Response to Reviewer Comments/APCS in Dance

UM Dance Professor Karen Kaufmann

April 2013

Thank you for your review of the Area of Permissive Specialized Competency for Dance. I appreciate the comments provided and below is my response (in black) to Evaluator comments and questions (in red).

ARM 10.58.527 (8)

(a) knowledge of basic dance vocabulary and major characteristics of dance styles and techniques, including: …

The APSC Dance Education requirements include a choice between DANC 300 Modern III and DANC 310 Ballet III, but the IR does not list this option and the reviewer was unable to locate the DANC 310 Ballet III syllabus.

I apologize, I neglected to include Ballet III--DANC 310 in the list. I am including a recent syllabus here.

(b) knowledge of dance as a reflection of both historical periods and cultural diversity, including Montana American Indian cultures;

Cultural diversity, including Montana American Indian cultures, was not apparent in the syllabi of the required courses. On-site follow-up is required.

(c) demonstrate knowledge of how students, within different populations, including Montana American Indians, differ in their approaches to learning and create instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners

DANC 360L-World Dance is a required course listed as meeting this standard, however, the course syllabus does not include language required to meet the standard, specifically “including Montana American Indians.”

The APSC in Dance was approved by the BPE last May and is a brand new program for UM Dance. As the UM professor of Dance Education I will oversee this program. For the 2012-2013 academic year, I was granted a year-long sabbatical and am currently off-campus and out of state pursuing my research. Due to both the newness of the program and the timing of my sabbaticalthe APSC in Dance has not yet been implemented. The APSC in Dance officially begins fall of 2013 with revised coursework, and our first graduating classis expected in spring 2014. Since the program is in the nascent stages, we are in the process of discussing & revising future courses and curriculum.

World Dance and Teaching Movement in Schools arethree-credit courses that address Montana Indian Education. Offered every other year (fall, odd-numbered years),bothare scheduled to be taughtfall 2013. Curricular discussions have taken place among faculty to ensure the full inclusion of Montana American Indian dance in the new APSC program. As it has never been required before, our past syllabi does not directly reflect IEA even though the courses include it. Revised syllabi willaddress the requirement in the future. We look forward to documenting our effectiveness in future program reviews.

Montana Indian Dance and DANC 360L--World Dance

In the past, the World Dancecourse has regularly included an in-depth study of two Montana Indian dances: the Jingle Dress Dance and Fancy Dance. Professor, Nicole Bradley Browning spendsconsiderable time talking about the cosmology and how one aligns oneself with the cosmos through the ritual of dance. Fall 2013 the professor intends to require those students pursuing the APSC in Dance to select a new Montana Indian dance as their Final Project and Paper (see #5 in World Dancesyllabus). This new addition to the requirements will ensure students are knowledgeable about three Montana Indian dances(the two presented in class and a third of the students choosing) and students have the skills and experience necessary to research, reflect upon, and (either) perform or teach about the native dance and culture using the elements of movement. Explicit language will be added to the syllabus reflecting this change. Thus students pursuing the APSC in Dance will select Montana Indian dance as their research project, as stated in the current syllabus, excerpted below:

A final project honoring a culture is a critical part of the research project. This practicum part of the project may involve students choreographing and/or performing a dance or leading the class through a choreographed group dance that exemplifies and teaches about the culture through the basic elements of movement: body, space, time and energy.

Montana Indian Dance andDANC 497-Teaching Movement in Schools

This course includes lecture and discussion about multiple learning styles and the differences in student approaches to learning. Throughout the course, dance and creative movement is used to demonstrate instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners. Language honing this conceptwill be added to the syllabi.

In the past, Teaching Movement in Schoolsincluded a unit entitled “Honoring a Culture through Dance”, that has functioned as a final written and teaching project. Students wererequired to select a culture and create a unit for grade K-8 that teaches about the history, beliefs, community, customs, clothing, etc, viewed through a culture’s dances. Asprofessor for this course, I intend to refocus this final project specifically on Montana Indian culture. The final project will be revised and the following language replaced in the syllabus:

11. Final Project (10 points) –Dec 7th Honoring a Montana Indian Culture through Dance (final paper and class presentation). Students will integrate dance with grade 5-8 Social Studies and Indian Education in this final project, presented to the class over finals week. There are twelve tribal Nations in Montana.Each Nation has a distinct and unique cultural heritage. There is great diversity among American Indians and tribal dances and rituals are still alive and performed. The objective of this project is to learn more about Montana Indians through their dances. It is always important to respect the religious traditions and spirituality of the tribe; we do not share dances that are private or rituals that are intended only for particular members of the tribe.

Select a Montana Indian Nation and research a suitable dance found within that tribe. Write a 5-page (double-spaced) paper describing the function of the dance within the culture. The paper is due at our final week meeting and should include at least three cited sources. Interviews with expert practitioners of the dance may constitute one of the three sources. In addition, prepare a 10-minute presentation to our class, appropriate to grades 5-8, teachingus about the dance. You will show a short video excerpt of the dance and describe how the dance is viewed by tribal members: Who performs the dance? When is it performed? Where is it danced? What costumes are used? What is the significance of the costume? Who makes the costume? What music/drumming is used? What is the cultural significance of the dance?

Language pertaining to cultural diversity, including Montana Indian cultures, will be added to all relevant syllabi. Montana Indian dance is a natural fit and highly relevant to thedance courses. In addition to the projects that are described here, we also intend to invite Indian dance experts from the state to visit UM and share Montana Indian dance forms. Although suitable video exists, there is no substitute for a live demonstration by practitioners of the culture. Discussions have taken place with Mike Jetty at OPI and colleagues in UM’s Native American Studies to make these connections. We are confident that our upcoming changes to coursework and academic pedagogy willcomprehensively address the inclusion of Montana American Indians in the APSC in Dance, when the program begins.

DANC 497-Teaching Movement in Schools

The off-site reviewer was not able to access DANC Teaching Movement in Schools.

The syllabus for DANC 497 was included in our original submission, but apparently cannot be accessed. The most recent syllabus is included here. Sorry for the difficulty.