Use a variety of teaching methods to engage all types of learners: - Kinesthetic learners learn through movement and physical activity. Incorporate dance, creative movement, and physical demonstrations. - Visual learners learn through what they see. Use visual aids like pictures, videos, and modeling dance moves. - Auditory learners learn through listening. Incorporate verbal instructions, discussion, and having students describe movements. Vary your teaching methods to engage students with different learning styles.

1. Developmental Guidelines
for teaching dance (K-3)
Dance integrates the physical, emotional,
social and cognitive processes of the
developing child.
Teaching creative movement can be an
effective medium for developing all aspects
of the growing child.

2. Researchers in child development,
education and dance education
 Jean Piaget (1896-1980), a biologist/ psychologist from
Switzerland, demonstrated that “young children are
sensori-motor and concrete learners” - “the child’s thought
processes is his physical action”.
 Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard
University developed the theory of Multiple Intelligences.
All people possess several types of intelligences:
linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic,
interpersonal, intrapersonal,and spatial.

3. Researchers in dance education,
cont. . .
 Rima Faber, Ph.D., PhD (American University, 1997), MA
(American University, 1994), and BA (Bennington College, 1965).
Helped found the National Dance Education Organization and
served as its program director until she retired this year. Rima has
taught in the D.C. Public Schools since 1980 with a prime focus on
cognitive development and kinesthetic learning. She taught
academic curricula through dance as well as dance as an art form.
In the mid-and late 1990s, Rima worked with the National
Assessment of Educational Progress on developing, facilitating, and
implementing the national assessments in arts education. At NDEO
she chaired task forces to develop standards for dance in early
childhood and new standards for dance education in the arts. She
serves as research director in NDEO's research initiative Research
in Dance Education and as co-editor for Priorities for Research in
Dance Education.

4. The Preschool Years
Ages 3-4
 Intuitive stage - they interpret the world exactly as they
see it but at the same time “play” with the world, using
their imagination. It is a time of magical thinking.
 They learn from interaction with others
and imitation.
 Experiential Learners - learn by doing.
 Short attention spans, vary the activities.
 Very focused on self, egocentric - avoid explanations
that do not relate to them.

5. Examples of what
Preschoolers can do . . .
 Copy simple geometric figures
 Express their own feelings
 Enjoy using words in rhymes and song
 Say and begin writing alphabet
 Can identify basic colors
 Are beginning to control their running, jumping, hopping
 Locomotion: gallop, hop, march, slide, assemble
 Non-locomotor: spin, swing, cross the midline,
isolation of separate body parts
 Spatial direction: forward and back, sideways,
spinning around, high and low level

6. Kindergarten and
First Grade - ages 5-6
 Movement becomes smoother and more
refined and accurate.
 Students can make conscious decisions about
art, music, dance and theatre and respond with
feelings and emotions.
 They can compare and contrast different
sounds, pictures and movements.
 They can create their own stories, songs
and dances - artists at work.
 Students are becoming more aware of the
social harmony, more concerned about others.
 They are more daring, have more confidence
to try new things and dance independently.

7. Examples of what
5-6 year olds can do . . .
 This age has better body control to balance, execute skills on one
foot, hold shapes and be aware of their whole body.
 They can put together more intricate sequences of movements and
identify and use more complex rhythms.
 In school, they are beginning to spell, put words together and tell
stories.
 Locomotion: same as preschool age plus skips, slide, leap, hop,
and combinations of these skills. Also stronger sense of
direction and focus.
 Non-locomotor: increase articulation of individual parts
of the body, explore qualities of movement more
completely.

8. Second and Third Grades
Ages 7-8
 At age 7, there is a dramatic shift of logical processing
(Pierce, 1977.1756.)
 This group is more interested in creating their own art, songs,
pictures and movements.
 Able to make conscious decisions and respond with emotion
and feeling.
 Very interested in how their body works and figuring out a
skill.
 Important to sustain the imaginative work as more and more
demands are placed on their cognitive skills.
 Physical demonstration is still very important.

9. Examples of what
7-8 year olds can do . . .
 Continued development of body control,
executing more and more complex movements.
 Able to interpret emotional concepts, music quality and
imagery through movement.
 Can work with more complex rhythmic patterns
 They are less self-focused and more aware of the space
around them and how they can relate to other dancers.
 Able to combine steps into a movement phrase and
indentify a beginning and an end.
 Able to invent movements in response to an emotion or
pathway, for example.

10. Discipline and Management
 How to know when to focus on a problem, use it
as a teaching moment or let it go.
 Be prepared. Leave little room for deviant
behavior. Set out your expectations early.
 Know what they are used to.
 Change activities often. Change the
teacher/student connection often.
 Be consistent, repetition is helpful.
 Evaluate, observe, care, nurture, remind . . .

11. Not everyone learns
the same way. . .
 Kinesthetic - doers
 Visual - watchers
 Auditory - talkers