Dance Reflection

Creative Dance
Creative dance in the classroom is a great way for children to be actively engaged (physically and emotionally). Students are more excited and ready to be involved when they're focusing on more than mental processes.  Creative dance, as we learned in class, is different than I would have expected it.  It's a lot less technique oriented, and more about just being up and moving and putting emotion into movement.  It will help a lot of children realize they might have a future in something like dance, even boys.  Along with that, students may learn that dance is an effective learning method. Through our two week study of dance I learned that it is an effective way to incorporate concepts into memory. Creating movement to words creates a physical memory, and adding the music creates a mood which, in turn, creates an emotional memory. The whole experience creates several neural pathways to a concept, making it easier for later recall. Dance is not just a useful memory tool, but a healthy emotional outlet. Creative dance allows expression.  When students participate in creative dance they are able to express their emotions and feelings using a positive outlet.

In my preparation for field, I will use creative dance in my lesson planning.  I hope that by using creative dance I will better understand the personalities and confidence levels of the students I will be working with.  This could help me know what the best approach may be to teaching the class as a whole, and for working with individuals.  I hope that by incorporating creative dance into my lesson plans, that students will grow in their confidence and desire to participate. I believe that creative dance can build confidence and increase the comfort level among peers.

To incorporate the concepts I've learned in this creative dance unit, I will continue to take dance classes my self.  I will pay attention to the effects these classes have on my personal confidence, as well as my physical capabilities.  I believe it is important to stay active and healthy, and will do this now in my life so that I can be an example when I teach my future students about being active and healthy.  We are often taught to model what we teach, and what better way to model being actively engaged than doing it regularly in my life now? I will help the students I am working with in field, and in my future classrooms, understand the importance of building self-confidence and educational understanding through creative dance. I am also interested in finding books and music that I can use as tools for teaching concepts with creative dance. 

The group project was a great experience! I loved working on it with my group and seeing everyone participate during the presentation.  Dance is always fun, so this project was very enjoyable for me. This group was fun and easy to work with.  They all participated and contributed equally and helped each other.  I've learned that equal contribution is the best way to make a project move forward. Through all my group experiences the main theme would center around equal commitment and contribution.  When everyone is committed to helping the project move forward, it is a success.  Sometimes the project turns out different than expected, but when everyone helps it is usually a success!