BLOG POST #5 - How do I Plan for and Program Dance?


Responding Statement

Figure 21: Dance like nobody's watching - Dance is a Joy (CityMax.com)

Teachers need to maintain movement curiosity in students by planning dance that is engaging and achievable for all. Dance programs need to support the learning needs of students, evaluate and apply a variety of teaching strategies, connect content and learning, and consider cultural and religious backgrounds within the classroom. Learning should progress and build on from previous experiences. Planning and programming challenging learning tasks will guide students to practice and progress dance skills and knowledge. 

Dance can be planned and programmed one of three ways:
  • Stand Alone; sometimes facilitated by a dance specialist, where the KLA is compartmentalised and content descriptors of the lesson are explicitly creative arts: dance. The dance experience often does not integrate learning from the classroom.
  • Fully Integrated; usually facilitated by the classroom teacher, where movement is incorporated into all aspects of learning.
  • Combination; which allows for content connections to be experienced across KLA's.
Exploring and analysing existing dance plans and programs, it was evident that programming resources with clear and detailed content and explicit integration of KLA's, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities, proved to be clear and effective in embracing the learning intentions in dance. Figure 22 and 23 provide examples of analysed resources that could be applied in the dance classroom. Please note that all resources should be modified to support the learning needs of individual students.

 Figure 22: Stage 3- The Living Landscape (NSW Syllabus, 2014)


 Figure 23: Finding My Place in the World

Learning in Dance

Focusing on skills and safety in the dance classroom, students gain knowledge and practice of skills of safe movement in dance.

 SKILLS
Building on fundamental movement skills, students develop body awareness and control. Considering the elements of dance and personal boundaries, students can learn dance skills through choreographic, performance and appreciating practices, further applying the knowledge of the movement vocabulary. 
Dance skills encompasses; 

  • Technical skills; where students develop the practice of choreographic devices and key technique in movements of any dance type.
  • Expressive skills; where movement, including facial expressions, is informed by emotion or a concept to make meaningful dance sequences.
SAFETY
It is paramount to foster student learning in a safe and supportive learning environment, standard 4 of the Australian Professional Teaching Standards (AITSL, 2014), this includes the environmental, physical and psychological principles (Donaldson), to support student learning in dance.

Environmental Principles
  • Flooring - ideally a flat, sprung floor that is not slippery or sticky.
  • Temperature - an appropriate temperature that is not too hot or too cold.
  • Space - an area suitable to the number of students, to allow free movement without risk of collision. Including clearing or storing furniture and learning resources.
  • Hydration - provide access to water and plan for drink breaks.
  • Risk Assessment Documentation - surveying the environment before dance will limit and support the prevention of injury.
Physical Principles
  • Effective warm-up and cool-down.
  • Know your personal limits and boundaries.
  • Balance your workload and rest periods.
  • Understand body mechanics - practice proper body movement.
Psychological Principles
  • Promote positive emotional wellbeing - practice values of respect, trust and compassion (Commonwealth of Australia, 2011).
  • Provide positive and appropriate feedback.
  • Emphasise effort.
  • Differentiate expectations to the needs of the student.
(Donaldson)

Warming-up and cooling-down activities safely prepare the mind and the body for the physical demands of dance.

"10-15 minutes is usually sufficient to increase the heart and breathing rates, blood circulation to the muscles, muscle tone, joint flexibility, mental alertness and action speed and the overall feeling of well-being and desire to move." (Donaldson)

Stretching practices should be implemented during the 10-15 minutes to reduce the risk of injury to joints, muscles, and tendons. Stretching enhances body awareness and movement in dance.

Making in Dance

Integrating dance with other KLA's, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities of the Australian curriculum, supports links in learning for students to express and communicate their understandings through the awareness of body movement. Strong integration of dance and mathematics was explored during this weeks' making activity, where students exercised controlled and meaningful body movement to investigate numbers, patterns, geometry, symmetry, transformations, and angles. Figures 24, 25, 26 & 27, display key terminology and processes of both mathematics and creative arts to promote effective learning in making dance.
                       Figure 24: Movement Variables                             Figure 25: Turn Angles

Figure 26: Transformation & Symmetry                Figure 27: Reflection, Rotation, Translation
In pairs, students collaboratively plan and choreograph a unison, four-step sequence in their box's, which includes a 180-degree turn. Performing the sequence to the class and receiving feedback, students reflect and consider variations to their choreography and add another four-steps to the sequence, making another 180-degree turn. Using the key terminology, students map out the steps of their dance, as suggested in figure 28.

Figure 28: Mapped-out dance sequence

Figure 29 presents an example of the refined choreography to be performed.

Figure 29: Mathematics integrated dance (Wigglesworth, & Henderson, 2019)

This dance activity is best suited to stage 3 or years 5 and 6. Content descriptors that are covered in this dance activity include;

Stage 3
  • ACADAM010 Develop technical and expressive skills in fundamental movements including body control, accuracy, alignment, strength, balance, and coordination
Year 5 
  • ACMMG114 Describe translations, reflections, and rotations of two-dimensional shapes. Identify line and rotational symmetries
  • ACMMG112 Estimate, measure and compare angles using degrees. Constructing angles using a protractor
  • ACMNA107 Describe, continue and create patterns with fractions, decimals and whole numbers resulting from addition and subtraction
Year 6
  • ACMMG142 Investigate combinations of translations, reflections, and rotations, with and without the use of digital technologies
  • ACMMG141 Investigate, with and without digital technologies, angles on a straight line, angles at a point and vertically opposite angles. Use results to find unknown angles.
  • ACMNA133 COntiue and create sequences involving whole numbers, fractions and decimals. Describe the rule used to create the sequence

Responding in Dance

As a teacher, it is important to expose students to a variety of response mediums to support multiple intelligences and styles in learning (Gardner, 1993-99). Reflecting and appreciating dance worksheets, like figure 30 Dance Critique, can serve as a tool for students to analyse and appreciate dance. The worksheet process can be logged and reflected upon to track the progress of student understanding in dance. 

Figure 30: Dance Critique worksheet

On the other hand, mediums of questioning and discussion can also promote the process of appreciating and responding in dance. Supporting linguistic and interpersonal multiple intelligences and learning styles (Gardner, 1993-99), students can verbally share opinions and observations, using dance terminology, in a safe learning environment. 


References

AITSL. (2017). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership: https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards
CityMax.com. (n.d.). Dance Like Nobody's Watching. Retrieved from www.Kenoli.com: https://www.kenoli.com/catalog/item/6727505/8035774.htm
Commonwealth of Australia. (2011). National Framework: Nine Values for Australian Schooling. Retrieved from Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations: http://www.curriculum.edu.au/values/val_national_framework_nine_values,14515.html
Donaldson, F. (n.d.). Safe Dance Practice. Fiona's Studio of Dance.
Gardner, H. (1993). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (1999). Intelligence reframed. Multiple intelligences for the 21st century. New York: Basic Books.
NSW Government. (2019). NESA. Retrieved from Education Standards Authority: http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/home

 

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