Activities and teacher practices for the high school dance classroom to promote the development of self-directed learners

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: In this professional project I create and explore dance teaching practices and classroom activities that seek to support the development of self-directed learners. I implement, reflect upon, and analyze these created teaching practices and activities in my high school dance classroom at varied dance levels. Through this approach, I identify and evaluate the quality of the varied teaching practices and activities. As an end result, I evaluate and edit the resultant activities and practices in order to share this research with high school dance educators as a contribution to the field of dance education.

RESEARCH QUESTION: What activities and teaching practices can I develop for the high school dance classroom in an effort to promote students becoming self-directed learners?

METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES: This qualitative research employs teacher self-study methodology. The specific teacher self-study procedures I used were written journal reflections about my teaching practices and student/classroom reactions. Through the extensive use of reflective memos, I evaluated and analyzed the activities and practices.