Standards for Learning and Teaching Dance in the Arts: 5-18

Introduction

Philosophy

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21st Century Skills Gap Analysis

The Standards for Learning and Teaching Dance in the Arts: Ages 5-18 are founded on fundamental beliefs regarding the role dance can and should play in the education of youth ages 5-18. These standards uphold the vision that all youths have a right to enjoy quality dance education taught by a qualified dance educator in a graduated and sequential curriculum and that they will receive numerous benefits from doing so. To learn more about the beliefs that shaped these standards, select the Philosophy.

In August 2011, The College Board produced a report for the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) as a resource to understand the manner in which the 1994 Standards for Arts Education aligned with the thirteen skills outlined in the 21st Century Skills Map released by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. In coordination with the other arts of Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts, it reviewed the standards for dance included in the 1994 document to provide an informed resource to aid in the development of a new generation of Core Arts Standards. NDEO analyzed our 2005 Standards for Learning and Teaching Dance in the Arts to the 21st Century Skills. The goal is to learn where the standards share similarities with the 21st Century Skills and where ideas diverge. To read the full introduction to the gap analysis, click here. To download (NDEO members) or purchase (non-members) the full gap analysis, click here.

How to Use the Standards

The Standards for Learning and Teaching Dance in the Arts: Ages 5-18 were designed to be used by different people for different purposes. Some of these diverse purposes are outlined below. 
 
The standards provide general goals for dance learning from which educators and administrators can develop objectives for a more specific curriculum. They outline a well-balanced range of dance experiences and list the content and skills appropriate at each level of achievement. Learning dance involves a graduated sequence of movement experiences. The standards provide a very general developmental progression of goals and objectives.
 
The standards provide a foundation from which creativity in the classroom or studio can spring. They are purposely generalized, so that individual teachers or localities are at liberty to design creative curricula based on community values and beliefs. The use of standards has been criticized as inhibiting to creativity. On the contrary, application of the standards is limited only by the scope of the goals, the objectives of the curriculum designed, and the creativity of the individual teacher.
 
The standards also provide a guidepost for assessment by defining general expectation levels. The structure to assess student achievement is implied in the creation of standards. For this purpose, a rubric is developed for each of the Content and Achievement Standards. This rubric can be used to assess student development by either showing a portrait in one point in time or through a series of progressive reports.
 
The standards help both teachers and students understand the learning embedded in dance and movement experiences. Research has demonstrated that, while movement for children can provide many connections to content in dance and other disciplines, conscious and explicit reference to these connections must be provided for the learning to be understood and retained (Caterall, 2002). An understanding of the standards can help teachers recognize the knowledge that the children are internalizing. It will help focus an approach to the learning of dance and the dance of learning.
 

Standards are usually written as a guide for teachers and administrators, but these standards place learning as a priority, and therefore are designed for student learning as well as teaching. It is therefore important for students to understand what they are expected to know and be able to do in the art of dance. The Standards for Learning and Teaching Dance in the Arts: Ages 5-18 include a section with the standards written in language appropriate for students in the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades, providing students with clear guidelines for learning that help them better understand and assess how their dance experience educates them in the art of dance.

In summary, the standards can be used by

Administrators to

• Develop curriculum.
• Inform teachers and parents of excellence in dance education.
• Advocate for dance education.

Dance teachers to

• Learn age-appropriate development in dance.
• Develop course curricula or syllabi.
• Plan classroom activities.
• Inspire creative ideas for choreography.
• Assess student learning.

Students to

• Understand the learning expectations of their dance education.
• Inspire new creative ideas.
• Assess their own learning.
• Connect dance education experiences to other avenues of learning and life.