PLANNING AHEAD FOR DANCE CLASS

I have been spending the last few days planning for the new dance year and I am not even close to being finished.  At times it can be very intimidating and I want to fall into the easy pattern of just recording the steps that I feel each class should master before the year end.  However, this accomplishes very little as all they learn is to master the execution of the step/s and not the process or the understanding of the elements involved.  You know that saying "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime".  I can give dance students so much more in terms of training and teaching if I focus on the skills and elements they require in order to perfect the step/s.  In so doing I don't just give them dance, I teach them to dance (focusing the teaching objectives on process in order to perfect execution). 

 

There are three sections to focus on:  objectives, assessments and instruction.

• Objectives = what you want them to learn
• Assessment = how well they demonstrate the skill
• Instruction = how you teach them

 

Each section will start from a long-term plan (curricula) and end in short-term plans (individual lessons).  Perhaps you want to group individual lessons into an overall unit (semester) using a specific theme as a cohesive element.  All this preparation and planning makes training and teaching so much easier.  You will enter each class with an idea of what you want to accomplish during that lesson, and how it applies to the objectives for the year.  It may seem like alot of work but preparation is the key to success (both in and out of the studio).

 

Objectives should be SMART:

 

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time Bound

This means that I will not use the example below for a class of 4-year olds!!

Let me give you an example:

Ballet 3

Long Term Objective
Demonstrate use of articulated footwork

Assessment
Demonstrate evidence of articulation during class through demi-pointe and pointe work.  Criteria would include relaxed metatarsals in demi-pointe, alignment of foot, use of intrinsic foot muscles evidenced in lengthening of metatarsals in pointe to name a few.  An initial assessment will be performed to assess each students range of motion in ankle and metatarsals.

Instruction
Discussion and worksheets to teach foot anatomy and what happens during weight bearing and non-weight bearing exercises.
Exercises using therabands, scarves and pinky balls to strengthen and relax intrinsic muscles
Specific commands during class to encourage awareness of articulation during barre and center exercises
Viewing of chosen clips from dances for students to observe and critique


Now that I have identified a long-term objective along with my assessments and instruction, I will break this down into units and then specific lesson plans.  I will also want to use different teaching methods to keep class interesting and reach all students.  Examples of methods include demonstration, practice, problem-solving, partnering and collaboration.  I will start though by using a few minutes from the first several lessons to conduct the individual assessments which will give a base line for each students range of motion.

All in all I have 10 objectives for this class.  You may have noticed that I did not include specific steps or movements for the objective.  I do have a list of movements / steps that I want them to be able to perform successfully by year-end (a measurable objective indeed).

I hope this makes some sense to you.  Sorry to rush this, but I have plenty of planning to do.....

"Good teaching connects creativity to technique and technique to creativity" (Chris Thomson)

 

 

References

Gough, M (1999) Knowing Dance:  A Guide of Creative Teaching.  Dance Books Ltd, London.

McCutchen, B (2006) Teaching Dance as Art in Education.  Human Kinestics, Champaign, Illinois.