Matching Items (3)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: pedagogy
- Genre: Academic theses
- Creators: Dyer, Becky
Description
The purpose of this qualitative study was to design and assess a dance pedagogy curriculum intended to cultivate private sector dance educators’ somatic perception. Research questions were framed to understand the nature of knowledge encouraged by the curriculum and each educator's experience of knowledge formation and application to each participant's pedagogical context. The study was conducted in four overlapping stages: 1) Philosophical inquiry, 2) Curricular design, 3) Limited case-study, and 4) Data analysis. The stages employed mix methodologies that included: action research, autobiographical reflection, ethnographic and phenomenological approaches. The limited case-study explored two private-sector dance educators’ experiences of the curriculum. Data collected during the limited case-study conducted with the dance educators revealed thematic clusters about the nature, cultivation, expression, and experience of somatic perception. The themes suggest that the nature of somatic perception reflects an individual educators’ lived experiences that shape values, movement patterns, and phrasing. The expression of somatic perception aligns with the individual educator’s narrative and was evident in patterns and phrasing of movement and learning. The cultivation of somatic perception is an ongoing process that requires active engagement to acquire, assimilate, and integrate the knowledge of content, context, self, and student. Finally, somatic perception manifested itself in each educator’s unique expression of confidence, empathy, creativity, and spontaneity resulting in skillful enactment of knowledge within an immediate pedagogical context.
ContributorsWisniewski, Stacy (Author) / Dyer, Becky (Thesis advisor) / Schupp, Karen (Committee member) / Hannah, Christina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
The Bharata-Natyam student in the United States (US) is challenged by how to effectively translate their dance into contemporary lived experiences. Research reveals that this dilemma is sometimes addressed by transplanting learnt choreographies into a new theme, sometimes adding verbal text to connect learnt choreography to contemporary issues, or sometimes simply giving up the dance form. Years of training in prevalent Bharata-Natyam education methods make students proficient in re-producing choreography but leave them without the tools to create. This is due to emphasis on guarding traditions and leaving interpretation for later stages that never arrive or get interrupted, because students leave their spaces of Indian-ness for college or a job. This work considers how Bharata-Natyam teachers in the US might support students in finding agency in their dance practice, using it to explore their lived experiences outside dance class, and engaging meaningfully with it beyond the Indian diaspora. The desire for agency is not a discarding of tradition; rather, it is a desire to dance better. This work reinforces the ancient Indian tradition of inquiry to seek knowledge by implementing the principles of Bharata-Nrityam, somatics and engaged pedagogy through the use of creative tools. This took place in three stages: (i) lessons in the Bharata-Nrityam studio, (ii) making Kriti with non-Bharata-Natyam dancers, and (iii) designing a collaborative action dance project between senior Bharata-Natyam students and community partners who are survivors of sexual/domestic violence.
The results, in each case, demonstrated that the use of creative tools based in the principles above enriched the teaching-learning process through deeper investigation and greater investment for both student and teacher. Students in the early stages of learning thrived, while senior students expressed that having these tools earlier would have been valuable to their practice. These results suggest that when Bharata-Natyam education in the US is refocused through the lenses of Bharata-Nrityam, somatics and engaged pedagogy, teachers can access tools to empower their students in their practice of Bharata-Natyam not only within the context of the Indian diaspora but also beyond.
The results, in each case, demonstrated that the use of creative tools based in the principles above enriched the teaching-learning process through deeper investigation and greater investment for both student and teacher. Students in the early stages of learning thrived, while senior students expressed that having these tools earlier would have been valuable to their practice. These results suggest that when Bharata-Natyam education in the US is refocused through the lenses of Bharata-Nrityam, somatics and engaged pedagogy, teachers can access tools to empower their students in their practice of Bharata-Natyam not only within the context of the Indian diaspora but also beyond.
ContributorsMANDALA, SUMANA SEN (Author) / Jackson, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Dyer, Becky (Committee member) / Durfee, Alesha (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
This research study aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a dance wellness educational curriculum administered in a university-level dance classroom. Using a mixed methods design involving a pre-test/post-test performance assessment and document analysis for qualitative data, this study asked two questions: 1) How does participation in a semester-long course on Group Fitness Instruction and dancer wellness increase participants’ comprehension of exercise science and fitness instruction concepts? 2) How does participation in a semester-long course on Group Fitness Instruction and dancer wellness impact participants’ personal approaches to teaching, training, and wellness? Results showed that the post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores, and qualitative data collected from participants indicated deep levels of meaning-making and application of course content to personal approaches to training and teaching. This suggests that incorporating a dance wellness curriculum in a university-level dance program builds exercise science, wellness, and instructional literacy, while encouraging students to apply gained knowledge in both personal and professional capacities.
ContributorsDrew, Lisa (Author) / Standley, Eileen (Thesis advisor) / Dyer, Becky (Committee member) / Kulinna, Pamela (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021