Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Thinking About Dance Education

Part I. Why—Understanding Dance as Arts Education
Chapter 1. Viewing Educational Dance From an Arts Education Perspective
What Is an Arts Education Perspective?
What Are the Defining Characteristics of Educational Dance?
What Drives an Arts Education Perspective?

Chapter 2. Examining How National Arts Initiatives Affect Dance
National Dance Content and Achievement Standards
The “Nation's Report Card” in Dance
Other Initiatives That Affect Dance Education
Need for Arts Alliances
Advocacy

Chapter 3. Adopting Your Roles and Responsibilities for Teaching
Why Become a Dance Specialist?
Examining K-12 Teaching Roles and Responsibilities
Preparing to Teach Dance as Art in K-12

Chapter 4. Emphasizing Aspects of Student-Centered Learning
Taking a Child-Centered Perspective
Kinesthetic–Motor Development (Moving and Learning)
Aesthetic–Artistic Development
Cognitive–Intellectual Development (Thinking, Perceiving, and Processing)
Psychological–Social Development (Feeling and Interacting)
Teaching the Whole Child

Chapter 5. Identifying the Cornerstones of Dance as Art in Education
Four Cornerstones
Pivotal Role of Inquiry
Overview of the Dance Cornerstone Curriculum Framework
How the Cornerstones Lay the Foundation for Accountability

Part II. What—Clarifying the Content of K-12 Educational Dance (The Cornerstones)
Chapter 6. Dancing and Performing: Cornerstone 1
Relation to National Standards and Beyond
Overview of This Cornerstone
Artful Use of the Dance Elements
Vocabulary Systems Used in Dance
Dance Technique and Skill Development
Dance Cornerstone Curriculum (DCC) Framework

Chapter 7. Creating and Composing: Cornerstone 2
Relation to National Standards and Beyond
Overview of This Cornerstone
Creative Process and Products
Creative Dance for Children
Choreography
Dance Cornerstone Curriculum (DCC) Framework

Chapter 8. Knowing History, Culture, and Context: Cornerstone 3
Relation to National Standards and Beyond
Overview of This Cornerstone
Dance Across Cultures: Cultural Diversity
Dance Through Time: Dance History
Preservation and Documentation
Dance Cornerstone Curriculum (DCC) Framework

Chapter 9. Analyzing and Critiquing: Cornerstone 4
Relation to National Standards and Beyond
Overview of This Cornerstone
Aesthetic Valuing
Critical Thinking and Processing
Dance Criticism
Dance Cornerstone Curriculum (DCC) Framework

Part III. How—Presenting Dance as Art in Education
Chapter 10. Constructing Artistic Bridges to Other Disciplines
Relation to National Standards and Beyond
Dance's Role Across the Curriculum
Different Models for Integrating the Arts in Education
Teaching Other Academics Through Dance
Collaborating Across the Arts

Chapter 11. Creating and Maintaining an Effective Arts Learning Environment
Creating a Positive Arts Environment
Managing Arts Instruction: The Precursor to Artistic Expression
Scheduling
About Facilities
Survive and Thrive

Chapter 12. Investigating the Arts Savvy Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Triad
Curriculum Content
Instruction
Assessment
Integrating the Triad

Chapter 13. Integrating the Cornerstones to Create Units of Study in Dance
Relating the Cornerstones
Teaching by Integrating the Cornerstones
Using the Eight-Step Plan to Maximize Artistic Results
Varying an Eight-Step Lesson

Chapter 14. Creating a Unit of Study Using an Arts Education Perspective
Creating an Integrated Unit of Study
Sample Unit: Examining a Work by David Parsons
Building Your Own Unit of Study Around a Choreographic Work
Building Your Own Unit of Study Around a Style

Chapter 15. Reflecting on Teaching
Ethical Dimension of Teaching
Relational Teaching
School Renewal
Reflective Practitioner

Chapter 16. Developing an Arts-Oriented Teaching Portfolio
Preparing a Perspectives Notebook
Preparing Your Professional Teaching Portfolio
Closing Statement

Appendix A: Reference Lists of Concepts
Appendix B: Forms, Checklists, Sample Items, and Articles
Appendix C: Professional Organizations and National Initiatives
Glossary
References
Index
About the Author

About the Author

Brenda Pugh McCutchen, MFA, is a dance education consultant for Dance Curriculum Designs (Columbia, South Carolina) and gives teacher workshops throughout the US using resources she creates for K-12 and university dance classrooms. She was an associate professor of dance at Columbia College, where in 1994 she created and directed South Carolina’s first undergraduate teacher certification program in dance education. This program was accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD) and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

During her 40-year career in arts and education, McCutchen's roles have included professor of dance education, classroom teacher, and K-12 dance specialist. McCutchen's perspective of dance as art in education is also shaped through her experience as a performer, choreographer, artistic director, arts administrator, and dance artist in residence for students in kindergarten through high school. As a leading dance curriculum consultant, McCutchen now helps clients design standards-oriented curricula for college and K-12 dance programs. She leads teacher workshops and institutes across the country.

McCutchen tirelessly works to see that dance plays a significant role in K-12 education and that dance specialists are prepared to realize the potential of dance in that setting. From 1989 to 1994, McCutchen was arts education program director for the South Carolina Arts Commission. She also coauthored the South Carolina Framework for Dance Education K-12, adopted by the state board of education in 1990 as a basis for South Carolina's curriculum development in dance education. She was a committee member for the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) INTASC Teaching Standards in the Arts. She is currently on the board of directors for the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). She serves NDEO as vice president for programs and services as well as director of publications and resources. She helped draft Professional Teaching Standards for Dance as well as Model Program Guidelines for dance education in the United States.

McCutchen holds an MFA in dance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNC-G) and has received awards for her contributions to the fields of dance and dance education from the South Carolina Dance Association, the National Dance Week Commission (SC Chapter), and UNC-G's School of Health and Human Performance.