Teaching Dance as Art in Education

Brenda Pugh McCutchen, MFA, is a dance education consultant for Dance Curriculum Designs (Columbia, South Carolina) and gives teacher workshops throughout the US using resources she creates for K-12 and university dance classrooms. She was an associate professor of dance at Columbia College, where in 1994 she created and directed South Carolina's first undergraduate teacher certification program in dance education. This program was accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD) and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). During her 40-year career in arts and education, McCutchen's roles have included professor of dance education, classroom teacher, and K-12 dance specialist. McCutchen's perspective of dance as art in education is also shaped through her experience as a performer, choreographer, artistic director, arts administrator, and dance artist in residence for students in kindergarten through high school. As a leading dance curriculum consultant, McCutchen now helps clients design standards-oriented curricula for college and K-12 dance programs. She leads teacher workshops and institutes across the country. McCutchen tirelessly works to see that dance plays a significant role in K-12 education and that dance specialists are prepared to realize the potential of dance in that setting. From 1989 to 1994, McCutchen was arts education program director for the South Carolina Arts Commission. She also coauthored the South Carolina Framework for Dance Education K-12, adopted by the state board of education in 1990 as a basis for South Carolina's curriculum development in dance education. She was a committee member for the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) INTASC Teaching Standards in the Arts. She is currently on the board of directors for the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). She serves NDEO as vice president for programs and services as well as director of publications and resources. She helped draft Professional Teaching Standards for Dance as well as Model Program Guidelines for dance education in the United States. McCutchen holds an MFA in dance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC-G) and has received awards for her contributions to the fields of dance and dance education from the South Carolina Dance Association, the National Dance Week Commission (SC Chapter), and UNC-G's School of Health and Human Performance.

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Thinking About Dance Education Part I. Why-Understanding Dance as Arts Education Chapter 1. Viewing Educational Dance From an Arts Education Perspective What Is an Arts Education Perspective? What Are the Defining Characteristics of Educational Dance? What Drives an Arts Education Perspective? Chapter 2. Examining How National Arts Initiatives Affect Dance National Dance Content and Achievement Standards The "Nation's Report Card" in Dance Other Initiatives That Affect Dance Education Need for Arts Alliances Advocacy Chapter 3. Adopting Your Roles and Responsibilities for Teaching Why Become a Dance Specialist? Examining K-12 Teaching Roles and Responsibilities Preparing to Teach Dance as Art in K-12 Chapter 4. Emphasizing Aspects of Student-Centered Learning Taking a Child-Centered Perspective Kinesthetic-Motor Development (Moving and Learning) Aesthetic-Artistic Development Cognitive-Intellectual Development (Thinking, Perceiving, and Processing) Psychological-Social Development (Feeling and Interacting) Teaching the Whole Child Chapter 5. Identifying the Cornerstones of Dance as Art in Education Four Cornerstones Pivotal Role of Inquiry Overview of the Dance Cornerstone Curriculum Framework How the Cornerstones Lay the Foundation for Accountability Part II. What-Clarifying the Content of K-12 Educational Dance (The Cornerstones) Chapter 6. Dancing and Performing: Cornerstone 1 Relation to National Standards and Beyond Overview of This Cornerstone Artful Use of the Dance Elements Vocabulary Systems Used in Dance Dance Technique and Skill Development Dance Cornerstone Curriculum (DCC) Framework Chapter 7. Creating and Composing: Cornerstone 2 Relation to National Standards and Beyond Overview of This Cornerstone Creative Process and Products Creative Dance for Children Choreography Dance Cornerstone Curriculum (DCC) Framework Chapter 8. Knowing History, Culture, and Context: Cornerstone 3 Relation to National Standards and Beyond Overview of This Cornerstone Dance Across Cultures: Cultural Diversity Dance Through Time: Dance History Preservation and Documentation Dance Cornerstone Curriculum (DCC) Framework Chapter 9. Analyzing and Critiquing: Cornerstone 4 Relation to National Standards and Beyond Overview of This Cornerstone Aesthetic Valuing Critical Thinking and Processing Dance Criticism Dance Cornerstone Curriculum (DCC) Framework Part III. How-Presenting Dance as Art in Education Chapter 10. Constructing Artistic Bridges to Other Disciplines Relation to National Standards and Beyond Dance's Role Across the Curriculum Different Models for Integrating the Arts in Education Teaching Other Academics Through Dance Collaborating Across the Arts Chapter 11. Creating and Maintaining an Effective Arts Learning Environment Creating a Positive Arts Environment Managing Arts Instruction: The Precursor to Artistic Expression Scheduling About Facilities Survive and Thrive Chapter 12. Investigating the Arts Savvy Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Triad Curriculum Content Instruction Assessment Integrating the Triad Chapter 13. Integrating the Cornerstones to Create Units of Study in Dance Relating the Cornerstones Teaching by Integrating the Cornerstones Using the Eight-Step Plan to Maximize Artistic Results Varying an Eight-Step Lesson Chapter 14. Creating a Unit of Study Using an Arts Education Perspective Creating an Integrated Unit of Study Sample Unit: Examining a Work by David Parsons Building Your Own Unit of Study Around a Choreographic Work Building Your Own Unit of Study Around a Style Chapter 15. Reflecting on Teaching Ethical Dimension of Teaching Relational Teaching School Renewal Reflective Practitioner Chapter 16. Developing an Arts-Oriented Teaching Portfolio Preparing a Perspectives Notebook Preparing Your Professional Teaching Portfolio Closing Statement Appendix A: Reference Lists of Concepts Appendix B: Forms, Checklists, Sample Items, and Articles Appendix C: Professional Organizations and National Initiatives Glossary References Index About the Author