Professional development supporting the integration of dance in the primary

classroom.

Submitted by Samantha Jane Donovan

BA (Dance) / Bachelor of Education (Secondary)

A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of Master of Arts (Research) Creative Industries Faculty

Queensland University of Technology

Kelvin Grove Campus

2007

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KEYWORDS Professional Development, Dance Education, Dance Teaching. Primary Schools,

Education Queensland, Confidence, Competence, Strategies, Adult Learning, Action

Research, Teachers.

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ABSTRACT In 2002, the Queensland Schools Curriculum Council launched the Years 1-10 Arts

Syllabus as one of the eight Key Learning Areas. This syllabus requires primary teachers

to provide arts learning programs in the areas of Dance, Drama, Media, Music and Visual

Arts. This syllabus was a landmark for arts education in Queensland as it became a

mandate for primary teachers to teach each strand of the arts. This move is one of many

recent changes in arts education evident across the globe reflecting a common move

towards a broad arts education in schools. In alignment with the mandatory requirement

of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus, primary teachers are now required to teach Dance, a

subject which most have had little to no training or professional development in. This

thesis will explore the research question, ‘Which strategies used in professional

development build competence and confidence in primary teachers to integrate dance in

the primary classroom?’ Through a series of school-based professional development

workshops conducted at two Gold Coast primary schools, the research project utilized an

action research approach (Kemmis, 1988) to investigate the effectiveness of this

professional development approach. After collating and analyzing the data gathered from

these two research sites, a number of key themes emerged around the initial resistance

factors to dance professional development and the integration of dance learning in the

classroom as well as the impact and influence of this professional development on

teachers’ competence and confidence. The research identified a range of professional

development strategies including learning experiences, structures, resources and

conditions that have impacted on the effectiveness of this professional development.

Some of these strategies are dance specific while others are more generic and have

broader implications for the development and facilitation of professional development of

Queensland primary teachers.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Professional development supporting the integration of dance in the primary classroom. 1

KEYWORDS 2

ABSTRACT 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP 7

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8

1 Introduction 9 1.1 Definition of Terms 10 1.2 Purpose of Study 10 1.3 Scope of Study 12 1.4 Significance of Study 13 1.5 Overview 13

2 Literature Review 15 2.1 Adult Learning 15

2.1.1 Knowledge and Learning 17 2.1.2 Situated Learning 20 2.1.3 Influences on Adult Learners’ Participation 23

2.2 Arts Professional Development Rationale 27 2.3 Implementation of Arts Education in Schools –International and National Trends 29 2.4 Queensland Education Reforms – A State of Change 31

2.4.1 Education Reforms Impacting on Teachers’ Professional Development 32 2.4.2 Policies Impacting on Teachers’ Professional Development 33

2.5 Dance Education 35 2.5.1 Creativity and Education 35 2.5.2 Artistic Education 37 2.5.3 Aesthetic Education 37 2.5.4 Implementing the Arts Syllabus – A Classroom Teacher’s Responsibility 39 2.5.5 The Relevance of Competence and Confidence in Professional Development and Arts

Education 40 2.6 Conclusion to Literature Review 42

3 Methodology 43 3.1 Establishing the Research Paradigm 43

3.1.1 Mixed method approach to Research 43 3.2 Research Methodology - Action Research 44

3.2.1 Historical Overview of Action Research 44 3.2.2 Definition of Action Research 45 3.2.3 The Action Research Model 46

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3.2.4 The Five C’s of Action Research 47 3.2.5 The Relevance of Action Research to my Inquiry 48

3.3 My Role as Researcher 49 3.4 Ethics 51 3.5 Action Research Cycles 52

• Rethinking, Reflecting, Discussing, Replanning, Understanding, Learning, Revised General Plan 53

3.6 Data Collection Methods 54 3.6.1 Questionnaires 55 3.6.2 The Dance Workshops Described 56 3.6.3 Reflective Focus Groups 57 3.6.4 Interviews 59 3.6.5 Research Portfolio 59

3.7 Approaches to Analysis 60 3.8 Conclusion 61

4 The Process: Description and Reflections on Action Research Cycles One and Two 62 4.1 Action Cycle One – An Overview 62

4.1.1 Participants 63 4.1.2 Aims of the Workshop Series 64 4.1.3 The Workshop Series 64 4.1.4 Action Research Cycle One - Workshop One 65 4.1.5 Action Research Cycle One - Workshop Two 66 4.1.6 Action Research Cycle One - Workshop Three (Whole School Planning & Focus Groups) 67 4.1.7 Action Cycle One - Interviews 67

4.2 Action Research Cycle Two – An Overview 68 4.2.2 Action Research Cycle Two – Workshop One 70 4.2.3 Action Research Cycle Two – Workshop Two 71 4.2.4 Action Research Cycle Two – Workshop Three and Post-workshop (Questionnaires and

Teacher Reflections) 72 4.2.5 Action Research Cycle Two – Workshop Four (Reflective Focus Groups) 73

5 Analysis of Major Themes Evident in the Data and Implications for Future Professional Development 74

5.1 Reflecting on Action Research Cycle One 74 5.1.1 Structure of the Three Workshops 76 5.1.2 The Need for a Lower School Focus in Activities 76 5.1.3 Resources 77 5.1.4 Revision to Data Collection 77

5.2 Reflecting on Action Cycle Two 78 5.3 Initial resistance factors to dance professional development and the integration of dance learning

in the curriculum. 80 5.3.1 External Factors 81 5.3.2 Teachers’ Experience of Dance and the Syllabus 91 5.3.3 Perceptions and Challenges of the Dance Curriculum 94

5.4 Impact and Influence of Professional Development on Teachers’ Competence and Confidence. 100

5.4.1 Teachers’ Competence and Confidence to work with Core Concepts and Implement Dance Strategies in the Classroom. 101

5.4.2 Changing Perceptions about the Value of Dance Experiences to Students’ Learning. 107

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6 Conclusion 112

REFERENCES 118

APPENDIX A 126

APPENDIX B 127

APPENDIX C 129

APPENDIX D 131

APPENDIX E 133

APPENDIX F 136

APPENDIX G 139

APPENDIX H 142

APPENDIX I 144

APPENDIX J 146

APPENDIX K 147

APPENDIX L 148

APPENDIX M 150

APPENDIX N 151

APPENDIX O 154

APPENDIX P 155

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements

for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my

knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by

another person except where due reference is made.

Signed: _______________________________

Date: _______________________________

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge the guidance, support and encouragement given to me by my

supervising lecturer, Judith Smith. Jude is an exceptional Dance Educator who has been

an inspirational mentor throughout this process. Special thanks must also be given to

Lesley Graham, my associate supervisor, for providing me with feedback and

encouragement when I needed it. I would also like to thank Debbie O’Brien and Jane

Sleeman on the Gold Coast whom I had the pleasure of working with in my role as

District Arts Coordinator which led me to complete this research. I would like to

acknowledge Education Queensland and more specifically, the two state primary schools

on the Gold Coast who allowed me to work with their staff during the action research

cycles. I would like to thank my mother and father, Hilary and Malcolm Underdown, for

their continued love and support, and the gifts of inquiry and lifelong learning which they

have passed on to me and for my two sisters who always encourage me to reach for the

stars. Thanks also to my wonderful friends who have encouraged me throughout this

journey and excused my absences from numerous gatherings knowing I was determined

to finish something which meant so much to me. Finally, I would like to thank my

husband, Mark Donovan, for his love and support during this journey. Thank you for

always encouraging me to achieve my dreams and looking after me when I need it the

most.

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1 Introduction In 2002, the Queensland Curriculum Council launched the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus as

one of the eight key learning areas. This syllabus was a landmark for arts education in

Queensland as it mandated primary teachers to teach each strand of the Arts including

Dance, Drama, Media, Music and Visual Arts reflecting a global move towards a broader

arts education in the primary classroom. As a result, primary teachers are now required to

teach dance, a subject in which most have had little to no training. To assist in the

implementation of the syllabus across Queensland, professional development programs

were developed. Despite these professional development opportunities, most teachers’

experiences with the dance strand of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus have been minimal and

many teachers therefore chose not to provide dance learning experiences to their students.

The Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus, like other syllabi was given three years for implementation

in schools including three stages: awareness raising; capacity building and sustainability.

To assist this implementation, the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus was listed as a key priority

area for professional development in the 2004-2005 Professional Development Agenda.

Specific curriculum support funds were targeted to support professional development in

each district across the state as determined by local needs. Professional development

strategies used throughout the various stages of implementation included awareness

raising workshops, which provided the key messages of the syllabus to participants and

outlined the resources available. During the awareness raising stage, school-based

workshops were the main professional development activity provided to assist teachers

implement the syllabus into their classrooms. In most instances, these workshops

occurred after school in a staff meeting format from 3.10pm – 4.10pm.

As a District Arts Coordinator, I was responsible for providing school-based professional

development workshops to Gold Coast primary and secondary schools on the Years 1-10

Arts Syllabus. As a passionate supporter of arts learning and reflective practitioner, I

wanted to investigate whether this professional development was effective in supporting

primary teachers to integrate dance in their classroom and decided to research which

strategies used in professional development build competence and confidence in Primary

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teachers to integrate dance in the classroom. With the support of two Gold Coast primary

schools, I facilitated a series of school–based professional development workshops and

utilized an action research approach (Kemmis, 1988) to investigate the effectiveness of

this professional development approach. After collating and analyzing the data gathered

from these two research sites, a number of common themes became evident. These

themes included: the initial resistance factors to dance professional development and the

integration of dance learning in the classroom; the impact and influence of this

professional development on teachers’ competence and confidence and the implications

for future professional development.

1.1 Definition of Terms

This research study is primarily focused on professional development defined by

Education Queensland as ‘those activities that individuals engage in to enhance their

expertise so that they grow professionally beyond core competency levels required to

perform key roles’, (Department of Education, 1998, p. 2). Education Queensland, in its

implementation of the arts syllabus, supported a range of professional learning activities

including state wide conferences, school-based workshops and a website. This thesis

focuses on school-based workshop as a professional development activity and

considers which strategies build the competence and confidence of teachers to integrate

dance experiences for students in their classrooms. Strategies for the purpose of this

research can be defined as learning experiences as well as structures, resources and

conditions used in professional development activities to engage teachers in

professional learning.

1.2 Purpose of Study

At the time of commencing this study, I was working with Education Queensland as one

of two Gold Coast District Arts Coordinators. In this role, I was responsible for providing

school-based professional development workshops to Gold Coast primary and secondary

schools on the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. This role was very new for me as I had not been

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involved in providing professional development to large groups of staff before, however,

it was one for which I grew an intrinsic passion. As Dance is my major teaching area, I

was specifically responsible for providing professional development, including school-

based staff workshops, to primary teachers in the Dance Strand of the Years 1-10 Arts

Syllabus. In 2005, I was seconded into central office (Education Queensland) to provide

professional development to teachers across the state in the final six months of syllabus

implementation. During both of these roles I provided school-based workshops to over

seven hundred primary teachers and began noticing common themes in the feedback I

received, most importantly that dance was the strand of the syllabus which they most

struggled with. It was also during this time that I became aware that Education

Queensland had not commissioned or driven any substantial research study to review the

implementation of any key learning area syllabi in Queensland and was therefore not able

to determine the effectiveness of professional development activities used and the

professional learning strategies utilized in order to plan future professional learning.

This situation led me to investigate the school-based dance workshops I was providing by

considering existing theory and practice to improve the quality of professional

development for primary teachers. Working with primary educators was a completely

new experience for me and one which I truly enjoyed. I came to understand the primary

curriculum and the needs of primary educators and the capacity of schools and teachers to

facilitate the curriculum in the classroom. Through my work as a workshop facilitator, I

came to realize that the key to increasing competence was also increasing participants’

confidence and wanted to investigate this further. As I completed the literature review for

my research, the theory I was reading and reflecting upon informed my work and began

to positively impact the quality of the professional learning I provided.

In 2006, while still undertaking my research I commenced working for the South Coast

Regional office of Education Queensland as the Principal Advisor-Professional

Development. This role enhanced my understanding of Education Queensland’s

Professional Development Agenda and the need for professional learning programs to

help develop the much needed ‘Creative Workforce’. (Department of Education and the

Arts, 2004) This role also provided me with an opportunity to participate in the

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implementation of the Years 1-10 Mathematics Syllabus across the Gold Coast and

identify the similarities and differences between the implementation of this syllabus and

that of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. By working with teachers in this capacity, I was

encouraged to find similar themes appearing and gained an informal understanding of the

needs of primary teachers; needs which they felt had not changed since the

implementation of the first outcomes-based syllabi (Science and Health & Physical

Education) and which teachers felt still had not been heard or acted upon. The more I

immersed myself in this area, the more I realized how large the gaps were between ideal

adult learning and the professional development our system continually provided on an

annual basis.

These experiences have made me determined to make a difference to the quality of

professional development in schools. If our teachers are the key to the quality of student

learning in our classrooms, and therefore our future, it is time to listen to their needs and

act upon them.

1.3 Scope of Study

The study focuses on school-based Dance workshops as a key component of the

professional development utilized in the implementation of the Years 1 – 10 Arts

Syllabus in Queensland schools. In the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus implementation,

practical workshops for teachers in the five strands of the syllabus were provided in the

‘capacity building’ stage. These workshops focused on providing teachers with hands-on

experiences in the five strands of the arts. For most schools, these workshops were one-

off occurrences with one workshop dedicated to one strand of the Years 1-10 Arts

Syllabus. Other professional development activities which formed part of the

implementation of syllabi have not been considered as part of this research study. These

activities include state-wide conferences which provide an opportunity for districts to

share their learning with one another, the broader work of Syllabus Implementation

Officers and the work of key contacts in districts who provide professional learning to

teachers. The research study was undertaken in two state primary schools which had not

undertaken in-service in the Dance strand to date. These school sites were chosen due to

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the access available through my work role. While this research is specific to these two

school sites, it is possible to consider the relevance more broadly. As these teachers had

not engaged with any Dance Professional Development, their experience of dance

professional learning reflected that of many teachers across the state. In collaboration

with the two Principals, I organized workshop dates, times and venues and set about

completing my research. This research provided benefits to both parties involved, as

working with these two school sites provided me with an opportunity to complete my

action research, whilst the schools were able to access my expertise at no cost. This study

has only focused on the Dance strand of the syllabus and therefore has not explored

professional development in the Drama, Media, Music or Visual Arts strands, however it

is hoped that this research could stimulate further investigation in these other arts areas.

1.4 Significance of Study

This study is significant in several ways. This research is important in the provision and

facilitation of professional development as it provides insight into primary educators’

needs for professional learning and their thoughts on which workshop strategies make

professional learning successful. Furthermore, it will be beneficial to curriculum

developers and policy makers who work in the field of syllabus development by

highlighting the challenges facing primary teachers who are required to implement these

changes.

1.5 Overview The research undertaken in this study will be analysed and discussed throughout this

dissertation in an attempt to answer the research question, ‘Which strategies used in

professional development build competence and confidence in Primary teachers to

integrate dance in the classroom?’ Chapter Two provides a review of the current

literature on professional development and adult learning as it relates to teachers of

Dance in schools. In Chapter Three, the methodology employed in this research study

will be discussed, with specific reference to Action Research. Action Research Cycle One

and Action Research Cycle Two will be described in Chapter Four, with an analysis of

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broad themes arising from both action cycles and the implications for future professional

development being the focus of Chapter Five.

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2 Literature Review This chapter provides a concise, yet thorough, examination of the related literature on

adult learning, professional development and arts, specifically dance education in the

primary school context. This is in direct response to the question guiding this research

project,

‘Which strategies used in professional development build competence and

confidence in Primary teachers to integrate dance in the classroom?’

Topics from the literature are reviewed in an effort to provide a solid theoretical

underpinning to a critical appraisal of contemporary practice in dance professional

development in the primary context. These topics can be categorized into two major

sections. The first section reviews the literature on adult learning and professional

development and the second section reviews the current context for arts and dance

education in primary schools.

2.1 Adult Learning

Androgogy, otherwise referred to as the art and science of helping adults learn, has

provided a language and theoretical framework in which adult education can be

discussed. Since Knowles (1970) used the term, theorists from around the globe have

been able to extend their understanding of adult learners and adult learning needs.

Knowles provided many useful approaches for improving educational methodology,

especially for understanding and improving teaching and learning practices in vocational

education and training and in higher education. This section will discuss concepts which

are central to understanding adult learning, followed by a discussion of the key elements

as evident in the science and practice of teaching adults.

Formal adult learning can be defined as ‘taking place in an organised structured setting. It

is clearly identifiable as a learning activity’ (OECD, 2003, p. 25). Eraut (2000) proposes

that formal learning can be characterised as: a prescribed learning framework; an

organized learning event or package; the presence of a designated teacher or trainer; the

award of a qualification or credit and the external specification of outcomes. Formal

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learning for teachers therefore includes the learning which takes place in accredited

courses, such as with universities or vocational educational programs or those offered

through TAFE. It may also include professional development which recognises a

teacher’s attendance in the form of certification. This professional development may

include workshops, conferences and online learning courses like those offered by

Education Queensland’s Learning Place and formal accredited postgraduate study.

However, it is important to note that most teachers are not provided time within their

workload to undergo this extra formal training and therefore have to complete it in their

own time, in addition to their work and personal commitments.

Informal adult learning ‘is any activity involving the pursuit of understanding, knowledge

or skill which occurs without the presence of externally imposed curricular criteria’

(Livingstone, 2001, p. 5). This type of learning also encompasses self-directed informal

learning which ‘includes intentional job-specific and general employment-related

learning done on your own, collective learning with colleagues of other employment-

related knowledge and skills and tacit learning by doing’ (Livingstone, 2001, p. 4). Self-

directed or collective informal learning is undertaken alone and is distinguished from

formal learning or training only ‘by the presence of some form of institutionally-

recognised instructor’ (Livingstone, 2001, p. 5). However, informal learning is not rated

as learning by most governments or formal education institutions, simply because it is

taken for granted and at this stage is hard to measure (Evans, 2003, p. 7) Livingstone

confirms this stating that this type of informal adult learning has tended to be ignored ‘or

devalued by dominant authorities and researchers either because they are more difficult to

measure and certify or because they are grounded in experiential knowledge which is

more relevant to subordinate social groups’ (Livingstone, 1998, p. 5). Beckett and

Hager’s theory of ‘workplace knowledge’ is also supported by Tennant (2000) who

describes it as knowledge which is generated through workplace experience. Tenant

(2000) identifies that working life produces valuable knowledge and skill. This type of

learning is vital to the teaching profession and is readily evident in professional

development learning experiences which are often characterised by informal learning in a

collective context. For example, teachers may attend a one-hour staff meeting which

provides teaching strategies for a specific Key Learning Area syllabus by a member of

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staff who is not institutionally-recognised and for which participation is not formally

accredited. However, this workshop may enhance a teacher’s skill-base by learning new

strategies that can enhance their pedagogy. It is therefore evident that both formal and

informal learning opportunities are used in the professional development of the teaching

workforce. It is unrealistic to discount the powerful learning which occurs in the

workplace through social interactions and the experiential learning which occur everyday

in numerous situations.

2.1.1 Knowledge and Learning

Epistemological beliefs are framed around the nature of knowledge and learning but not

in a strict philosophical sense’ (Schommer, 1998, p. 129). Originally conceptualised by

Perry (1968), the importance of epistemological beliefs in relation to learning and work is

well documented. Schommer (1998), acknowledges five epistemological beliefs,

including:

1. the source of the knowledge – ranging from knowledge being handed down by

authority to knowledge acquired through reason and evidence;

2. organisation or structure of knowledge – ranging from knowledge organised as

isolated pieces to knowledge organised as highly interrelated concepts;

3. stability of knowledge – ranging from learning as unchanging to knowledge as

evolving;

4. speed of learning – ranging from learning as quick or not at all to learning as

gradual;

5. control of learning – ranging from the ability to learn being inherited and

unchangeable to the ability to learn as improvable over time (Schommer, 1998).

Each of these aspects has substantial control over an individual adult learner (Schommer,

1998). This is evident in teacher professional development through the various ways

teachers approach learning activities during workshops or conferences. For example, if a

teacher believes that learning occurs in isolated sections, their understanding of

‘knowing’ may be limited to the ability to recall and memorise basic facts. Whereas a

teacher who believes in knowledge as interrelated networks may be able to apply

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knowledge and integrate and elaborate on key concepts (Schommer, 1998). Livingstone

(2001) states that the ‘actual time that we allocate informally to gain intentional

knowledge, skill or understanding may vary in terms of our circumstances, the amount of

concentration we can place on it and our actual learning capacities’ (Livingstone, 2001, p.

6). Research also indicates that a belief ‘in the control of learning is likely to influence

individuals’ interpretation of mistakes and their persistence in the face of difficulty while

learning and problem solving’ (Schommer, 1998, p. 134). These factors have a number of

implications for teachers as learners as they relate to the pre-conceived notions teachers

possess before they commence learning in professional development contexts and can

therefore influence how successful the professional learning opportunity is. MacDonald

(2001) states that ‘many of the student teachers revealed that they were nervous about

attending the [dance] workshops and commented that they had preconceived notions

about what they would be like. Furthermore, the student teachers disclosed that they were

worried about being singled out or embarrassed by being asked to perform in front of

their peers or dance along’ (MacDonald, 2001, p. 7). Despite this, the student teachers

reported changes in their practices after the workshop series, specifically stating that they

had gained more confidence in this art form as a result of the workshop (MacDonald,

2001, p. 7). ‘Indeed, their preconceived notions of what creative dance was and what the

workshop would entail, created feelings of anxiety and stress before the workshop series

itself’ (MacDonald, 2001, p. 9). Establishing the prior knowledge of teachers who will be

participating in the research and their epistemological beliefs is one way in which

professional development leaders can try to address adult learners’ beliefs in knowledge

and learning.

2.1.1.1 Communities of Practice Communities of practice is an important aspect of adult learning theory. ‘Studies seeking

to understand the different contexts and adaptations to change within educational

improvement settings have found that supportive professional communities within the

institution provided an organisational context for teachers that made continuous learning

possible’ (Ingram & Goody, 2002, p. 348). These studies have demonstrated a need for

‘collaborative structures to reduce the isolation felt by teachers in contexts of rapid

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change and to provide a major channel for involving teachers in improving their practice’

(Ingram & Goody, 2002, p. 348). Ingram and Goody quote Wenger and Snyder’s

definition of communities of practice which defines these communities as ‘groups of

people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise’

(Ingram & Goody, 2002, p. 348). They also draw attention to Duguid’s distinction

(p. 142-143) between communities of practice and networks of practice. Communities of

practice are defined as ‘relatively tight-knit groups of people who know each other and

work together directly’ while networks of practice are defined as ‘social systems that can

share information relating to the members’ common practices quite efficiently’ (Duguid

in Ingram and Goody, 2002, p. 348). Authentic learning is also achieved in these

communities of practice as teachers (learners) have the ability to have substantive

conversation with their peers throughout the learning journey, allowing them to construct

their own meanings and produce knowledge of their own. This learning is a social

process where the conversations and tasks allow teachers to discuss real world

applications of the knowledge from a variety of perspectives and opinions.

Authentic learning is embedded in the rich contexts of practice enabling learners to gain implicit and explicit knowledge. Problems are faced in the context of the classroom and a demand for the teacher (as a learner about teaching) to solve the problem. The performance of the teacher is based on finding successful solutions (Ingram & Goody, 2002, p. 350).

Angelo (1999) notes that successful learning communities must be built on shared trust

where all members of the learning community feel safe to participate. Angelo also

stresses the importance of shared goals. ‘Since goals powerfully motivate and direct our

behaviour, developing a set of shared learning goals is a logical next step in building a

productive learning community’ (Angelo, 1999, p. 6). However, it is important that these

goals are clear, specific and linked to a feasible timeframe. (Angelo, 1999) This has

direct relevance to teachers as educational settings can clearly be identified as

communities of practice. Identifying common goals for learning is essential to ensure all

teachers understand the purpose of the learning they are engaged in. The teachers

participating in this research study shared the goal of learning about the dance strand of

the syllabus.

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Putnam and Borko (2000) examine the need for teachers to participate in professional

communities that discuss teaching practice and resources. This notion of distributed

cognition suggests that ‘when diverse groups of teachers with different types of

knowledge and expertise come together in discourse communities, community members

can draw upon and incorporate each other’s expertise to create rich conversations and

new insights into teaching and learning’ (Putnam & Borko, 2000, p. 323). Thomas

extends this discussion stating, ‘by drawing on each individual’s private understandings,

which represent these different degrees of pedagogical and disciplinary expertise, the

collective understanding of the group is thus advanced’ (in Putnam & Borko, 2000,

p. 324). Within these communities, novices can learn to think, talk and act as a teacher,

modelling their behaviour on expert members in the group. ‘Another important issue is

how novices can work effectively with multiple mentors to hold varied conceptions of

teaching and learning – some from the university and some from the school’ (Putnam &

Borko, 2000, p. 325). ‘Guidance and support is needed to ensure that conversations

within these communities are educationally meaningful and worthwhile’ (Putnam &

Borko, 2000, p. 327). This is essential if teachers are to find value in these discussions

and reflect on their application to their classroom practice. ‘A substantial aspect of the

learning is the socialisation into the norms and behaviour of the profession’ (Applefield,

Huber & Moallem, 2001, p. 39). Constructivists believe that all learning is discovered

and that learning proceeds from the natural need to develop understanding and skills

required for completion of significant tasks. (Putnam & Borko, 2000) Constructivists

emphasize the social nature of learning and the essential role of dialogue in learning

(Applefield, Huber & Moallem, 2001, p, 43). Kaufman (1996) states ‘learning does not

occur in a vacuum and is best mediated through supportive social networks’ (in

Applefield, Huber & Moallem, 2001, p. 44).

2.1.2 Situated Learning

Situated Learning is another important aspect of adult learning. ‘Learning is in part a

product of the activity, context and culture in which it is developed and used’ (Pitri, 2004,

p. 2). ‘To situate learning means to place thought and action in a specific place and time;

to involve other learners, the environment, and activities to create meaning; and to locate

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in a particular setting the thinking and doing processes used by experts to accomplish

knowledge and skill tasks’ (Pitri, 2004, p. 2). This concept is embedded in constructivism

and in this approach, ‘knowledge and skills are learned in contexts that reflect how

knowledge is obtained and applied in everyday situations’ (Pitri, 2004, p. 2). Tennant

supports this by stating that situated learning refers ‘to a broad collection of work, which

shares an emphasis on the importance of context in acquiring knowledge and skill’,

(Tennant, 2000, p. 46). Billett also provides an in-depth discussion into situated learning

acknowledging ‘that different forms of social practices lead to different ways of

appropriating and structuring knowledge’(Billett in Tennant, 2000, p. 46). The role of the

facilitator during situated learning is therefore ‘to facilitate social interaction, purposeful

discussions, constructive conflicts and to offer environmental stimuli to provoke’

participant’s investigations (Pitri, 2004, p. 4). Putnam and Borko support this stating:

The situative perspective helps us see that much of what we do and think is intertwined with the particular contexts in which we act. The classroom is a powerful environment for shaping and constraining how practicing teachers think and act. Many of their patterns of thought and action have become automatic – resistant to reflection or change. Engaging learning experiences away from this setting may be necessary to help teachers “break set” – to experience things in new ways (Putnam & Borko, 2000, p. 321).

It becomes clear that a variety of strategies are needed to help teachers “break set”. This

also suggests that learning must be transferable to the new setting, and therefore in some

ways contextually generic so that teachers from varied settings can apply the strategies

learnt.

‘Experiences situated in the teachers’ own classrooms may be better suited to

facilitating teachers’ enactment of specific instructional practices. And, it may be

that a combination of approaches, situated in a variety of contexts holds the best

promise for fostering powerful, multidimensional changes in teachers’ thinking

and practices’ (Putnam & Borko, 2000, p. 322).

This also reinforces the need for learning to be both practical and theoretical to maintain

any contextual relevance.

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2.1.2.1 The Reflective Practitioner

Schon (1983) describes reflective practice as ‘a dialogue of thinking and doing through

which I become more skilful’ (Schon, 1983, p. 31) and ‘as a means by which

practitioners can develop a greater level of self-awareness about the nature and impact of

their performance’ (Osterman & Kottkamp, 1993, p. 19). Kinsella (2001) provides six

considerations as a way for occupational therapists to think and begin developing

reflective practices. However, these six considerations can be applied in other contexts,

including education. The six underpinnings from Kinsella (2001) include:

1. learning from our experiences;

2. acknowledging that there are many ways of knowing;

3. acknowledging that every individual is situated within unique cultural, social,

economic, political and personal contexts;

4. exploring assumptions in part of reflecting on practice;

5. understanding different theories of practice (Argyis & Schon, 1992);

6. acknowledging praxis as the place where reflection and action meet within the

learner.

These six principles of reflective practice could easily be applied to the professional

development of teachers. By conducting short courses, which introduce teachers to these

six underpinnings, and then providing an opportunity for them to apply the underpinnings

to their own practice may help to enhance staff relationships and teacher-student

relationships. Teachers would therefore have an opportunity to explore their practice

within a structured framework and perhaps find ways to improve it. In a climate of

continual change and a crowded curriculum, teachers do not often have an opportunity to

reflect on their practice. However, using this as a basis for professional development may

help to increase teacher understanding and encourage teachers to move towards

becoming reflective practitioners.

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2.1.2.2 The Concept of Transfer

The concept of transfer is an important part of adult learning literature and refers to the

ability of adult learners to transfer their knowledge from one setting to another. For

primary teachers, this includes, for example, the ability to take their knowledge of one

key learning area such as Health and Physical Education and transfer it to the Dance

strand of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. Singley and Anderson (1989) comment: ‘a

recurring observation on the study of transfer is that knowledge acquired in one situation

fails to transfer to another…. Such failures are an inevitable consequence of the limited

power and generality of human knowledge. Just having knowledge that logically implies

a solution to a task is not enough. One must learn how to apply that knowledge to the task

in specific situations’ (Singley & Anderson, 1989, p. 2). Tennant (1999) believes transfer

can occur ‘if the concept of transfer adopted allows the possibility of some learning and

assistance in the new or ‘transfer’ situation’ (Tennant, 1999, p. 432). There are several

elements which can enhance the likelihood of transfer occurring including: recalling prior

knowledge on a topic, drawing the learner’s attention to the possibility of transfer,

providing multiple examples to encourage learners to reflect in the potential for transfer,

providing supplementary learning and assistance in the new context and there is a

capacity to learn from experience (Anderson 1986, Holton 1997, Tennant 1999).

2.1.3 Influences on Adult Learners’ Participation

There are many elements which need to be considered for adult learners, or teachers.

Adult learners need to feel that the learning will prove beneficial for their teaching

practice if they are to participate and engage in the learning process. Evans (2003) notes

that ‘motivation is the key to all learning’ (Evans, 2003, p. 1). To motivate potential

learners, it is essential that the training reach those most in need and be provided for all

rather than a selected few. Training should be fun and recognise the prior experience of

the learner. Optimal conditions for the transmission of knowledge should be utilized,

using face-to-face or communication technologies to enhance delivery and reasonable

objectives which are achievable in terms of basic skills should be made clear (OECD

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2003, Kidd 1997, Kaser 2004). Edwards, Sieminski & Zeldin (1993) identify the

following motivators for adult learners including: desire for knowledge; to meet

personal/self-development goals; to meet occupational goals; to meet social community

goals, to comply with external expectations/formal requirements/urging of others; to find

activity, escape, diversion, stimulation; to meet economic need; to fulfil needs to do with

religion or church; to fulfil family responsibilities and launching/role development.

Professional development facilitators must therefore ensure they identify the motivation

for undertaking learning by participants.

The time-frame for adult learning is also an important consideration due to the nature of

adult lives. ‘Part-time learning interferes less with lifestyles, and so is the more common

avenue for adults’ (OECD, 2003, p. 26). This is supported by Edwards, Sieminski and

Zeldin (1993) who note that time is the obstacle most frequently mentioned by adults. In

addition to motivation, teachers need incentives to participate including financial

assistance to cover costs associated with the training, time off from normal classroom

teaching and support from the administration of the school. ‘Unless adults can be

convinced that learning will give them something back – given that learning can be very

demanding in time and effort -they will probably not invest in education or training’

(OECD, 2003, p. 121). This is supported by Edwards, Sieminski and Zeldin (1993) who

state that cost, ‘like lack of time, may serve as a socially acceptable or face-saving reason

for not participating, camouflaging more complex and possibly unrecognised

reasons’(Edwards, Sieminski & Zeldin, 1993, p. 18).

Malcolm Knowles (1984, 1986) identifies key considerations in planning professional

adult development which include providing opportunities for adult learners to: plan and

conduct their own learning experiences and apply what they have learnt (Orlich, 1989,

(Marczely 1996). Wollman-Bonilla (1991) supports this stating ‘purpose, ownership,

risk-taking, social interaction, and empowerment are interdependent and are all central to

successful professional development’ (Wollman-Bonilla, 1991, p. 114). Hendricks-Lee

(1995) discusses the perspective of the teacher undertaking the learning stating that

‘when teachers see themselves primarily as learners, and not simply as teachers, they tend

to create the intellectual environment, if not the physical environment, necessary for

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learning’ (Hendricks-Lee, Soled et al., 1995, p. 289) Hutchens (1998) supports this

stating that, ‘teachers learn best when they are involved as active participants in the

professional development experience’ (Hutchens, 1998, p. 38). Wollman-Bonilla (1991)

also discusses the need for professional development to recognise the prior learning of

participants, therefore respecting what teachers already know and believe:

Teachers develop ownership of new ideas when they connect these ideas to what they know, placing them within the context of their own experience. Further, when teachers are in control of how and when changes are implemented in their classrooms, they develop ownership of the change process itself. Such ownership must exist if changes are to be lasting (Wollman-Bonilla, 1991, p. 115).

2.1.3.1 Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is defined by Bandura (1977) as the learner’s perceived ability to perform a

task. Research has found that ‘efficacy affects choice of activity, effort expanded,

perseverance in the face of failure, and feelings about performance’ (Newman, 1999,

p. 2). ‘Teachers with a high sense of efficacy will be persistent in the face of student

failure, more effective problem-solvers in classroom instruction and management, less

frequently absent, have less attrition, and will possess more of what some have simply

called a “passion for teaching”’ (Newman, 1999, p. 2). ‘In an investigation into student

teachers’ feelings of preparedness to teach, Housego (1990) stated that one of the most

important prerequisites of successful teaching is confidence in one’s own abilities, and

equated a student teachers’ acquisition of feelings of teaching self-efficacy … with

feelings of preparedness to teach’ (Newman, 1999, p. 2). Despite this study focusing on

student teachers, parallels can be drawn to the training provided to teachers currently

practicing in the classroom and a need to address self-efficacy in training programs.

Primary art teachers seldom are artists and, as many people consider art to be intuitive rather than something which can be taught, it is possible that any primary art teachers exhibit low levels of teacher self-efficacy in art education. If it can be determined that individual teachers’ perceptions of their own skills and abilities to teach art education are susceptible to change and at what point in their education changes may occur, this would prove beneficial to those administrators who determine the structures of both pre-service and in-service art education (Newman, 1999, p. 3).

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2.1.3.2 Components of Effective and Sustainable Professional Development

Numerous authors discuss the elements believed essential for effective and sustainable

professional development. Common elements identified in the literature include: the

reason for doing professional development must be part of a broader plan for the school

and this reason must be made clear to participants; administrative support must be

evident; professional development efforts should be well-focused; information should be

disseminated through various modes (discussions, readings, lectures, theory

presentation); resources must made available; demonstrating skills should occur in the

context of the classroom; feedback should be provided; opportunities should be provided

for teachers to deepen their understanding of content and teaching practices;

opportunities should be provided for translating learning into practice and opportunities

to reflect on pedagogy should be included to consider ways to improve teaching practice

(Van Broekhuizen & Doherty 1999, Showers Joyce & Bennett 1987, Hoffa 1994, Tugel

2004). One essential extrinsic factor is the ability of the chosen trainer to build up

confidence in the participating teacher (Burgess, Connor et al. 1993 Morrison &

Newton,1993).

Sustained integration is an important aspect of any professional development activity

however debate exists as to exactly what is considered ‘sustained integration’ and how

this can be appropriately measured in the education context. Knight defines sustained as

to ‘keep something happening’ (Knight, 2002, p. 711) and integration as ‘make parts into

a whole and combine’ (Knight, 2002, p. 372). Without being able to measure where

teachers, schools or districts currently are and where they are headed, there is no way to

prove that new initiatives are producing increased student outcomes (Wolinsky, 1999).

Wong supports this stating that, ‘without carefully thought out professional development

programs, school districts will not have effective teachers who can produce student

achievement results’ (Wong, 2004, p. 43). McKean (2001) questions, ‘can those

providing professional development do more than provide interesting initial experiences

in the arts? Can they provide such solid understanding of the arts that teachers who take

part in these efforts can help students begin to gain a comprehensive, sequential

understanding of dance’? (McKean, 2001, p. 27) Fullan (2001) and Burke (2000) state

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that sustained professional learning is an ongoing rather than episodic process. This is

supported by Showers, Joyce, and Bennett (1987) who suggest that ‘strong

implementation is not achieved until a new strategy has been used in approximately

twenty-five teaching episodes’(in Van Broekhuizen and Dougherty, 1999, p. 14).

Stallings, Needles and Stayrooks (1978) indicate that a ‘series of four to six three-hour

workshops spaced one to two weeks apart, seems to be effective’ (in Van Broekhuizen

and Dougherty, 1999, p. 14). Anderson, Evertson, and Brophy (1979) found ‘changes in

teacher behaviour when two or more training sessions were separated by at least one

week’, (in Van Broekhuizen and Dougherty, 1999, p. 14). Wade (1984) noted that there

‘appears to be no statistically significant effect resulting when professional development

is scheduled either during or outside school hours’ (in Van Broekhuizen and Dougherty,

1999, p. 14). This indicates that professional development opportunities must form part

of a larger plan which focuses on changing teachers’ practice and provides opportunities

for follow-up and ongoing support (Boustead, 2001). Follow-through is also imperative

to ensuring successful and sustained integration, and ‘refers to the activity or action that

the teacher takes to implement the outcome of the professional development activity once

back in the workplace….. Current thinking and literature points to follow-through as

being an integral part of the teaching/learning process’ (Batten, Griffin et al., 1991, in

Van Broekhuizen & Dougherty, 1999, p. 14). The literature therefore clearly identifies

that professional developers must employ techniques which will create learning

opportunities that are sustainable within the primary classroom context. This section has

provided a overview of the literature on professional development which provided the

basis to understanding arts professional learning as outlined in the next section.

2.2 Arts Professional Development Rationale

Professional Development is the term used to define the learning experiences provided to

teachers to learn or extend their knowledge of current theory and practice. It may take

many forms, such as: conferences, workshops, seminars, forums, email groups, peer

coaching, mentoring and specific courses. This section will therefore outline the literature

that explores the characteristics of quality professional development and the relevant

strategies which could be used as a guide when formulating learning experiences.

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Quality professional development experiences are required to provide teachers with the

confidence and competence to deliver arts experiences in their everyday instruction. As

McKean (2001) states ‘educators in arts education look to ongoing professional

development of elementary teachers as one possible way to address the greater

responsibility for teaching of the arts that has fallen on them’ (McKean, 2001, p. 27).

Shuler (1995) supports this by stating that the key to the future of arts education is to

improve the classroom teacher’s ability to deliver the content. Ballard (1990), Shuler

(1995), Wolinsky (1999) and Wong (2004) add to this idea, discussing the critical role

that teacher in-service opportunities play in the process of improving arts education.

‘Seventy-two percent of specialists were given professional development training

focusing on arts instruction and felt it improved their teaching skills to a moderate or

great extent’ (Smith, 2003, p. 57). Street provides a dance-specific focus on the need for

training, stating that:

In order to increase dance as a subject in the short term, in its own right and as a tool for teaching across the curriculum, teachers currently in the system must be assisted to enhance their knowledge, and given resources to help them develop skills and their confidence in approaching this subject area (Street, 2002, p. 66-67).

Van Broekhuzen & Dougherty (1999) state that professional development is essential in

supporting teachers in their ‘lifelong learning as educators, as professionals, and as

individuals who are responsible for the education of the next generation’ (Van

Broekhuizen and Dougherty, 1999, p. 28). Hutchens (1998) provides a detailed

discussion on the need for professional development to shift towards the current theory

and practice in schools. Hutchens (1998) states,

The focus of professional development must shift from teachers to students; from districts to schools; from single, fragmented efforts to long-range comprehensive plans; from outside-of-school training by experts to teaching-embedded learning in classrooms; and from ad hoc skill development to the cultivation of content-specific skills and knowledge. Education policy must support this culture of collaborative inquiry, and continuous professional development experiences must become an integral part of the culture of a school through multiple forms of learning that target everyone who affects student learning (Hutchens, 1998, p. 37).

Hutchens (1998) draws attention to the need for schools to develop long-range

comprehensive plans as a school community based on the professional development

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opportunities staff have already engaged in. However it is Hutchens specific reference for

the need to shift away from arts specialists or ‘experts’ to embedded classroom

instruction which is particularly relevant to the Queensland context, as the 1-10 Arts

Syllabus requires arts education to be provided by the classroom teacher in their everyday

instruction. It can therefore be seen that the literature clearly demonstrates that

professional development is vital for the successful implementation of the 1-10 Arts

Syllabus.

2.3 Implementation of Arts Education in Schools –International and National Trends

This section provides a review of the current trends in arts education and identifies

common developments in arts education in Australia as well as considering directions in

America, Japan, Taiwan and United Kingdom. In America, arts education reform has

been due to the ‘No Child Left Behind Policy’ (2001) and ‘National Standards for Arts

Education’ (2001) both of which have numerous similarities with the Queensland Arts

Syllabus in that the responsibility for delivering the curriculum has been given to the

classroom teacher. This is in sharp contrast to the previous policy approach where

specialist teachers were used to deliver Arts experiences in American classrooms.

McKean (2001) notes that this shift in responsibility to the general classroom teacher

from the specialist teacher, led teachers to ask for assistance in teaching the arts which

resulted in an urgent need for quality professional development opportunities. In Taiwan,

this kind of professional development support has been enacted due to the ‘Education

Reform Initiatives: Nine-year Integrated Curricula from Elementary to Junior High

School’ policy implemented in September 1998. A new curriculum for ‘Arts and

Humanities’ was implemented in 2001. (Jung 2000) This requires primary teachers to

implement arts education (with a very strong focus on music education) in classrooms

over a period of nine years. These teachers are provided with extensive professional

development to support their implementation. (Jung 2000) In Japan, the changes in arts

education are due to the national government mandating a change in curriculum to

develop, ‘“understanding, interest and participation in native culture among the general

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public…. It is hoped that each school will work on participation in artistic and cultural

activities and experiencing local traditional cultural events….” (Ministry of Education,

Science Sports and Culture Act, 2000)’ (Smith, 2003). In 2005, the United Kingdom

government made a commitment that, ‘within the next ten years, no child will leave

school without having had access to high quality arts and culture’ (Jowell, 2005, p. 1).

‘Creative Sparks, a key part of the Culture Department’s Five Year Plan for the nation’s

artistic and creative life, aims to deliver that commitment’ (Jowell, 2005, p. 1).

Creativity will be at the heart of this nation’s success in the future…we want that spark of creativity that lives in every child to be recognized and nurtured…Creative Sparks is that promise: a commitment by the Government to help prepare young people for the future, and to bring out the best in their creativity and imagination... the principle will be the same everywhere: creativity is our future (Jowell, 2005, p. 1-2).

These global trends in arts education have created stimulus for change in the national arts

education agenda, the creativity economy. The global reforms in arts education also

reflect research (Fiske, 1999), which indicates that the arts are a powerful tool in

supporting students’ learning and development. In order to discuss these issues and

understand their impact in diverse education systems, the following sections discuss the

policy developments and their implications for practice across Australia.

An overview of Australian states and territories syllabi and their relevant arts education

policies is important in establishing the national sentiment for arts education and

implementation. International changes in arts education have stimulated a climate of

change in Australian arts education with numerous states updating and improving their

Arts curriculum as a result. Various similarities to the Queensland syllabus can be seen

by analyzing the other Australian syllabi, including: the syllabus intent; the focus on

aesthetic learning experiences as a vital component to the arts syllabus; the way in which

the curriculum is structured, the levels used; the strands evident; the art forms included;

the ability to integrate the art forms in transdisciplinary units of work and the outcomes-

based education framework approach to curriculum design. Nationally, these state syllabi

reflect the growing trend to shift the responsibility for arts education to the classroom,

rather than the specialist teacher. In alignment with syllabus reforms it is also important

to consider other education reforms impacting Queensland primary teachers.

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2.4 Queensland Education Reforms – A State of Change

Education Queensland has implemented numerous reforms and initiatives that seek to

improve or change its educational provision. ‘The past decade in Australian education

has been characterised by frenetic curriculum activity in the compulsory years of

schooling. This has taken the form of major overhauls of official curricula in all States

and Territories and the piloting of alternative curriculum approaches’ (Reid , 2005, p 10

in Stephens, Redman & Hempenstall , 2005, p.32) One of these is the move to outcomes-

based education as noted by Proudford who states:

The move to outcomes-based education and a centralised curriculum framework in Queensland is indicative of national and global trends. This curriculum restructuring is part of a broader trend to educational restructuring whereby schools are largely responsible and accountable for their own management (Proudford, 1999, p. 2).

In 2002, Education Queensland and the Queensland School Curriculum Council released

The Arts Years 1 to 10 Syllabus. This syllabus was a landmark in arts education in

Queensland because it mandated that classroom teachers from years 1 – 10 teach Dance,

Drama, Music, Media and Visual Arts without the assistance of specialist teachers in the

primary classroom. Prior to the release of the syllabus, guidelines for teaching dance in

Years 1-10 were provided. However because they were only guidelines they were not

mandated to teach and, as such, were often not taught in the primary classroom. The

syllabus rationale states:

The Years 1 to 10 The Arts key learning area encompasses those artistic pursuits that express and communicate what it is to be human through Dance, Drama, Media, Music and Visual Arts. Through these five district and separate disciplines, we develop, share and pass on understandings of ourselves, our histories, our cultures and our worlds to future generations. The arts, separately and collectively, can balance and enrich student experience by fostering unique and significant skills and understandings. These are transferable to other areas of learning ( 2002).

In researching the implementation of the syllabus, no comparative workforce data

pertaining to teaching the arts was able to be obtained. This is due to the fact that, to date,

no research has been undertaken to report on the success of the implementation of the

syllabus. It is important to note that professional development for teachers is provided in

alignment with the annual Professional Development Agenda provided to all schools in

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the state which outlines key priorities for professional development. To support these key

priorities, curriculum support funding is provided to each district/region to support

professional development opportunities for teachers at a local level.

2.4.1 Education Reforms Impacting on Teachers’ Professional Development

Sparks and Hirsh (1997) discuss the impact of constructivism on professional

development, noting that this type of professional learning will include activities such as

action research, conversations which acknowledge beliefs and assumptions and reflective

practices. However the authors note that these strategies are not identified as professional

development by most teachers. In terms of dance education, this means that teachers must

be provided with adequate opportunities to participate in self reflection, guided practice,

mentoring and peer conversations about dance in the primary classroom to support their

new learning. This literature highlights that professional development must be job-

embedded. Teachers must not view professional development as separate from what they

do in the classroom, but rather align with the school’s overall curriculum framework and

implementation processes (Boustead, 2001).

In 2005, the Department of Education and the Arts released the Queensland Curriculum,

Assessment and Reporting Framework (QCARF) (Department of Education and the Arts,

2005). This framework addresses concerns raised by teachers and the community about

the amount of material required to be covered in the Years 1-10 Curriculum, which is

hindering in-depth learning. Concerns have also been raised about a lack of clarity of

what must be taught and the standards of student achievement which are expected.

QCARF will consist of four parts, including the development of essential learnings, the

development of common standards, the development of standardised assessment, and the

development of a five-point scale reporting framework which requires schools to

formerly report twice a year. (Department of Education and the Arts, 2005) This

framework will be trialed in 2006 and 2007 and will be implemented in 2008 for all

schools in Queensland.

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2.4.2 Policies Impacting on Teachers’ Professional Development

In 1998, Education Queensland published, ‘Standards for the Development and Delivery

of Professional Development and Training’. The policy states that ‘professional

development refers to those activities that individuals engage in to enhance their expertise

so that they grow professionally beyond core competency levels required to perform key

roles’, (Department of Education, 1998, p. 2). The standards (1998) for the development

of professional development and training include:

1. ensure the service complies with the policies and practices of Education

Queensland;

2. engage participant in meaningful reflection;

3. take into consideration the change process and stages of concern that participants

move through;

4. ensure that services are able to cater for the range of learners;

5. specify expected outputs and outcomes;

6. articulate the theories underlying the context;

7. ensure the service is relevant to the work context of the participants;

8. encourage participants to question where this new learning fits with their existing

understanding;

9. promote collaboration with others;

10. build self-sufficiency, not dependence on the provider;

11. include strategies that allow for monitoring and evaluation of the service.

The standards (1998) for the delivery of professional development and training indicate

that professional development should include:

1. cater for participants’ learning needs;

2. ensure active engagement of participants in the professional development and

training;

3. include strategies to motivate participants;

4. ensure the delivery is adequately resourced;

5. ensure there are opportunities for cooperative learning;

6. ensure that evaluation is built into the delivery.

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In March 2004, the Queensland Government’s Ministerial Advisory Committee for

Education Renewal released A Creative Workforce for a Smart State – Professional

Development for Teachers in an Era of Innovation. This report acknowledges the current

‘knowledge economy’ and the need for ‘Creative Educators’. ‘All these objectives

require major changes in disciplinary knowledge, pedagogy, curriculum, assessment and

the experience of education for both educators and students. Teachers’ professional

development program must turn to this task sooner rather than later’ (Ministerial

Advisory Committee for Education Renewal, 2004, p. 12). The report states that

professional development strategies should focus on four areas for transformation: self-

management; community linkage; flexibility or adaptive behaviour and customisation.

Five recommendations are provided and accepted in the Department of Education and

The Arts response. These recommendations include that teachers need to engage in

regular professional development for their teacher registration and that this professional

development should focus on high standards of professional performance. These

recommendations also indicate the need for learning support staff of various kinds to

support teachers to undertake this professional learning in addition to their prime

professional role (Department of Education and the Arts, 2004). This is supported by

Darling-Hammond who state that, ‘research consistently confirms teacher quality as one

of the key factors influencing student achievement, accounting for a larger share of

variance in students’ achievement than class size, school size or any other single factor

including poverty, race and parent education’ (Darling-Hammond, 2000, 2003; QSRLS,

2001). It therefore becomes clear that the key to the success and sustainability of the

current reform agenda lies in the teaching workforce (Smith, 2005).

One of the most notable political considerations is the development of The National

Education and The Arts Strategy (currently in draft form) (Arts, 2004). This strategy aims

to create a joint statement about the important links between education and the arts, a

landmark in the development of partnerships between education and the arts in Australia.

Of particular relevance is the review of teaching and teacher education which discusses

the need to:

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revitalise Australia’s teaching profession in order to effectively foster students’ innovative capacities. Teachers must be ready to respond to the challenges that Australia continues to experience in its expanding regional and global roles, to create, to invent and to innovate. Research has shown that arts learning can help energise or reinvigorate teachers. The arts can serve both as a vehicle for preparing new teachers and as a means of re-energising more experienced educators. To ensure quality arts teaching in our schools, teachers need to feel confident to teach the arts (Department of Education and the Arts, 2004, p 7).

This policy is currently available for feedback from key stakeholders and it is hoped, will

provide adequate resources to assist the realizations of its ambitions and worthwhile

goals. Therefore, to enhance the quality of arts teaching, quality professional

development opportunities are urgently needed to provide classroom teachers with both

the competence and confidence to implement the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus effectively.

2.5 Dance Education

This section will provide an overview of dance education and creativity in light of the

Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus Dance strand requiring teachers to provide opportunities for

students to create, present and reflect. Many theorists (Adshead 1989, Smith-Autard

2002) have debated the function and purpose of dance education and have influenced the

development of the current framework used in the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus which

identifies performance, choreography and appreciation as the three organizers of the

dance strand of the syllabus. This requires teachers to understand each of these organizers

and how to facilitate creative learning experiences in primary classrooms.

2.5.1 Creativity and Education

Creativity can be defined as producing or making something, being innovative such that

it is original and therefore significantly different from other things of the same kind

(Abbs 1989; Pateman 1991; Heyfron 1985). Abbs (1989) states that creative education is

a vital aspect of a dance curriculum because it is ‘essential to any understanding of

education’ (Abbs, 1989, p. 1). The Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus requires learning in and

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through the arts to help students become a ‘Responsive creator’ (Syllabus, 2002, p. 3)

defined as:

Students develop the capacity to work creatively in various ways and modes, responding to multiple experiences and ideas in the diverse world around them. They choreograph, improvise, make, produce, devise and compose to express and communicate personal meaning. Through visual, auditory, musical, kinaesthetic, spoken and written forms, students demonstrate imagination, sensitivity and aesthetic awareness. They may combine processes and components from the arts disciplines in innovative ways. Students may rework and transform existing ideas and works to produce something new and original (Queensland School Curriculum Council, 2002, p. 3).

Gardner states that, ‘the arts are a major area of human cognition, one of the ways in

which we know about the world and express our knowledge. Much of what is said in the

arts cannot be said in another way. To withhold artistic means of understanding is as

much of a malpractice as to withhold mathematics’ (Gardner, 1992, p. 53). Lee states that

‘creative dance gives children and teachers self-esteem, motivation, and makes learning a

joyous experience. Teachers express how using dance in the curriculum gives their

teaching a new vitality’ (Lee, 1993, p. 43). Lee goes on to say, ‘we must use our

creativity to teach the aspects of our discipline, using a creative element as a

springboard’, (Lee, 1993, p. 43). Primary teachers must therefore be given opportunities

to learn how to engage their creativity in learning experiences for students in their

classes. This requires an understanding of creativity and an opportunity to develop it.

‘‘To date, the fostering of creativity and of innovation in school students has not itself

been a major focus of professional learning activity…. These are very substantial

challenges’ (MCEETA, 2003, p. 163-164). David Hargreaves (2003) states that therefore

‘the time is ripe for exploring new ways in which to increase teachers’ professional

knowledge and skill’ (Hargreaves in Ministerial Advisory Committee for Educational

Renewal, 2003, p. 3). To assist teachers’ develop an understanding of creativity it is

therefore clearly identified in the literature that they understand the relevance of artistic

and aesthetic education and understand how to foster this in their classrooms.

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2.5.2 Artistic Education

‘The processes of creating, performing and viewing dances and the overall appreciation

gained from these experiences can be defined as artistic education in that the learner is

coming to know more about the art form itself’ (Smith-Autard, 2002, p. 30). This is

integral to the development of a students’ understanding of the skills and knowledge of

dance as an art form. This also takes into consideration that ‘an understanding of the

nature of a dance develops throughout the experience of dance education. The concept of

a dance will constantly change’ (Smith-Autard, 2002, p. 30). This requires learning the

discipline and the techniques associated with the various art forms to provide rich and

meaningful learning experiences for students. (York, 1998) This implies that teachers

need to be able to provide learning experiences for students which focus on developing

skills in performing, choreographing and appreciating dance as an artform. The teacher

must require the subject knowledge, or dance-specific content themselves, in order to

facilitate these experiences for others.

2.5.3 Aesthetic Education

An understanding of aesthetics is essential to any learning in the arts and is needed, in

addition to the subject content knowledge required by primary classroom teachers to

deliver the Arts Syllabus effectively. Abbs (1989) describes aesthetics as perception,

sensing, apprehending and feeling. Smith-Autard supports this defining aesthetic

education as ‘essentially an education of feeling’ (Smith-Autard, 2002, p. 33). However,

Smith-Autard questions how teachers can be educated to provide such an education,

when feelings are a subjective experience. Smith-Autard (2002) states,

If the teacher can develop devices for presenting the aesthetic aspects of dance, students may gradually come to view dance with deep and creative contemplation. Furthermore, concentration on sensory, expressive and formal aesthetic qualities in art works directs attention away from evaluations which bear no reference to the art work itself (Smith-Autard, 2002, p. 35).

38

The Years1-10 Arts Syllabus describes aesthetics as ‘sensory knowing’ and refers to the

use of the senses to perceive, learn and respond to the environment and human creation in

the arts’ (Syllabus, 2002, p. 8).

Engagement in arts experiences requires students to interact with the sensory aspects of their world. The senses are engaged cognitively, physically and affectively, enabling students to develop an understanding of the aesthetics of their own culture and that of others. Students are able to feel, enjoy, respond to and make judgements about their experiences and develop their sensory awareness and discrimination. These processes contribute to the construction of a personal aesthetic and foster a critical awareness of aesthetic values within and across cultures and social groups (Queensland School Curriculum Council, 2002, p. 9).

Teachers of the arts must therefore be able to be creative and use bodily kinaesthetic

learning styles in their everyday practice. York (1998) states, ‘art educates the whole

person as an integrated individual; it educates the senses, it educates the mind, and it

educates the emotions. It educates the soul. To teach art is to teach life’ (York, 1998,

p. 274). Classroom teachers need to be able provide their students with aesthetic

experiences in the arts, in addition to the traditional reading, writing and arithmetic,

which have been considered the foundation of the curriculum for so long (York, 1998).

‘The arts can provide young people with authentic learning experiences that

simultaneously engage hearts and bodies. While learning in other subjects often focuses

on development of a single skill or understanding, the arts regularly require students to

multi-task – engaging and nurturing their cognitive and personal competencies

simultaneously’ (Gardiner, 2004, p. 1). Opportunities to learn by ‘seeing, thinking,

moving, collaborating, problem solving, speaking, reading, scripting, recording, shooting

film/video, visually expressing, touching, modelling, cutting, shaping, forming,

presenting, responding’ (Gardiner, 2004, p. 1) are essential in the Years 1-10 Arts

Syllabus. Therefore, classroom teachers must be able to provide a safe learning

environment, using the arts as a vehicle for teaching creativity as an essential element of

a child’s education (Stake, Bresler & Mabry, 1991).

39

2.5.4 Implementing the Arts Syllabus – A Classroom Teacher’s

Responsibility

As previously stated, the responsibility for implementing various arts syllabi across the

globe is the primary responsibility of the classroom teacher. However, most classroom

teachers lack the necessary training to deliver arts subjects successfully. This lack of

training is in addition to the challenges the new syllabus framework poses and includes

the challenges related to: ‘an understanding of the meaning of outcomes-based education;

a redefinition of planning approaches, teaching methods and assessment procedures; the

emotional demands of change; organizational reconstruction and adequate resource

provision’ (Proudford, 1999, p. 2-3). By discussing the integration of arts curriculum in

school curriculum, Ballard (1990) states, ‘classroom teachers are burdened with yet

another discipline in which they are expected to develop expertise’ (Ballard, 1990, p. 43).

Ballard also notes that despite the arts being included and recognised as part of the core

curriculum, most arts instruction remains isolated, existing apart from traditional

instructional objectives. ‘Dance training has been almost nonexistent except for the

occasional square dance taught during recess by the classroom or physical educational

teacher’ (Ballard, 1990, p. 43). Research by the Australian Research Council (1991)

indicates that teachers do not feel confident or competent to deliver arts education. The

research project entitled, Perspectives on Teacher Professional Development states that,

‘stories abound of teachers in schools who are required to teach subjects for which they

have not been trained. 15% of teachers reported they had no preparation in one or more

of the subjects they had taught and a further 46% reported inadequate preparation in some

subjects’ (Batten, Griffin et al., 1991, p. 8). This research therefore supports the literature

indicating that teachers are being asked to teach subjects in which they have received no

training or preparation. Findings from Proudford’s study, (1999) identified major barriers

to implementation including: feelings of being deskilled, insufficient resources and

support materials, insufficient time to develop understanding and confidence and

inequitable in-service. Teachers expressed the view that involvement at the school level

can: enhance understanding and expertise; promote commitment, involvement and

ownership and build confidence thus indicating a strong need for schools to provide

support through the change process to successfully implement the syllabus. Therefore, it

40

can be seen that most classrooms teachers lack the necessary competence to successfully

integrate the arts, and therefore dance education in their classrooms.

2.5.5 The Relevance of Competence and Confidence in Professional

Development and Arts Education

The relevance of competence and confidence in professional development in arts

education cannot be underestimated. Knight defines competence as ‘able to do a

particular thing’ (Knight, 2002, p. 140) and confidence as ‘a feeling of certainty or

boldness; being sure you can do something’ (Knight, 2002, p. 146). Angelo & Cross

state that ‘self confidence reflects recognition of one’s own competence’ (Angelo &

Cross, 1993, p. 275). ‘I can’t teach what I can’t do’ (McKean, 2001, p. 27). Shuler also

supports this stating that, ‘teachers do not teach what they cannot do themselves. They

are unlikely to emphasize, teach, or even, in many cases, value what they are not

comfortable modelling themselves’ (Shuler, 1995, p. 1). Stone (1998) also discusses this

concept, noting that if a teacher lacks the necessary confidence and training to teach

specific subjects in depth or relate these to children’s lives and experiences, than student

achievement suffers as a result. Welch states that many ‘primary teachers do not feel

competent in teaching art education. Their lack of self-confidence is grounded in their

perception of their own level of artistic ability and, once in the classroom, they have little

time to remedy this situation’ (Welch, 1995, p. 1). This is supported by McKean (2001)

who states that the arts are often viewed as specialist areas, requiring skills which do not

belong to the average teacher, therefore creating feelings of inadequacy and

inaccessibility. Conway (2002) states that, ‘with a growing research base suggesting that

effective teaching requires competence both in knowledge of content and skills in

discrete disciplines, …… and in teaching knowledge and skills …… any one-size-fits-all

approach’ (Conway, 2002, p. 10) will not work.

These teachers noted that it was “lack of confidence, the low priority given to creative dance in the curriculum, lack of time, and their own apathy” that prevented them from integrating creative dance into their teaching. Furthermore, lack of knowledge regarding how to teach creative dance and how to integrate it throughout the curriculum, along with not knowing the rationale for including it, contributed to teachers’ reluctance to teach creative dance…… Concomitantly, they expressed a need to have sufficient ideas, resources, and training in order to

41

make this change and noted that this training would have to be done in such a way a to make them feel competent and confident teaching creative dance (MacDonald, 2001, p. 4 & 102).

Consequently, MacDonald developed and facilitated a series of workshops which

specifically addressed the needs identified by the teachers. ‘Participating in the

workshops led the student teachers to realise how simple it was to integrate creative

dance into the curriculum. Moreover, they allowed the student teachers to see how

capable they were of teaching it’ (MacDonald, 2001, p. 11). Although this research

focuses on student teachers, the findings from the study can be directly applied to the

Queensland context and the types of professional development needed to be provided to

raise their confidence and competence levels. Based on the survey data, MacDonald notes

that participants ‘felt uncomfortable teaching creative dance because they did not have an

adequate understanding of, enough exposure to, and sufficient experience with creative

dance……. They felt nervous, hesitant and unsure due to their lack of experience’

(Macdonald, 2001, p. 7). Cox (1992) suggested that, because many teachers feel they lack

the necessary skills, they have no confidence or interest in teaching art education. If this

is accurate, it implies that;

for every teacher who lacks the confidence to teach art education, an average of about 30 children….. may not be receiving formal tuition in art education for at least one year of their formal education. Were this same situation to apply to mathematics or literacy there would be a public outcry, but, as Eisner (1998) maintained, in most countries art education is a non-issue, as it is considered peripheral to the real “mission” of the school, namely, to prepare children for the world of work (Welch, 1995, p. 1).

However, these feelings are mostly associated with activities which require classroom

teachers to teach the arts separately from other subject areas. When teachers integrate the

arts into larger units of work McKean (2001) found that they felt they could be more

inventive in the classroom and incorporate arts-based learning experiences. Therefore it

can be seen that developing competence and confidence in teachers is essential to the

successful integration of the Arts Syllabus in the primary classroom.

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2.6 Conclusion to Literature Review

This chapter has provided a comprehensive overview of the current literature relating to

adult learning and professional development and arts, specifically dance education in the

primary classroom. The literature provides an overview of the global trend to shift

responsibility for teaching the arts to the primary teacher and the associated professional

development implications for this shift. It has also provided an outline of the key

characteristics of effective adult learning and professional development that have formed

the basis for the strategies used in the action research cycles of this research study

outlined in Chapter 3, which outlines the methodology used in this research study.

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3 Methodology

This chapter will outline the methodology used to consider the research question, ‘Which

strategies used in professional development build competence and confidence in Primary

teachers to integrate dance in the classroom?’ Strategies, defined for the purpose of this

research as learning experiences, resources, structures and conditions are evident in the

workshop designs. It will discuss the research design, methodology appropriateness and

limitations, my role as researcher, relevant ethical issues, timeline for data collection,

data collection methods, participants and approaches to analysis that have been used to

frame my research project.

3.1 Establishing the Research Paradigm

Establishing the research paradigm for the research project is essential to ensure a design

that will be successful. Constructivism is arguably the dominant model of human learning

in educational theory today and assumes that ‘humans learn not primarily by receiving

and copying impressions and information from the world, but rather by constructing and

reconstructing our own mental conceptions of the world’, (Angelo, 1999, p. 3). Social

constructivists recognize that ‘meaning is largely internally constructed …. but stress that

shared meanings-socially constructed and negotiated – are necessary for human

communication and society’ (Angelo, 1999, p. 3). Social constructivism has been used

heavily in educational research as it rejects the traditional transmission of knowledge and

encourages learners to construct knowledge and understanding for themselves through

interaction and negotiation with others in the world (Angelo, 1999). Social

Constructivism is relevant to my research due to the importance of interpreting the

meaning participants construct of their experience.

3.1.1 Mixed method approach to Research

This study used a mixed method approach to its research design. The term mixed method

refers to the combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches to research used at all

44

or several stages of the research study. (Bazeley, 2002) The research approach was for

the most part qualitative with a quantitative approach being used in questionnaires to

obtain important background information from teachers to construct workshop planning

and the research process. For this reason, the qualitative research paradigm is the focus of

this research study. Denzin (2000) states:

Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world. It consists of a set of interpretative, material practices that make the world visible. These practices transform the world. They turn the world into a series of representations, including field notes, interviews, conversations, photographs, recordings and memos to the self. ……. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them (Denzin, 2000, p. 3).

This research project studied ‘things in their natural setting’ by focusing on two Gold

Coast state primary schools with teachers who are currently responsible for the

implementation of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. This research used the Action Research

method allowing the researcher to study phenomena through action, in its location.

3.2 Research Methodology - Action Research

Action Research has been established as an appropriate research paradigm in the field of

education and a powerful agent for change. ‘The role which action learning and action

research can play in both professional development and organizational change has been

well documented in the literature (Zuber-Skerritt, 1991; 1993; 1996; Limerick, Passfield

and Cunnington, 1994; Bourner & Flowers, 1999)’, (Ellis & Phelps, 2000, p. 3). A

collaborative and self-critical inquiry by practitioners, Action Research allows the

researcher to become actively involved in solving a problem.

3.2.1 Historical Overview of Action Research

A historical overview of Action Research reveals that is was Kurt Lewin (1890 – 1947)

who first coined the term “Action Research” in 1934 (Mills, 2003). Lewin came to view

Action Research as a process that ‘gives credence to the development of powers of

reflective thought, discussion, decision and action by ordinary people participating in

45

collective research on private troubles that they have in common’ (Mills, 2003, p. 5).

Many other researchers soon followed this ideology including: the American Action

Research group who were concerned with the progressive education movement and ideas

of John Dewey; the United Kingdom curriculum reform and greater professionalism in

teaching effort and ‘Australian efforts located within a broad-ranging movement toward

collaborative curriculum planning’ (Mills, 2003, p. 6) thus helping to establish Action

Research as an acceptable research methodology. ‘In the field of education, action

research has enjoyed widespread success, both as an individual route to professional

development and as a collaborative route to professional and institutional change’ (Herr

& Anderson, 2005, p. 17).

3.2.2 Definition of Action Research

Various definitions of Action Research exist depending on the research paradigm being

used. Herr & Anderson state that, ‘Action research is oriented to some action or cycle of

actions that organizational or community members have taken, or wish to take to address

a particular problematic situation. The idea is that changes occur either within the setting

and/or within the researchers themselves’ (Herr & Anderson, 2005, p. 3-4). Argyris and

Schon describe it as, ‘Action Research takes its cues – its questions, puzzles, and

problems – from the perceptions of practitioners within particular, local practice contexts.

It bounds episodes of research according to the boundaries of the local context’ (Argyris

& Schon, 1991, p. 86).

O’Leary (2004) describes the goal of action research is to ‘work with stakeholders to

generate knowledge in order to action change’ (O’Leary, 2004, p. 98), whilst Coghlan &

Brannick state that action research is an approach that ‘focuses on simultaneous action

and research in a participative manner’ (Coghlan and Brannick, 2001, p. 7). ‘Some see

the goal of action research as improving practice or developing individuals, whereas

others see its goal as transforming practice and participants. Debates rage within action

research around these issues’ (Herr & Anderson, 2005, p.9). Despite these debates, these

definitions demonstrate that Action Research provides the necessary link between self-

evaluation and professional development. ‘It provides a way to investigate professional

46

experience which links practice and analysis of practice into a single, continuously

developing sequence’ (Zuber-Skerritt, 1996, p.13).

3.2.3 The Action Research Model

Many models have been developed since Lewin first coined the term “Action Research”

in 1934 (Mills, 2003). Lewin described a spiraling cyclical model that included planning,

execution and reconnaissance. In 1988, Stephen Kemmis created a well-known

representation based on Lewin’s original model which included the essential

characteristics of reconnaissance, planning, first action step, monitoring, reflecting, re-

thinking and evaluation (Mills, 2003). It is this model which I used as the basis for my

own research study. (See Appendix A) This model highlights the fact that Action

Research is most effective when it is a continuous approach to improvement. Therefore,

the model does not have a specific beginning or ending, it is a spiral and when one cycle

finishes, another begins (McLean, 1995). Kemmis (1982) describes the action research

cycle as:

1. developing a plan of action to improve what is already happening;

2. to act to implement the plan;

3. observing the effects of action in the context in which it occurs;

4. reflecting on these effects as a basis for further planning, subsequent action and

on, through a succession of cycles.

Herr and Anderson note that ‘this cycle of activities forms an action research spiral in

which each cycle increases the researchers’ knowledge of the original question, puzzle or

problem and, it is hoped, leads to its solution’ (Herr & Anderson, 2005, p. 5).

The Action Research Model (refer to Appendix A) clearly demonstrates the process of

action research. Firstly, the researcher establishes what is happening now in a general

idea reconnaissance. Through my current employment with Education Queensland and

the various roles I have had which focus on syllabus implementation, this was easy to

identify in my weekly discussions with primary teachers. Through the completion of my

literature review, I was then able to explore current theory and examine the contrasts.

47

This led to the development of a general plan, or the development of my research design

and the decision to use action research as my methodology. The first action step (Action

Cycle One) was completed at School Site A and involved three workshops and four

follow-up interviews. Throughout these stages I monitored the action and reflected on the

progress of the project. After this first action step was completed and I had analysed the

data, I reflected, re-thought and discussed the process and used these reflections in the

development of the second action step. After this action step (Action Cycle Two) was

completed, I again reflected on the data to draw recommendations for future action. This

process highlights that central to the action research methodology is the act of reflection

and evident changes in my own practice as a professional development facilitator

(Zuber-Skerritt, 1996, Gay & Airasian, 2003).

3.2.4 The Five C’s of Action Research

Borgia and Schuler (in Gay & Airasian, 2003) describe Action Research as having five

C’s: commitment, collaboration, concern, consideration and change, all of which are

relevant to my own research project. These five C’s demonstrate the importance of the

participants to my research study and reflect the learning journey we undertook together.

Commitment refers to the fact that Action Research requires time. I needed to

demonstrate to participants my commitment to assisting their learning journey. This

required developing trust between the participants and myself to ensure I could ask

targeted questions and receive a detailed and relevant response. Collaboration is

important because Action Research requires a cyclical process of sharing, giving and

taking. Throughout the two action cycles, I purposefully structured time for group-based

activities which required participants to share, give and take ideas. I also structured

numerous opportunities for participants to provide feedback and share ideas with me to

help establish rapport throughout the workshops. I then collaborated with my research

supervisor to re-plan and draw understandings. Trust and concern for each of the

participants was evident in the fact that the pre and post-workshop questionnaires were

anonymous to maintain confidentiality and workshops were voluntary. I also ensured that

participants were supported through their learning by establishing a supportive learning

48

environment through the use of familiar venue settings and the inclusion of both

administration and teaching personnel in the action research cycles. The pre-workshop

questionnaires also helped me to establish participants’ current needs and try to

accommodate these in the workshops. Consideration to participants’ current knowledge

of the Years 1-10 Syllabus, and more specifically the dance strand, was also important to

ensure that my professional development added value to their existing knowledge and

experiences. I also needed to be considerate of the scheduled times of the workshops and

interviews, therefore respecting participants’ work and family commitments. Finally,

change is ongoing and is an essential element of the Action Research process. (Gay &

Airasian, 2003) Change was a consistent factor in my research project. Each workshop

provided me with an opportunity to test different professional learning strategies and

compare this to previous strategies used and the resulting outcomes. This led to numerous

changes in my understanding of adult learning and professional development. Change

was also evident in the participants’ competence and confidence levels, which was the

desired outcome of the research project.

3.2.5 The Relevance of Action Research to my Inquiry

Action Research has numerous strengths which can be identified, and which have led me

to choose this methodology for my own research project. Commitment to Action

Research positions professional development providers as learners rather than experts.

‘Those committed to action research will willingly undertake continued professional

development because they believe that there is a gap between the real world of their daily

practices and their vision of an ideal one’ (Mills, 2003, p. v). ‘Action research is inquiry

that is done by or with insiders to an organization or community, but never to or on them.

It is a reflective process, but is different from isolated, spontaneous reflection in that it is

deliberately and systematically undertaken and generally requires that some form of

evidence be presented to support assertions’ (Herr & Anderson, 2005, p. 3). My research

project required consistent reflection and the gathering of data to enhance my

understanding and support my own learning. ‘The idea is that changes occur either within

the setting and/or within the researchers themselves’ (Herr & Anderson, 2005, p. 4). This

49

was evident in my own action research project as change was evident in the participants’

competence and confidence levels. However, change was also evident in my knowledge,

skills and understanding of successful professional development strategies. Action

research allowed me to identify the areas primary teachers’ viewed as problematic and in

need of change, assess developmental processes and evaluate outcomes of the change I

had defined and implemented (Gay & Airasian, 2003).

One advantage which can also prove to be a limitation of Action Research is the notion of

subjectivity. On one hand, it can be viewed as an advantage as the researcher has inside

knowledge about the focus area, which is true in my case, as discussed earlier in this

chapter. However, it can also be viewed as a limitation because the researcher can come

to biased conclusions about what is occurring. Therefore, I must question both motives

for action and evaluation of outcomes (McNiff, Lomax and Whitehead, 2003). In this

questioning of motives for action and outcomes, it is important that the voices of the

participants can be heard through the data and action research allows for both qualitative

and quantitative methods to be used to ensure the experiences of participants can be

considered. (Altrichter, Posch & Somekh, 1993) Finally, McLean states that the ‘primary

benefit of action research is the personal satisfaction that is derived from providing more

control over one’s professional life and improving the educational environment for

students’ (McLean, 1995, p. 68).

3.3 My Role as Researcher

Throughout this research study, my role as researcher became increasingly important as

my learning journey brought understandings for professional development facilitators.

For this reason, it is important to acknowledge that my role as researcher is guided by the

fact that for the past three years I have held various positions within Education

Queensland which have focused on the implementation of The Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus

and have provided me with a special insight into the types of professional development

needed for primary teachers. Herr & Anderson state:

‘As researchers we acknowledge that we enter research with a perspective drawn from our own unique experiences and so we articulate to the best of our ability

50

these perspectives or biases and build a critical reflexivity into the research process. We also articulate these evolving perspectives in our journaling, field notes, and, to some extent, in the dissertation itself. Developing the skills and habits of self-reflexivity is necessary for any action researcher’ (Herr & Anderson, 2005, p. 60).

Herr and Anderson (2005) identify numerous positions which are likely to be utilized

within action research projects. My project used the outsider in collaboration with insider

approach which contributed to improved knowledge and improved practice. This is

evident in the fact that I was an insider as an employee of Education Queensland and

therefore understood ‘the culture, strengths and weaknesses of the organization, as well

as its developing needs’ (Gray, 2004, p. 243). My work roles have also provided me with

insider knowledge of the current struggles and needs of primary teachers which was what

motivated me to complete this study. I recognized that this role created various biases for

my research project which I took into consideration in the development of my research

design, including: incorporating anonymous pre and post-workshop questionnaires,

voluntary workshops, reflective focus groups and interviews ensured trustworthiness of

the data was maintained through triangulation of data. It is important to note however,

that I was an outsider to each of the school sites I worked with during the workshop

series, which led the participants’ to see me as an outsider to their own staff community

group. In addition to this, because I was working for central office at the time of the

workshops, some teachers also saw me as another ‘expert’ from central office coming to

tell them what to do. By revealing my desire to reflect on my own practice to workshop

participants I was also able to present my role as reflective practitioner and learner.

The research process provided opportunities for workshop participants to work together

with me to determine possible solutions to my research question. As O’Leary states, ‘the

researcher’s role it to facilitate a sustainable change process that can find the researcher

acting as planner, leader, catalyzer, facilitator, teacher, designer, listener, observer,

synthesizer, and/or reporter at various points throughout the project’ (O’Leary, 2004,

p. 140). I recognized that my practice is participatory, in communities of inquiry

embedded in communities of practice (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). This is evident in the

teachers who formed the participants in my research, all of whom stemmed from

communities of practice in their own school sites. Action was one essential element of

51

my research as participants participated in action in the workshops to help solve my

research question. However, due to my employment with Education Queensland, I

needed to be aware of the possibility of bias due to being imbued with the Education

Queensland’s ethos and attitudes and therefore I ensured that I triangulated data to

confirm ideas or concepts (Gray, 2004). Teachers had the opportunity of participating in

workshops voluntarily, which extended their current knowledge and ability to teach

dance and provided me with an opportunity to research their confidence and competence

in teaching dance in the classroom.

3.4 Ethics

The primary purpose of ethics is to protect the welfare and rights of all participants in

research. The ethical and legal responsibilities held by researchers towards participants

reflect basic values of integrity, beneficence, justice (including consent) and research

safety and merit. Each of these key aspects will be discussed in depth below. The level of

ethical clearance needed for this research project is Level 1 – (Low Risk) as it uses

anonymous questionnaires, surveys or interviews involving non-sensitive matters.

(Hefferman, 2004, p. 10). The ethical clearance number is 3903H. .

Action Researchers, like all other researchers must adhere to strong ethical principles.

However, some of these ethical principles are specific to the Action Researcher. ‘Their

actions are deeply embedded in an existing social organization, and the failure to work

within the general procedures of that organization may not only jeopardize the process of

improvement but also existing valuable work’ (Zuber-Skerritt, 1996, p.16). It was

therefore essential that I obtained permission from Education Queensland, through the

Executive Director of Schools for the Gold Coast District, before approaching the two

school sites I wanted to work with. I also obtained written consent from each of the

participants, clearly outlining the purpose of the study and outlining that their

confidentiality would be maintained through anonymity (Refer to Appendix B) (Zuber-

Skerritt, 1996, McNiff, Lomax & Whitehead, 2003). Honest and ethical conduct of the

research was my primary concern to ensure my study was reliable and valid on

completion. Therefore numerous strategies were in place throughout the data collection

52

process to ensure triangulation including written reflections, reflective focus groups and

interviews with participants. The probability of risks of harm was minimal as Safe Dance

Practices and Workplace Health and Safety considerations were met for all practical

sessions. This included warm up and cool down activities for each of the workshops in

the two action research cycles. No payment or reward was provided for participation in

the research however, participants did receive the added benefit of increased dance

subject and syllabus knowledge through my professional development, specifically the

three workshop series during which I was able to model good teaching practice for the

participants. Privacy was respected as no names have been used in the reporting of this

research and all data collection was completed with anonymity. Participants had the

choice not to be involved and withdraw from the research at any stage of the study

without penalty, as clearly stated on the cover note. Consent was obtained on return of

the completed consent form.

3.5 Action Research Cycles

The timeline for my research is outlined below in accordance with the Action Research

Model by Stephen Kemmis (1998) (Appendix A):

• What is happening now? General idea Reconnaissance – discussing, negotiating, exploring and assessing opportunities and examining contrasts.

a) Literature Review (ongoing through research - first review undertaken by July 2005)

– Review of relevant key concepts in literature, outline of current educational theory

relating to research question.

b) Negotiated access to the research sites.

c) Clarified the research problem and assessed opportunities for investigating this

problem through my professional development practice.

• General plan – How can I monitor the effects of my action? d) Research Design (Methodology/ies defined) (completed July 2005) – identification of

research paradigm, methodology and data collection methods.

53

• First Action Step The first action step was conducted at school Site A, a state primary school on the Gold

Coast. (Please refer to Appendix H – J for an outline of the workshops facilitated at this

school site.) Participants at this school had not engaged in Dance professional

development and taught pre-school to year 7. (Please refer to Appendix C for a more

detailed description of cycle one context and participants).

e) Data collection through first action research cycle (completed term one/two 2005) –

action research cycle included a pre-workshop questionnaire, a series of three

workshops, of two hours in duration with state primary teachers. This included

collecting participants’ Research Portfolios at the end of the workshop series.

f) Two reflective focus groups with lower primary, upper primary and administration

participants.

g) Interviews with four teachers (completed end of term two 2005) – two male and two

female teachers from different year levels to ascertain if still using strategies gained

from involvement in workshop series.

• Monitoring, Evaluating h) Data analysis of first action research cycle (completed term two 2005)

i) Evaluation of data from first action research cycle (completed term two 2005)

• Rethinking, Reflecting, Discussing, Replanning, Understanding, Learning, Revised General Plan

j) Reflection of data to inform second action research cycle (completed term two 2005)

• Second Action Step The second action step was conducted at school Site B, another state primary school on

the Gold Coast. (Please refer to Appendix K – M for a copy of the workshops facilitated

in this cycle.) These teachers had also not completed professional development in the

dance strand of the Arts Syllabus and represented pre-school to Year 7. (Please refer to

Appendix C for a more detailed description of the first action cycle context and

participants).

54

k) Data Collection in second action research cycle (completed term four 2005). This

included a pre-workshop questionnaire, a series of three workshops, a post-workshop

questionnaire and collecting participants’ written reflections at the end of the

workshop series.

l) Two reflective focus groups with lower, upper primary and administration

participants.

m) Interviews with four teachers (completed term four 2005) – two male and two female

teachers from different year levels to ascertain if still using strategies gained from

involvement in workshop series.

• Monitoring, Evaluating n) Data analysis of second action research cycle (completed term four 2005)

o) Evaluation of data from second action research cycle (completed term four 2005)

• Understanding, Learning p) Commence writing up of research (February – October 2006)

q) Complete graduate seminar successfully (October 2006)

r) Submit thesis for examination (December 2006)

3.6 Data Collection Methods

The following is an outline of the various data collection methods used throughout my

research project. These include: pre-workshop and post-workshop questionnaires, a

workshop series, written reflections and dance lessons developed or implemented by the

participants throughout the workshop series, reflective focus groups and interviews. I also

maintained a research journal throughout both action research cycles. By using these

varied qualitative and quantitative methods, I was able to triangulate the data collected,

therefore increasing the validity and reliability of the research data.

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3.6.1 Questionnaires

‘A self-administered questionnaire is an instrument used to collect information from

people who complete the instrument themselves’ (Bourque & Fielder, 1995, p.2).

Questionnaires are advantageous as they are consistent to all respondents and have the

potential to be more representative of the sample. They are also low cost, compared to

other methods, which allows for larger samples, such as the two cohorts of participants in

my two action research steps. Through the distribution of the questionnaires at the two

workshop series, I was assured that all respondents were receiving the information

simultaneously. The questionnaires used in my research were also completely

confidential due to their lack of identifying features, therefore allowing respondents to be

honest regarding potentially sensitive topics, such as their current dance curriculum

knowledge. It was important that the questions stand alone and I therefore gathered

feedback regarding the answerability of the questionnaire through a pilot test amongst

colleagues to clarify that the questions were understood, instructions clear, the order of

questions was appropriate and the objectives of the study were clearly understood by both

surveyors and respondents (Bourque & Fielder, 1995). The questionnaire asked

participants to provide a summary of their dance subject knowledge, engagement with the

Years 1-10 Arts syllabus to date, confidence in teaching dance in the primary classroom,

and their expectations of involvement in the study. (Refer to Appendix E and F) After

completing Action Cycle One, I decided that I needed a post-workshop questionnaire so

that I could compare the data obtained from participants. This was developed and

submitted to the Ethics Committee of QUT and successfully implemented in Action

Cycle Two. (Refer to Appendix G) A cover note was included with both the pre and post-

workshop questionnaires which clearly stated the objective of the study and that approval

of Education Queensland had been obtained. The length of the questionnaire was kept to

a minimum so that it did not take up much time in the workshop and was not

overwhelming for participants to complete. The questions were closed-ended, specific

and stand alone with each question containing a response category. Demographic

information was kept to a minimum and placed at the end of the survey. The

questionnaire was presented in a booklet format and used a high quality contrast between

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print and paper in an easily read and equally spaced font which was courier (Bourque &

Fielder, 1995).

3.6.2 The Dance Workshops Described

Participants were asked to attend a workshop series in each action cycle completed. Each

workshop was 1 hour 15 minutes in duration and focused on providing teachers with

subject competence and confidence to teach the dance strand of the Years 1-10 Arts

Syllabus.

3.6.2.1 First Action Step In the first action research cycle, the workshops included:

1. The first workshop focussed on exploring the concept of ‘What is Dance?’ by

examining the Dance Strand of the syllabus. Teachers learnt the three organising

dimensions of dance study, the functions of dance in our society and experienced

different styles of dance technique. Safe Dance concepts were explored and

teachers became familiar with the framework of the syllabus. Teachers also

became more confident through performing short sequences in front of their

peers.

2. The second workshop focussed on developing teachers’ choreographic knowledge

and skills. Teachers participated in a number of learning experiences which

demonstrated various approaches to the choreographic process that could be

easily adapted to different primary classrooms. This workshop also focussed on

developing their appreciation of dance as an art form by discussing the various

dance components and skills. This helped teachers to develop an understanding of

dance specific terminology which will be necessary for written assessment tasks.

3. Workshop Three was structured to include opportunities for teachers to plan

dance experiences for their existing units of work and their perspectives of the

professional development series. While I was completing the focus group,

remaining participants planned how they could embed dance experiences into

their units of work for the rest of the year to provide a whole of year level/school

planning session.

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3.6.2.2 Second Action Step

Upon reflection of the data collated from the first cycle (rethinking, reflecting,

replanning), this workshop model was adapted for the second action research cycle to

incorporate:

1. The first workshop provided teachers with a comprehensive overview of The

Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus, Sourcebook Guidelines, CD Rom and Initial In-Service

Materials.

2. The second workshop explored the choreographic dimension using modules at

various levels as the stimulus for choreographic tasks.

3. The third workshop explored the performance and appreciation dimensions by

providing teachers with information on different dance styles and guiding them to

brainstorm appreciation tasks in their respective year level groups.

4. Workshop Four was structured to include opportunities for teachers to plan dance

experiences for their existing units of work and their perspectives of the

professional development series. While I was completing the focus group,

remaining participants planned how they could embed dance experiences into

their units of work for the rest of the year to provide a whole of year level/school

planning session.

3.6.3 Reflective Focus Groups

Focus groups are useful for stimulating new ideas and creative concepts; diagnosing

potential for problems with a new program, service or product; generating impressions of

products, programs, services, institutions, or other objects of interest and learning how

respondents talk about the phenomenon of interest and interpret previously obtained

quantitative results (Stewart & Shamdasani, 1990). This data collection method was

specifically chosen because of the ability to obtain general background information about

a topic of interest and diagnose the potential for problems with a new program (Stewart

& Shamdasani, 1990). The reflective focus groups were undertaken in the third workshop

in the first action cycle and the fourth workshop in the second action cycle. Each focus

group consisted of two groups, one for participants from the lower primary and one for

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participants from the upper primary year levels. The participants were asked a series of

reflective questions based on their learning and development throughout the action

research cycle, specifically referring to their increased subject competence and

confidence. Each focus group session was videoed to record participants’ responses and

was forty minutes in length to allow both groups to be completed in the normal hour set

aside for staff meetings. Data collected in the first focus group session was used in the

planning for the second action research cycle. Whilst one group was participating in the

reflective focus group, the other participants focused on whole school planning. (Refer to

Appendix N for sample extract from Action Cycle One Lower Years Focus Group).

3.6.3.1 Focus Group Advantages

The focus group data collection method had numerous advantages. Firstly, using the

focus group for both lower and upper primary participants allowed me to gather data

from a group of people much more quickly then interviewing them separately. This

method allowed me to interact directly with the participants, allowing follow-up

questions, clarification of responses, probing of responses and an opportunity to observe

non-verbal body language. This method also provided me with an opportunity to obtain

large and deep amounts of data in respondents’ own words. Participants were also able to

react and build upon the responses of other group members. The results obtained were

also easy to understand and allowed for rethinking, reflecting, replanning, understanding

and learning to occur (Stewart & Shamdasani, 1990).

3.6.3.2 Focus Group Limitations

The Focus group method also meant that I needed to be aware of the possible limitations

of using focus groups to gather data. Focus groups use small numbers of participants

which can limit generalization to a larger public context. I addressed this limitation in my

research design by ensuring my participants were representative of a wide cross-section

of teachers, including different ages, both genders, various teaching experiences, different

lengths of teaching experience and teachers from both the lower and upper primary.

Results from focus groups can also be biased by very dominant or opinionated members

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of the group which may result in more reserved participants being hesitant to talk. I

therefore identified any potential participants who may dominate discussion during the

three workshops and monitored their involvement during the focus groups. I also used

various questioning techniques during the reflective focus group sessions to engage all

members of the group. However, in using these questioning techniques I avoided giving

cues, which may bias the results, a potential limitation of this method.

3.6.4 Interviews

In addition to the questionnaires and focus groups, I conducted follow-up interviews with

four primary teachers (two male and two female) who had participated in the workshop

series to establish the effect of the professional development provided. Two interviews

were conducted with teachers who were still using the strategies taught and had

successfully integrated dance in the classroom since the workshops has been completed.

The other two interviews were with teachers who had not embedded dance learning

experiences in their classrooms since the workshop series. Questions focused on

establishing why the teacher had chosen this particular implementation process and how

further development could be achieved from this point. (Refer to Appendix O for sample

extract of Interview from Cycle One).

3.6.5 Research Portfolio

In addition to the questionnaires and focus groups, I kept a research portfolio throughout

the research process. ‘Keeping a research journal is a vital piece of any action research

methodology; it is a chronicle of research decisions; a record of one’s own thoughts,

feelings and impressions; as well as a document reflecting the increased understanding

that comes with the action research process’, (Herr & Anderson, 2005, p. 77). This

portfolio offered ‘regular, ongoing, self-conscious documentation – of successive

versions of coding schemes, of conceptual arguments….of analysis episodes – both

successful ones and dead ones’ (Silverman, 2000, p. 193). My research portfolio

contained evidence of my planning for the action research cycles, resources, interview

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questions and transcripts of the interviews. Entries were dated to indicate the timeline of

my process and personal reflections were provided of my progress after each workshop,

focus group or interview. (Refer to Appendix P for sample extract from my Research

Portfolio.)

3.7 Approaches to Analysis

Authors on action research discuss the need for projects to be written up in a way which

supports the change process for all stakeholders. This includes a generic approach to data

analysis, as reported by Herr and Anderson (2005) in which qualitative data is analysed

for codes and then re-analysed to identify themes. These codes are then triangulated by

analyzing each piece of data to confirm these codes and themes. For this reason, action

research reports favour a more narrative approach which focuses on the sequence of

practice and reflection and commonly has at least three audiences (Zuber-Skerritt, 1996).

In my research these three audiences include the primary teachers and members of

administration at each of the school sites, interested colleagues from within Education

Queensland who are responsible for the delivery of professional development and myself

as the researcher to clarify what has been learned (Zuber-Skerritt, 1996). My data

analysis used a thematic exploration approach similar to that described by O’Leary, 2004.

‘In qualitative analysis, understandings are built by a process of uncovering and

discovering themes that run through the raw data, and by interpreting the implication of

those themes for the research questions. In qualitative analysis, coding such themes is not

preliminary to any analysis, but is part and parcel of interpretive practice itself’ (O’Leary,

2004, p. 195). To move from raw data to meaningful understandings relies on a process

of identifying relevant themes. To do this, I identified different concepts evident in each

of the texts (reflective focus group and interview transcripts) and then grouped similar

concepts into themes. ‘Once the texts have been explored for relevant themes, the quest

for meaningful understanding generally moves to an exploration of the relationship

between and among various themes’ (O’Leary, 2004, p. 197). This process of

comparison was extremely important for me in order to find the similarities and

differences between the data obtained in the first action cycle and the data obtained in the

second action cycle and therefore draw understandings and learning.

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3.8 Conclusion

This chapter has outlined the research paradigm, methodology and data collection

methods which will be used throughout my research project in an attempt to answer,

‘which strategies used in professional development build competence and confidence in

primary teachers to integrate dance in the classroom?’ and provides the background for

the Chapter 4 which describes each of the workshop series undertaken in more depth.

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4 The Process: Description and Reflections on Action Research Cycles One and Two

This chapter describes the process used for both the first and second action research

cycles at the two school sites including an overview of the participants from each cycle.

Reflections and findings drawn from this data will be provided in Chapter 5.

The section is structured as follows:

• The first part of the chapter provides an overview of Action Cycle One including

the planning and implementation and the data gathered from the participant

questionnaires which help contextualize this cycle. It provides descriptions of the

three professional development workshops.

• The second part of the chapter includes an overview of Action Cycle Two

including the modifications made to the three professional development

workshops.

4.1 Action Cycle One – An Overview

Planning the first action research cycle’s workshop series involved initial discussions

with the school’s Principal to inform the design of the workshop series which featured

three workshops. As previously mentioned, each workshop was one hour and fifteen

minutes duration, held after school, and aimed to provide participants with introductory

knowledge and skills for implementing dance into their classrooms. When developing

these three workshops for School Site A, consideration was given to the teacher’s prior

knowledge and experience to ensure the workshops would be relevant as well as comply

with the Standards for the Development of Professional Development and Training

(Education Queensland,1998).

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4.1.1 Participants

The participants in Action Cycle One, School Site A completed a pre-workshop

questionnaire to provide me with information regarding staff demographics, their

knowledge of the syllabus and prior dance and dance teaching experience. The

demographic information collected revealed that six of the twenty-six respondents were

male and twenty were female. Participants’ ages were as follows:

21 – 25 3 25 – 30 2 31 – 35 4 35 – 40 3 41 – 45 2 46 – 50 8 51 – 55 2 56 - 60 2 61 - 65 0

Participants’ number of years teaching experience were as follows:

½ yr – 5 years 6 6 – 10 years 4 11 -15 years 0 16 – 20 years 6 21 – 25 years 4 26 – 30 years 3 31 – 35 years 1 36 – 40 years 2

In relation to implementing the Years 1 – 10 Arts Syllabus, eight respondents had

implemented dance through movement integrated within a lesson with another focus.

Four indicated they had implemented it through a dance-focused lesson whilst five

indicated they had implemented it through a series of dance-focused lessons. Only one

respondent indicated that they had implemented a unit of work with a strong dance focus.

When asked about their prior dance experience, fifteen participants indicated they had

little to no dance experience whilst five participants indicated they had some experience

and six participants indicated they had a lot of experience. Sixteen participants indicated

in their questionnaire that this prior dance experience was through social dance

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experiences and nine indicated it was through dance training at a private dance studio.

Three participants indicated their prior dance experience was from professional

development with Education Queensland, whilst five participants indicated it was from

teacher training at a university in New South Wales. Six respondents indicated that they

had some experience in the ballroom style whilst four indicated it was through cultural

dance.

The questionnaires also asked participants to reflect on their subject competence and

confidence. Four respondents indicated they had a lot of competence to teach dance

whilst five indicated they had some competence to teach dance. Ten respondents

indicated they had minimal competence to teach dance whilst seven indicated they had no

competence to teach dance. Seven respondents indicated their lack of implementation

was because they had no confidence in the subject area.

4.1.2 Aims of the Workshop Series

The aims of the three workshops in Action Cycle One included ensuring the workshops

were fun, engaging, relevant, presented a balance between theory and practice, provided

choices and opportunities to contribute to the learning and were in alignment with the

normal staff meeting allocation times. To encourage situated learning, everyday contexts

and themes were used as the stimulus for activities to contextualise knowledge and make

the learning applicable to the participants (Putnam & Borko 2000, Pitri 2004, Tennant

2000). Group work was used in acknowledgement that learning is a social process and

collaborative activities or collaboration is a key generic skill in the arts (Lee 1993,

Gardner 1992, Smith-Autard 2002).

4.1.3 The Workshop Series

Each of the workshops focused on providing participants with an opportunity to explore

the different strand organizers of performance, choreography and appreciation in addition

to learning the core content and other dance specific knowledge. Workshop One focused

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on the choreography organizer with teachers being provided various choreographic tasks

to complete in collaboration with other teachers from similar year levels. Workshop Two

focused on the performance and appreciation organizers of the dance strand. Participants

engaged kinesthetically with different styles of dance and undertook various tasks

critiquing sequences they had learnt to develop an understanding of the appreciation

organizer. Workshop Three was structured to include opportunities for teachers to plan

dance experiences for their existing units of work and their perspective of embedded

dance learning in their classroom and their perspectives of the professional development

series. While I was completing the focus group with the lower school participants,

remaining participants from the other year levels planned how they could embed dance

experiences into their units of work for the rest of the year to provide a whole of year

level/school planning session.

4.1.4 Action Research Cycle One - Workshop One

Workshop One focused on introducing the dance strand to participants, exploring Safe

Dance principles and the choreography strand, including activities which focused on

movement dynamics and choreographic devices. Participants were provided with

different ways to warm up students for practical lessons and a variety of stretching

exercises which could be adapted to suit the needs of students and the lesson focus.

Participants also engaged in discussion around how to set up the primary classroom for a

dance lesson, and discussed issues and challenges of their classroom spaces. After this

discussion, participants were guided through a process where they created movement

material using the syllables of their name; they manipulated the movement using core

content to create a short sequence which were performed and reflected on by the group.

This process was then repeated with less guidance from me to allow the teachers the

opportunity to apply the creative process using themes relevant to their curriculum

including: animals, seasons, popular dance and sport. Participants performed their

choreographed sequences for the group and reflected on the different ways each group

had applied the core content explicitly using dance terminology. Teachers also reflected

on this choreographic method and its application to the primary classroom. Finally,

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participants warmed down and listened to an outline of workshop two in preparation for

the following week.

Participants were provided with a range of teaching resources including a couple of dance

lesson plans and dance planning templates for them to use as they designed lessons for

their own students. The resource booklet provided the key messages of the syllabus and

relevant support material for teachers to read over the course of three weeks.

4.1.5 Action Research Cycle One - Workshop Two

The workshop commenced with a reflection on the previous week’s workshop and the

activities various teachers had tried over the last few days with their students. Safe Dance

principles were also revised to ensure teachers understood these concepts including

exploring more suggested warm up activities as well as revising the stretching exercises

provided in the first workshop. This workshop focused on introducing the concepts of

performance and appreciation to participants. In relation to performance, teachers

explored the various functions of dance, styles of dance and discussed protocols

associated with studying ritual and traditional dance. Participants learnt both a simple

funk and contemporary dance sequence in a whole group using various core content

(specifically focus, alignment, spatial awareness and timing). Teachers discussed the

characteristics of these two styles and considered their possible application to the primary

classroom. The contemporary sequence expressed the theme of emotions through

movement. These emotions were also used as the stimulus for brainstorming possible

appreciation tasks. This brainstorming was completed in pairs (teaching teams) in the

same year level using butchers paper and was then shared with the group. Throughout the

sharing of these ideas, participants often discussed cross-curricular links they could make

if this was a unit of work they were planning for their year level which demonstrated the

linking of new dance knowledge with existing curriculum knowledge.

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4.1.6 Action Research Cycle One - Workshop Three (Whole School Planning

& Focus Groups)

This workshop included opportunities for teachers to plan dance experiences in their

existing units of work, reflect on their perspectives of embedding dance learning in their

classrooms and share their perspectives of the professional development workshop series.

To do this, teachers were split into their teaching teams. Unfortunately, four staff were

absent for the workshop which meant I had to combine the middle and upper school

focus groups as there was not enough staff in attendance to run these groups separately.

During the scheduled sharing and planning time, I had hoped teachers would share the

lessons they had tried with their students over the last three weeks and recorded in their

lesson plan booklet I had provided, however only four teachers had written down their

lessons to share with the group. This was disappointing and demonstrated that I needed to

revise this strategy prior to the next workshop series. In response to this feedback, the

teachers were asked to focus their discussion on embedding dance learning experiences

into their teaching and learning programs across year levels and developing these units

into a whole school program. Teachers in year level groups alternated between this

activity and a reflective focus group discussion guided through a series of questions

which provided feedback on their perceptions of the workshop series.

4.1.7 Action Cycle One - Interviews

Four interviews were conducted with volunteers from the participant group including two

male (one lower and one upper school representative) and two female (one lower and one

upper school representative) staff members. The interviews provided an opportunity for

individual teachers to give me feedback regarding both positive and negative aspects of

the workshops. This helped me to clarify aspects of the workshops that needed revision

before the second Action Research Cycle which is discussed below.

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4.2 Action Research Cycle Two – An Overview

Using the feedback provided by teachers in the first Action Research Cycle, I planned

and implemented the second workshop series at School Site B incorporating the changes

discussed above. A detailed analysis of this feedback is provided in the following

chapter.

4.2.1.1 Participants Participants in Action cycle Two, School Site B, also completed a pre-workshop

questionnaire to provide me with staff demographic information in addition to

information about their understanding of the syllabus and prior dance experience.

Demographic information recorded by participants was also similar to that gathered from

School Site A. Three respondents were male whilst twenty-three were female.

Participants’ ages were as follows:

21 – 25 3 out of 27 25 – 30 1 out of 27 31-35 3 out of 27 35 -40 4 out of 27 41-45 2 out of 27 46-50 7 out of 27 55-55 5 out of 27 56-60 1 out of 27 61-65 0 out of 27 NB: one participant did not answer

Participants’ teaching experience as recorded by numbers of years teaching was as follows:

½ - 5 years 5 out of 27 6-10 years 4 out of 27 11-15 years 4 out of 27 16-20 years 2 out of 27 21-25 years 5 out of 27 26-30 years 5 out of 27 31- 35 years 1 out of 27 36-40 years 0 out of 27 NB: one participant did not answer

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In Part B of the questionnaire, participants were asked to respond to ‘I’ statements which

related to their ability to set teaching and learning experiences for their students.

Statements were also included which asked them to reflect on their professional

development experience with Education Queensland. This questionnaire data revealed

some common trends when compared to the post-workshop data.

The pre-workshop questionnaires indicated that ten respondents had completed little or

no movement experiences with their students while ten had integrated movement within a

lesson that had another focus. Six respondents indicated that the reason they had not

implemented the dance strand in their class was that they felt they had no understanding

of the subject area. Seven out of twenty-seven participants had no prior dance experience

and eleven had minimal prior dance experience. Seventeen respondents indicated they

had minimal to no subject competence to teach dance. In rating their confidence levels,

twelve respondents indicated they had minimal to no confidence to teach dance. Twenty-

one respondents indicated they had minimal to no understanding of dance terminology or

core content. Only four respondents indicated they were able to set teaching and learning

goals for the dance strand. Eleven respondents indicated they were unable to motivate

students to engage and invest in dance lessons and were unable to use collaboration,

cooperative and group work strategies in dance. Thirteen respondents indicated they were

unable to help students connect dance learning to other areas of learning or plan their unit

offerings in alignment with the time requirement of the Arts (100 hours). Ten respondents

indicated they were unable to provide dance formative assessment tasks to their students

based on their progress and twelve respondents indicated they were unable to plan

summative assessment tasks for the dance strand. Nine respondents indicated they did not

make a conscious effort to coordinate the content of their units with that of other teachers.

Twelve respondents indicated they did not have confidence in Education Queensland to

provide them with adequate training and indicated they did not pursue their own

professional development opportunities.

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4.2.2 Action Research Cycle Two – Workshop One

After analyzing the feedback from the last action research cycle, I designed this

workshop to provide participants with the ‘big picture’. Participants were guided through

the Years 1-10 Syllabus intent including: the values which underpin the document, the

support materials available for teachers including the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus

Sourcebook Guidelines, the Arts Modules and the CD Rom. Participants were guided

through the CD Rom to view the video examples of: levels, the unit and lesson planning

tools available, the school support documents available and the curriculum creation and

evaluation tools available. Participants were also provided with the lesson plans from

each of the modules in booklet format.

Using the CD Rom as a way to demonstrate the support available to teachers, especially

the video demonstrations of the different levels, helped to demonstrate dance pedagogy to

teachers. This learning experience also helped to provide specific examples of lower

school activities and resources to participants. I also made sure that I provided multiple

situations and examples of how to transfer generic activities to lower school contexts to

ensure early years teachers would be able to transfer their knowledge successfully

(Tennant, 1999). I established prior knowledge and continually linked learnings together

throughout the workshops to improve the likelihood of transfer for the teachers. Most

participants indicated that they had not been aware of the numerous resources which had

been provided with the syllabus to assist them in their planning for learning and

assessment, as indicated by the fourteen teachers who indicated in their pre-workshop

questionnaire that necessary materials required to implement the dance strand were not

available. Teachers were asked to read all the support materials I had provided them with

prior to the next workshop so that they had a greater understanding of the dance strand. I

also asked teachers to choose and facilitate one of the lessons from the Sample Lesson

Plan Booklet with their students.

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4.2.3 Action Research Cycle Two – Workshop Two

Workshop Two focused on exploring the choreography organizer of the dance strand of

the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. This workshop followed a similar format to Action Cycle

One however utilized more lower school themes as stimulus for choreographic tasks as

previously mentioned. I also gave multiple strategies for activities to ensure teachers

from all year levels were able to consider how learning experiences could be

implemented in their classrooms.

It was clear that a number of administration and teaching staff had read the resources I

had left by the questions they asked me throughout the afternoon. Each group was able to

successfully manipulate the core content I specified into their group choreographic tasks.

Teachers really enjoyed the hands-on approach to learning and responded well to the

practical nature of the learning experiences. ‘….each group successfully added the

relevant core content to each sequence which was great. Although, with more time I

would of liked to explore more core content, teachers really enjoyed the “hands on”

approach to learning and responded well’ (Reflective Journal, Action Cycle Two,

Workshop Two, p. 1-2) as evident in their active engagement in the process.

Throughout the workshop series it became clear that, as the facilitator of the professional

learning, I needed to continually reflect in action, modifying the workshop series to

reflect the needs of the group. Using informal feedback from participants, the Principal

and completed questionnaires, I was able to modify the learning to ensure the needs of

the group were being met. One example of this was in the reflections completed in year

level groups where participants were asked to discuss three things they had enjoyed about

the workshop and how they might be able to implement this into their classrooms. The

male teacher, who had indicated in the first week that he originally had thought teaching

dance was like staging ‘Cats’, commented that he appreciated how easy and adaptable

this process was and how he was going to use it with his grade two class. It was

interesting that another teacher commented that she enjoyed watching the different

formations and shapes people created with their bodies. I had not specifically discussed

shape as a core content element with the participants. This provided me with an

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opportunity to discuss the connection between the shape strand of the Years 1-10

Mathematics Syllabus and the dance strand of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus and the

module that was created linking dance and mathematics. This was an example of the need

for constant reflection in action as the facilitator to ensure the professional learning met

the teacher participants’ needs. Similar to Schon’s (1983) notion of the reflective

practitioner, I needed to consistently modify the workshop design in response to informal

feedback from the Principal, the participants’ questionnaires and workshop experiences.

It became clear that facilitators of professional development need to be able to reflect in

action.

After the workshop, I was talking to the Principal who mentioned that the teacher-

librarian had stated that ‘“all KLA professional development should be like this – hands

on”’ (Reflective Journal, Action Cycle Two, Workshop Two, p. 4). This was extremely

positive feedback which helped to reinforce the needs of teacher learners to be actively

engaged in the learning, as evident in the aims I had set for the workshop series. As the

teachers engaged in the activities provided and began to use dance terminology in their

reflections, it seemed obvious that both their confidence and competence was growing.

‘By the end of the session it was great to hear the teachers using the language of dance

successfully in their groups – another demonstration of their confidence and competence

developing’ (Reflective Journal, Action Cycle Two, Workshop Two, p. 4-5)

4.2.4 Action Research Cycle Two – Workshop Three and Post-workshop

(Questionnaires and Teacher Reflections)

Workshop Three focused on the performance and appreciation organisers of the Dance

strand of the syllabus. Teachers were taught a simple funk and contemporary sequence as

in the Action Cycle One, however more explicit reference to the core content used in

these sequences was made. The simple contemporary dance sequence focused on

emotions as in Action Cycle One and both sequences used a whole group formation to

provide teachers with an opportunity to explore how to facilitate the creation of whole

class dance routines. Participants used this sequence to consider possible appreciation

tasks which could be completed and then their ideas were shared with the group. To

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extend this activity, teachers then began discussing how reflection activities could be

integrated into different types of dance lessons.

This workshop was held late in the term and it was obvious through a lack of focus by the

participants (as compared to Workshop Two) that the teachers were tired and not as

energetic. This situation caused me to reflect on the numerous responsibilities which

teachers have throughout the year, especially in regards to assessment and reporting

requirements and the impact this has on the timing of professional development with

staff. The participants readily acknowledged that they had numerous other

responsibilities both in and outside of their classroom contexts and professional

development therefore needed to be timed to avoid these periods of time in the school

year. Despite this, teachers brainstormed excellent points for the qualities to look for in a

student’s performance which was encouraging and demonstrated a growing

understanding of the Dance strand.

4.2.5 Action Research Cycle Two – Workshop Four (Reflective Focus

Groups)

This workshop included opportunities for teachers to plan dance experiences in their

existing units of work, reflect on their perspectives of embedding dance learning in their

classrooms and share their perspectives of the professional development workshop series.

To do this, teachers were split into their teaching teams and year level groups. During the

scheduled sharing and planning time, teachers focused on embedding dance learning

experiences into their teaching and learning programs across year levels and developing

these units into a whole school program. Teachers in year level groups alternated between

this activity and a reflective focus group discussion guided through a series of questions.

This section has focused on describing the two Action Research Cycles that were

completed as part of this research study. The major themes arising from the data collected

from both of these Action Research Cycles will be analyzed to reveal common themes in

the data in the Chapter 5, in addition to implications for future professional development.

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5 Analysis of Major Themes Evident in the Data and Implications for Future Professional Development

Through the analysis of data from both action research cycles, a number of significant

themes have emerged that have implications for the design and implementation of dance

school-based workshops for primary teachers. This chapter will provide an analysis of

these significant themes leading to reflections and recommendations for future

professional development and research.

In sections 5.1 and 5.2 the major themes evident in the analysis of data from both action

research cycles will be discussed. These sections provide an analysis of the two workshop

cycles described in Chapter 4 highlighting the issues which arose during the workshops

and the steps taken to address these. Please note, the main themes arising from these

reflections will be unpacked further in later sections of this chapter. Sections 5.3 and 5.4

consider the broad themes arising from the data including the initial resistance factors to

dance professional development; the integration of dance learning in the curriculum; the

impact and influence of the professional development on teachers’ competence and

confidence and finally, this analysis focuses on the implications for the development of

future professional development in dance.

5.1 Reflecting on Action Research Cycle One

After analyzing the comments made by the teachers and the data collated from Action

Research Cycle One, it was evident that learning had occurred as a direct result of these

teachers’ experiences (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). This was important to reflect on

before planning for Action Cycle Two commenced. It became clear through the teachers’

comments and feedback that informal learning, as described by Livingstone (2001), had

occurred throughout and after the workshop series. This was evident through the

discussions by the teachers after each workshop; the collaborative planning of activities

in year levels; their reflections on the resource materials I left with the teachers and their

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implementation of dance learning experiences in units of work. In focus group

discussions, most teachers stated their competence and confidence levels had improved as

a result of the workshop series and they also indicated they had enjoyed the practicality

of the workshops – actually learning by doing – which reflects the literature (Focus

Group, Action Cycle One, Workshop Three, p. 3-4). One participant commented, ‘I

think the “hands on” sort of learning when your’re doing dances helps instead of just

sitting there in front of someone speaking’ (Middle & Upper School Focus Group, line

230 – 230, p. 7). These interactions and associated comments by teachers reinforced the

power of social interactions in school sites. It also became evident throughout the course

of the workshop series and in the feedback from the participants, that this professional

development had helped the staff to enhance their community of practice which

encouraged the sharing of resources, ideas and working in teaching teams (Ingram &

Goody, 2002). One participant commented that the workshops ‘helped us to work as a

team in our year level and bounce ideas off each other’ (Teacher Reflective Statement,

Action Cycle Two). Teachers enjoyed the learning activities provided and were

successful in completing each of the choreographic tasks I had set. ‘It was great to see the

teachers working together, laughing and having fun while they learnt. Teachers also

seemed to enjoy presenting their work for the group’ (Reflective Journal, Workshop One,

p. 2). As a facilitator of dance professional development for teachers, the most powerful

experience of this cycle was watching the primary school students perform their dance

sequences which were a direct result of the professional development I had provided the

teachers. In my reflective journal (Reflective Journal, Interviews, p. 4) I noted, ‘this is

why I wanted to complete this project. This is what motivated me to become an arts

professional development provider. This is what makes it all worthwhile’.

Participants in Action Cycle One provided feedback regarding how the workshop series

could be improved throughout the focus groups and interviews. I was able to use this

feedback and combine it with my own personal reflection, as documented in my journal,

to revise the workshop series for Action Cycle Two. These revisions included the

structure of the three workshops and the need for a lower school focus in activities,

resources and data collection. They will be outlined in the following paragraphs. Major

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themes arising from the data of both Action Research Cycles will be analyzed in the next

chapter.

5.1.1 Structure of the Three Workshops Participants in Action Cycle One indicated that the first workshop needed to provide an

overview of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus and the support materials available for primary

teachers. ‘Most felt more time was needed to explore the CD Rom and modules to further

their existing dance knowledge’ (Reflective Journal, Action Cycle One, Workshop Three,

p. 3). This feedback informed my decision to re-structure the workshops to include: a

focus on the ‘big picture’ in workshop one including an extensive look at the CD Rom

and resources contained within this, safe dance principles and the choreography organizer

in workshop two, the performance and appreciation organizers in workshop three and

focus groups and year level planning in workshop four. Participants had also indicated a

need for a one-week break between workshops, however this proved to be unrealistic in

Site B in light of numerous other professional development requirements. This would

have meant the workshops occurring over a five-week period with workshops in weeks

one, three and five with breaks in between each workshop to allow for reflection and

implementation of ideas.

5.1.2 The Need for a Lower School Focus in Activities

Participants from the Pre-school, Years one, two and three cohorts indicated a strong

need for activities and suggested strategies to take on a more early years focus. To apply

this feedback, I specifically added activities for these lower year levels in the design of

the choreographic workshop and made explicit reference to early years strategies which

could be used, such as using whole class guided learning experiences rather than groups

of four-five students.

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5.1.3 Resources

Participants in Action Cycle One indicated they would have liked a copy of dance lesson

plans from various year levels to use as they began implementing dance into the primary

classroom. Although I had provided two examples from the modules in the resource

booklet I decided to create a ‘Sample Dance Lesson’ resource for participants in Action

Cycle Two. This resource included a copy of each of the lesson plans in the dance

modules which provided more variety across each year level rather than just two

examplars. I also provided copies of this resource to School Site A to assist their

implementation of the Dance strand after I had left to encourage long-term integration.

Participants also wanted examples of dance pedagogy which they could use to model

their own practice and, in response, I re-worked the design of Workshop One to include

several video examples from the CD Rom with accompanying teacher notes.

5.1.4 Revision to Data Collection

In Action Cycle One, I used a pre-workshop questionnaire, as mentioned previously, to

gather data on the staff demographics and their prior dance and syllabus knowledge and

experiences. I found there was information I wanted from each participant that the

reflective focus group questions was not providing, so I revised my questionnaire format,

questions and length. I introduced a second section to the pre-workshop questionnaire

which featured numerous ‘I’ statements that teachers had to respond to, so I could obtain

information on the participants’ perception of their growth in confidence and competence

and the success of the professional development strategies used post the workshop series.

To complement the focus group discussion, I also found that I needed a post-workshop

questionnaire. This enabled me to compare participants’ post workshop perceptions to

pre-workshop perceptions to determine if there were any changes in competence and

confidence levels as a result of the workshop series and professional development

strategies. To do this, I researched more examples of questionnaires to improve both the

pre and post-workshop questionnaires I had developed. These data collection instruments

were therefore revised and submitted to the Ethics Committee at QUT for approval for

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use in the second Action Research Cycle. In addition to these changes, I refined the focus

group questions in response to themes arising from the first workshop series.

5.2 Reflecting on Action Cycle Two

The post-workshop questionnaires from Action Cycle Two provided data on the key

changes evident in participants as a result of the workshop series. Broad themes which

are relevant to both action cycles will be discussed in the next chapter.

Data analyzed from Research Cycle Two provide evidence of increased confidence and

competence among some of the teachers. Despite seventeen participants initially

indicating they had minimal to no subject competence to teach dance, the post-workshop

surveys indicated that only nine participants felt this way after the workshop series.

Increases in competence were also evident in areas such as: understanding of dance

terminology; ability to motivate students to engage and invest actively in dance lessons;

helping students connect dance learning to other areas of learning; seeing ways to

implement dance into their curriculum and assessment; and motivating students. In the

pre-workshop questionnaires, twenty-one respondents indicated that they had no

understanding of dance terminology. After the workshop series, only eight respondents

indicated that they had minimal to no understanding indicating strategies used in the

workshop series were able to increase the participants’ understanding of dance

terminology. Fourteen respondents indicated that they were able to motivate students to

engage and invest actively in dance lessons as opposed to the eight in the pre-workshop

questionnaire, demonstrating that the workshop strategies were able to improve teachers’

abilities to motivate students. Fifteen teachers also indicated that they were now able to

help students connect dance learning to other areas of learning as opposed to five in the

pre-workshop questionnaire. Seventeen teachers indicated that they could see ways to

implement dance into their curriculum and see links to other Key Learning Areas after

participating in the workshops. Twelve respondents indicated that they were now able to

help students discover real world application for dance experiences as opposed to six in

the pre-workshop questionnaire, reflecting the fact that teachers’ own experiences of

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dance had now made them more aware of the broader benefits of dance. Thirteen teachers

indicated that they were able to manage their time effectively in dance lessons as opposed

to five in the pre-workshop questionnaire. Nineteen teachers indicated that they were now

able to provide both formative and summative assessment tasks for their students as

opposed to seven in the pre-workshop questionnaire. This data was a direct result of the

year level discussions regarding how to embed dance learning into existing units of work

which featured in both Action Research Cycles. This data reflected that effective

workshop strategies which were able to increase competence levels were beneficial.

Data also indicated increases in teachers’ confidence to teach dance. Despite twelve

respondents originally indicating they had minimal to no confidence to teach dance, the

post-workshop surveys indicated that only eight participants felt this way after the

workshop series. This reflected that effective workshop strategies which were able to

increase confidence levels were useful. Sixteen participants indicated that they felt

confident to plan a unit of work collaboratively containing some dance, with no teachers

indicating that they disagreed with their ability to complete this task. This clearly

demonstrated teachers’ growing confidence to integrate dance into the primary

curriculum. Twelve teachers indicated their confidence in Education Queensland to

provide them with the necessary training, which was an increase from the twelve who

originally indicated to the contrary in the pre-workshop questionnaire. I believe this

increase was due to the fact that despite completing these workshops as part of my

Masters Degree, I am an employee of Education Queensland and therefore represent this

organization providing the necessary training to these teachers. This is also consistent

with Schommer’s (1998) views regarding epistemological beliefs and that confidence in

an organization is central to professional learning being successful. Fourteen teachers

indicated that they were able to use collaboration, cooperative and group work strategies

in dance as opposed to six in the pre-workshop questionnaire.

Some elements of the data however, did not change. Only two more participants

indicated that they had planned their dance learning experiences in alignment with the

time requirement for the arts, indicating that perhaps I needed to provide a copy of a

whole primary school curriculum framework which had the arts embedded in each year

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level so that teachers could see how this could be achieved. Six respondents indicated

that necessary materials required to implement the dance stand were available at the

school which was an improvement of only one indicating that this was a serious factor

which needed consideration for 2006. Both school sites were therefore committed to

improving the resources available in the school teacher resource section.

This section has provided a reflection of the Action Research Cycles completed at both

school sites as an introduction to the analysis of the broad themes arising from the data.

Each of these broad themes will now be further unpacked to identify the similarities and

differences arising from the data in each cycle.

5.3 Initial resistance factors to dance professional development and the

integration of dance learning in the curriculum.

Analysis of the data revealed numerous resistance factors to dance professional

development. These included external factors, school experts delivering professional

development, teachers’ experience of dance and the syllabus and the perceptions and

challenges of the dance curriculum. Although this research originally set out to examine

the activities in school-based workshops which build confidence and competence in

teachers, the data revealed quite strong resistance to the teaching of dance and the

completion of professional development in the area and this resistance needed to be

unpacked, reflected upon and considered in the provision of the professional

development, most significantly for action cycle two. To ignore these resistance factors

would have significantly impacted the potential of the professional development to

positively influence teachers to integrate dance into the classroom., The barriers to

implementation identified by Proudford (1999) are similar to those found in the analysis

of my research and include the feeling of being de-skilled, having insufficient resources

and support materials, having insufficient time to develop understanding and having a

lack of confidence.

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5.3.1 External Factors

This research identified several external factors which impacted on the participants’

ability to engage in the school-based workshops . These factors included: the crowded

curriculum; the challenges of using an integrated curriculum framework; and the

perceptions and challenges of the dance curriculum. Each of these themes will therefore

be discussed in the following section.

5.3.1.1 Crowded Curriculum

Participants in both Action Research cycles clearly indicated that one of the challenges

they face in integrating dance into the primary classroom is their experience of crowded

curriculum. Participants in both Action Research cycles noted that due to the crowded

curriculum, time to deliver dance in the primary classroom was a challenge inhibiting

implementation due to the amount of outcomes required to be covered. In Action Cycle

One, this is evident in the lower school focus group where one of the participant’s states:

‘I’ve found a lot of things we can use at this time while we’ve been talking but again it’s

the same thing, it’s finding the time. I did find bits we could use, but when?’ (Lower

School Focus Group, line 78-79, p. 3). Another teacher commented: ‘we are encouraged

to include it but it goes back to… the idea that when you’ve already got so many things

you’ve been told you’ve got to do, it does make it that bit more difficult to cover’ (Lower

School Focus Group, line 177, p. 4). This is supported by another teacher who discussed

the inability to implement dance learning experiences due to time constraints stating,

‘time is the problem at the moment, we’ve had a number of other things on at the moment

and so haven’t really had a chance’ (Interview Four, line 431-432, p. 9).

This notion of the crowded curriculum also extends to the inability of some teachers to

participate in school-based workshop opportunities. This is consistent with Edwards,

Sieminski and Zeldin (1993) who note that time is the obstacle most frequently

mentioned by adults as an inhibitor to participating in professional learning. The data also

indicated that the feeling of being overwhelmed by a curriculum which requires so much

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to be covered, also impacted on the time teachers were willing to give professional

learning. An example of this was that one teacher had to give an apology for being absent

for one of the workshops due to a Year 2 Net meeting for key teachers. One teacher in the

lower school focus group commented:

‘……at the moment I’m a key teacher and I’m trying to worry about other

people’s NET things and my NET things and so for me at the moment, no matter

what the Department says they are also telling me that my key teacher role is

more important than anything else, so now to me dance is not more important

than that’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 346 – 350, p. 11).

This was an interesting quote and indicated the priorities the lower school teacher had for

preparing students for centralized exam-based assessment which therefore affected their

priorities for professional development. This has significant consequences for the arts in

general, and especially those curriculum areas which have not yet been established in the

curriculum and are not supported by specialist teachers, such as dance. This is consistent

with the findings of Stephens, Redman & Hempenstall (2005) which indicate that one of

the problems with outcomes-based education is the excessive number of curriculum

outcomes, especially at the primary school level, that overwhelm teachers and promote a

check-list mentality in deciding what should be taught, assessed and reported on.

This data is similar to the findings from the study conducted by the ACT Department of

Education, Youth and Family Services in 2004, who found that teachers were feeling

overwhelmed with the amount of core content they have to cover (Stephens, Redman &

Hempenstall, 2005). Education Queensland has formerly acknowledged the existence of a

crowded curriculum (Queensland Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Framework

Background Paper, 2005) stating that the ‘Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and

Reporting Framework addresses concerns raised by teachers and the community about

the amount of material required to be covered in the early and middle years curriculum,

which is hindering in-depth learning’ (Department of Education and the Arts, 2005, p. 3).

Education Queensland is therefore currently awaiting the implementation of this

Framework in 2008 which aims to “unclutter” the curriculum by providing the essential

learnings for each Key Curriculum Area. The strategy I used to address this, involved

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acknowledging this issue in the primary context and discussing current Education

Queensland reforms which are trying to address this issue. I also provided links to other

syllabi to encourage teachers to see dance learning as embedded rather than simply an

‘add on’.

The length and timing of workshops was also commented on by participants. One teacher

commented, ‘in-service needs to be over a longer time. Everyone enjoyed the actual

dancing, making up moves and putting them together to make a dance in a group – I

would have enjoyed more sessions along these lines gradually incorporating more core

content’ (Teacher Reflective Statement, Action Cycle Two). This is supported by Ballard

(1990) who states that professional learning often focuses on teaching methodology

leaving little time for teachers to develop specific subject area skills. Another teacher

commented, ‘as you were saying it or doing it I could understand but when I tried to tell

my daughters about it I found there were gaps in what I remembered’ (Middle & Upper

School Focus Group, line 103-104, p. 4). This indicated that although the strategies

seemed effective some teachers had not had enough time to consolidate this knowledge

and embed it into their practice.

Teachers in the Lower School Focus Group from Action Research Cycle One, indicated

they needed a one-week break between workshops to allow for proper reflection and trial

of the activity in their classrooms which was in alignment with the findings of Orlich

(1989), Marczely (1996) and Anderson, Evertson and Brophy (1979). One teacher stated,

‘probably not long enough to get in and consolidate it. I mean we’ve been introduced to it

but nothing has been done to really consolidate it’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 182-

183, p. 6). Another participant added, ‘if I can recommend a change to do it next time it is

to have a break between each week’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 235 – 238, p. 8).

The feedback from participants’ regarding the need to have a gap between workshops is

also similar to the findings of Stallings, Needles & Stayrooks (1978) who found that

workshops which were one to two weeks apart seemed to be more effective. However

these researchers suggest that these workshops be four-six hours in duration over a course

of three workshops, which is not consistent with the feedback from participants in my

research study.

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Participants in both Action Cycles had varying perspectives regarding whether the

school-based workshops should occur as a whole day in-service on a student-free day or

in a modified version of the workshop structure used. When I proposed the possibility of

providing the workshops together on a student-free day, one teacher noted that the

workshop structure was preferable stating, ‘I would say the weekly sessions because we

could go away and practice what we had been taught and then come back for the next

stage. If you try and do it all together you forget what you did in the first bit’ (Lower

School Focus Group, line 145-148, p. 3). The early year teachers indicated that they

would find the student-free day format quite threatening and that shorter workshops

spread out over a longer period of time would be more beneficial. Future dance

professional development programs would therefore benefit from using the workshop

structure with the appropriate one-week gap between sessions rather than the student-free

day format.

Hutchens (1998) states that sustained integration of professional learning is required

rather than once-a-year experiences to help teachers embed the dance strand of the

syllabus. This supports the feedback provided by the teachers which indicated the need

for follow-up workshops in both action research cycles. One teacher commented, ‘what

we need more than anything is time. Time to read. Time to digest. Time to re-try’ (Lower

School Focus Group, line 572 – 573, p. 18). My journal states, ‘this reflects the numerous

complexities experienced by consultants or Education Queensland staff offering

professional development to teachers in after school hours, especially as the research

indicated that time did not affect the outcome of the learning in the workshop’ (Reflective

Journal, Workshop One, p 3). This data has implications for future professional

development indicating that professional learning programs need to be scheduled around

other responsibilities. School-based workshop facilitators need to work closely with

schools to ensure professional learning occurs at the most suitable times of the school

year. Focus also needs to be given to the amount of professional learning required for

new initiatives to ensure teachers do have the time to try and re-try and therefore embed

their learning into their practice.

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5.3.1.2 The Challenges of an Integrated Curriculum Framework

Participants in both Action Research Cycles also discussed the fact that many schools use

an integrated approach to curriculum planning, which can mean adding dance into this

framework challenging to a teacher who is not confident or competent enough to do so.

This concern was expressed by the lower school teachers’ focus group in Action

Research Cycle One, who noted that their school had a specified program of learning for

each year level that outlined the outcomes to be covered by specific year levels. This

meant that dance could be covered in years one, three and five rather than each year as

evident in the following dialogue:

Participant E: ‘Sam we’ve got a bit of a problem that we’ve spoken to you about before and that is that all of our units are already written with set outcomes and we might find that for example, grade twos might do the dance strand, the grade threes might have it, it depends…..’ Participant G: ‘Yes the grade threes have it.’ Participant E: ‘Ok so then the grade fours might have it but then you might skip it in year five and skip it in year six and so not everyone is necessarily doing it as part of their required outcomes.’ Participant D: ‘Yes, so much to cover.’ Participant E: ‘It is just something we need to look at as a school. I mean, are we going to make it that grade six are going to skip it altogether and grade two might skip it altogether, it’s just something we need to look at’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 176 – 189, p. 4).

‘They hoped to discuss this with their staff further and find ways to integrate dance into

their programs’ (Reflective Journal, Focus Groups, p. 2). Despite this, ‘the teachers felt

excited, motivated and confident to try dance experiences with their students’ (Reflective

Journal, Focus Groups, p. 2). Discussions had also commenced in the year four teaching

team regarding how dance could be implemented next year which this teacher felt was a

positive step toward embedding dance learning in their year level stating, ‘I found it was

easier to incorporate dance in many areas of the curriculum than initially thought’

(Teacher Reflective Statement, Action Cycle Two). Future school-based workshops

should therefore focus on providing teachers with opportunities to be relieved from class

and embed dance learning into the existing units of work. Professional development

facilitators need to schedule opportunities for teachers to plan using their new learning in

light of the curriculum framework operating in their school.

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Teachers also commented that they could see links between the dance strand of the Arts

Syllabus and other Key Learning Areas to create opportunities for integrated units of

work as evident in the following comment:

‘Sometimes you think it won’t fit but if you just take a step back and have a look at it and for example, when we first realised we were coming to this workshop we had a look at what we were doing and it turned out we were doing a section on the American Indians and the abuse of the Indians by the white man and before this we had no idea but it just came so naturally and so we said let’s put in a traditional Indian dance and see if they can express something in an Indian dance like the seasons or the harvest or the white man and express it through dance. So it seems if you have a little look you can find spaces you’d never thought of before’ (Upper School Focus Group, line 288-296, p. 6).

This data provides implications for future school-based workshops indicating that

resources need to be developed and supplied which are based on the integrated

curriculum framework model many Queensland primary schools are using. Professional

development facilitators therefore need to create a resource bank of sample units which

can be shared with teachers across the state. This will enable teachers to identify

exemplars and model this in the development of their own integrated units. This is

supported by teachers from Action Cycle One, Lower School Focus Group who felt they

would have liked a collection of dance ideas for existing units of work to help to ensure

dance continues as part of the curriculum at the school and were going to engage the

curriculum coordinator to assist them in this process. Using common topics from

Queensland primary schools and embedding dance within these in a unit framework

would enable teachers to identify how dance can easily be implemented into their current

units of work.

5.3.1.3 Lack of Resources (including curriculum resources, space, human expertise etc.)

Participants in both Action Research Cycles discussed the lack of resources as a

challenge to successfully implementing dance into the primary classroom. This is

reflected in one teacher’s comment who stated,

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‘I think the inherent problem with outcomes education is the problem teachers experience accessing all the resources and not just in the arts but in the other areas as well and I think the Department has a real problem on its hands and I think what happens is that teachers who are quality teachers put up with the whole episode. Until the Department makes a proper decision about all of this nonsense, as I see time as a problem that the Department cannot afford’ (Upper School Focus Group, line 250, p. 8-9).

This current lack of resources is in contrast to the 1998 ‘Standards for the Development

and Delivery of Professional Development and Training’, which clearly indicates that

adequate resourcing be made available to support professional development. Many

participants indicated they were not aware of the resources available to support teachers

in their implementation of the syllabus including:

• Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus;

• Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus Sourcebook Guidelines;

• Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus CD Rom;

• Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus Modules

In addition to not being aware of the resources available, participants also indicated they

needed time allocated for the exploration of resources available. This was evident in the

Lower School Focus Group where participants indicated a need to explore the CD Rom

in more depth and read the modules, with one teacher stating, ‘One thing I think I needed

to do was to sit down at the computer and open the CD and go yes, these are all the things

I could drag out to include in a unit that would match in with what I’m doing’ (Lower

School Focus Group, line 546 – 548, p. 17). ‘Until this workshop I didn’t even realize the

modules existed. They are great. We need to look at those’ (Lower School Focus Group,

line 574-575, p 18). The concerns regarding available resources will be outlined below

with evidence from the data to support the ideas presented.

5.3.1.3.1 Music and Video Resources

Participants in both Action Research Cycles indicated that a lack of music resources in

the school presented a challenge in implementing dance into the primary classroom. This

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is evident in Interview Three from Action Cycle One where one participant states, ‘The

hardest thing was finding some music that was going to be easy enough to do something

to and that was fairly constant’……….we actually thought they wouldn’t be able to do it

to music but because we could count in that beat they were able to so probably finding

the music’ (Interview 3, line 216-220, p. 7). This was supported by the Teacher

Reflection Statements from Action Cycle Two where participants commented,

‘Finding appropriate music was a problem’ (Teacher Reflective Statement, Action Cycle

Two). However it was great to see the librarian state, ‘I will investigate resourcing

requirements and endeavour to include video and music into the curriculum collection’

(Teacher Reflective Statement). Participants in the Lower Focus Group from Action

Cycle Two also agreed that resourcing was a major hindrance to providing dance learning

experiences to students, including room size, music and videos/DVDs demonstrating

different dance styles. ‘I think music is a bit of a problem and something we will need to

address next year’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 101-102, p. 2). One teacher

commented,

‘I think having the right music is the key. But where do you go looking and when do you have the time to find it’, (Lower School Focus Group, line 154-155, p. 5). ‘And my next step was to put it to music and spent an hour at home, well, longer than an hour, trying to find some music and went, Oh stuff this, I’ve got other things to do, I’ve got NET so I gave up, boom. So the next step’s gone…….. ‘I’m too busy and it’s too time consuming when the resources aren’t there so that this can fit with that and that can fit with that’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 161-166).

Participants in the Upper School Focus Group from Action Cycle Two also agreed

stating:

Participant H: ‘Picking the music was hard. Like I bought a CD in and we listened to all of the songs and I said, ‘Which one do you think would fit your dance?’ and I let them pick the one which was best suited to their dance.’ Participant I: ‘I agree with that.’ Participant H: ‘Because that was a bit of freedom but picking the right one…you had a couple where the beat was slower and it is always good to lay your hands on one of those things’ (Upper School Focus Group, line 90-96, p. 2).

Future school-based workshop programs therefore need to provide teachers with a list of

possible music and video resources or pre-developed kits which could be purchased by

the school for a reasonable cost so that schools could begin developing a teacher resource

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section for dance in the library. Professional development facilitators need to devise and

provide these resource kits to schools to support teachers implementing dance into the

primary classroom.

5.3.1.3.2 Human Resources

Participants in both Action Cycles noted that a lack of human resources were also

inhibitors to implementing dance into the primary classroom. This was particularly

evident in Action Cycle two when one participant stated,

‘We need you to come back to take us to the next level each time because by the time we got up and did it we then realised that was the end and so although you gave us all of those other examples we need you to show us what about this and what about this and I believe that each time someone like yourself did that we could go off and fit it into our curriculum’ (Upper School Focus Group, line 172-202, p. 5).

The participants from the Middle and Upper School Focus Group from Action Cycle One

also indicated a need for more school-based professional development, with one of the

teachers stating, ‘we were talking before about an idea of more of a school-based type

professional development and we use someone like …. who has a dance background and

perhaps curriculum support staff to plan a unit of work around a theme and sit with ….

and develop ideas that way’ (Action Cycle One, Middle & Upper School Focus Group,

line 226-228, p. 7). This was supported by teachers in the lower school focus group from

Action Cycle One as evident in the following dialogue:

Participant 2: ‘Ummm, are we able to invite you to come in and demonstrate how you would implement something to say a 1, 2, 3 composite? ……. Because I would really like to see what you did with us, how you actually would do that with a class…… Participant 3: ‘Yeah, maybe that could be part of the planning because we’ve got all these sessions here but would it be possible for us to be the observer and you to work with a class?’ Participant 5: ‘A demonstration lesson is a really good thing’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 427 – 436, p. 13).

Another teacher supported the notion of follow-up sessions to provide them with an

opportunity to extend their understanding with one participant commenting, ‘and give us

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more time to go on with something more advanced’ (Upper School Focus Group, line

384, p. 8). Another teacher added, ‘more operational resources, for performing arts it

would have to be more workshops where people like yourself are demonstrating’ (Action

Cycle Two, Middle & Upper School Focus Group, line 277-278, p. 9). This was

supported by another teacher who stated,

‘I think overall we need a greater resource of people to use so people don’t have an excuse not to do it because we have the resources and I think what we were talking about was say ….. working with our curriculum coordinator and …. working with the children and the curriculum coordinator working with the program and the teacher and with staff willing to give up an hour or half an hour to do that, that could be worked into our non-contact time’ (Action Cycle One, Middle & Upper School Focus Group, line 283-287, p. 9).

Teachers clearly identify with professional development facilitators who come from the

classroom and therefore have an understanding of teaching dance in Queensland schools.

This helps to ensure that the professional learning is structured to adequately address the

needs of providing dance learning in primary schools. This data was informative as the

appointment of Syllabus Implementation Officers within Education Queensland has been

inconsistent due to a lack of funding. Despite there being one implementation officer for

each strand of the syllabus at the outset of the three year implementation plan, this had

been reduced to one officer to cover all five strands by the third year of implementation.

It is interesting to note that the Ministerial Advisory Committee for Education Renewal

(2004) advises the need to develop learning support staff to support teachers and yet

funding was not continued throughout the three year implementation phase to support one

officer for each arts strand. Teachers clearly indicated the need for human resources to

draw on expertise to assist them with their professional learning. This also required

someone to adapt this professional learning as their competence and confidence

developed so that they could develop a repertoire of practice by the end of the

implementation phase. Future school-based workshop programs therefore need to be

adequately staffed to support teacher learning. Professional development facilitators need

to possess a high level of knowledge and skills to implement this professional learning

with teachers effectively.

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5.3.1.3.3 Space

Participants in both Action Research Cycles also nominated a lack of suitable space as an

inhibitor to implementing dance into the primary classroom. This was evident in the

Teacher Reflective Statements from Action Cycle Two where one teacher noted they

were ‘frustrated with space to teach this’ and ‘lack of space to teach dance’ (Teacher

Reflective Statement, Action Cycle Two). Classroom space was also raised by the

teachers in the lower years as an issue, reflected in this teachers’ comment,

‘This is stuffed. I’ve got one of the smallest rooms in the school….. You can barely walk through the desks. There’s not even enough room for them to come and sit and I thought well ok, that it’s not going to work, but it did and I just said to the kids well you just have to find a space and you go behind those desks’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 251 – 257, p. 8).

This data reveals the need for facilities to be in alignment with syllabus expectations. It is

imperative that Queensland primary teachers are provided with adequate space to deliver

a mandated syllabus. This also requires teachers developing an understanding of Safe

Dance and the type of classroom furniture layout required for dance learning experiences.

School-based workshop facilitators therefore need to possess an understanding of Safe

Dance and be able to advise teachers and administrators on how to embed this into their

teaching spaces.

5.3.2 Teachers’ Experience of Dance and the Syllabus

The data revealed that teachers had varying levels of experience in dance, as discussed in

the previous chapter. An analysis of this data revealed that if teachers have little

experience in dance it is unlikely that they will be able to recognize the potential benefit

of dance to learning. It is also unlikely that teachers have an understanding or experience

of how to move their bodies to communicate ideas which emphasized the need for

teachers to have a practical experience in the workshops. Most participants from both

Action Cycles indicated they preferred learning by doing, with one teacher stating, ‘I

liked actually doing and not just sitting and listening to someone talk. I like to be

involved’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 421-422, p. 13). This need for learning to be

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active and fun is supported by the literature, which reveals it as one of the factors which

can motivate participants’ to complete the training (OECD, 2003). This was supported by

another teacher who stated, ‘I think the “hands on” sort of learning when your’re doing

dances helps instead of just sitting there in front of someone speaking so a bit more of

that over a term’ (Middle & Upper School Focus Group, line 230 – 231, p. 7). Another

participant added, ‘I thought the way you did it was great, in that we did it, because that’s

how I learn, I learn by doing. It was really good to be able to do and follow it through’

(Lower School Focus Group, line 236, p. 8). This is consistent with Wollman-Bonilla

(1991) who state that teachers learn best when they are active participants in professional

learning. It became clear from both cycles that teachers enjoyed the practical nature of

the workshops as they could apply the theory to practical activities, as described by Freire

in Kinsella (2001) who calls this concept praxis. For future professional development,

teachers indicated a need for more opportunities to actually be practically completing the

activities as evident in this teacher’s comment: ‘Probably more doing, more of the doing,

I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it as much, in fact I don’t think anyone thought they

would enjoy it as much as they did so I think learning more’ (Interview One, line 109-

117, p. 3). Professional development facilitators therefore need to plan opportunities for

teachers to be involved and actively participate where possible to reinforce this ‘hands-

on’ approach.

This was also evident in the data regarding participants’ understanding of dance

terminology and knowledge of the curriculum and its elements. Proudford (1999)

indicates that knowledge of the syllabus and planning procedures can help teachers feel

comfortable through the change process. With respect to understanding of the Years 1-10

Arts Syllabus, one participant stated, ‘Umm, the dance strand I’d say probably just about

nothing’ (Middle & Upper School Focus Group, line 35, p. 2). For this reason, the

teachers indicated that they really enjoyed learning the dance terminology in the

workshops which they could then apply in their classrooms with one teacher stating,

‘These sessions have helped me understand the concepts of dance. I have used the dance outcomes before, but was not very comfortable with my understanding of the components. I found the booklets useful as a quick reference. I have used the dance principles in class and found the children enjoyed the experience especially if they were working on a concept from the unit. i.e. water cycle – and then

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working in a small group as it suits the developmental needs’ (Participant Reflective Statement, Action Cycle Two).

This was supported by another teacher who stated:

‘…….. we were really stuck on the dance outcomes and didn’t know what to do so were fobbing it off for a bit, we had done a little bit of an Aboriginal dance very half heartedly as I had no idea what I was doing, but since coming to your classes it has opened up my eyes to the fact that it is not such a hard task. You can make it simple by making it fun and as you said, animal movements, things like that make it so much easier as you have somewhere to start and so next year, I think in all of our units we will be able to do it as it is quite an easy thing to do and we will be able to do it’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 84, p. 2).

Participants indicated that this lack of knowledge limited their ability to understand and

then implement the dance strand into their curriculum and they appreciated the

opportunity to learn dance terminology in the workshops. ‘What I liked about what you

told us was the language and so we were able to take that to the children and say that was

a canon’… ‘things like the different levels and that sharp percussive movements and

swinging and so we were able to verbalize, articulate what the children were already

doing but put it in a language of the document’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 219-

221). This is supported by another teacher who commented,

‘I think a lot of people were scared of the terminology. Perhaps if they had called it creative dance more people would do it as they wouldn’t be so scared. Years ago we were trained in creative dance and we did a lot of things that were very similar to what this syllabus is asking us to do maybe creative dance wouldn’t have scared so many people’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 107-111, p. 3).

This has strong implications for planning dance professional development to ensure that

professional learning acknowledges that generalist primary practitioners often have little

understanding of the relevant subject language. This lack of understanding of dance

literacies serves as a large inhibitor to implementation and would therefore need to be a

strong focus of future school-based workshop programs . Professional development

facilitators need to possess a strong understanding of dance terminology and be able to

explain this language with real world examples and use it in all dance activities to

encourage teachers to use it as well.

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5.3.3 Perceptions and Challenges of the Dance Curriculum

Analysing the data revealed that participants had different perceptions of the dance

curriculum. Participants in both Action Research Cycles had numerous queries regarding

the fact that dance was now part of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus and not in the Health

and Physical Education (HPE) Syllabus as it has been prior to the development of the

Arts Syllabus. This is evident in the following dialogue,

Participant 4: ‘Can I just ask one last question? Just wanting to ask if the old folk dance and bush dancing still have a place in the curriculum?’ Interviewer: ‘Yes it does.’ Participant 8: ‘It’s still the same as the Macarena etc. it’s just a different dance.’ Interviewer: ‘Yes, that’s right. It’s one of the modules. The kids actually make their own dance up using the Maypole dance as an example ummm, so yes it does, but its not like the old HPE syllabus where it was everything. Dance is more than folk dance, and unfortunately when it lived in the HPE syllabus that’s what people saw dance as, that’s what the kids grew up seeing dance as. Dance is so much bigger than that. It’s kind of like saying that maths is only algebra’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 479 – 501, p. 15).

This is also supported by Ballard (1990) who stated that dance training has almost been

nonexistent except for the occasional square dance taught by the physical education

teacher. Similarly, to those involved in the first Action Research cycle, teachers in the

second Action cycle questioned why dance was no longer a part of the HPE Syllabus.

This was discussed for some time within the group and it seemed difficult for some

teachers to appreciate that dance is a strand of its own, a completely separate body of

knowledge requiring specific inclusion in the Arts Syllabus. Future school-based

workshop programs therefore need to ensure that participants understand why dance is a

separate strand within the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. Professional development facilitators

should be able to clearly articulate a rationale for dance learning and be able to discuss

this with teachers.

5.3.3.1 Little Relevance to the Real World

The data revealed that the participating teachers held different perceptions of how dance

learning experiences were connected to real world learning and indicated that further

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attention was needed to clearly articulate that children who participate in a strong arts

education do better in all fields of learning (Fiske, 1999). In the lead up to Action Cycle

One, it became evident that some staff did not want to be involved in the workshops, an

issue that was raised at a staff meeting prior to the workshop series commencing. This

issue was again raised in a couple of the Teacher Reflective Statements with one

participate stating, ‘I found it difficult to see the point of all this. We struggle to teach

what we already have to teach. Other KLAs have more relevance to the real world’

(Teacher Reflective Statement, School Site B). This was supported by a male grade five

teacher who commented on the need for relevance of dance learning to be clear.

Throughout the focus group, his body language was quite defensive (arms crossed,

slumped down in chair) and he was adamant that there really was no point in providing

dance learning experiences in the curriculum is evident when he states,

‘Can I just ask a question? Aren’t there some things that we can let the parents take responsibility for taking their kids to after school clubs for? Like, I don’t have enough time to teach them to read and write let alone teaching them dance’ (Action Cycle Two, Upper School Focus Group, line 127-129, p. 3).

This statement revealed a lot about this teacher’s epistemological beliefs and assumptions

regarding ‘academic’ subjects and what ‘supposedly’ constitute ‘extra-curricular

activities (Kinsella, 2001). This data revealed a lack of understanding about creative

practice and the strategies teachers need to nurture creativity as discussed previously in

this chapter. It was interesting to note that by allowing the teachers to discuss this within

the Reflective Focus Group amongst themselves openly, without interference from me,

they were able to articulate a rationale for dance learning that they felt connected to as it

had come from their renewed understanding. It also revealed the need for a safe learning

environment for participants where these contrasting ideas could be shared and discussed,

a characteristic associated with communities of practice (Angelo, 1999). This data

indicated the need to remind teachers of the ‘responsive creator’, listed as one of the

lifelong learning goals in the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus (2002). This data also revealed the

need for teachers to clearly be able to see the relevance of dance learning to their current

curriculum and confirms that adults do learn best when they have an awareness of the

purpose of the professional learning and the relevance of the experience is clear as

discussed by Kidd (1997), OECD (2003) and Angelo (1999). This data is also consistent

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with Boustead (2001) who suggests that teachers must see professional development as

job-embedded. It is obvious that if teachers cannot see the relevance of dance they will be

unlikely to teach it. Therefore, future dance professional development workshops need to

focus on the relevance of dance in the curriculum. This is vital if dance and other art

forms in the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus are to remain part of the primary classroom

(McKean, 2001). Professional development facilitators must be able to provide a

rationale for dance which highlights its link to real world learning.

5.3.3.2 Dance for Fun and not Learning

As stated earlier, prior to the release of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus there was no formal

curriculum requirement to teach dance in the primary classroom. If dance had been

offered as an experience for students it tended to be as a fun extra curriculum activity,

rather than being integrated or connected to any key curriculum area of learning. This

perception was reflected in the Lower School Focus Group for Action Cycle One where

the teachers talked about dance being a heavy component of the P-3 curriculum and yet

they had not realized they were required to provide dance experiences to their students as

set out in the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. This was also reflected in the Middle and Upper

School Focus Group from Action Cycle One where participants commented, ‘We include

dance into our programs but it was not in line with the outcomes it was just something

that we fit into our themes’ (Middle & Upper School Focus Group, line 60-61, p. 2). This

was supported by another teacher who stated, ‘As an early years teacher it is common to

see us moving and singing etc. So finding out new ways of implementing and initiating

movement ideas has been very helpful. I really enjoyed the second session. It made me

aware of how I can use a sequence of steps to make a final performance’ (Teacher

Reflective Statement, Action Cycle Two). Future school-based workshop programs

therefore need to focus on ensuring teachers are competent enough to use the dance

strand of the syllabus as a planning tool and so embed dance learning experiences within

their current units of work to address the learning outcomes and core content.

Professional development facilitators need to plan activities which require teachers to

actively engage with the syllabus and support materials.

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5.3.3.3 Increasing Emphasis on Dance Making and Creativity.

The data revealed similar trends to the current global arts developments which include an

ever-increasing focus on creativity. The Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus requires teachers to

provide students with opportunities to create dance despite most lacking the appropriate

understanding of the creative process (Gardner, 1992). This is due in part to the fact that

to teach creativity, teachers of dance need to have an understanding of aesthetics and

aesthetic learning (York 1998, Stake, Bresler & Maybry, 1991) and an understanding of

bodily-kinesthetic ways of learning. Ensuring teachers of dance have an appreciation of

bodily-kinesthetic ways of learning helps them to understand aesthetics through their

physical experience. In Workshop Series One a lower school teacher chose not to

participate as she felt very negatively about the first workshop. This is reflected in my

journal which states,

‘This teacher taught grade two and felt the activities were too high a level for her students and therefore of no use. I found this interesting as one of the activities I had used was from a Level 1-2 module. After speaking to this teacher as she gave her apologies, it became apparent that the teacher also felt unconfident about performing in front of others and has been very disappointed to find that the curriculum promoted creative dance a rather than a heavy reliance on Folk Dance and Bush dancing as had been the case in the past’ (Reflective Journal, Workshop Two, p. 3).

Many of the teachers expressed a concern regarding the move to incorporate the

choreography organizer into the syllabus. Previously in the Health and Physical

Education Syllabus, teachers had only focused on the performance organizer, teaching

students set dance routines and steps. The current Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus however

focuses on ensuring students create, present and reflect. This requires teachers to have an

understanding of the creative process which many felt they did not have, as indicated in

this teacher’s statement, ‘The whole creative thing is so foreign to me that it’s going to

take time and then I’ll be able to adapt what you taught me, like the three organizers and

the groups and putting it all together’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 186 – 214, p. 6-

7). This was supported by another teacher who stated:

‘I would feel confident if I had a set of instructions because we used to have what they called the old Folk Dance book and you opened it up and it told you what

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music to use and what steps to do and whatever. I can deliver that. That’s not a problem. If you know what music and what steps your doing but no I’m not confident if it’s going to be you’ve got to create it and your up there and down there and between and whatever. But if I had a set of instructions and some music I would. I could do that’ (Lower School Focus Group, line 133-138, p. 5).

This is supported by Welch (1995) who notes that most primary teachers do not feel

competent in teaching art education as they associate teaching the arts with high levels of

artistic ability which cannot be achieved amidst other professional learning needs. This

supports the findings of Macdonald (2001) who found that teachers were afraid of

facilitating creative dance and therefore the creative process as they had no experience in

this type of learning. In contrast, one teacher commented, ‘the choreography session very

helpful (easy to remember). Easy way for children to feel confident at choreographing

and performing. Tried ‘syllables’ and ‘movement’ of ‘names’ and this worked well.

Importance of ‘warm-up’ – hadn’t thought of this’ (Teacher Reflective Statement, Action

Cycle Two). It is interesting to note that by providing opportunities for teachers to

complete small choreographic tasks using different core content, teachers were able to

participate in the creative experience and understand how they might provide

opportunities to do this in their classrooms. It is also interesting to note that by using a

hands-on strategy teachers were able to articulate that the process was not as difficult as

they had first imagined and they could encourage others to try it with their students. If

teachers are going to be expected to prepare students to create, to invent and to innovate

as part of the National Arts Statement (2004) then they need to be provided with school-

based workshop programs which develop an understanding of the creative process.

Future professional development programs therefore need to focus on ensuring that

teachers engage in activities which demonstrate the creative process and that they are

provided with practical examples of how to implement this into their classrooms.

Professional development facilitators need to be able to encourage primary teachers to

engage in the creative process by using non-threatening activities.

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5.3.3.4 Concerns about Facilitating the Performance Organizer.

Participants in both Action Cycles indicated they were concerned about the Performance

Organiser of the dance strand of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. This was evident in the

Middle & Upper Focus Group from Action Cycle One when one teacher stated, ‘probably

performance was the most challenging’ (Middle & Upper School Focus Group, line 140,

p. 5). Participants discussed the fact that although they were more confident to provide

dance learning experiences, they still were experiencing a lower level of confidence in

the performance organizer. One participant stated, ‘my confidence I’d say has improved

but at the same time my ability to instruct the children has improved but my dance ability

is poor’ (Middle & Upper Focus Group, line 202-203, p. 7). Another participant added,

‘I’d still be concerned about demonstrating stuff’, (Middle & Upper School Focus Group,

line 213, p. 7). Another teacher supported this stating that teaching dance was scary

because ‘they know more than you do. That they are better than you and that’s why you

don’t do a demonstration’ (Upper School Focus Group, line 344-351, p. 7-8). This

apprehension about the performance organizer indicated that despite teachers having

previously taught set dances in the Folk genre and therefore demonstrating steps, the

ability to learn pre-choreographed repertoire was less threatening than performing

movements the teacher had personally created. It was interesting to note that by using a

hands-on strategy which encouraged teachers to present their creative dance sequences to

their peers, they were able to overcome their facilitation fears. Teachers therefore

indicated a need for future professional development to focus on the performance

organizer with one teacher stating, ‘….. being able to help kids when your teaching and

showing kids a few moves and demonstrating you can do some moves and they are kind

of bouncing of it so they don’t think you’re the daggy teacher standing up the front

saying step, step, one, step’ (Interview Three, line 341-346, p. 7). This was supported by

another teacher who stated,

‘Thank you for a great three weeks. I came into this pd quite unsure of what lay ahead but feel confident now that I could implement a reasonable dance component into an integrated unit. Over the past few weeks I’ve tried a few of the dance routines within my daily outline and the children have loved it especially the “name” one. Thanks again’ (Teacher Reflection Statement, Action Cycle Two).

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This teacher’s comments echo MacDonald’s findings (2001) which established that

participants do not know what to expect prior to attending professional development and

this can lead to feelings of being afraid, especially that they may be required to perform

dance movements individually. This data is also consistent with McKean (2001), Shuler

(1995) and Welch (1995) who state that teachers won’t teach what they cannot do. It is

therefore clear that future school-based workshop programs provide numerous

opportunities to create their own movement material and then perform this in front of

their peers. Professional development facilitators need to be extremely supportive during

these sharing sessions to encourage collegiality and focus on the concepts applied to the

sequence rather than the level of performance skills held by participating teachers.

This section has provided a thorough analysis of the numerous external factors which

impact teachers’ professional learning and which are in addition to the need for

professional learning to focus on building competent and confident practitioners. Each of

these factors need to therefore be carefully considered and planned for in future dance

professional development programs to ensure teachers can maximize their learning and

implement dance into the primary classroom.

5.4 Impact and Influence of Professional Development on Teachers’

Competence and Confidence.

An analysis of the data revealed the impact and influence of professional development

strategies on teachers’ competence and confidence. This section will outline: the

teachers’ competence and confidence to work with core concepts and implement dance

strategies in the classroom; the ability of the teachers to integrate dance experiences to

support other learning and the changing perceptions about the value of dance experiences

to students’ learning.

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5.4.1 Teachers’ Competence and Confidence to work with Core Concepts

and Implement Dance Strategies in the Classroom.

Participants indicated a clear link between confidence and competence in their responses

with one teacher commenting, ‘I’d feel confident if I knew what I was doing, umm, you

know, it’s like anything really when you know what your doing you feel confident but I

guess because I don’t have that knowledge I don’t feel confident’ (Action Cycle One,

Lower School Focus Group, line 129 – 131, p. 4). This was supported by another teacher

who stated, ‘knowledge was the greatest thing in raising my confidence’ (Action Cycle

Two, Lower School Focus Group, line 120, p. 3). I therefore agree with Housego (1990)

that one of the most important prerequisites of successful teaching is confidence in one’s

own abilities. It became quite clear that participants’ confidence levels grew when they

were provided with simple activities which would be successful no matter what the year

level or prior knowledge of the classroom teacher. However I am positive, after reflecting

on the feedback provided by the teachers, that if participants had not completed these

workshops many would still not be providing dance learning experiences to their

students. Increased confidence levels may have also been the result of opportunities for

participants to be involved in risk taking opportunities such as the sharing of ideas and

performing in front of one another. I also agree with Burgess, Connor et al, (1993) and

Morrison & Newton (1993) who state that it is imperative that the professional

development provider build up the confidence in the participating teachers, as evident in

both action research cycles. My research findings regarding confidence and competence

also support those of the Australian Research Council (1991) project which found that

primary teachers do not feel confident or competent to deliver an Arts Education. The

correlation between confidence and competence, as described by Angelo & Cross (1993),

MacDonald (2001), Conway (2002), McKean (2001), Shuler (19950), Welch (1995) and

Stone (1998) is also evident in my research study with teachers often indicating that ‘self

confidence reflects recognition of one’s own competence’ (Angelo & Cross, 1993, p.

275).

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The data revealed that teachers were mostly confident and competent to work with the

core concepts explored in the workshop series and implement these familiar dance

strategies into their classrooms. Participants in the Lower School Focus Group from

Action Cycle One indicated that the strategies taught in the workshops had been easy to

learn and understand providing comments such as, ‘very easy’ (Action Cycle One, Lower

School Focus Group, line 179, p. 6). One teacher commented, ‘It was easy to take on

board’ (Action Cycle One, Middle & Upper Focus Group, line 107, p. 4). Another

teacher supported this stating,

‘Well with the sixes, I guess it was just a straight copy of what you do but simplified somewhat and they went home without being asked and practised certain steps. The first thing we did was the name and syllables and they enjoyed that greatly and I think what you showed us was outstanding. It would be great if you didn’t just get left at that elementary beginning point but if you came back and did stage two and stage three and then you could feed it back to the kids and then come back the next week, so yeah, I loved it’ (Action Cycle Two, Upper School Focus Group, line 41-47, p. 1).

As previously stated, many of the lower school teachers felt that the workshop did not

adequately address the needs of the lower primary classroom as reflected in this teacher’s

statement, ‘I understood what you were saying well enough but I found that I couldn’t see

me doing that with the lower school. It’s just too complex for them’ (Action Cycle One,

Lower School Focus Group, line 184-185, p. 6). Another teacher added: ‘I was very

impressed with the way you delivered the information and if I had an upper class I would

try those things but I am a little bit intimidated in a lower primary school’ (Action Cycle

One, Lower School Focus Group, line 227-229, p. 7). This was supported by the pre-

school teacher participating in Interview Four in Action Cycle One who also felt that

there had not been enough focus on lower primary dance strategies stating, ‘so we do

very simple things but for them to actually make it up, think it through and teach

someone else, that’s too hard’ (Action Cycle One, Interview 4, line 275-276, p. 8). These

comments are in alignment with Tennant, (1999) and reveal that teachers may not have

been able to transfer the learning gained from participation in these activities to their own

year level and make them applicable to their students because I had not made specific

reference to the possibility of transfer during the activity. In contrast, one lower school

teacher stated,

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‘But it did work. Before, I would of said all those things about lower school, you know, it’s too small but it didn’t, it worked fine and they really enjoyed it and, apart from the two who you could say he’s going to muck up and he’s going to muck up which they did, but then they came back. I said if you don’t want to do it sit down but do you want to do it? And they said, yeah, we do, and they were fine after that’ (Action Cycle One, Lower School Focus Group, line 294 – 298, p. 9).

This indicated that some teachers had been able to make the activities provided work in

their classrooms and led to a discussion of the possible mentoring opportunities between

teachers at the school that could occur to allow interested teachers to model good

practice.

5.4.1.1 Confidence to Embed Dance Learning into Current Teaching and Learning Programs

The data revealed that some participants had the confidence to be able to adapt ideas

from the workshops to their existing units of work whilst others struggled to do this

successfully. The data also revealed that teachers had been concerned about the

behaviour that would result from implementing these strategies. Positive teacher

experiences were reflected in the Reflective Focus Group including,

‘…… I did the animals as we are doing a theme on animals so I did that. They had to pick one of the animals, they had to do a canon, they had to put in levels and stuff like that etc. they went out and practiced and they really liked it. They wanted to do it again and it was really good. I just copied your lesson basically and it worked really well’ (Action Cycle Two, Lower School Focus Group, line 24-26, p. 2).

This was supported by another teacher who stated, ‘I went back and did the creeping

creatures expecting pandemonium but they were great, … and so now we are going to try

and do more high energy sort of dances to link up with the healthy bodies sort of stuff’

(Action Cycle One, Lower School Focus Group, line 27-29, p. 2). This was a similar

reaction from the Year Six teaching team from Action Cycle Two regarding

implementing dance into units of work for next year, such as their unit entitled

‘Acceptance’. These Year Six teachers have also decided that instead of simply exploring

cultures through food and religion, next year they will also explore music and dance as

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part of this unit, using guest artists to ensure the correct protocols regarding traditional

dance are followed.

For some teachers, the confidence to apply their knowledge of the creative process

resulted in students changing their perceptions of dance, as evident in the following

teacher’s comment,

‘I teach grade three and they are doing the water cycle and so class 3K did that as a lesson using improvisation, around the improvisation of the water cycle. I talked about some of the concepts before hand and they did one as an example around evaporation and they did it in groups and we discussed the terms and they had to come up with certain movements which matched the terms and I think they were quite surprised by how much they enjoyed it’ (Action Cycle Two, Lower School Focus Group, line 16-94, p. 1-2).

This was supported by another teacher who stated that after applying the choreographic

strategies I had demonstrated to her current unit of work, the students came to her and

asked, ‘Can we join groups and make it a six piece dance?’ and so I talked to them about

it and we are going to do that and then they asked if they could put them all together and

make a class dance….. which worked well’ (Action Cycle Two, Lower School Focus

Group, line 17-19, p. 1) thus demonstrating the students’ eagerness to participate in their

dance learning. Another teacher added to this stating, ‘I really didn’t think it would work

because I thought the kids would play up but they really got into it because they saw how

much fun we were having’ (Action Cycle Two, Lower School Focus Group, line 31-33,

p. 2). This is supported by Macdonald (2001) who found that children are motivated to

learn by the creative process. The data also revealed that some participants had the

confidence to be able to move from these strategies to enhance previous learning

experiences as evident in this teacher’s comment:

‘In first term for grade twos we have a unit on stories with the arts and we do all of our dancing in there with the level one outcomes and so we have been implementing that for the last few years. Usually I do a play like The Three Little Pigs and there are tapes in the library that tell you how to make the play and it goes for about six or seven minutes and they do the actions to go with the music and so that is already done for you. Before that though, before we did this I think we were all unsure of how we were supposed to be doing it but for me, I now understand it better, like I think I could come up with materials now and not rely on that tape to do it for me’ (Action Cycle Two, Lower School Focus Group, line 16-94, p. 1).

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However, not all the year levels experienced success in their implementation of the dance

activities I had demonstrated. Two Year 5 teachers commented that they had felt

implementing some of the strategies had been an extremely negative experience due to

the students’ behaviour as described in the dialogue below:

Participant G: ‘We tried it and we hated it to be honest. The kids were just everywhere and there was no structure. In terms of us knowing how to teach it, I don’t know what I’m doing and I have no interest in it to be honest and if I had my class outside doing sport I’ve got no behaviour management problems but the kids were just everywhere in that lesson and just horrible.’ Interviewer: ‘What’s the difference between sport and dance lessons in terms of behaviour management then?’ Participant G: ‘I know more about sport to teach it, like to set up cones and stuff than to say show the life of a frog through dance or something.’ Participant F: (laughs) (Action Cycle Two, Upper School Focus Group, line 51-63, p. 2).

In the post-workshop discussion, when questioned by the Grade 7 teachers who felt the

activity had been completely successful with their students, it did become apparent that

he probably had not provided the type of scaffolding needed for this lesson’, (Reflective

Journal, Focus Groups, p. 3). After this discussion the male teacher responded ‘well I’m

not happy about it but I’m just going to have to get used to it I guess’ (Action Cycle Two,

Upper School Focus Group, line 330-331, p. 7). This discussion between the teachers was

an example of the relevance of peer feedback to the learning process and the need for

teachers to have opportunities to share and discuss their experiences, as supported by Van

Broekhuizen and Doherty (1999). It was interesting to see the year seven teachers provide

advice and feedback to this Year Five teacher and was one of many examples that

occurred both formally through the Reflective Focus Groups and informally through the

workshops. This is supported by one teacher who stated that the professional

development ‘….. helped us to work as a team in our year level and bounce ideas off

each other’ (Teacher Reflective Statement, Action Cycle Two). This also provided me

with evidence that the community of reflective practitioners at the school was being

tapped into through the workshop strategies by utilizing the positive aspects of this

community to support teachers’ learning and reflections (Putnam & Borko, 2000).

Similarly, this aligns with Tennant’s definition (2000), which states that communities of

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practice feature a community engaged in a common set of tasks, such as the teachers

involved in this dance professional development from both school sites who were

completing the professional development to meet the associated expectations of

Education Queensland. Duguid (2000) states that communities of practice are tight-knit

groups of people who know one another and work together directly and also by Angelo

(1999) who states that learning communities are characterized by feelings of trust where

participants feel safe to share their ideas. Applefield, Huber & Moallem (2000)

discovered that learning is best mediated through supportive social networks.

This need to bounce ideas off each other and share is consistent with Sparks & Hirsh

(1997) who indicate that as a result of the learning from constructivism, professional

development should provide opportunities for peers to reflect on their practices, whereby

learning from their experiences (Kinsella, 2001). This is also consistent with Putnam and

Borko (2000) who state that providing professional development focused on experiences

situated in a teacher’s own classroom (Pitri, 2004) showed the best promise for changing

teachers thinking and practices.

The communities of practice established at each school encouraged authentic learning as

teachers participated in substantive conversation with their peers throughout the learning

journey (Ingram & Goody, 2000). Professional development facilitators need to be able

to support the development of these communities of practice by establishing a supportive

learning environment where teachers can talk freely and learn from one another. This

requires the facilitator to avoid the temptation to ‘tell the teachers how to do it’ but rather

to mediate their discussions and encourage them to come to their own conclusions based

on the learning they have gained through the professional development.

5.4.1.2 The Confidence to Share Ideas Between Staff

Participants in both Action Cycles indicated the need for more opportunities to share

ideas and participate in professional development with their colleagues. This was evident

in Action Cycle Two in the Middle and Upper School Focus Group who indicated they

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needed more practical workshops working together collaboratively to ensure long-term

integration of dance into their pedagogy. One teacher commented, ‘I think the next thing

I would do is have the staff in-service each other because there is obviously levels of

expertise here and we could hear what ideas they have and take it from there’ (Action

Cycle Two, Upper School Focus Group, line 506-508, p. 11). The participant in Interview

One, Action Cycle Two supported this indicating that more dance workshops with his

colleagues rather than strangers would be his preferred method of future professional

development in each of the dance organizers. This supports Appelfield, Huber and

Moallem, (2000) who indicate that supportive social networks are vital in creating

successful professional learning. This recommendation also aligns with the 1998

Standards for the Development and Delivery of Professional Development and Training

which clearly indicate that there should be opportunities for cooperative learning.

The teacher indicated that he believed dance-based learning at the school would become

evident at the school dances as students were no longer afraid to dance with their peers as

they had been exposed to dance experiences in class. This was also supported by a

teacher from Action Cycle Two who indicated a need for more practical workshops

stating that dance-based learning had changed at the school as students were ‘more open

and aware of it because WE are more into it’ (Action Cycle Two, Interview three, line

351-357, p. 8) which also suggests increased confidence. Central to this theme is the need

for teachers to have opportunities to actively reflect on their learning. Schon (1983)

discusses the need for adults to engage in dialogues of thinking and doing, as evident in

both action research cycles. Future professional development programs for dance

learning need to ensure they include focused opportunities to reflect with peers and

therefore develop skills essential to the reflective practitioner.

5.4.2 Changing Perceptions about the Value of Dance Experiences to

Students’ Learning.

Throughout both Action Research Cycles I was interested to see if the professional

development I had organized was making a difference to student outcomes in the

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classroom. In Action Cycle One I had the perfect opportunity to do this when I was

invited to watch the years one, two and three composite class to perform the dance they

had created and committed to memory based on an activity I had done with the teachers

during the workshop series. This was perhaps one of the most extraordinary moments of

this workshop series as reflected in my journal where I wrote,

‘The teachers had implemented the name-syllable activity I had demonstrated in the workshop utilizing swinging and percussive movements. This task had been completed during the scheduled small group instruction time which was already part of their weekly timetable. The students performed their polished dance routines for me to music which also featured a canon! I was so overcome with joy watching the students perform. The smiles on their faces were amazing to witness and I got goose bumps and a little teary watching them’ (Reflective Journal, Interviews, p. 3).

This was also supported by an email this teacher sent me regarding one of the students I

had seen dancing from her class:

‘Thank you very much for a practical, “hands on” in-service. To be honest, I was skeptical how the curriculum activities you demonstrated could be implemented for a multiage 1, 2, 3 with 9 Speech Language Impaired students. To my surprise and ‘delight’ the activities we did were not only successful and worthwhile –the look on the children’s faces said it all. One example I’d like to share with you was a Year 1 SLI students with very poor receptive language. He was able to work in a small group to create movements, join them together, add music ADD A CANON!! His performance demonstrated clear understanding of what was required of him and he absolutely loved it!! This is definitely his greatest achievement this semester. Thanks again for your time and effort’ (Action Cycle One, Email, 14/7/2005, 11.40am).

This contrasted this teacher’s initial concerns from the Lower School Focus Group that

Lower School students would not be able to work in small groups as I had suggested for

choreographic tasks, as evident in the following dialogue,

Interviewer: ‘Yep, and I remember in the focus group that there was some concern in the lower years about the kids working in groups. Did they work in groups ok?’ Interviewee: ‘They did. But it was one small group at a time.’ Interviewer: ‘Yes.’ Interviewee: ‘So we did it as a rotating type thing.’ Interviewer: ‘Ok. But that worked ok?’ Interviewee: ‘Yeah.’ Interviewer: ‘Excellent’. (Action Cycle One, Interview 3, line 197 – 204, p. 6).

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This quote provides evidence of the potential for the activities provided to teachers in the

workshop series ability to positively impact and, in some instances, change teachers’

perceptions of dance. Numerous participants in both action research cycles gave

examples of how their students had responded positively to the dance learning

experiences implemented after their teachers completed the workshop series. One teacher

indicated that he had used one of the activities I had completed with the teachers as a

stimulus activity for his own students. This included revising several popular dances such

as The Nutbush and Macarena and then asking participants to create a new sequence

using selected steps from these well known dances and applying core content concepts.

This is reflected in his comment:

‘I remember how you did it with us with the innovative dance steps and you reminded us to think back to the Macarena and the Nutbush and all those types of things. So, ummm, what I did with my guys is, I tried one of your trial lessons in the book which is unrelated to music that worked extremely well and the 7s loved it and then we thought I’d go back and try and give the kids that same background. So, we’ve actually had two lessons since then. One on the Nutbush and one on the Macarena which went for about three quarters of an hour and the kids loved it’ (Action Cycle Two, Interview 1, line 13-18, p. 1).

This participant was therefore very willing to continue to incorporate dance into his

classroom after witnessing his students’ extremely positive reactions to being able to

complete dance activities in the classroom. In Action Cycle Two – Participant Reflective

comments made by teachers included, ‘children relaxed into dance as a concept of

movement as opposed to contemporary or modern dance seen on TV, especially boys’

(Teacher Reflective Statement, Action Cycle One). Another teacher commented that

dance ‘can engage students who have no interest in school’ (Teacher Reflective

Statement, Action Research Cycle Two). This is consistent with Lee (1993) who found

that providing dance experiences builds confidence in students who were previously

reluctant to participate.

‘After workshop one we implemented dance in our Year two classroom. We asked children to think about personal space, stretching, different levels, temperatures (hot/cold) and moving like different animals (whilst reminding students to think about the different levels each animal would be found at and how each animal would move. The boys initially were quite uncomfortable with the concept of “dance” (were thinking along the lines of ballet) but we rephrased

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it and talked about movement and the boys became more comfortable with the task and really seemed to enjoy it as much as the girls!’ (Teacher Reflective Statement, Action Research Cycle Two).

The grade six and seven teachers discussed very positive outcomes from their classes

with one teacher stating, ‘well I think all of the grade sevens enjoyed it, we just let them

build on it each session and you can see their confidence grow right from the start and

now, they are more likely to get up and do something’ (Upper School Focus Group, line

206-208, p. 5). This was reinforced by another teacher who stated she had enjoyed the

strategies which had promoted student involvement, stating,

‘the sorts of things which allow students to have a go like introducing the terminology and the basics at a time and then allowing the students to have a go and seeing there is no right or wrong here and then bringing it back and allowing them to put it all together. I think they really like that they can perform their individual piece but also that they can put it together, they like to see that’ (Action Cycle Two, Interview Four, line 456-461, p. 10).

This experience was also supported by a participant from Action Cycle Two, Teacher

Reflective Statement who stated, ‘I have learnt that dance is important for personal

development and self-esteem. The kids have collaborated well on dance tasks and I have

seen the break down of some social barriers. Boys have taken dance tasks very seriously’

(Teacher Reflection Statement, Action Cycle Two). This was supported by another

teacher who noted,

‘I enjoyed the way my thoughts were shifted from dancing being a focused, precisely choreographed fitness to movements to music. Being a lower school teacher I always thought the idea of choreographing with them would be a nightmare with timing and space issues. I organized a dance activity with the children last week after the in-service and the students did amazingly. The discussion amongst them and the enthusiasm was outstanding and they left asking for more opportunities. I’ve learned a valuable lesson regarding my perceptions of dance and my expectations of younger children’ (Teacher Reflective Statement, Action Cycle Two).

It therefore becomes clear that effective professional learning in the format of school-

based workshops can successfully impact and, in some cases, change teachers’

perceptions of dance learning. Future professional development programs need to ensure

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that planned activities actively value dance education and therefore possibly influence

teachers’ perceptions. This will help to ensure dance learning remains a part of the

primary classroom. Professional development facilitators need to consistently identify

both teacher and student success stories and encourage the sharing of these to challenge

negative subject stereotypes.

This section has outlined the impact and influence of the professional development on the

ability of teachers to integrate dance learning into the primary classroom. The need for

strategies which actively help to build teachers’ confidence and competence are

imperative for effective professional development programs that lead to sustainable

integration of dance learning into schools.

This chapter has provided a thorough analysis of the major themes evident in the data. It

has also demonstrated how these themes are consistent with the literature and provided a

discussion of implications for future professional development facilitators and school-

based workshop programs. Possible future research study foci and recommendations will

be outlined in Chapter 6.

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6 Conclusion In the provision of school-based professional development workshops, this research` has

focused on investigating: ‘Which strategies used in professional development build

competence and confidence in primary teachers to integrate dance in the classroom?’

The research identified a range of professional development strategies including learning

experiences, structures, resources and conditions that have impacted on the

effectiveness of this professional development. Some of these strategies are dance

specific while others are more generic and have broader implications for the development

and facilitation of professional development of Queensland primary teachers.

Several resistance factors were identified in this research study which impacted the

effectiveness of the school-based workshop professional development. These included:

• The crowded curriculum;

• The challenges of an integrated curriculum framework;

• The lack of resources (including curriculum resources, space, human expertise,

music and video);

• Teachers experience of dance and the syllabus;

• Perceptions and changes of the dance curriculum;

• Little relevance to the real world;

• Dance for fun and not learning;

• Increasing emphasis on dance making and creativity;

• Concerns about facilitating the performance organizer.

Identifying these resistance factors has left me with a deep appreciation of the complex

work that is teaching and the understanding that professional development clearly needs

to address these resistance factors to maximize its potential impact. In addition to this,

syllabus developers need to consider the amount of knowledge and skills required by

teachers to enact curriculum documents and the likelihood of this being provided through

current professional development structures, such as school-based workshops. This

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strongly influences the impact of professional development and therefore must be taken

into account in the development of school-based workshops for primary teachers.

More broadly, this research has clarified my original sentiment that without adequate

confidence and competence in particular subjects or programs teachers will not teach the

material whether it is mandated or not. All school-based workshops should form part of a

school’s professional development plan rather than providing one-hit-wonders which

have no impact on pedagogical reform. This study has clearly demonstrated that when

teachers are provided with quality professional development, they can make a positive

difference to their pedagogy and enrich their curriculum offerings to students. The

provision of professional development needs to be revised to consider recent research and

therefore align with current practice. Professional development initiatives also need to be

resourced adequately to allow the right amount of human and financial support for

schools which underpins their success in terms of pedagogical reform. This study has also

clearly demonstrated that professional development is the most effective when it is fun,

based in the curriculum, kept as close to the classroom as possible and delivered by

people that teachers can relate to.

Strategies including learning experiences, resources, structures and conditions, which

have been identified as contributing to the competence and confidence of primary

teachers to integrate dance in the classroom are summarized below.

Dance specific strategies include:

1. Reviewing exemplar integrated units which clearly identify opportunities for

dance learning to link with other syllabi;

2. Providing music and video resource kits to support dance learning and therefore

prevent teachers not integrating dance into their classrooms;

3. Creating opportunities for teachers to experience and develop an understanding of

the creative process and aesthetic education;

4. Encouraging teachers to present short dance sequences for peers to build

confidence to facilitate the performance organizer.

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More general professional development strategies include:

1. Facilitating a series of three workshops with a one-week break in between

sessions to allow teachers time to try out what they have learnt with their class;

2. Featuring an overview of the big picture and the purpose of the professional

learning in the first workshop;

3. Discussing rationales for the subject (such as dance) and how the subject connects

to the real world;

4. Exploring the resources that are available to support integration into the primary

classroom;

5. Incorporating activities in the workshops which link to each of the phases of

learning evident in the primary context, including the early and middle phases of

learning;

6. Actively engaging participants in the professional development process. The

workshops should be hands-on and encourage teachers to learn through

experience;

7. Incorporating activities that use the subject language to prevent a lack of

understanding of terminology (e.g. dance) from teachers integrating the subject

into their classroom;

8. Allowing significant opportunities for group-based learning where ideas can be

trialed and evaluated with peers;

9. Allowing significant reflection time for participants to discuss their concerns, and

any other issues arising from the professional learning with colleagues. This

works to enhance their community of practice and ensure sustainability in the

professional learning is gained through participation in the workshops. The

facilitator should moderate these discussions carefully encouraging teachers to

draw their own informed conclusions as a direct result of the professional

development;

10. Engaging in learning experiences that can be adapted and applied to their

classroom context;

11. Creating a safe learning environment which encourages participants to reflect on

personal learning and share openly with one another;

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12. Respecting the professionalism of teachers’ and identifying their prior knowledge

and experience before commencing so that the learning suits the teachers context;

13. Using teacher and student success stories to confront negative perceptions and

subject stereotypes;

14. Providing multiple opportunities to experience and then apply core content so that

teachers will be able to do this in different units of work.

In addition to these strategies, this research emphasizes the importance of the

professional development facilitator and their ability to establish a collaborative and

reflective learning environment for teachers. This ability to create, implement and reflect

in action is vital to ensure the professional development meets the needs of participants.

As previously mentioned in this thesis, one of the main reasons I wanted to undertake this

study was to inform my own practice. This study has therefore provided ongoing

opportunities for me to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses as a professional

development facilitator. I relished the opportunity to immerse myself in the literature and

reflect on the application of this to my own practice. This study has also clearly

demonstrated to me that working with adults is very different to working with students,

and professional development facilitators need to be provided with adequate facilitation

training to ensure they understand and can apply the relevant theory. This study has also

confirmed that I love working with adults and planning professional development

programs! Completing this study has actually led me to my successful appointment as an

advisor for professional development in one of Education Queensland’s regions. I look

forward to continuing to improve these skills as a lifelong learner. I have also really

enjoyed working with the two schools sites and getting to know the school leaders and

teachers of both sites. I am pleased to be able to say that many of these teachers still

continue to contact me seeking curriculum advice or professional development

information, which is testament to the relationship I was able to build at with these

schools. I have also appreciated the time the schools provided me to conduct my study

and their honesty in reflections on the effectiveness of the professional development

program. Teachers truly are amazing people and it has been wonderful to have the

opportunity to work with so many throughout the course of this study.

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Finally, this research has a number of dance and more general and broader implications

for professional development as outlined below. The findings from this research study

have applicability to other Professional Development initiatives which are worth noting.

Education Queensland provides a Professional Development Agenda each year which

outlines the mandated professional development required by schools, districts and central

office. In the 2006-2007 Agenda, implementation of the Years 1-10 Mathematics and

Years 1-10 English Syllabus is required by schools across the state. Further research

could be undertaken to establish whether the findings from this research study were

comparable to those from similar studies in these other subject areas. If the findings from

these projects are consistent, this data should be used in planning for the 2007-2008

Professional Development Agenda. It is interesting to note that to date, Education

Queensland has not commissioned external or internal research on the effectiveness of

the implementation of any Key Learning Area Syllabus, despite committing substantial

funds to support curriculum implementation initiatives on an annual basis.

Future research studies could focus on the ability of teachers to use dance pedagogies to

deliver other key learning areas, such as the Years 1-10 English Syllabus. This could

provide valuable information regarding the power of learning through The Arts and

encourage schools to maintain professional development programs in these areas.

In addition to the applicability of these research findings, future research studies could

focus on how sustainable the school-based workshop strategies used in this study are over

an extended period of time to consider how long it takes teachers to embed the learning

from this professional development into their pedagogy. It would also be worthwhile to

investigate other types of professional development teachers engaged may have engaged

in after this initial in-service is provided to enhance their knowledge and understanding.

Future research studies could also investigate how effective having a one week gap

between workshop sessions, as indicated was needed by the participants of this research

study (Van Broekhuizen & Dougherty 1999; Anderson, Evertson & Brophy 1979). This

could be considered within a larger study which compares the different approaches

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schools take in the creation of their professional development programs, especially with

respect to the timing of professional development activities in light of numerous other

responsibilities and initiatives which impact on teachers’ time. The findings from this

study could then be provided to the Professional Development Branch of Education

Queensland to influence the development of future Professional Development Agenda

Policies.

In conclusion, it is clear that urgent reforms regarding the professional development

opportunities and structures used by Education Queensland are required to ensure that all

teachers have access to adequate training. Policies such as the Professional Development

Agenda 2006-2007 need to take into consideration change management practices to

ensure Queensland primary teachers are not being overloaded with too many new

initiatives, which prevent current agendas being successfully embedded into practice.

Structures used in providing professional development also need revision to ensure they

are consistent with adult learning principles and current professional development

literature. Most importantly, future professional development needs to focus on

increasing both the confidence and competence levels of Queensland primary teachers so

that they can deliver the mandatory syllabi requirements successfully. As McKean (2001)

discusses, teachers can’t do what they don’t know ……… it is therefore time to find out

what our teachers don’t know and provide them with time and quality opportunities to

learn.

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APPENDIX A

The Action Research Model

(Stephen Kemmis (1988) in Mills, 2003, p. 16)

What is happening now? General idea Reconnaissance

Discussing Negotiating Exploring opportunities Assessing possibilities Examining contrasts

General planHow can I monitor the effects of my action?

First action step

Monitoring

Evaluating

Revised

General

Plan

Monitoring

Evaluating

Second Action Step

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APPENDIX B Participant Information Sheet (QUT LETTERHEAD)

“Building Competence and Confidence in Primary Teachers through Effective Training Strategies, to Integrate Dance into the Primary Classroom.”

Samantha Underdown: QUT Research Student Email: dassle@froggy.com.au

Mobile: 0409 660 824 Description

The purpose of this project is to establish which strategies used in teacher training and professional development models build competence and confidence in Primary teachers, to integrate dance in the Primary classroom. The research team (Samantha Underdown) requests your assistance in the collection of data for this research project through participation in three professional development workshops focused on the Dance Strand of the Years 1-10 Syllabus which will be held at your school.

Your participation will involve:

• active participation in three workshops (one workshop each week); • keeping a journal which reflects on your progress and learning journey throughout the course of the

three workshops and implementation in your classroom and • if selected, participating in a follow-up interview to ascertain how well the workshops have been able to

promote sustained integration of the Dance Strand of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. Expected benefits

It is expected that this project will benefit you through current professional development on the Dance Strand of the Years 1-10 Syllabus by providing strategies and learning experiences which you will be able to utilize in your classroom.

Risks

There are no risks associated with your participation in this project aside from minor physical injury which will be managed by teaching you Safe Dance principles which you will be able to implement in your classroom.

Confidentiality

All comments and responses are anonymous and will be treated confidentially. The names of individual persons are not required in any of the responses.

Voluntary participation

Your participation in this project is voluntary. If you do agree to participate, you can withdraw from participation at any time during the project without comment or penalty. Your decision to participate will in no way impact upon your current or future relationship with QUT.

Questions / further information

Please contact the researcher if you require further information about the project, or to have any questions answered.

Concerns / complaints

Please contact the Research Ethics Officer on 3864 2340 or ethicscontact@qut.edu.au if you have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project.

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QUT LETTERHEAD

Participant Information Sheet “Building Competence and Confidence in Primary Teachers through Effective Training Strategies, to

Integrate Dance into the Primary Classroom.”

Samantha Underdown: QUT Research Student Email: dassle@froggy.com.au

Mobile: 0409 660 824

Statement of consent

By signing below, you are indicating that you:

• have read and understood the information sheet about this project;

• have had any questions answered to your satisfaction;

• understand that if you have any additional questions you can contact the research team;

• understand that you are free to withdraw at any time, without comment or penalty;

• understand that you can contact the research team if you have any questions about the project, or the Research Ethics Officer on 3864 2340 or ethicscontact@qut.edu.au if you have concerns about the ethical conduct of the project;

• agree to participate in the project.

Name

Signature

Date / /

Samantha Underdown 11 Ray Street Runaway Bay 4216 Ph: 0409 660 824 Email: Samantha.Underdown@qed.qld.gov.au

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APPENDIX C Description of Cycle One – Context and Participants

Sector • Primary School

• Grades pre-school – 7 • Multi-age classrooms

Location • Central Gold Coast • School Hall – included own

sound system Dance Workshop Dates • Total 26 participants -6 male and 20 female • Age groups of participants were: - 3 participants were in the 21-25 group - 2 participants were in the 25-30 group - 4 participants were in the 31-35 group - 3 participants were in the 35-40 group - 2 participants were in the 41-45 group - 8 participants were in the 46-50 group - 2 participants were in the 51-55 group - 2 participants were in the 56-60 group - 0 participants were in the 61-65 group • Participants included 1 male Principal, 1 male Deputy

Principal, 1 female Deputy Principal, 1 Curriculum Coordinator, 1 Dance Coordinator, 1 male Pre-school teacher, 20 grade 1-7 male and female teachers.

• Remembering multi-age framework, teachers reported: - 1 teacher indicated they taught pre-school - 6 teachers indicated they taught grade one - 6 teachers indicated they taught grade two - 10 teachers indicated they taught grade 3 - 6 teachers indicated they taught grade 4 - 6 teachers indicated they taught grade five - 5 teachers indicated they taught grade six - 6 teachers indicated they taught grade seven • Attendance was voluntary due to Education Queensland policy.

Those teachers who did not attend had to read the CD-Rom and plan dance learning experiences into their curriculum for term three.

• In relation to teaching experience: - 6 teachers indicated ½ yr – 5 years experience - 4 teachers indicated 6-10 years experience - 0 teachers indicated 11-15 years experience - 6 teachers indicated 16-20 years experience - 4 teachers indicated 21-25 years experience - 3 teachers indicated 26 – 30 years experience - 1 teachers indicated 31 – 35 years experience - 2 teachers indicated 36-40 years experience

• Tuesday, 19th April 2005 (26 people attended)

• Tuesday, 26th April 2005 (23 people attended)

• Tuesday, 3rd May 2005 (17 people attended)

Focus Groups • Focus Group One: (Lower School)

Participant 1: female Participant 2: female Participant 3: female Participant 4: female

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Participant 5: female Participant 6: female Participant 7: male Participant 8: female

• Focus Group Two (Upper School) Participant 1: male Participant 2: male Participant 3: female (Deputy Principal) Participant 4: female (Dance Coordinator) Participant 5: female Participant 6: female Participant 7: male (Principal) Participant 8: male (Deputy Principal) Participant 9: female

Four Interviews • Interviewee One: male, Year 7 teacher, 60+ • Interviewee Two: female, Grade 5, Dance Coordinator, 3rd year

teacher

• Interviewee Three: female, Grade 1, 2, 3 composite teacher,

approx. 30 yrs old

• Interviewee Four: male, Pre-school teacher, 1st year teacher

• Thursday 16th June 2005 • Held in curriculum

coordinator’s office.

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APPENDIX D Description of Cycle Two – Context and Participants

Sector • Primary School

• Grades pre-school – 7 • Multi-age classrooms

Location • Central Gold Coast • Library (Session One) • Music Room (Session Two) • Sound system and audio visual

equipment provided Dance Workshop Dates • Total 27 participants -3 male and 24 female • Age groups of participants were: - 3 participants were in the 21-25 group - 1 participants were in the 25 -30 group - 3 participants were in the 31-35 group - 4 participants were in the 35-40 group - 2 participants were in the 41-45 group - 7 participants were in the 46-50 group - 5 participants were in the 51-55 group - 1 participants were in the 56-60 group - 0 participants were in the 61-65 group • Participants included 1 male Principal, 1 female Deputy

Principal, 1 Librarian, 1 Dance Coordinator for Wakkakiri, • Remembering multi-age framework, teachers reported: - 3 teacher indicated they taught pre-school - 5 teachers indicated they taught grade one - 7 teachers indicated they taught grade two - 5 teachers indicated they taught grade 3 - 5 teachers indicated they taught grade 4 - 3 teachers indicated they taught grade five - 5 teachers indicated they taught grade six - 7 teachers indicated they taught grade seven - 1 participant did not answer • Attendance was voluntary due to Education Queensland policy.

In relation to teaching experience: - 5 teachers indicated ½ yr – 5 years experience - 4 teachers indicated 6-10 years experience - 4 teachers indicated 11-15 years experience - 2 teachers indicated 16-20 years experience - 5 teachers indicated 21-25 years experience - 5 teachers indicated 26 – 30 years experience - 1 teachers indicated 31 – 35 years experience - 0 teachers indicated 36-40 years experience

• Wednesday 5th October 2005

• Wednesday 12th October 2005

• Wednesday 19th October 2005

Focus Groups • Focus Group One: (Lower School)

Participant A: female Participant B: female Participant C: female Participant D: female Participant E: female Participant F: female

Wednesday 26th October 2005

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Participant G: female Participant H: female Participant I: female Participant J: male Participant K: female

• Focus Group Two (Upper School) Participant A: female Participant B: female Participant C: female Participant D: female (absent for two of the three workshops on

sick leave) Participant E: male Participant F: female Participant G: male (absent for the first workshop due to sick

leave) Participant H: male Participant I: female

Four Interviews • Interviewee One: male, Year 7 teacher, Year 7 Dance Program

Coordinator, approximately aged 30 • Interviewee Two: male, Grade 2 teacher, approximately aged

25

• Interviewee Three: female, Grade 6 teacher, approx. 30 yrs old

• Interviewee Four: female, Grade 4 teacher

• Wednesday 22nd November 2005

• Held in the Music room

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APPENDIX E Pre-workshop Questionnaire from Action Cycle One

Research Question:

‘Which strategies used in teacher training and professional development models build competence and confidence in primary teachers, to integrate dance in the primary classroom?’

Researcher: Samantha Underdown Please answer the following questions in either blue or black pen only. Please answer honestly

and indicate your response by placing a tick in the most appropriate box.

1. What prior dance experience do you have? (Not including these workshops). None Minimal Some A Lot Extensive

2. Is this prior dance experience through:

Social dance experiences Professional Development with Education Queensland

Dance training at a Dance Studio

Teacher training at university

Other Please state: _____________________

3. Please tick which styles you have had experience in.

Ballet Contemporary Funk Jazz Ballroom Cultural

Other

4. How much have you implemented the dance strand of the 1-10 Arts Syllabus in your

classroom with your students, to date? Movement integrated within lesson with another focus

A dance focused lesson

A series of dance focused lessons

A unit of work with a strong dance focus

Other

5. If your implementation answer to the above question was some, minimal or none,

please tick any of the following which you believe are preventing you: No understanding of subject area No experience in subject area No confidence in subject area No Arts Program in your school

134

No dance program in your school

6. How would you rate your subject competence to teach dance? None Minimal Some A lot Extensive

7. How would you rate your confidence to teach dance in your classroom?

None Minimal Some A lot Extensive

8. How would you rate your understanding of dance terminology as per the dance strand

of the 1-10 Arts Syllabus? None Minimal Some A lot Extensive

9. How would you rate your understanding of the dance core content?

None Minimal Some A lot Extensive

10. How would you rate your understanding of outcomes-based education?

None Minimal Some A lot Extensive

Demographic Information

Please answer the following demographic questions to aid me in analyzing the data you have provided in your questionnaire.

11. Your gender: Male Female

12. Your age:

21 – 25 25 – 30 31 – 35 35 – 40 41 – 45 46 – 50 51 – 55 56 - 60 61 - 65

13. Year level you currently teach:

Pre-school

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Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7

14. Number of Years Teaching Experience:

½ yr – 5 years 6 – 10 years 11-15 years 16 – 20 years 21 – 25 years 26 – 30 years 31 – 35 years 36 – 40 years

End of Questionnaire Thank you.

136

APPENDIX F Pre-workshop Questionnaire from Action Cycle Two

Part A: Please respond to the questions below as they apply to your current teaching

1. What prior dance experience do you have? (Not including these workshops).

None Minimal Some A Lot Extensive

2. Please indicate if this prior dance experience is through:

Social dance experiences

Professional Development

Dance training at a Dance Studio

Teacher training at university

Please state which university:

___________

Other Please state:

Ballet Contemporary

Funk/ Jazz

Ballroom Ethic 3. Please indicate which styles (if any) you have had prior dance experience in:

Other Please State:

_________________________________________________________________________

4. To what extent have you implemented the dance strand of the 1-10 Arts Syllabus with your students, to date

Little or no movement

experiences

Movement integrated

within lesson with another

focus

A dance focused lesson

A series of dance

focused lessons

A unit of work with a strong dance focus

5. What factors are limiting the implementation of the dance strand in your class?

No understanding of subject area

No experience in subject area

No confidence in subject area

No Arts or dance

Program in your

school

Other Please indicate:

________________________

6. How would you rate your subject competence to teach dance in your class?

None Minimal Some A Lot Extensive

7. How would you rate your confidence to teach dance in your class?

None Minimal Some A Lot Extensive

8. How would you rate your understanding of dance terminology as per the dance strand of the 1-10 Arts Syllabus?

None Minimal Some A Lot Extensive

9. How would you rate your understanding of outcomes-based education?

None Minimal Some A Lot Extensive

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Part B:

Please indicate your opinion about each statement as it applies to your current teaching.

Rating scale: Strongly disagree – 1 Disagree – 2 Uncertain – 3 Agree – 4 Strongly agree – 5

I can set teaching and learning goals for the dance strand. 1 2 3 4 5

I can create engaging dance lessons with suitable core content. 1 2 3 4 5

I can motivate students to engage and invest actively in dance lessons. 1 2 3 4 5

I can use collaborative, cooperative and group work strategies in dance.

1 2 3 4 5

I can help students connect dance learning to other areas of learning. 1 2 3 4 5

I can help students discover real world application for dance experiences.

1 2 3 4 5

I can manage my time effectively in a dance lesson. 1 2 3 4 5

I provide formative assessment to students based on their progress. 1 2 3 4 5

I can plan summative assessment tasks for the dance strand. 1 2 3 4 5

I plan my unit offerings in alignment with the time requirement for the arts. (100 hours)

1 2 3 4 5

I make a conscious effort to coordinate the content of my units with that of other teachers.

1 2 3 4 5

Necessary materials required to implement the dance strand are available at this school.

1 2 3 4 5

I have been provided with professional development for the dance strand of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. Haven’t you already asked this in the first section.

1 2 3 4 5

I have been provided with professional development for the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus.

1 2 3 4 5

I have confidence in Education Queensland to provide me with adequate training.

1 2 3 4 5

I pursue my own professional development opportunities. 1 2 3 4 5

How do you anticipate students in your class will respond to dance learning experiences?

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Demographic Information Please answer the following demographic questions to aid me in analyzing the data you have

provided in your questionnaire.

14. Your gender: Male Female

15. Your age:

21 – 25 25 – 30 31 – 35 35 – 40 41 – 45 46 – 50 51 – 55 56 - 60 61 - 65

Year level you currently teach:

Pre-school Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7

14. Number of Years Teaching Experience:

½ yr – 5 years 6 – 10 years 11-15 years 16 – 20 years 21 – 25 years 26 – 30 years 31 – 35 years 36 – 40 years

End of Questionnaire - Thank you.

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APPENDIX G Post-workshop Questionnaire from Action Cycle Two

Part A: Please respond to the questions below as they apply to your current teaching

1. What prior dance experience do you have? (Not including these workshops).

None Minimal Some A Lot Extensive

2. Please indicate if this prior dance experience is through:

Social dance experiences

Professional Development

Dance training at a Dance Studio

Teacher training at university

Please state which university:

___________

Other Please state:

Ballet Contemporary Funk/ Jazz

Ballroom Ethic 3. Please indicate which styles (if any) you have had prior dance experience in:

Other Please State:

_________________________________________________________________________

4. To what extent have you implemented the dance strand of the 1-10 Arts Syllabus with your students, to date

Little or no movement

experiences

Movement integrated

within lesson with another

focus

A dance focused lesson

A series of dance

focused lessons

A unit of work with a strong dance focus

5. What factors are limiting the implementation of the dance strand in your class?

o No understanding of subject area

o No experience in subject area

o No confidence in subject area

No Arts or dance Program in your school

Other Please indicate:

________________________

6. How would you rate your subject competence to teach dance in your class?

o None o Minimal o Some o A Lot o Extensive

7. How would you rate your confidence to teach dance in your class?

o None o Minimal o Some o A Lot o Extensive

8. How would you rate your understanding of dance terminology as per the dance strand of the 1-10 Arts Syllabus?

o None o Minimal o Some o A Lot o Extensive

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9. How would you rate your understanding of the dance core content?

o None o Minimal o Some o A Lot o Extensive

10. How would you rate your understanding of outcomes-based education?

o None o Minimal o Some o A Lot o Extensive

Part B:

Please indicate your opinion about each statement as it applies to your current teaching.

Rating scale: Strongly disagree – 1 Disagree – 2 Uncertain – 3 Agree – 4 Strongly agree – 5

I can set teaching and learning goals for the dance strand. 1 2 3 4 5

I can create engaging dance lessons with suitable core content. 1 2 3 4 5

I can motivate students to engage and invest actively in dance lessons. 1 2 3 4 5

I can use collaborative, cooperative and group work strategies in dance.

1 2 3 4 5

I can help students connect dance learning to other areas of learning. 1 2 3 4 5

I can help students discover real world application for dance experiences.

1 2 3 4 5

I can manage my time effectively in a dance lesson. 1 2 3 4 5

I provide formative assessment to students based on their progress. 1 2 3 4 5

I can plan summative assessment tasks for the dance strand. 1 2 3 4 5

I plan my unit offerings in alignment with the time requirement for the arts. (100 hours)

1 2 3 4 5

I make a conscious effort to coordinate the content of my units with that of other teachers.

1 2 3 4 5

Necessary materials required to implement the dance strand are available at this school.

1 2 3 4 5

I have been provided with professional development for the dance strand of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus. Haven’t you already asked this in the first section.

1 2 3 4 5

I have been provided with professional development for the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus.

1 2 3 4 5

I have confidence in Education Queensland to provide me with adequate training.

1 2 3 4 5

I pursue my own professional development opportunities. 1 2 3 4 5

I can see ways to implement dance into my curriculum 1 2 3 4 5

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I can see links to other KLAs 1 2 3 4 5

I feel confident to plan collaboratively a unit of work containing some dance 1 2 3 4 5

Strategies used in these workshops helped me learn and were user-friendly 1 2 3 4 5

Demographic Information

Please answer the following demographic questions to aid me in analyzing the data you have provided in your questionnaire.

16. Your gender: Male Female

17. Your age:

21 – 25 25 – 30 31 – 35 35 – 40 41 – 45 46 – 50 51 – 55 56 - 60 61 - 65

18. Year level you currently teach:

Pre-school Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7

14. Number of Years Teaching Experience:

½ yr – 5 years 6 – 10 years 11 -15 years 16 – 20 years 21 – 25 years 26 – 30 years 31 – 35 years 36 – 40 years

End of Questionnaire Thank you.

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APPENDIX H Dance Workshop One – Action Cycle One

Resources Needed:

Name tags, marker pens for anyone who doesn’t have a name tag Dance Core Content of the syllabus Dance classroom Management hand out Photocopy of movement story from ‘Dance……Count Me In’ Photocopy of ‘Movement Qualities and Choreographic Devices’ hand out Photocopy of Sample Lesson from ‘Do the Mashed Potato’ module Photocopy of Sample Lesson from ‘Sporty Steps’ module ‘Outline of Dance Modules’ hand out Photocopy of ‘Dance Glossary’ from Years 1-10 Syllabus CD Rom PRIOR TO WORKSHOP – ALL CONSENT FORMS SIGNED

Time Learning Activity

3pm – 3.10pm Ensure all teachers have name tags as enter

Hello and welcome. Introduction of workshop presenter. Quick overview of why

completing this research project. Explain focus of each session and thank for

participating.

Distribute questionnaires for participants to complete. Collect once completed.

3.10pm – 3.20pm Explain importance of Safe Dance – cardiovascular and safe dance

Warm up –stretches

Warm up -cardiovascular

3.20pm – 3.45pm Focus – Movement Dynamics (Energy) and Choreographic Devices Movement story from ‘Count Me In’ – explain how can be used as warm up or

stimulus for dance movement.

Discussion of 6 dynamics with movement examples

Name and movement exercise – movements for syllables of name must use different

dynamics. In small groups, create a movement for each syllable in your first name,

which uses different dynamics. Teach members of your group and then put together

in short sequence. Take the speaking of the names away and put to music. Add

canon, repetition – core content, rehearse and present. Explain how this activity can

be extended to create a class dance using students’ first names. Ask selected groups

to reflect on this experience, for example the hardest part of activity.

3.45pm – 4.05pm Focus – Space and Core Content Concepts Explain theme of ‘Do the Mashed Potato’ module

Revise popular dances – Nutbush, Bus Stop, Macarena, Sprinkler, Lawn Mower,

Twist, Hitchhiker, Mashed Potato, Monkey, Swim, Chicken Dance etc.

Brainstorm the key characteristics of popular dance – repetitive, small sequences

repeated, accompanies popular song, individual, social function etc.

In small groups, participants must select their favourite movements from various

popular dances revised and put into a new sequence. Participants then need to add

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core content – canon, repetition, formations, symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes,

directions, levels. This is rehearsed and then music is added. Groups rehearse and

present to the group. Ask selected groups to reflect on success of this activity and

applicability to themed studies – e.g. popular culture etc.

4.05pm – 4.20pm Focus – Timing and Core Content Concepts Explain the theme of ‘Sporty Steps’ module

In small groups, participants create a short sequence of 16 counts, which explores

various sporting movements. Participants should try and incorporate the concepts

learnt in the previous exercises whilst choreographing this sequence.

Ask students to perform this to a fast piece of music. Discuss how this may have

changed the dynamic of the movement.

Repeat sequence to a slow piece of music. Discuss how this may have changed the

dynamic of the movement.

Short discussion of timing – core content concept.

4.20pm – 4.30pm Reflect on today’s workshop – take participants through booklet of resources.

Reflect on core content used in today’s workshop.

Distribute journals to participants and explain how to use.

Answer any questions and revise outline for next two workshops.

End of workshop - thank for participating.

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APPENDIX I Dance Workshop Two – Action Cycle One

Resources Needed:

Name tags, marker pens for anyone who doesn’t have a name tag Photocopy of Sample Lesson from ‘A Dance For All Seasons’ Photocopy of ‘Appreciating Dances’ hand out from modules Photocopy of ‘core Content’ from Years 1-10 Syllabus

Focus: Performance and Appreciation Organizers

Time Learning Activity 3pm – 3.10pm Ensure all teachers have name tags as enter

Hello and welcome. Revision of last week’s workshop and explanation of the focus

of today’s workshop.

3.10pm – 3.20pm Revise importance of Safe Dance – cardiovascular and safe dance

Warm up –stretches & cardiovascular

Warm-up exercise from ‘Dance of all Seasons’ Module

3.20pm – 3.25pm Explanation and demonstration of different styles of dance. Show a few steps in

each style and see if teachers can guess the style.

Discuss use of video, as way to demonstrate various styles of dance which teachers

may not be skilled or confident in – eg. Examples of traditional dance or video clip

dance, copies of Expressions Dance Company performances. Remind participants

that they have a ‘Contacts and Resources’ hand out in booklet, which details various

places where dance resources can be obtained.

3.25pm – 3.40pm Teach participants a short funk sequence. Discuss importance of alignment and

focus in performance. Discuss ability to extend this sequence using core content as

explored in last week’s workshop. Rehearse and present.

3.40pm – 4.00pm Teach participants a short contemporary dance sequence based on the theme of

‘emotions’. Discuss importance of alignment and focus in performance. Discuss

ability to extend this sequence-using core content as explored in last week’s

workshop. Rehearse and present.

4.00pm – 4.20pm Read ‘Appreciating Dances’ hand out from Module

Reflect on contemporary dance sequence, which explored theme of ‘emotions’.

Discuss core content, which can be identified in this sequence.

Ask participants to discuss the non-movement components, which could be added to

compliment this sequence such as costume, lighting, set, props in pairs. Participants

brainstorm and then share with their responses with the group.

Discuss ability to use this appreciation model as one way to reflect on dance using

video examples. For example, in a unit of work, which explores ‘Countries From

Around the World’, students may watch a video of a traditional dance such as the

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Flamenco and then write/ or complete an aural reflecting which of the core content

elements they can identify in the dance.

4.20pm – 4.30pm Reflect on today’s workshop – revision of journals, which should be kept by each

participant. Take participants through booklet of resources. Reflect on core content

used in today’s workshop.

Answer any questions and revise outline for next two workshops.

End of workshop - thank for participating.

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APPENDIX J Dance Workshop Three – Action Cycle One

Resources Needed:

Name tags, marker pens for anyone who doesn’t have a name tag Video camera and tape Tape recorder and tape CD players as necessary Chairs placed in a circle for focus group Notepaper and pen for focus group Focus group questions

Time Learning Experiences

3pm – 3.10pm Ensure all teachers have name tags as enter

Hello and welcome. Revision of last week’s workshop and explanation of the focus

of today’s workshop.

3.10pm – 4.10pm 3.10pm – 3.30pm 3.30pm – 3.50pm 3.50pm – 4.10pm

Participants move into their year level groups (lower primary, middle primary and

upper primary) and begin sharing the dance lessons they recorded in their journals.

Teachers actually guide their colleagues through these lessons so that they

experience them.

Middle primary teachers move to focus group area whilst lower and upper primary

teachers share. Sam completes focus group with middle primary teachers.

Sam completes focus group with upper primary teachers in focus group area.

Sam completes focus group with lower primary teachers in focus group area.

4.10pm – 4.30pm Complete any remaining data collection instruments

Year level groups back together to share with group ideas if haven’t already done so.

Remind that all of these lessons can now be photocopied and put into a resource

booklet for each teacher at the school.

Year level reflection on where dance can move to from here – for example in units

for terms three and four etc.

Thank teachers for participating in this project. The end.

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APPENDIX K Dance Workshop One – Action Cycle Two

Resources Needed:

Name tags, marker pens for anyone who doesn’t have a name tag Dance Core Content of the syllabus Dance classroom Management hand out Photocopy of movement story from ‘Dance……Count Me In’ Photocopy of ‘Movement Qualities and Choreographic Devices’ hand out Photocopy of Sample Lessons from ‘Creeping Creatures’, ‘Sporty Steps’, ‘A Dance for All

Seasons’, ‘Dance of the People’ module ‘Outline of Dance Modules’ hand out Photocopy of ‘Dance Glossary’ from Years 1-10 Syllabus CD Rom Sample Dance Lessons resource Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus CD Rom, laptop, projector, screen. PRIOR TO WORKSHOP – ALL CONSENT FORMS SIGNED

Focus: ‘So tell me about the Dance Strand…..’

Time Learning Experiences 3.15pm – 3.25pm Ensure all teachers have name tags as enter

Hello and welcome. Introduction of workshop presenter. Quick overview of why

completing this research project. Explain focus of each session and thank for

participating.

Distribute questionnaires for participants to complete. Collect once completed.

Note down how many teachers are in attendance.

Explain need for four volunteers for follow-up interviews after workshop series is

completed.

3.25pm – 3.50pm The Arts Syllabus – key messages. What is the Dance Strand all about? What are the

key processes? (Mandatory syllabus, reporting 2006, choreography, performance,

appreciation etc.) Take participants through booklet of resources.

CD Rom Explanation – ‘Butterfly’ video example (and others) of students

demonstrating dance and teacher explaining creative process. This will provide

teachers with an opportunity to watch other teachers ‘teaching’ dance.

What is the language of dance?

What resources are available to deliver the dance strand of the syllabus?

3.50pm – 4.00pm Reflect on today’s workshop and discuss the application and adaptation of these

strategies to the units teachers are currently teaching.

Teachers are asked to share one aspect regarding the dance strand of the syllabus

that they did not know before.

Remind teachers of need to wear practical, comfortable clothing next week.

End of workshop - thank for participating.

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APPENDIX L Dance Workshop Two – Action Cycle Two

Resources Needed:

Name tags, marker pens for anyone who doesn’t have a name tag Photocopy of Sample Lesson from ‘A Dance For All Seasons’ Photocopy of ‘Appreciating Dances’ hand out from modules Photocopy of ‘core Content’ from Years 1-10 Syllabus Cultural Dance information from Syllabus Teacher Resource Booklets from week one CD Player CD’s for choreographic tasks.

Focus: Choreography Organizer

Time Learning Experiences 3.15m – 3.20pm Ensure all teachers have name tags as enter

Hello and welcome. Revision of last week’s workshop and explanation of the focus

of today’s workshop.

3.20pm – 3.30pm Explain importance of Safe Dance – cardiovascular and safe dance

Warm up -cardiovascular

Warm up –stretches – use ‘Dance for All Seasons as warm up activity

3.30pm – 3.40pm Focus – Movement Dynamics (Energy) and Choreographic Devices Movement story from ‘Count Me In’ – explain how can be used as warm up or

stimulus for dance movement.

Discussion of 6 dynamics with movement examples

Name and movement exercise – movements for syllables of name must use different

dynamics. In small groups, create a movement for each syllable in your first name,

which uses different dynamics. Teach members of your group and then put together

in short sequence. Take the speaking of the names away and put to music. Add

canon, repetition – core content, rehearse and present. Explain how this activity can

be extended to create a class dance using students’ first names. Ask selected groups

to reflect on this experience, for example the hardest part of activity.

3.40pm – 4.00pm Focus – Choreographing Dance • Teachers move into year level groups.

• Lower primary teachers complete choreographic task using ‘Creeping

Creatures’ theme. Read the sample lesson plan. Complete choreographic

activity. Add core content including canon, repetition, formations, symmetrical

and asymmetrical shapes, directions and levels. This is rehearsed and then

music is added. Groups rehearse these dance pieces and then perform them for

the group. Ask selected groups to reflect on success of this activity and

applicability to themed studies – e.g. popular culture.

• Lower primary teachers complete choreographic task using ‘Sporty Steps’

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theme. Repeat as above.

• Middle primary teachers complete choreographic task using ‘A Dance For All

Seasons’ theme. Repeat as above.

Upper primary teachers complete choreographic task using ‘Dance Of The People’

theme. Repeat as above.

4.20pm – 4.30pm Reflect on today’s workshop. Revise booklet of resources and reflect on core content

used in today’s workshop. Revise modules, which are available to support

implementation of the dance strand.

Answer any questions and revise outline for next workshop. Remind teachers of

need for practical, comfortable clothing for next week’s workshop.

End of workshop - thank for participating.

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APPENDIX M Dance Workshop Three – Action Cycle Two

Resources Needed:

Name tags, marker pens for anyone who doesn’t have a name tag CD player and music as necessary, Butchers paper and pens

Time Learning Experiences 3.15m – 3.20pm

Ensure all teachers have name tags as enter

Welcome. Revision of last week’s workshop through warm up – walking through space at

different speeds, using varied dynamic movements, levels, directions, shapes etc.

Explanation of the focus of today’s workshop.

3.20pm – 3.30pm

Revise importance of Safe Dance – cardiovascular and safe dance

Warm up–stretches & cardiovascular

3.30pm – 3.40pm

Explanation and demonstration of different styles of dance. Show a few steps in each style and

see if teachers can guess the style.

Discuss use of video, as way to demonstrate various styles of dance which teachers may not be

skilled or confident in – eg. Examples of traditional dance or video clip dance, copies of

Expressions Dance Company performances. Remind participants that they have a ‘Contacts and

Resources’ hand out in booklet, which details various places where dance resources can be

obtained.

3.40pm – 4.00pm

Teach participants a short contemporary dance sequence (include basic movements such as

reaching, travelling steps, jumps and moving in and out of the floor) based on the theme of

‘emotions’. Discuss importance of alignment and focus in performance. Discuss ability to

extend this sequence-using core content as explored in last week’s workshop. Rehearse and

present.

4.00pm – 4.15pm

Read Appreciation organizer description.

Read ‘Appreciating Dances’ hand out from Module

In pairs, teachers reflect on the contemporary sequence, which explored the theme of emotions.

Teachers brainstorm the possible appreciation tasks that could be developed to support this

learning experience. Teachers then share this brainstorming with the group.

4.15pm – 4.30pm

• Teachers complete written reflection based on their learning experiences in these three

workshops.

• Teachers complete post-questionnaire.

• Thank teachers for their involvement. Provide dates of focus group and interviews.

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APPENDIX N Focus Group Extract Sample – Action Cycle One (3rd May,

2005 - Lower School Focus Group) TRANCRIPT:

Interviewer: ‘I’m just going to ask a question of the group. Please feel free to answer and jump in with your answers that would be great. Please speak up so I can hear you. Ok. How have you implemented the dance strand of the Years 1-10 Arts Syllabus in your classroom with your students to date? Do you have a story to share?’

Participant D: ‘Maybe I can answer that however it’s not finished yet and won’t be finished for another four weeks. But because I’m doing it for the whole of year seven, well, it’s really good. The kids enjoyed it.’ Participant C: ‘You’ve done that Aussie Idol to.’ Participant D: ‘Yeah we did Australian Idol for the last few years and the kids love that. The steps you had shown us we had never really seen before and the kids, because they enjoy it because it’s different to sitting it at their desk writing but it’s doing something they enjoy quite a lot then they present it to me, well present it to everyone else with lighting and costumes and you can see the kids who have really put a lot into it and the kids who didn’t put a lot into it. I record it and then they watch it and they see the things they have to fix up and then they present it a few weeks later.’ Participant C: ‘You had a definite process though of how you did it. They had to pick the music, bring it to Basil and he burnt it. He really did the whole thing.’ Participant D: ‘So the next step was a story dance for Christmas time. We went through in small groups and picked a piece of music and then they created their dance and it was good.’ Interviewer: ‘Ok, great. Other year levels?’ Participant I: ‘Well with the sixes, I guess it was just a straight copy of what you do but simplified somewhat and they went home without being asked and practised certain steps. The first thing we did was the name and syllables and they enjoyed that greatly and I think what you showed us was outstanding. It would be great if you didn’t just get left at that elementary beginning point but if you came back and did stage two and stage three and then you could feed it back to the kids and then come back the next week, so yeah, I loved it.’ Interviewer: ‘Ok excellent, what about you guys, the grade fives?’ Participant G: ‘We tried it and we hated it to be honest. The kids were just everywhere and there was no structure. In terms of us knowing how to teach it, I don’t know what I’m doing and I have no interest in it to be honest and if I had my class outside doing sport I’ve got no behaviour management problems but the kids were just everywhere in that lesson and just horrible.’ Interviewer: ‘What’s the different between sport and dance lessons in terms of behaviour management then?’

Participant G: ‘I know more about sport to teach it, like to set up cones and stuff then to say show the life of a frog through dance or something.’ Participant F: (laughs) Participant G: ‘I just have no knowledge at all.’ Interviewer: ‘And you don’t feel that even through the sessions you had enough knowledge to even attempt one small exercise?’

Participant G: ‘Oh we tried that, well it was more (participant name) who did it, who’s not here.’ Participant F: ‘Yeah, who’s not here.’ Participant G: ‘Yeah (participant name) not here.’

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Participant F: ‘Obviously (participant name) is absent today but we did it as a large group. The kids enjoyed it but ….’ Participant G: ‘They couldn’t see the point.’ Participant H: ‘You didn’t settle them down?’ Participant G: ‘Yeah we did ….’ Participant F: ‘Yeah we did.’ Participant H: ‘Well maybe that’s your year level then, the grade fives.’ Participant F: ‘Yeah I think it might be the classes to. Or maybe it was just too big a group or something like that.’ Participant G: ‘They couldn’t stop mucking around and being fun, there wasn’t any school work point to it I guess.’ Participant H: ‘It helps when you’ve got those sort of girls into dance a bit and you can pick a group and they might be the group to do a demo and they might describe how they did it. Like I’m in grade six and my kids really liked it.’ Participant F: ‘I just don’t think I had the confidence to do it.’ Participant H: ‘I’m probably a bit like (participant name) and ok but beyond that I couldn’t do any further. But just that little bit I got a lot out of it and they really liked it.’ Participant F: ‘I think it depends on your musical ability as well especially if you get it wrong.’ Participant H: ‘Picking the music was hard. Like I bought a CD in and we listened to all of the songs and I said, ‘Which one do you think would fit your dance?’ and I let them pick the one which was best suited to their dance.’ Participant I: ‘I agree with that.’ Participant H: ‘Because that was a bit of freedom but picking the right one…you had a couple where the beat was slower and it is always good to lay your hands on one of those things.’ Interviewer: ‘Yep, and I guess that’s the whole reason I’m doing that, is that, we know with our kids that if their confident doing it and they don’t feel safe or they are in an environment where there able to complete the activity successfully then they won’t. So why is it any different for our staff? Why are we continually asking our staff to implement things with no training and no background and no time to think it through and no time to work it out with the kids and try small things at a time to build up their confidence rather than five syllabuses all at once and that’s what encouraged me to do this project because, I know, being a teacher myself, you go to a staff meeting one week and they go, here’s the thing we are doing this week and then you go to a staff meeting the next week and it’s the next initiative and your brain is full, just full and I think as a system we need to manage how much we are giving to people and spread things out more and that’s very idealist and things but…’

Participant H: ‘We’re hearing you on that one.’ (laughs) Participant C: ‘A lot of professional development has fallen on staff rather than people from District office like yourself who have the skills to in-service staff and it’s all come back to one person on staff going to these things and in-servicing the staff and so it’s been a major change.’ Participant H: ‘And do you think you loose something in the translation? Like it’s not the same as being there yourself.’ Participant C: ‘Yeah you do.’ Interviewer: ‘Well when the syllabus was in trial they had someone in central office for each one of the strands who was out with schools implementing it and now there are two senior education officers and my role finishes at the end of the year so your comment is exactly why I wanted to look into these things because even I’m sick of the one hundred things, and your perfectly right, there are only so many things as individuals you can do in a year.’

Participant G: ‘Can I just ask a question? Aren’t there some things that we can let the parents take responsibility for taking their kids to after school clubs for? Like, I don’t have enough time to teach them to read and write let alone teaching them dance.’ Interviewer: ‘I would argue that movement is essential because the research shows that students that study an arts subject will do academically better across the board and that’s international research, so students who study an arts subject will do better in their Maths and English if they understand the literacies of dance, drama, music, visual arts and media. It was an American study.’

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Participant C: ‘It was under H.P.E. though.’ Interviewer: ‘It did.’

Participant C: ‘And it was part of the H. P E. program and it was an integral part of the HPE program. Every year they would do a unit on dance ……………..’ Participant F: ‘Yeah, I remember that.’ Participant C: ‘So, it has faded obviously?’ Interviewer: ‘Well it’s a subject in it’s self and I guess that was the problem with it living in HPE is I would argue that half the state teachers saw dance as folk dance and it didn’t provide students with enough scope for creative dance. The HPE syllabus probably didn’t allow kids top choreograph and that’s integral that’s what builds their skill level and their understanding of the subject. It’s kind of like asking kids to look at an art work but not have an opportunity to paint it.’

Participant E: ‘But you’ve got to have an enthusiasm yourself to do it.’ Interviewer: ‘Of course you do, of course you do, of course you do and your one human being and that’s exactly why I wanted to do these focus groups because I want what your saying to feed directly back into the way we view professional development.’

Participant C: ‘Just getting back to what (participant name) said though, HPE is the one… It’s true, classroom teachers are up to their neck with everything else but if it falls under the HPE umbrella then well it’s exercise, then one would think that would be the way to go.’ Interviewer: ‘Isn’t it just adding another strand to cover in HPE though? It is a subject unto itself, it does have it’s own system of knowledge, system of literacy but I understand your point. I know it’s not a perfect answer we do have to work with the document that we have.

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APPENDIX O Interview Extract Sample – Action Cycle One (16th June 2005)

Interview One

Interviewer: ‘How long has it been since you participated in the workshops and focus groups for this

project?’ (Question One)

Interviewee: ‘4 or 5 weeks.’

Interviewer: ‘Ok. Since this time, how much have you been able to implement the dance strand of the 1-10

Arts Syllabus in your classroom?’ (Question Two)

Interviewee: ‘I remember how you did it with us with the innovative dance steps and you reminded us to

think back to the Macarena and the Nutbush and all those types of things. So, ummm, what I did with my

guys is, I tried one of your trial lessons in the book which is unrelated to music that worked extremely well

and the 7s loved it and then we thought I’d go back and try and give the kids that same background. So,

we’ve actually had two lessons since then. One on the Nutbush and one on the Macarena which went for

about ¾ of an hour and the kids loved it.

Interviewer: ‘Great. Which of the strategies learnt in the workshops proved to be the easiest to

implement?’ (Question Three)

Interviewee: ‘I think the easiest would be a hard question to answer because I found all the things that I

did with you in the first lesson, I think I would be able to quite comfortably do with the kids, because I

remember what you did and ummm, and I found it very useful and I’ve gone and basically done that with

the kids. We have done a couple of little innovative creative things with the kids and they responded to that

extremely well and so both with the ummm, formal dance steps that were done, the traditional dance steps

we’ve done the kids took to that like a duck to water and they also took to the innovative stuff to. I wasn’t

there for the whole second session so I haven’t gone into that side terribly much, but which is the easiest, I

think everything is the easiest, it’s all been quite comfortable, the kids have enjoyed everything we’ve

done.’

Interviewer: ‘Ok. Great. Which of the strategies learnt in the workshop proved to be the most difficult to

implement in your classroom?’ (Question Four)

Interviewee: ‘For me, in the second lesson, where you were doing the performance, that’s not something I

related to very comfortably and my lack of expertise in that area means that I have been reluctant to do that

with the kids and would continue to be so.

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APPENDIX P Research Portfolio Extract Sample One (Action Cycle One –

26th April 2005) Upon arriving at the 2nd workshop it was great to find out that positive feedback had been given based on

last week’s session. This certainly helped to ease my nerves!

Each of the planned activities were completed successfully based on the performance and appreciation

organizers of the syllabus. Teachers verbalized that dance lessons/learning experiences has been occurring

in classes which was very exciting to hear! Teachers learnt the basic funk sequence and the contemporary

sequence based on emotions. They learnt this quickly and were also able to apply the basic principles of

performance such as focus and alignment.

Teachers also immersed themselves in the activity which explored the visual and aural elements. They

verbalized that they really enjoyed this activity and were able to draw cross-curricular links with the

Technology and Arts Syllabi.

I reminded teachers about the need to compete the journal and be prepared to share one dance

activity/lesson next week. I also answered questions regarding cultural dance and the use of guest artists. I

reminded teachers of the need to modify these activities for their own students.

One of the participants came to see me to give her apologies for not being able to attend the workshop. This

teacher taught grade two and felt that the activities were too high a level for her students and therefore of

no use. I found this interesting as one of the activities I used was from a Level 1-2 module. After speaking

to this teacher as she gave her apologies, it became apparent that the teacher also felt unconfident about

performing in front of others and had been very disappointed to find that the curriculum promoted creative

dance rather than a heavy reliance on Folk Dance and Bush Dancing as had been the case in the past. This

was a most unexpected find and I therefore asked this teachers to attend next week’s focus groups she

could provide this feedback. It was interesting to note that this teacher had worked in the early childhood

sector for many years and felt she was able to incorporate movement into her curriculum quite easily. She

noted one strategy she used where students placed sand bags (small) on their various body parts to learn

where they were and how they moved. It was also interesting that this teacher felt that her students would

not be able to remember the sequences developed last week and yet felt they could easily remember a Folk

or traditional dance.

The feedback gained from after the workshop was very positive and I look forward to hearing the dance

lessons/activities teachers have undertaken in their classrooms next week at the final session.

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Research Portfolio Extract Sample Two (Action Cycle One – 16th June 2005, Interviews Reflection)

‘Prior to the third interview I had the pleasure of being invited to watch the Year 1, 2, 3 composite perform

the dances they had learnt. The teachers had implemented the ‘name-syllable’ activity I had demonstrated

in the workshop utilizing swinging and percussive movements. This task had been completing during the

scheduled small group instruction time which was already part of their weekly timetable. The students

performed their polished dance routines for me to music, which also featured a canon! I was so overcome

with joy watching the students perform. The smiles on their faces were amazing to witness and I got goose

bumps and a little teary. The greatest student achievement the teacher discussed was one of the boys in

grade one who was diagnosed as speech-language impaired. The teacher had struggled to engage this

student since the start of the year. However, he had loved the dance experience so much and despite his

condition which normally prevented him from remembering sequences, he had learnt the entire dance

sequence by memory and performed with a huge smile for the entire performance! The teachers was so

amazed at this result and excited that she had found an activity which he engaged with. It was great to see

this teacher somewhat “converted” to including dance into her curriculum as in the focus group this staff

member has discussed the fact that she felt lower primary students would not be able to complete any of the

creative activities I had provided. I mentioned this to her and she was quick to point out that previously she

felt none of her students could complete the strategies I provided and yet now was able to clearly see that

they could.’