In this professional learning program, teachers will experience and understand the Elements of Dance as they explore their individual creativity. Movement activities will be scaffolded to model their usefulness as creative exercises and formative assessment tools. Each participant will create original movement that connects to curriculum content and will collaborate with the group to create a larger, unique piece of choreography. We will examine and analyze ways in which online platforms can be maximized for engaging our students, as well as become positive spaces for encouraging creativity and new ways of looking at the world.

Recommended Participants

Teachers Dance, Arts Specialists, Learning Intentions

Educators will:

• Understand the Elements of Dance (Space, Time, and Energy).
• Explore how to use the Elements of Dance to develop and deliver a creative movement lesson that integrates movement with curriculum content of their choice.
  • For example, ELA educators who’ve participated in this program selected to use The Lorax, to identify characters and their actions.
• Envision ways to include movement based creative problem solving, critical thinking, and collaboration into teaching and learning.
• Envision ways to address Social Emotional Learning competencies into teaching and learning.
• Employ movement as a strategy for differentiated learning that values each student’s cultural identity and developmental achievement.
• Reflect on their experience, giving them opportunity to compare, contrast, and synthesize what they have learned.

YA Connections

• NJSLS-VPA: Artistic Process; Creating
• Anchor Standard 1: Conceptualizing & Generating Ideas
• NJSLS-VPA: Artistic Process; Responding
• Anchor Standard 7: Perceiving and Analyzing Products Social Emotional Learning Professional

Standards for Educational Leaders

• Standard 3: Equity & Culture
• Standard 4: Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment

This program is available in Spanish on request.

When you pair this program with Laura Marchese’s workshop, she provides teachers with the in-classroom support implementing creative teaching practices, what they have learned into practice.