Leaving Certificate Applied: Content, Structure and Delivery

Leaving Certificate Applied: Content, Structure and Delivery

Sharon Phelan

UL

Introduction

Dance is located within the General Education of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme and unlike previous Dance-in-Education Syllabi, which were located within Physical Education; dance is an independent area of study. The Department of Education accredits the two dance modules: Dance One, and Dance Two, and the marks awarded contribute to the student’s final mark in their Leaving Certificate Applied.

The Modules

Although there are no dance pre-requisites for Module One, it must precede Module Two. Both modules contain seven units of learning. The units centre round anatomical/ physiological elements, movement principles, ( in module one that includes use of the body & space/ in module two it involves appropriate use of dynamics and accompaniment), improvisation, choreography, performance craft and dance criticism. The modules are available from the NCCA and they can be downloaded from the NCCA Site.

The Units

From a general perspective, the anatomical/ physiological units focus on basic anatomy, warm up & cool down and breathing techniques, body alignment, and first aid. The Improvisation units aim towards increasing the student’s ability to create original dance works. They develop the students’ ability to improvise co-operatively in pairs and in group formations; to respond to conceptual and to sensory stimuli; to use their bodies, space, dynamics and accompaniment in an appropriate fashion and to reflect on their improvisation results orally and in a written format.

Choreography units centre round using other areas of the Leaving Certificate Applied as conceptual stimuli. They also involve the selection of appropriate choreographic models such as AB, ABA, ABA1, THEME and Variation and RONDO to depict selected stimuli. The performance units aim towards appropriate use of the dance nexus: props, costumes, make-up, context and lighting and sound if they are available. They also encourage the sharing of performance pieces with other people.

Finally, the dance appreciation units allow Leaving Certificate Applied students, debate dance works individually and in groups, and to express their viewpoints through oral and written texts. In their analyses, the students must identify stimuli, evaluate the use of movement principles, choreographic models and accompaniment, compare and contrast dance pieces, and use various media in research methods.

As we can see the structure of the modules are almost identical. However, Module Two is more advanced; it aims towards broadening the students dance vocabulary, challenging their critical skills with more challenging pieces of work, using a wider variety of media in research and the use of RONDO as a choreographic model as well as AB, ABA, Theme & Variation. Consequently, the key assignments are more challenging.

Basic Movement Principles

As we can see Module One focuses on movement principles surrounding the Body, (body actions, body parts, and the body travelling) and Space (personal and general, levels, pathways). On the other hand, Module Two concentrates on Dynamics (various rhythms, strong & light movements and differing energies (sudden, sustained, regular, and erratic). It also focuses on original usage of accompaniments. For instance, we usually use music, reels, jigs and hornpipes to accompany Irish dancing, but percussion, sound effects and silence will allow more innovative and original use of Irish dance technique.

Because the movement principles and accompaniment are broad-based, the modules are adaptable to any dance form. This notion was welcomed nationally by Physical Education teachers in a survey carried out in 1998. The reasons cited were the fact that they could select dance forms amenable to their own students, utilise their own strengths in dance and reach out to other dancers in the community. From a sociological perspective it challenged the notion that any dance form was superior to another.

Underlying Principles

The Leaving Certificate Applied has underlying principles, which underlie the entire programme. They include interdisciplinary learning, literacy development, community links and teamwork. As dance is an autonomous area, within Leaving Certificate Applied the teacher has a responsibility to address the principles during dance classes.

Interdisciplinary Learning

As stimuli for Dance can be drawn from every other course, its modules are suitable for interdisciplinary learning. In fact, the key assignments at the end of the modules stress that the stimuli for dance pieces must be rooted in other courses within the programme. In the next section, a dance project, integrates with other areas within the programme. Irish dance is the dance form selected, and Social Education and Irish are the two courses, which will integrate with it.

Laban emphasized that ‘a connection exists between the dance forms and the general behaviour, especially the working habits, of a particular period.’ (Laban: 1963; 1), so if we take traditional Irish working tools, such as a spinning wheel or a blacksmith’s anvil, we can portray their work patterns using Irish dance. Equally, we could explore modern day work movement using Contemporary Dance or modern Irish dance styles. Using an AB choreographic model the piece could be performed for an audience. If the students were to write a short piece highlighting the existence of these working habits in pre and post industrial times in Ireland this dance project would satisfy 3 out of 4 key assignments in Module 1 Dance.

Other approaches might involve dancing traditional Irish myths, legends, poetry, lyrics, through Irish Dance. For instance, a traditional tale, such as Diarmuid agus Grainne might suggest the dynamics, space and actions familiar with traditional Irish Dance, whereas a more modern story, [e.g. Circle of Friends], might suggest the dynamics, space and actions familiar with Contemporary Irish Dance.

Literacy Skills

Literacy skill is an important part of Leaving Certificate Applied. The Curriculum Development Unit recommends that the teacher implement the SQE4, which encourages the use of surveys, discussions, recall, reading and writing. Some ways in which we implement the SQE4, might include dance reviews and using English literature as stimuli for dance pieces. Using dance-specific terminology consistently in class and following practicals, with reflective discussions and journal entries are other ways.

I used a letter called ‘The Evils of Dancing’; it was written by Patrick O’ Donnell, [Archbishop of Armagh], Robert Browne, [Bishop of Cloyne], and Thomas O’Doherty [Bishop of Galway] in 1926. It appealed to my fifth year students because it condemned the cavorting and craic enjoyed by Irish dancers at ceilis and set dances andit was read aloud by priests at masses at the time.

The students read the letter and they noticed that Set Dancing was considered the most unsavoury Irish dance type; subsequently, they organized their own ceili! But, the letter was geared to stimulate a number of activities surrounding improving their literacy skills.

The students researched the dance history particular to Cork during the 1920s and they made presentations surrounding set dancing, ceilis, and ballrooms at the time. They used PowerPoint presentations and distributed handouts.

Community Links

As Leaving Certificate Applied is pre-vocational, the Department of Education ‘encourage[d] strong community links to complement the school and centre as a learning site.’ Website 1, simple examples would include dance visitors, oral interviews with dance specialists, work shadowing and experience in theatres and community shows and performances.

It is worth adding at this point that although Leaving Certificate Applied was designed to be pre-vocational, and it was geared towards students who were not interested in proceeding directly to third level education, the majority did. A national survey in 1998 revealed that 56% of the students sought further education and training. From that perspective, students from Post - Leaving Certificate and Third Level dance programmes are a possible visitor.

Teamwork

Besides interdisciplinary connections, literacy skills and Community links, teamwork is the final principle underlying the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme. As we know, successful improvisation and performance is dependent on ‘the relationship of the people in the group as a whole. (Schneer: 1994; 5), so dance is an obvious subject through which students can develop socially.

Assessment

A national survey was carried out in relation to the Leaving Certificate Applied Dance Programme in 1998. The survey results indicated a strong approval among Physical Education teachers towards the fact that the programme was formal assessed. They believed that it raised the status of Dance and it encouraged a harder work ethic on behalf of the students.

Dance students are assessed continuously and they do not sit a final examination. They receive Key Assignments at the end of each module and if they complete them successfully, they receive credits; these credits go towards their overall Leaving Certificate Applied mark.

The key assignments are broad based and they centre round creating and performing dance pieces, using stimuli from other areas, the demonstration of warm up & cool down techniques and written dance critiques. For example a Key Assignment in Module One, is to ‘create and perform a dance piece using ideas from at least one other area of Leaving Certificate Applied.’ (Phelan 2000) Website 2.

Tasks are another form of assessment in Leaving Certificate Applied; as we can see they involve the development of a product, the investigation of an issue or the provision of a service. The students must complete seven tasks over two years and they carry ten credits each. They are like Key Assignments, in that they must integrate with other areas of study.

Sample Tasks

Sample dance tasks might include.

·  Current dance programmes available in Ireland: A Brochure

·  A review on a local dance show for a newspaper

·  A comparison between dance forms, types and styles

·  A short dance piece using literary stimuli and performed for an audience

·  A dance disseminated in a local primary school

Even if dance is not the anchoring course, it can link into other tasks. For instance, it could be the medium through which knowledge in a certain area is disseminated; also its principles of body, space, dynamics and accompaniment are equally applicable to drama.

Conclusion

To conclude, the Leaving Certificate Applied Dance Modules were a different way of approaching dance-in-education in Ireland. They were autonomous and their broad-based movement principles are applicable to all dance forms, from Jazz Dance, to break dancing to Salsa dancing.

Like more traditional subjects, such as maths or music, dance became formally examinable and it shared equal responsibility with other areas on the programme in implementing interdisciplinary learning, improving the students’ literacy, promoting community links and involving teamwork.

It is worth mentioning that these students are ideal candidates for FETAC programmes in Performing Arts. Unlike the conventional Leaving Certificate student the students are exposed to performing arts other than music at second level. In our own degree in Folk Theatre Studies, we have a dance specialist, who studied Leaving Certificate Applied and subsequently a FETAC programme in Theatre Studies.

Bibliography

Books:

·  Blom, L. A. & Chaplin, L. 2000, The moment of movement : dance improvisation, Dance Books, London

·  Laban, R. 1963. Modern Educational Dance, The Chaucer Press Ltd., Suffolk.

·  Schneer, G. 1994. Movement Improvisation: in the words of a teacher and her students, Human Kinetics, Champaign.

Internet

1.  http: //www.ncca.ie/index.asp?IocID=285&docID=-1

2.  http://www.ncca.ie/index.asp?locID=285&docID=-1

Copyright: Sharon Phelan,

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