Revising Choreography: Peer Assessment
Instructor(s): Elizabeth AllevaGrade Level: Secondary (6-12)
Seventh grade dance students created pieces of group choreography. Based on a choreography rubric generated by the class, students provided peer feedback on ways to improve the given choreography. The choreographic groups then worked to synthesize the new information into improved dance pieces, which were subsequently shown to the class.
Collaborative Choreography: Peer Feedback
Instructor(s): Carol LonnieGrade Level: Secondary (6-12)
My 7th and 8th grade dance students worked in groups of 4-6 to create an original piece of choreography, including determining a theme and selecting appropriate music. Students learned the skills of creative collaboration through generating and using a rubric with their peers. They also reflected on the process and their role within their group, in order to track their progress. The students learned to compromise and be an active participant in group activities.
Rehearsal Problem Solving: Self-Assessment
Instructor(s): Traci Hinton PetersonGrade Level: Secondary (6-12)
My middle school students were dependent on my feedback to improve their dance technique. They needed to identify and apply problem-solving strategies in order to become more independent dancers. This project built their metacognitive skills, improved their dance technique, and helped them develop skills that are applicable to all aspects of their lives.
Jazz Technique: Peer Assessment
Instructor(s): Susan RaineyGrade Level: Secondary (6-12)
This jazz dance unit demonstrates how peer feedback can be used to improve the dance technique of middle school students. During this unit students learned specific criteria on how to execute basic jazz dance technique, used a peer feedback protocol, and received partner feedback to revise the performance of the skill. The students were also given a compositional task to choreograph a short jazz piece that incorporated the four jazz skills. After six weeks of using the formative assessment strategy of peer feedback, these novice dancers demonstrated significant improvements in their technique and were able to perform the skills more accurately in their choreography.
Creating Choreography: Self & Peer Assessment
Instructor(s): Ana FragosoGrade Level: Elementary (K-5)
My 5th grade students used a Dance-Making Rubric and a Collaboration Rubric to support their creation of original choreography integrating concepts from Jose Limon technique. The ease of their collaborations and the quality of their dance-making was improved through their use of these tools and their feedback.
African Dance: Self Assessment
Instructor(s): Patricia ApplegateGrade Level: Secondary (6-12)
My 6th grade dance students worked in groups of 4 to choreograph and perform an eightcount pattern that depicted farming, hunting, housework, or fishing. Students learned the skills of working cooperatively to create, practice, perform, and revise. They also selfassessed as a group using a checklist in order to make and implement decisions to improve their dances. In the end, students reflected on the process and experience of working collaboratively to create, revise, and perform a dance.
ModernTechnique: Peer Assessment
Instructor(s): Susan RaineyGrade Level: Secondary (6-12)
This Merce Cunningham modern dance unit demonstrates how the formative assessment strategy of peer feedback can be used to improve the dance technique of middle school students. During this unit students learned specific criteria on how to execute basic Cunningham dance technique, give and receive feedback, and apply feedback to their revision. After seven weeks of peer feedback, each child in the class improved the accuracy of their modern dance technique. This action research follows the journey of one student as she seeks to improve her triplet based on the peer feedback she receives.