Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. [Federal Association of Dance in Schools, registered association]

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1 Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. [Federal Association of Dance in Schools, registered association] The Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. was founded in tanzhaus nrw in Düsseldorf in February The association's project work is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and other partners. As a nationwide independent and extensive union of individual people, projects and institutions, it is the association's topmost objective to establish contemporary dance and dance culture in school education. Dance should be a greater compulsory part of a well-rounded education and personal development and dance should be made accessible as an art form to students at all types of learning institutions and at all levels. The core responsibilities of the association are providing qualitative coaching on the content of all ongoing and future initiatives and projects exchange and contact with specialists and decision makers as well as the cultural educational landscape developing quality assurance recommendations and tools advancing the consultation and networking of actors Specifically, various platforms are created where actors and those interested and involved can contribute their experiences and benefit from the experiences of others, participating in exchanges and networking. The resulting recommendations and tools are then made available to anyone interested as a general rule. Over the last several years, the association has worked on a framework for quality and quality assurance with the active participation of its members who have years of experience in the conception and realization of projects for dance in school. Quality framework One can speak of quality in the area of dance in schools if a product or offering meets the standards set for the project. Standards and objectives are set by the school, the students and the dancers instructing. In line with this principle of the fruitful collaboration of the three involved actors, a quality framework emerges. These quality standards, qualification criteria and underlying conditions act as recommendations that serve as a foundation for quality assurance and development, an international aid for initiating and developing projects as well as instruction, education and continuing education. 1

2 Students The content of artistic dance projects in schools comprises various abilities and skills that are taught to students. These skills and abilities span the areas of dance technique, visual artistry and the body but also social, creative, emotional, cognitive and others areas. In order to clarify the central question of the quality of dance projects and offerings in schools, quality standards relating to students' skills have been developed. The starting point is the education potential of dance, from which 5 educational dimensions were developed. With the question of under what circumstances instruction can conform to these dimensions, quality criteria were formulated with observable features (indicators) that can be used to assess the extent to which they are met. In turn other skills can be formulated that can be applied to the class as minimum or maximum requirements. The educational dimensions comprise: 1) perceiving/sensing/experiencing 2) exploring/practicing/composing 3) reflecting/understanding 4) presenting/performing 5) communicating The following is an example for the quality criterion for the educational dimension perceiving/sensing/experiencing The instruction offers students a safe environment to explore feelings and differentiate perception between themselves and the world An important skill for the students in this educational dimension is, for example, The students are aware of their bodies, their movements at rest, in motion, in the environment they are in, in space alone and with others, in different styles and forms of dance. The observable indicator for the development of this skill in instruction is, for example, Are the students aware of visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic sensations? Another example relating to the educational dimension of presenting/performing: Quality criterion The class offers students space to discover and explore different presentation qualities from dance and performance. Skill The students are open and able to present various forms of dancing experience. Indicator Does the class offer students a social climate in which risk, success and failure can be explored as part of the artistic process? This tool developed by the Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. provides a foundation for quality development and assurance for dance in schools and is an orientation aid for class, education and continuing education. The quality standards that were developed can be accessed at School The quality of artistic dance projects in schools depends strongly on the underlying conditions and what is available locally or in the school as an institution. The basic preconditions for carrying out a high-quality artistic dance project at a school include factors such as: adequate space 2

3 adequate technology clear objectives, agreements, contracts defining the framework and content clear responsibilities and contact people integration into the school and school day secure financing willingness to cooperate and examine corresponding possibilities transparency Another important factor is the project's format, which should be adapted to fit the underlying conditions of the school (type of school, level, current school development, etc.). According to the project's objective and what the school envisages for it, as well as the particular resources available, a project can be incorporated into regular morning classes or into special subjects, a study group, or it can be carried out as an interdisciplinary offering. Time is another factor that influences the form the project takes; for example, it could take place over the span of a week as an all-day project, over the course of several weeks or for an entire school term. Instructors The dance instructors, dancers and choreographers teaching constitute the third group of people who are immediately involved in an artistic dance project and who have a significant influence on the quality and individual character of dance projects in schools. The Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. has also developed teaching recommendations about skill sets and abilities for instructors. These recommendations can be regarded as quality criteria. These relate to three areas: expert teaching skills expert dance skills general skills Expert teaching skills relate to a person's effectiveness and ability to act, incorporating and connecting to pedagogical aspects (basic knowledge of the subjects within pedagogical psychology, nonverbal communication and social-cultural contexts), didactic aspects (consideration and implementation of educational objectives, artistic and specialty as well as socio-pedagogical objectives, the application of teaching and artistic concepts and the critical evaluation of teaching processes, situations and results) methodological aspects (concretely structuring and planning the class by calling upon knowledge of the teaching process and approaches, the variety of methods and the use of different methodological resources) Expert dance skills comprise a diverse range of knowledge, abilities and skills from the three different areas: Practical dance ability (including dance technique, improvisation technique, professional dance or dance pedagogy training and practical experience) Artistic dance expertise (e.g., as relates to dance composition, interdisciplinary approaches, own performance and choreography practice) Dance theory knowledge (including the social and cultural history of dance, music theory, dance medicine, reflection on the dimensions of the effects of dance and dance instruction) General skills include the necessary personal characteristics that are key to the successful cooperation between schools and dance instructors. These relate to the following areas: Personal skills (ability to reflect, flexibility, willingness to learn, authenticity) Organizational skills (realizing projects and events) Social skills (ability to work within a team and communication as well as leadership qualities) Quality assurance In order to establish a lasting place for dance in schools with high quality standards, assuring quality at every level is an important precondition and a vital tool. 3

4 Training and education As in the past, training and education paths for dancers, dance instructors and choreographers in Germany are not standardized and the title "dance instructor" has yet to become an official designation. To a certain extent, educational training varies so widely in content, duration and scope that considerable qualitative differences can arise with regard to a trained dance instructor's abilities and proficiencies. The educational tracts at institutions of higher learning largely fall under Bachelors (BA) and Masters (MA) courses of studies. The courses at dance, technical and sports institutes and university with dance programs comprise dance (stage dance), choreography and dance instruction. There are also various private educational institutes with different formats, contents and program durations. Some offer a state accredited degree in dance instruction. In some private programs, dance in school and practical teaching experience in schools are part of the curriculum and course content. To date educational programs focusing on "dance in schools" have been uncommon. A couple of private institutions offer courses in this area, yet there are no binding educational guidelines. In addition to educational training for the dancers, dance instructors and choreographers that teach, the integration of art as an experience and teaching into pedagogical training is an initial forwardlooking step that the Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. is also championing. New educational modules for dance in schools are emerging in Cologne and Hamburg, initiated and funded by Tanzplan Deutschland, an initiative from the Federal Cultural Foundation. Dance in schools Masters module at the Deutsche Sporthochschule (DSHS) and the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Cologne (HfMT) This module is being integrated into the Master of the Arts programs "Tanzkultur V.I.E.W." (Vermitteln, Inszenieren, Evaluieren, Wissen) [Dance culture T.D.E.K.: teaching, direction, evaluation, knowledge] (DSHS Cologne) and "Tanzpädagogik" [dance pedagogy] (HfMT). For more information, please see: Nana Eger (coordination office) n.eger@dshs-koeln.de / Institut für Tanz und Bewegungskultur Zentrum für Zeitgenössischen Tanz Choreographing with students developing a curriculum concept for university education and continuing education Since August 2009, a concept has been under development at the University of Hamburg in the Human Movement division that lastingly integrates dance and choreography into instructor education and advanced education. For more information, please contact Heike Lüken, heike.lueken@uni-hamburg.de Advanced and continuing education In addition to the various forms of advanced and continuing education at individual institutions in the field of dance pedagogy, almost every larger project for dance in schools offers advanced training for the dancers and dance instructors involved in teaching. The content they offer is strongly attuned to the needs and requirements of the instructors and their content is usually of a practical dance, methodological or didactic nature. The demand for a peer specialty exchange is large in terms of the need for regular advanced training for dancers, choreographers and dance instructors. This type of exchange with like minds is exciting and enlightening for everyone involved in projects for dance in schools and it can be adapted to suit the needs of different projects and project members. It can be organized into different formats, processes and diverse topics and questions. 4

5 The target groups for these sorts of exchanges are dancers school teaching staff coordinators Sitting in on one another's classes and discussions as well as specialty training are other types of professional development and ways to enhance the quality of a network and cooperation. Expert coaching Coaching instructors is a major part of context-specific advanced training for instructors of dance in school projects and it contributes greatly to quality assurance. In addition to the necessity for professional exchanges, the Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. includes auditing and expert coaching as management and quality assurance tools in its coaching recommendations (see advanced training and continuing education). Auditing, usually in the form of class visitations, assesses the agreed upon quality criteria. It can be used to select instructors, to meet advanced training needs and to provide feedback on issues that need to be sorted out or additional expert coaching. Expert coaching, on the other hand, means providing support and strengthening dancers or dance instructors in their work with students. Possible objectives and content include questions and practical difficulties in areas such as: contact, interpersonal relationships, flexibility in dealing with situations, group dynamics processes, overcoming conflict, verbal and nonverbal communication, dramaturgy, art at work, technical questions, teaching methods, overall conditions, etc. Expert coaching is provided upon request from an instructor and it must be on a voluntary basis. Expert coaches are dance instructors with a corresponding educational background and many years of experience that also have coaching skills (professional interpersonal skills and communication techniques) in addition to their expert teaching skills and experience. The Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. is currently providing continuing education to association members who have many years of experience in teaching so that they can act as expert coaches and the association will in turn establish a pool of individuals and possible continuing education opportunities. Evaluation and research Following the model of the Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v., the evaluation work focuses on quality development and assurance of dance offerings in schools. In order to better assess and evaluate the quality of dance projects in schools, in is vital that methodologically controlled research be undertaken in the field. Questions relating to the relationship between the existing institutional framework conditions and the various offerings, the acceptance of dance in schools, its contribution with regard to a culture of recognition, the artistic and pedagogical skills of the teachers or the special experiences and advancements in learning that students make in the medium of dance are thematic aspects that could serve to guide research. The association connects the scene's research interests in this field and attempts to provide an overview of completed and ongoing research projects. Self-evaluation of projects for dance in schools With regard to quality assurance, the Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. is particularly dedicated to developing tools to allow for the systematic self-evaluation of dance projects. This post-processing tool for completed dance projects and for the critical self-reflection of initiatives for dance in schools is directed particularly at the dance instructors involved and also serves the following functions: 5

6 Documentation of completed projects and the teaching work accomplished (also to advance the conceptual development and evaluation of dance in schools on the whole) Analysis of the focuses and realization contexts of the project Indication of the technical and pedagogical resources and development potentials (development planning) Process-oriented quality development and assurance by analyzing the dance projects' strengths and weaknesses Developing skills and data-supported decision-making bases for the planning of further and advanced training for the dance instructors and/or dance project managers and the local teachers that are interested in dance. The Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. has developed a tool for this purpose comprising a questionnaire for dancers, dance instructors and choreographers that teach and a one-page questionnaire for the school contact person. Key questions for preparing a project report should encourage instructors to perform their own evaluations and reflect on themselves and provide inspiration in writing the project report. The project report is an important source of information for the office that is organizing, directing and coordinating the project, especially in terms of content and structure. The key questions make it possible to compare project reports and provide a basis to qualitatively reflect on the work of the coordinating offices of the projects and the association. The Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. makes this tool available to everyone interested in projects for dance in schools and the associations is planning to make an overview of all running dance in school projects in Germany accessible to the public as the project information is gathered over time. Regional coordination The experience gained over the last several years in projects, regions and states and the growing demand for dance from schools has shown that regional coordination, preferably a regional coordination office, can consistently respond to the interaction of all the groups involved in dance offerings in schools in a very targeted manner. It supports not only schools in expanding cultural dance education, but also dance projects in quality assurance and the dance scene in teaching work. This sort of contact point incorporates the necessary quality frameworks, supports projects in their development and in securing the various objectives they have set and it assumes responsibility for organizational work and events. The coordination office is a contact for anyone involved or interested, collects and provides information regionally (in the state) and as such is greatly involved in determining and assuring the quality of what is available in dance. It helps dance in the cultural education provided by schools to gain a wider audience and greater acceptance. Contact: Bundesverband Tanz in Schulen e.v. Offices c/o nrw landesbuero tanz Im Mediapark Cologne, Germany fon: fax: info@bv-tanzinschulen.de Sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research 6