My Philosophy of Teaching

My Philosophy of Teaching Dance

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            As a dancer, performer, and dance instructor, I thrive off sharing my passion for dance with my students. While I try my hardest to be the perfect dance teacher (which I refuse to believe is impossible), I use every second in the studio working to make sure my curriculum and teaching methodology is benefiting my students in every way. I am a results-oriented dance instructor, but always have my student’s best interest at heart. I am morally responsible to stay current and knowledgeable in the industry to ensure that my students are receiving the highest level of training. I truly believe that a great dance instructor not only prepares their students for a career in dance, but also their future in general by promoting a good work ethic, a positive attitude, creativity, teamwork, respect, and a healthy lifestyle.

            Everything a teacher does is fashioned by a set of philosophies. These philosophies will reflect the teacher’s nature of knowledge, the nature of teaching and learning, and human nature of the student. “Knowing Dance” by Marion Gough pointed out that some of the words people used to describe a ‘good’ dance teacher was enthusiastic, supportive, knowledgeable, well-prepared, has a sense of humor, actively involved, gives praise, concerned with individuals, and shows respect. I pride myself on displaying these characteristics while in the classroom to engage the students completely and set a positive example. It is evident people learn best when they are well-motivated, when the work is relevant and meets their needs, when they are actively involved, when the atmosphere is conducive to learning, and when they feel respected. The key elements in planning a dance course are knowing your students, aims and objectives, course content, teaching methods, assessment, and evaluation. Planning a dance class should start with a needs analysis. Students are entitled to a well-prepared class and the choice of material is imperative. The teacher needs to be creative, flexible, and consider a range of teaching styles and strategies to enable students to learn. By assessing our students progress and achievement we can motivate them in the process of learning, sustain their interest by making them aware of how they are doing, identify their capabilities and achievements, and consider what should be done next.

            I believe that all students learn differently and that there is not one correct form of teaching. The Howard Gardener Theory of Multiple Intelligences tells us that people can be intelligent in different ways. Howard Gardener equated Martha Graham with a neuroscientist, he said that she has the same amount of intelligence but it was bodily kinesthetic. No one method of teaching is right for every situation. Personally, I am a visual learner. Most dancers are kinesthetic learners; however, I know for myself that I learn best by stepping back and watching first. Since I know this about myself and can closely relate with the Gardenerium Theory, I find it is best to demonstrate, say the combination aloud, and allow the students to do the combination full out, so that they are learning in three different ways and can use whatever works best for them.  Since everything in the brain is interrelational, I believe you can get the same result with different learning methods.

            Organizing the material in class to help clarify the aims and objectives for both myself and the class is equally as important as the way in which it is given. Having an organized set of objectives is essential for planning and delivering material, design valid assessment tasks, and ensure that what I am teaching aligns with the objectives of the class. Bloom’s Taxonomy is my favorite tool when it comes to organizing my class to make sure I am creating the most efficient and beneficial learning structure for my students. It helps me create clear goals for what exactly I want my students to get out of class, and in the future, will help me assess whether they have a reasonable understanding of it.

            Personally, I am inspired by the holistic way of teaching, in which the class is completely student-centered and using imagery and interconnectedness with the students, the students can discover their physical and artistic potential. “Affirmation is a powerful teaching tool and an important feature of the Marian Chace dance/movement Therapy technique and theory” (Journal of Dance Education, Volume 11). I think affirmation is very important to increase the student’s self-confidence and that way it comes out in their movement quality and attitude in class. Marian Chase was inspired by how dancing allowed students to become completely engaged in mind body and spirit. While dancing, affirmation is acknowledgement of the student’s effort as well as validation that the personal experience they had in their body was true and valuable. I think that the Marian Chace technique is inspiring and valuable to gain a deeper understanding of your student’s internal motivation for movement, as well as allowing the dancers to expand their movement vocabulary and gain a true sense of self-confidence.

            Clearly, a lot goes into ensuring our students are happy and healthy. Teachers play a vital role in the physical and emotional growth of young dancers, but many teachers may underestimate how big of a role they play in the emotional aspect. By understanding how young people develop emotionally, we can better understand how to handle empowering their lives. “The Healthy Dancer: ABT Guidelines for Dancer Healthy” perfectly outlines the phases of development from pre-school age children who are characterized by curiosity and assertiveness to maturing adolescents who crave validation and support. The book focused on foundation in which self-esteem is developed. To develop self-esteem through dance, the process of learning should be valued just as much as the performance outcomes. Young people want to be validated intellectually, emotionally, and physically, therefore as I teach I realize the importance of validating their commitment, allowing them to be heard, being a good role model, and handling failures as a classroom as an opportunity to learn and grow. Girls who participate in sports have proven to show higher levels of self-esteem and do better in school, which is why dance can be so positive in a dancer’s life. Creating a healthy training environment in which the students are completely motivated is, in my opinion, the most important part of the classroom. The environment in which the student trains as well as their personality can affect their motivation level.

            I believe that good class management skills are the key to success in order ensure a smooth class that is conducive to learning. First, rules and routines are very important for the classroom. At a young age, I enforce eye contact with my students so that they have a general respect for authority and understand that is what is expected going forward. The class should have an understanding that looking at the teacher and being attentive always is what is expected of them. With that being said, it is my job to organize the classroom so that I am not providing opportunities for them to get distracted. The physical design in my classroom is always changing to get a new perspective, and I do not believe in a completely quiet classroom. During exercises, I will give the students opportunities to ask questions, contribute, play ‘fix the teacher’ or ‘fix each other’ games, partner stretching, allow the students to give commendations and recommendations to one another, or allow discussion that is beneficial to the class. The content of the class is imperative to keeping the student’s attention, if it is what they would perceive as ‘too easy’ than they will get bored, if it is over their head, they will be overwhelmed and discouraged. The material should be level-conscious, always in a reachable goal, and age-appropriate. I constantly challenge my students, but always in small doses. The most important part of being a dance teacher, in my opinion, is developing relationships with your students. Treating every kid equal, making sure they all feel a sense of value and community, and fostering a positive environment all go into the relationship you build with your students. It is so important to me that my students are able to approach me with anything that they need and develop a deep sense of trust, so that I can ensure they are in a positive physical and emotional place as dancers and young people.

            While teaching class I base my lesson plans off the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for grades P-12, through which I can ensure that my students are exactly on track with the same proficient level of knowledge and skill that their peers in their age group are on. The core curriculum is broken up into categories of the creative process, the history of arts and culture, performance, and aesthetic responses and critique methodologies, all of which heavily go into creating my lesson plans. They are the essential components of the curriculum and my students will not be denied from experiencing them in their classes. The expectation of the NJ arts standards is that all students communicate at a certain level in their discipline by the end of their grade, using the vocabulary, materials, tools, and intellectual methods presented by each arts discipline in a developmentally appropriate manner. I follow the Core Curriculum for all my classes, since it is the best guideline for knowledge and skill development.

            After following the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, assessment is of utmost importance. Assessment is used mostly to develop and improve my curriculum by first developing my goals and objectives of the class, using my methodologies to teach them, using my assessment tools to ensure that my students completely understand what I am teaching, and if they are not, I am then able to reevaluate the assessment and methodologies to reach my goals and objectives. It is a constant loop of assessing my students, so that I am able to assess my own teaching. This directly aligns with my primary teaching methodology being outcome driven, so if progress is not being made in my students, something needs to change. Assessment allows me to stay ahead of my students and keep my curriculum up to date and always growing. Since assessment is key to a beneficial class for my students, I use an assessment tool for every exercise in my class. Some of my favorite assessment tools are demonstration, verbal, ‘fix the teacher,’ commendations and recommendations, peer review, drawing pictures, and games such as a dance form of ‘charades.’ This not only keeps the students interested in the class, but allows me to know that they know exactly what I am talking about in class. “As changes in educational reform move toward teacher evaluations based on student achievement as quantified in assessments, it is essential that dance educators work with dance assessments rather than being evaluated through student achievement in other content areas.” –JODE Volume 11

            The National Dance Education Organization is a non-profit, membership organization dedicated to advancing dance education. NDEO provides the dance artists, educators, and administrators a network of resources and support, a base for advocacy and research, and access to professional development opportunities that focus on the importance of dance. Since the best way to ensure that our students are receiving the best dance education, we owe them all our effort to be the best dance educators we can. NDEO is a great form of communication and a great foundation for the members of the dance community to be on exactly the same page. Whenever there is new movement or research, the NDEO is sure to be notified and discuss it. It is a practical resource and way to stay involved in everything happening in the dance industry.

            The National Dance Education Organization website also said that students who study dance are self-motivated, disciplined, and focused in their everyday lives, expressive in their communication of emotions, thoughts, and feelings, creative and imaginative, and able to critically analyze their own work and the work of others. I truly believe with my whole heart that every child should dance. I love sharing my passion for dance with my students more than anything, and I will always do everything in my power to make sure that they are getting the highest level of dance education possible.

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Works Cited

ABT Medical Advisory Board. The Healthy Dancer – ABT Guidelines for Dancer Health. Self-contained. First edition. Macfadden Performing Arts Medical, 2008, pages 10-90.

Chase, Marion. “Holistic Education.” Journal of Dance Education Online-Only Journal, vol. 11, no. 2, 2011. http://athena.rider.edu:2203/loi/ujod20?open=11&year=2011&repitition=0# vol_11_2011 Accessed 20 Feb 2017.

Marion Gough. Knowing Dance: A Creative Guide to Teaching. Self-contained. Illustrated Edition. Dance Books, 1999, pages 15-110.

National Dance Education Organization: Advancing Dance Education in the Arts, 2017, www.ndeo.org, Accessed 15 Mar. 2017.

Northern Illinois University. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, 2014, http://www.niu.edu/facdev/_pdf/guide/learning/howard_gardner_theory_multiple_intelligences.pdf, 12 April. 2017.

State of New Jersey. Department of Education. New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, 1996-2014, http://www.state.nj.us/education/aps/cccs/arts/, Accessed 25 Mar, 2017.

Vanderbilt University. Center for Teaching. Bloom’s Taxonomy, 2017, https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/, Accessed 12 Feb. 2017