“Finally, believe in what you are doing. This is where your depth of feeling, your seriousness, comes through. The magic of the dance room, the ritual of exercises, the unity of many bodies…these things are powerful and reach people on a different level. Children feel this and come to know their own rich source of dance within.” (Joyce, 8)
My Teaching Philosophy is an ever-evolving document, and the latest version can be found HERE
Since my professional background includes student coaching and life coaching as well as dancing, I have learned that good teachers (and good leaders in any field) are also coaches. Therefore, my teaching values for dance instruction go hand-in-hand with my understanding of how coaches and teachers act as catalysts, helping to actualize the potential of those with whom they work, their primary role being to create the conditions necessary for learning. I believe these necessary conditions are:
- Intellectual Safety & Community of Inquiry
- Knowledge of Students (or in the case of coaching, clients), design according to their needs & goals
- Knowledge of Pedagogy or process, thorough preparation and flexibility
- Sense of Possibility, passion for catalyzing human greatness & love of the subject area
Works Cited:
- Accomplishment Coaching Coaches’ Training Program training materials. 2008.
- Brown, Peter C. (2014). Make it stick: the science of successful learning. Cambridge, Massachusetts :The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
- Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing professional practice: A framework for teaching. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
- Delpit, L. D. (1988). “The silenced dialogue: Power and pedagogy in educating other people’s children.” Harvard Educational Review, 58(3), 280-299.
- Erickson, H.L. (2001). “Concept Based Curriculum.” Stirring the head, heart, and soul: Redefining curriculum and instruction. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press Inc. pp. 18-36.
- Flaherty, J. (2005). Coaching: Evoking excellence in others. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.
- Giroux, H.A. (2010) Rethinking education as a practice of freedom: Paulo Freire and the promise of critical pedagogy. Policy Futures in Education 8:6, pp. 715-21.
- Gordon, D., Rose, D. & Meyer, A. (2014). Universal Design for Learning: Theory and practice. Wakefield, MA: CAST Professional Publishing.
- Joyce, M. (1984). Dance technique for children. Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing.
- Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). “From the Achievement Gap to the Education Debt: Understanding Achievement in U.S. Schools.” Educational Researcher, 35(7), pp. 3–12.
- Makaiau, A. S. (2015). Cultivating and Nurturing Collaborative Civic Spaces. C3 Teachers.
- National Core Arts Standards in Dance
- Ormrod, J. E. (1998, April). “Teaching teachers: The problem with emphasizing ‘isms.’” Paper presented at the annual Educational Research Association Conference, San Diego, CA.
- Paris, D. (2012). “Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice.” Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93-97.
- Paskevska, A. (2010). Ballet beyond tradition. New York, NY: Routledge.
- Rich, M. (2008). Launch your life: 5 secrets to knowing what you want in your teens, college years, and early career. Portland, OR: Stone Pile Press.
- Rowen, B. (1994). Dance and grow: Developmental dance activities for three- through eight-year-olds. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company.
- Scarry, E. (1999). On beauty and being just. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Sternberg, R. and Williams, W. (2010). Educational psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
- Teaching Tolerance Social Justice Standards
- Voltz, D., Sims, M.J., & Nelson, B. (2010). Connecting Teachers, Students, and Standards, ASCD.
- Vaganova, A. (1969). Basic principles of classical ballet. New York, NY: Dover Publications.
- Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. ASCD.