11th grade dance students were exploring the styles of 20th century modern dance choreographers , endearingly nicknamed , “ The heavy hitters of contemporary dance .” Shortly after giving a choreographic assignment I was bombarded with , “ Is it all right if I start on the floor ?” “ Am I allowed to model Merce Cunningham ’ s method ?” “ How long do you want my dance to be ?” “ What should my dance be about ?” Even with clear parameters — objective , length , music guides , etc .— students seemed paralyzed , unable to begin . They seemed locked unless explicitly told their idea was worth pursuing . I understand the reassurance part of this — after all they were teenagers —, but the inability to brainstorm or to play with different ideas unsettled me .
11th grade dance students were exploring the styles of 20th century modern dance choreographers , endearingly nicknamed , “ The heavy hitters of contemporary dance .” Shortly after giving a choreographic assignment I was bombarded with , “ Is it all right if I start on the floor ?” “ Am I allowed to model Merce Cunningham ’ s method ?” “ How long do you want my dance to be ?” “ What should my dance be about ?” Even with clear parameters — objective , length , music guides , etc .— students seemed paralyzed , unable to begin . They seemed locked unless explicitly told their idea was worth pursuing . I understand the reassurance part of this — after all they were teenagers —, but the inability to brainstorm or to play with different ideas unsettled me .
The students ’ questions prompted my own . Why are they so unsure ? Why do they need dispensation from an authority to move forward with an idea ? I considered how I approached creative assignments for my students . I knew that students need to understand the evaluation process , but I noticed that presenting the grading system at the beginning of a creative project set a stressful tone and induced a right-or-wrong mentality . I needed to turn the tables , put the process in front of the product .
I ’ m writing this to share what I discovered in attempting to right this misaligned process . It is not my intention to provide a definitive answer , but rather , to share a process that heightened individual creativity ; ultimately , replacing the stress of pleasing the teacher , with the challenge of realizing an idea . Did I discover a means of taking stress out of the creative process ? Hardly . Unfortunately , any idea worth doing comes coupled with the fear of executing it . That stress can ’ t be entirely removed , and some is almost certainly beneficial . But I can help a student tackle her creative ideas and fight the good fight of the creative process . Thank you for choosing to attend this session ; I ’ ll save some time at the end of the session to answer questions and to open up the conversation . I ’ m excited to hear what you ’ ve discovered about how to deal with this delicate matter .
For eight years , I had the good fortune of being the curricular leader of an interdisciplinary performing arts program for high school students . Our program focused on dance , vocal music , and theater , but was not a musical theater program . Students were required to take classes in each discipline and then could choose from an assortment of electives that integrated all three . It was in teaching these electives that I began to formulate my strategy for teaching without grades . I don ’ t mean to devalue standard letter grades ; but they took a backseat in our classroom , while oral feedback and written narrative predominated .
Narrative evaluation isn ’ t new ; it ’ s been welcomed and used successfully by many educators . However , we found that using oral and written feedback as the primary method of evaluation , added to the overall harmony of classes that emphasized creativity : namely , those that focused on choreography , improvisation , and cross-disciplinary work .
Three of the interdisciplinary courses were called , “ Make ‘ Em Laugh / Make ‘ Em Cry ,” “ Courage to Create ,” and “ Beyond the Limits .” The last one , “ Beyond the Limits ,” focused on creating work via self-imposed limitations , and I knew it could provide an opportunity to experiment with the concept of a gradeless class . The whole course
STEAMed Magazine
43
October 2016 Edition