Bringing out their Best: for Dance, Drama & Music Teachers

Today’s article follows the journey of six drama teachers from Victoria, Australia who set out to include First Nations content in curriculum. 

Each teacher came to the project with a shared moral purpose and a lot of fear. To embark on a journey without a final destination. All made mistakes along the way but were joyfully rewarded by their work so I thought I’d share their stories with you. 

https://performingartspd.com/first-nations-content/

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We are hearing more than ever about how  teachers are burning out. How young teachers aren't coping with the stressors of this demanding profession. 

I was wondering how graduates could be better supported and came across this 2022 article which describes a year long, online mentoring program between a network of advanced and novice music teachers. Instead of a one-on-one relationship, the network sought to spread the load. Providing a breadth of experienced and support to these junior colleagues. So let’s hear how it went?

https://performingartspd.com/mentoring-networks/

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This week we look at a study which did a review of 21 studies measuring the effectiveness of feedback interventions on motor skills. And the good news for me in this is that we have a purpose! Apparently our feedback is important if students want to make progress.

https;//performingartspd.com/feedback-finale/

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How to teach Pop when you’ve only even known Classical?

There is increasing pressure on music programs to include popular music genres however arguably the biggest stumbling block to this is us. The teachers! 

Sadly most of us studied classical genres in our school and university life and many of us continue to pursue these genres in our leisure time. It therefore comes naturally to us to run music ensembles based on our own experiences but we are less likely to encourage and foster ensembles that take us out of our sphere of comfort. 

Yet, whilst the ensemble programs we run are certainly valuable, they are often taken up by the most privileged students whilst popular music education advocates seek to create a broader audience and include marginalised perspectives.

https://performingartspd/teaching-pop-music/

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Whether we teach dance, drama or music, motor learning is an integral part in performance achievement. Aside from class, there's an expectation our students will work on their performance skills in their own time and for this, they need to be motivated. 

Goal setting, lies at the heart of how a student initiates, sustains and evaluates their progress. Building impetus and drive to continually do better. 

So today’s study is looking at the role of achievement goals for people learning to juggle in their spare time. Not in class, not under the supervision of someone else, but how goals work to motivate practice and create a cycle of improvement….or not.

https://performingartspd.com/effective-goal-setting/

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I remember when I first had my babies,  I was astounded at how much they practiced. Without me doing anything to encourage them!

When they learned to use their voice they would lie in their cot and experiment with slides and sounds. When they learned to roll they would roll at any opportunity, when learning to crawl they kept practicing, same with walking, and talking and so on. So why on earth does this change as we get older?

To be honest, I haven’t got a clue but it did spark my interest in motivation and so when I saw this study on motivational interventions, I was keen to see if there was anything that might be useful for us in motivating our students. 

https://performingartspd.com/motivating-students/

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As performing arts teachers there is an expectation that we are brimming with creative vibes! That we are able to come up with inspiring and innovative solutions to anything from lack of budget to poor commitment in our students.  

Sadly however, this is not always possible. 

As we become exhausted and run down our creativity can also become depleted. 

Therefore I thought I’d give your creativity a boost with some ideas of how to assess your creativity, how creativity works and some ideas on how to give yourself a creativity reboot! 

https://performingartspd.com/reboot-your-creativity/

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We work in an age where our students are more often fixed on their phones than on faces of their friends. Presentation of self is stylised and without the imperfections of everyday existence. Students whose attention is habitually split find it harder to get into flow and to remain mindful and present for classes and performances. 

Today's podcast is from an acting teacher who discovered strategies to create meaningful performance work for this group of students. Enjoy! 

https://performingartspd.com/actor-training-for-the-iphone-generation/

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Do we really need to demonstrate? This 2018 dance study trials movement vs instruction. To answer “how necessary are visual demonstrations to embed performance skills”. Enjoy! 

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Our students are constantly being pushed to extend their boundaries, recognise what they don't know and try to expand on that knowledge base. This for many causes considerable discomfort which can lead to poor learning outcomes. Today's 2022 article looks at how we cope with discomfort and how to assist students to confront it head on!

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