Thinking through the body
Mini track
Alison Marshall
“Understanding is being able to carry out a variety of actions that show one’s grasp of a topic and at the same time advance it.” David Perkins, Harvard Project Zero
In this mini track we will use creative dance and movement as a language for interdisciplinary inquiry. Attention will be directed toward dance as an entry point and motivation to learning and as a rich medium from which we can build deeper understanding of content information. The questioning and exploration that exist at the heart of creative movement as an art form will deepen students’ comprehension and retention of curriculum themes. This mini track course will provide an overview of approaches to integrate dance and movement in the full curriculum and in your teaching practice. Attention will be directed toward dance as an entry point and motivation to learning and as a rich medium from which we can build a deeper understanding of content information. Moving together we’ll practice using dance/movement to promote creative thinking and problem solving, to foster co-operation and develop deeper understanding of arts and academic content material.
Learning is an integrative process. Opportunities occur daily for students to use what is learned in one discipline to clarify or enhance an idea, concept or skill in another. Usinga variety of experiential theater games, improvisations, and movement studies our work and conversation will address several questions:
- How can we identify natural concept connections across disciplines?
- How can we make understanding active (apply, extrapolate, act upon etc.)
- How can the use of dance based processes and vocabulary help build understanding?
- How can we provide opportunities for the learners to know what they know ( metacognition)
Session Outline
Welcome -- meeting through movement: Four Corners
A warm-up sampler:
Axial, locomotor, patterns, content based
Move, Shape, Move: the elements of dance
Quadrants: qualities of movement
Problem Solving with Movement: Visual line phrases, group solutions, machines
Group Movement Phrases
Session handouts
Dance basedteaching and learning workshop handout: Alison Marshall
Art for the Brains Sake: Robert Sylwester
Developmental Expectations: Patricia Reedy (Body, Mind and Spirit in Action)
Education in the Arts: Alison Marshall (Artist Teacher Institute Guide)
To Dance a Lasting Song: Alison Marshall and Dance bibliography; Alison Marshall