proficient in that area.
• Many states and national organizations have
  developed standards in all areas of the
  curriculum, including the arts.
• In dance, we have the National Dance Standards,
  written in 1994, as well as separate state
  standards in many states, most of which are based
  on the National Standards.

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National Dance Standards

• The National Dance Standards (or state standards
  based on them) have been adopted in most states
  as the basis for curriculum.
• The National Dance Standards includes Content
  Standards, which loosely correlate to goals, and
  Achievement Standards, which loosely correlate to
  objectives.

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Standards vs. Goals

• Standards are a major part of educational reform.
• They state what a student must DO in order to be
  proficient.
• Unlike goals, which can be hard to assess,
  standards are specific and can be measured.
• However, someone who is achieving the standards
  can also be said to be attaining or making
  progress towards a goal.

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Curriculum

• A curriculum is the sum total of all the teaching
  done in a given grade, classroom, school, or
  subject area.
• It is often marked by a particular philosophy.
• This gives direction to the way in which learning
  is shaped.
• For instance, there are school curriculums based
  on Howard Gardners multiple intelligences.

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Curriculum

• Gardners theory says that we have more than just
  mathematical and verbal intelligence.
• He has found evidence of eight intelligences
  1)bodily-kinesthetic 2)musical 3)spatial
  4)logical-mathematical 5)linguistic
  6)interpersonal 7)intrapersonal and 8)naturalist
• A school with a curriculum based on this theory
  would strive to educate children in all eight
  areas.

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Units

• A curriculum usually includes many units
• A unit is a grouping of several classes on a
  particular topic, i.e. a unit on Native Americans
  in a social studies class might last one month
• A unit in a dance class might be 4-8 lesson in a
  particular style, such as creative dance, folk
  dance, or hip hop.
• Another example of a dance unit might be creating
  an interdisciplinary project, such as a series of
  short dances based on science principles.

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Lessons

• A lesson is the material taught in one class.
• A childrens dance class may range in length from
  30 min. to one hour.
• Lessons are sequenced so that each one builds on
  the next.
• It is important to know how many lessons are in
  your unit, so you can plan the content and
  quantity of your material.

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Lesson Plans

• Lesson number and title
• Your name, teachers name, grade
• Concept/Focus/Theme examples are shapes, levels,
  directions, popular dance of the sixties, poems
  of Shel Silverstein

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Lesson Plans

• National Dance Standards list content
  standard(s) that apply to your lesson
• Objectives Psychomotor (body coordination)
  Cognitive (intellectualknowing/understanding
  vocabulary concepts) Affective (how students
  behave socially and emotionally)
• Relate objectives to Achievement Standards where
  applicable use number letter instead of
  writing it out

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Lesson Plans

• Lesson Content Introduction (warmup
  introduction of concept) Development (activities
  based on concept) Culmination (dance based on
  concept, either created by students or teacher)
  Assessment (how you will know if students
  understand)
• Vocabulary concept and words needed to explain
  it movement terms
• Equipment materials music, sound equipment,
  props, visual aids

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Procedure Description

• How you will introduce the concept, including
  actual dialogue
• The exercises you will use in your warmup
• The activities you will use to develop the
  concept, including actual dialogue
• The culminating dance, including actual dialogue
• The music used for each of the above

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Instructional Procedures

• Presentational methods for movement sequence
  (whole/part I go, you go add-on)
• Whole/part show entire sequence, then break
  into parts to teach
• I go, you go teacher demonstrates 4 counts of
  material students repeat it back on next 4
  counts
• Add-on starts with small amount of movement,
  adding on as students master each part

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Class Management

• Entering exiting classroom
• Adaptability (for various abilities and levels of
  interest)
• Organization rules
• Class control (what will you do with disruptive
  students?)
• Use of time and pacing
• Feedback (praise and correction for students)

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Assessment

• The assessment is done at the end of class with a
  few quick questions
• The teacher asks children to define terms or
  concepts covered in that class or previous ones
• The teacher asks children to show concepts with
  their bodies
• The teacher asks children to point out examples
  of concepts in other childrens performances
• The purpose of an assessment is to see what
  children have learned
• A more detailed assessment could be done at the
  end of a unit

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Lesson Development

• In developing the lesson plan, the teacher
  considers the type of learning appropriate for
  the students, the dance form, and the
  environment.
• The lesson plan outlines what will happen during
  class
• The teacher focuses on the three domains
  psychomotor, cognitive, and affective, in
  creating objectives for the class
• The objectives form the basis for the class

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Writing Objectives

• An objective is something that can be
  accomplished in one class period
• Begin each objective by writing Students will
• Describe what the student must do that is
  observable