Domain 1: Planning and Preparation
1a. Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy
My pedagogical practice is guided by a variety of recources, included dance technique pedagogy, creative dance and choreography pedagogy, anatomy and kinestology for dancers, teaching styles, culturally relevent teaching, classroom management, and differentiated instruction. I continuously refrence these materials to align my dance content and teaching strategies with best practices in dance education.
1b. Demonstrating Knowledge of Students
Demonstrating knowledge of students is essential for planning lessons that build on students’ prior knowledge, assets, and intrests. Aligned with culturally relevent teaching, I adapt my instructional materials and strategies based on the unique individuals in my classroom to facilitate meaningful and equitable learning experiences. The example below contains excerpts from my edTPA portfolio, where I describe and justify how my lessons and materials were adapted based on students prior knowledge and assets.
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Students' Prior Knowledge
Based on the students prior knowledge of the elements of dance, I chose to utilize the elements of dance approach to choreography. According to dance scholars McCutchen (2006) and Blom & Chaplin (1982), the element of dance approach encourages students’ creativity through an explorative approach to choreography. In Lesson 1, students use the elements of dance approach by abstracting choreographic stimulus from “New York at Christmas” (Activity #1) to create original choreography (Activity #4). Because the elements of dance approach promotes creative expression, the learning task builds on students' prior knowledge of the elements of dance to create choreography that expresses artistic intentions.
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Students' Assets
The learning tasks were guided by personal and community assets in my decision to co-create artistic criteria in collaboration with the students (Lesson 2 Activity #4). This is an established community practice where students have the opportunity to draw from personal experiences and preferences to establish artistic criteria. Furthermore, research shows that co-created rubrics clearly communicate expectations with students and provides opportunities for students to self-assess their work (Andrade & Cizek, 2010). In Lesson 3 Activity #2, students self-assess their choreography using the co-created rubric criteria.
1c. Setting Instructional Outcomes
I set instructional outcomes and learning objectives based on the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Visual and Performing Arts, National Core Arts Standards for Dance, Social-Emotional Learning Standards, and Social Justice Standards.
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National Core Arts Standards
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NJ Student Learning Standards for Dance
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Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Standards
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Social Justice Standards
1d. Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources
During my student teaching internship, I utilized peer feedback protocols from Arts Assessment for Learning to plan for constructive peer feedback sessions. According to Dr. Hedi Andrade, peer feedback sessions are effective when students are provided with clear criteria, a constructive process for crique, and time for revision.
Clear Criteria
I provided students with clear criteria for peer assessment by utilizing a rubric for peer feedback.
The rubric was reviewed with students prior to engaging in the peer feedback session.
Feedback Process
I planned for students to provide feedback using “glows” and “grows” based on the rubric criteria.
The examples from the powerpoint above model how to give specific feedback using dance vocabulary.
Opportunity for Revision
In this formative assessment, students described how they will apply their feedback.
Students had the oppotunity to practice each skill in the following class.
1e. Designing Coherent Instruction
Designing coherent instruction is essential for developing and deepening students’ understanding of dance. Coherent instruction scaffolds learning activities, aligns with instructional outcomes (standards), engages students in higher-order thinking, provides differentiation for individuals and groups of learners in the classroom, and develops artistic expression through student choice. The example below is an excerpt from my edTPA portfolio.
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The state standard 1.1.12acc.Re7 addresses responding to dance as students “use genre-specific dance terminology to analyze dance works, recurring patterns of movement and their relationships that create structure and meaning in dance.” This standard is addressed in Lesson 1 Objective 1 as students “analyze ‘New York at Christmas’ choreography using the elements of dance”. This activity calls for students to respond to professional choreography by applying their knowledge and skills of the elements of dance, artistic expression of interpretation, and contextual understandings by making personal connections to the choreography in order to analyze “New York at Christmas”. The national standard DA:Cr1.1.II addresses creating dance as students “synthesize content generated from stimulus materials to choreograph dance studies or dances using original or codified movement.” This standard is addressed in Lesson 1 Objective 2 as students “synthesize elements of dance abstracted from ‘New York at Christmas’ to create a choreographed Jazz phrase.” As students create a choreographed Jazz phrase, they are applying their knowledge and skills of the elements of dance and Jazz dance technique, and artistic expression as they use their creativity and make individual choices.
The state standard 1.1.12acc.Cr2 addresses creating and responding to dance as students “work individually and collaboratively to design dance studies that integrate and recombine movement vocabulary [and] choreographic devices…Explain how the dance vocabulary and structures clarify the artistic intent.” First, 1.1.12acc.Cr2 is addressed in Lesson 2 Objective 1 as students apply their knowledge and skills of the elements of dance and choreographic devices and artistic expression “to create duet choreography in collaboration with a partner that expresses artistic intentions through the elements of dance and choreographic devices.” Second, 1.1.12acc.Cr2 is addressed in Lesson 2 Objective 2 as students’ respond to their work by applying contextual understandings as students reflect on their choreography “to explain how they used the choreographic devices to express artistic intentions in their choreography.”
In Lesson 3, students will apply knowledge and skills, contextual understandings, and artistic expression in a performance of their choreography. This performance assesses their ability to “create duet choreography in collaboration with a partner that expresses artistic intentions through the elements of dance and choreographic devices” (Lesson 3 Objective 1), which addresses standard 1.1.12acc.Cr2. Through a performance of their choreography, students will apply their knowledge and skills of the elements of dance and choreographic devices, and artistic expression as they make individual choices and express their personality. In addition, students are applying knowledge and skills of the elements of dance and choreographic devices, contextual understandings through a reflection of their choreographic process, and artistic expression as they respond to their choreography “to explain how their choreographic choices express artistic intentions through the elements of dance and choreographic devices” (Lesson 3 Objective 2), which addresses standard 1.1.12acc.Cr2.
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The lesson plans in this learning segment build on students' prior knowledge to promote new learning of the choreographic process. In Lesson 1, students will synthesize choreographic stimulus abstracted from an excerpt of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, “New York at Christmas”, to create a choreographed Jazz phrase. As students respond to “New York at Christmas”, they are applying their prior knowledge of the elements of dance to abstract movement stimulus, contextual understandings by making personal connections to the choreography, and artistic expression to analyze and interpret the choreography. Then, students will apply their knowledge and skills of the elements of dance, which were abstracted from the “New York at Christmas Video”, to create a choreographed Jazz phrase. As students create a choreographed Jazz phrase, they will apply their knowledge and skills of the elements of dance and Jazz dance technique, contextual understandings of the choreographic process as they reflect on “New York at Christmas”, and artistic expression as they identify a theme and use improvisation to generate original movement. This prepares students to further develop their choreography in Lesson 2.
In Lesson 2, students will create duet choreography in collaboration with a partner by combining their individual choreography from Lesson 1 and applying choreographic devices. As students collaborate to create duet choreography, they are applying knowledge and skills of the elements of dance and choreographic devices, and artistic expression as they make choreographic choices through improvisation to combine their Jazz dance phrases from Lesson 1. Then, students respond to their choreography through a reflection to establish artistic criteria as we co-create the assessment rubric for Lesson 3. As we co-create rubric criteria, students will apply contextual understandings through a reflection of their choreographic process, knowledge and skills of the elements of dance and choreographic devices, and artistic expression to establish artistic criteria to evaluate their choreography. This prepares students to reflect on their choreographic choices to clarify artistic intentions in Lesson 3 through performance and written reflection.
In Lesson 3, students will reflect on their choreographic process in Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 to clarify their artistic intentions. After reviewing the co-created rubric criteria from Lesson 2, students will be assessed on a performance of their choreography. As students perform their choreography, they are applying knowledge and skills of the elements of dance and choreographic devices, and artistic expression as they make individual choices and express their personality. Then, students will respond to their choreography through a written reflection, applying their contextual understandings of their choreographic process. This helps students to clarify their artistic intentions as they respond to their choreographic choices in Lesson 1 and Lesson 2, and performance in Lesson 3 through reflection.
1f. Designing Student Assessments
Student assessments provide evidence of student understanding and achievement aligned with the standards and learning objectives. In my practice, I emphasize using multimodal assessments that allow students to demonstrate understanding in a variety of ways. In the assessment below, students demonstrated their knowledge and skills of the elements of dance and choreographic devices, contextual understandings of the choreographic process, and artistic expression through performance and a written reflection.