Class #5 - Dance and Mental Health Integration

Week 5         

          In this week's class we were focusing on the ways to integrate the physical education curriculum expectations surrounding mental health with dance. One of the primary focuses when considering the integration of mental health with any subject is the idea of trust and relationship. If a student is unable to trust and form relationships with their peers, the discussing such topics like depression, anxiety, and the feelings of isolation that surround those topics and others like it, will be impossible. For today's class, we analyzed the dance element of relationship and the ways that we can help students to interacting with their peers in a safe and positive way. Some of the techniques used  to promote positive relationships are opposition (the mirrored movements of a peer), groupings (unison, large and small groupings or switching groups), meet and part (coming together and moving apart), and follow/lead (one or more dancers lead and the others follow). To warm-up at the beginning of class, we took part in a karate movement activity, incorporating small groups that performed the same movements in unison. This was a fun activity and really helped the class to open up, smile and have fun as we chopped and kicked our feelings of reserve away.

          Connected to mental health, when a class is ready and able to feel comfortable around each other, they can begin to dive into more difficult discussions surrounding individuals with mental health issue. One area of focus for today's lesson was the topic of bullying. I found the integration of this topic with the dance curriculum very effective. Through the strategy of flocking, the class was split into two groups, one the bully and one the victim. Flocking is a type of movement improvisation in which students mirror or shadow each others movement in groups. After watching a video that modeled the dance movements that portray the strong dominant movements of a bully and the weaker more sensitive movements of a victim, our class intermingled the two groups to have them performing the actions together. Although we were in two groups and were apparently adversaries (bully against victim), it was fascinating to watch the recording of the final product and to see how the two could connect together, promoting a sense of relationship with our peers. This activity would be especially useful for a group of younger students who need to talk about their problems and issues with this type of sensitive topic. Connecting to the dance curriculum, this activity encouraged students to: A1.2 use dance as a language to communicate messages about themes of social justice and/or environmental health. Connecting to the health curriculum, the activity got  students to: C2.3 apply personal skills and interpersonal skills (e.g., self-awareness and self-management skills, including anger management; communication skills, including listening skills and assertiveness skills) to promote positive interaction and avoid or manage conflict in social situations (e.g., classroom groups, groups of friends, sports teams, school clubs). 

         

Class #4 - Dance and Social Studies

Week 4         

          This week's class focused on the integration of dance and social studies by exploring and analyzing the dance forms from both the Swedish and Aboriginal cultures. Discussing the movements found within Swedish folk dance we highlighted various dance elements found within the element of time. Such elements include tempo, duration, rhythm and phrasing. The speed with which the dance was performed, the amount of time a movement lasts, the patterns made by arranging long and short movements or strong and light movements and the grouping of movements are all integral parts to the elements just mentioned.

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          What I really liked about this lesson was how we were able to create an inclusive learning environment by including the traditions found in two different cultures. Later in the lesson we watched a video displaying the theatrical performance called "A Story Before Time". This performance centered around the Aboriginal dance tradition. Comparing and contrasting the dance elements incorporated into Aboriginal dance and the dance elements found in the North American dance tradition is a good way to introduce students to other cultures. Doing so allowed us to address the Social Studies curricular expectation of A1.4 compare two or more early societies in terms of their relationship with the environment, and describe some key similarities and differences in environmental practices between these societies and present day Canada. 
          Using what we learned from analyzing the dance moves found in the video, we then were encouraged to look at the choreographic dance form of narrative to incorporate similar dance moves into our own created performance. While doing so we were encouraged to focus on Bloom's Taxonomy.

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          Telling a story with our incorporated dance moves, our choreographic form of narrative was employed while using the information that we just learned and applying it new situations. This process highlights Bloom's Taxonomy under the apply section of the theory. Going through various steps of evaluating and creating our narrative stories through dance, each group used the element of phrase to group together a sequence of movements into one solidifying idea.          

Class #3 - Dance and Math integration

Week 3         

          This week's class was an interesting one as we explored ways to integrate the concept of symmetry with dance. Throughout my time in the consecutive education program at Brock, the integration of curriculum has been a topic that interests me greatly. I find the aspect of making seemingly non-related connections between subject matter quite fascinating. Using the choreographic form of mirroring, we were able to explore the idea of symmetry from a different perspective. Grouping in pairs, we were challenged to create different movements and actions while our partner copied them, imagining that they were embodying a mirror image of the person creating the movements.

(Perara, Lal. "Mirror Dancing". [Online image] Retrieved February 2nd 2017).

          This activity was a lot of fun and was a useful lesson as a future educator because it incorporated several dance elements along with many stages in the creative process. The dance elements being utilized in this lesson were direction, size, pathways, levels and shapes. These elements are all included under the umbrella of the dance element called space. Each individual taking part in this activity was required to explore ways in which they faced or moved, the magnitude or energy of level of the movement, the patterns they made while moving, the distance of their body to the floor and the bodies form while moving in the chosen space.

(Trasatti, Melissa. "Dance Elements". [Online Image] Retrieved: February 2nd 2017).

          During this activity and throughout the exploration of the aforementioned dance elements, we were learning about various stages outlined in the creative process, found within the Ministry of Education's curriculum document. First we were challenged to explore the choreographic form of mirroring and then imagine the possibilities of our movements connecting to our dance elements. Next we had to plan and explore what the actual dance would look like and practice those movements so that we were in unison while mirroring each others movements. After producing our preliminary work we needed to revise and refine our dance so that it was smooth and flowing from movement to the next. After we felt as though our dance was well rehearsed we presented and performed our work to the class. We then were encouraged to reflect on our performed dance and to think about ways that it could possibly have been improved. Furthermore, at each stage of the creative process our instructor gave feedback and helped us to improve our choreographic form, continually reminding us of our focus on symmetry and integrated curriculum. 

(Trasatti, Melissa. "The Creative Process". [Online Image] Retrieved: February 2nd 2017).

          Although this activity seemed like a simple one, it helped me to see that lessons don't always have to be these grandiose lessons that have multiple stages and take 3-4 days to complete. In just one simple lesson, we were able to cover a choreographic form, multiple dance elements and all stages within the creative process. It reminded me of one very important piece of information when teaching, K.I.S.S. Sometimes keeping things simple is the best way to have students meet multiple expectations while having fun and learning in a safe environment.

Class #2 - Dance Elements, Choreogrphic Form and Science Integration

 Week 2        

          Today's class went over a couple of important Ministry of Education principles found within our curriculum document, had us experiencing choreographic form and creating our own dances through the integration of science. 
          In the Ministry of Education's Curriculum document for the Arts, dance is broken down into three main sub-strands which form the foundations for evaluation and assessment. These sub-strands are: 1) Creating and presenting/performing; 2) Reflecting, Responding and analyzing; 3) Exploring forms and cultural contexts. Within the M.O.E. document, all curricular expectations fall under one of these three sub-strands. In this week's class, groups of students were encouraged to explore the first two sub-strands by using their creative abilities to design their own choreographed dances and present them to their peers. Later we took the time to discuss these presentations by analyzing, reflecting and responding to the creative decisions made by each group. Discussions were brief but they allowed us to use language and terminology found within the dance curriculum and to form ideas and opinions surrounding each group's decisions. I was always interested to hear the perspective of my peers because often times they differed from my own and I was able to see each dance from a new perspective. Through "Assessment as Learning", found within the M.O.E. document Growing Success, the review of each group's presentation helped me to improve and refine my own choreographic creative decisions. 
          Creative decision making was done through an interpretive dance that integrated the choreographic form called Rondo (ABACADA) and the integration of the science curriculum. We had our first day of group presentations and today's group encouraged us to create a dance that integrated the grade 6 science expectations found within the strand of "space". Our dance needed to display the phases of the moon and how that occurs by the revolutions of the earth and the moon around the sun. Also, we needed to keep in mind that we were working under the guidelines of the Rondo choreographic form. "A" is a consistent dance movement that occurs throughout the dance always followed by a new dance movement. "B", "C", and "D" are all different and varying dance movements than "A". Each dance movement needed to fit together as a whole to show the intended science expectations mentioned earlier. I was a little hesitant at first that I would be able to create a dance that captured all of these elements. Working together as a collaborative group helped and through the facilitation of our peer instructors, we were able to successfully show a dance that used form and integrated curriculum to learn various content from different perspectives. 

          The expectations addressed in this lesson came from both the dance and science M.O.E. curriculum documents. They are as follows: 1) Arts Curriculum, A. Dance, A1 apply the creative process (see pages 19–22) to the composition of short dance pieces, using the elements of dance to communicate feelings and ideas; A1.4 combine the elements of dance in different ways to communicate a variety of ideas; 2) Science Curriculum, Understanding Earth and Space Systems, 2. Investigate characteristics of the systems of which the earth is a part and the relationship between the earth, the sun, and the moon. I found it very interesting to see the ways that the arts can be used to learn content from different subject areas. What I think was most interesting about it was that the experiential learning that took place in that class almost created a stamp or imprint in my brain that makes it very difficult to forget what we did. In the moments of "doing" and being apart of fun and collaborative experience, I don't think that I will ever forget seeing the different dances that were portraying the revolving planetary bodies around the sun. Children of all ages would also enjoy such an experience and the benefits of such integrated curriculum has made me fascinated with it's endless benefits on student learning. 

Class #1 - integrated ed, syllabic names, ABA form - Jan. 10th

Week 1         

          Today's class was a good introduction to the instruction of dance as we learned about integrating language arts into dance and about strategies that help students to step outside of their comfort zone as they explore dance as an art form.
          Studying dance, like any art form, means that we need to understand the terminology that is used in that art form. Common words like body, energy, space, relationship and time all mean something a little different when used within the context of dance. Understanding this terminology was important when given instructions because this wording highlights different elements of dance that are fundamental to the art form. As we learned about the meanings of these words we were able to participate in the activities more confidently and knowledgeably. Essentially, we were beginning to lay our foundations with the building blocks that dance is built upon.
          Once we had learned these terms we were encouraged to get involved and to create a dance that aligned with the syllabic structures of our names. In groups of three we used our names to connect different dance moves as we spoke our names aloud. This strategy was very useful in getting the entire class - including those who were apprehensive - to participate in creating dance movements. At the end of this activity everyone was enjoying themselves and it really helped to create a lighter atmosphere where people were less nervous to get in front of their peers and try something new.

          This strategy was similar to the one we saw in our music class where we were creating songs to the syllabic structure of our names. It might be possible to add an element of music into this dance activity, depending on the class and the readiness of our students. The simplicity of this dance activity offers many opportunities to integrate other curriculum.
          One area that I could see the integration of other curriculum is when we began exploring ABA dance form. This dance form requires the dancers to begin with a dance movement, change that dance movement to something different and then return to the dance movement that they used to begin their dance. Subjects like music would offer an opportunity to highlight something known as ternary form which outlines an ABA thematic pattern. The opening musical theme is introduced, then another theme presents itself and then finishes with the opening musical theme. Also, subject areas like math would be good for integrating patterning and looking at the connections between the ABA form and ABA patterning. What I like most about dance and other various art forms is their ability to weave their way into many real-world applications. In my upcoming placement I will look for the opportunities to integrate the arts into other subject areas so that students can learn different topics from various perspectives.