BC Education - Dance 11 and 12 - Appendix D: Introduction

Prescribed learning outcomes, expressed in observable terms, provide the basis for the development of learning activities, and assessment and evaluation strategies. After a general discussion of assessment and evaluation, this appendix uses sample evaluation plans to show how activities, assessment, and evaluation might come together in a particular dance program.

Assessment and Evaluation

Assessment is the systematic gathering of information about what students know, are able to do, and are working toward. Assessment methods and tools include: observation, student self-assessments, daily practice assignments, quizzes, samples of student work, pencil-and-paper tests, holistic rating scales, projects, oral and written reports, performance reviews, and portfolio assessments.

Student performance is evaluated from the information collected through assessment activities. Teachers use their insight, knowledge about learning, and experience with students, along with the specific criteria they establish, to make judgments about student performance in relation to prescribed learning outcomes.

Students benefit most when evaluation is provided on a regular, ongoing basis. When evaluation is seen as an opportunity to promote learning rather than as a final judgment, it shows learners their strengths and suggests how they can develop further. Students can use this information to redirect efforts, make plans, and establish future learning goals.

Evaluation may take different forms, depending on the purpose.

Criterion-referenced evaluation should be used to evaluate student performance in classrooms. It is referenced to criteria based on learning outcomes described in the provincial curriculum. The criteria reflect a student's performance based on specific learning activities. When a student's program is substantially modified, evaluation may be referenced to individual goals. These modifications are recorded in an Individual Education Plan (IEP).
Norm-referenced evaluation is used for large-scale system assessments; it is not to be used for classroom assessment. A classroom does not provide a large enough reference group for a norm-referenced evaluation system. Norm-referenced evaluation compares student achievement to that of others rather than comparing how well a student meets the criteria of a specified set of learning outcomes.

Criterion-Referenced Evaluation

In criterion-referenced evaluation, a student's performance is compared to established criteria rather than to the performance of other students. Evaluation referenced to prescribed curriculum requires that criteria are established based on the learning outcomes listed under the curriculum organizers for Performance 11 and 12 and Choreography 11 and 12.

Criteria are the basis of evaluating student progress; they identify the critical aspects of a performance or a product that describe in specific terms what is involved in meeting the learning outcomes. Criteria can be used to evaluate student performance in relation to learning outcomes. For example, weighting criteria, using rating scales, or performance rubrics (reference sets) are three ways that student performance can be evaluated using criteria.

Samples of student performance should reflect learning outcomes and identified criteria. The samples clarify and make explicit the link between evaluation and learning outcomes, criteria, and assessment. Where a student's performance is not a product, and therefore not reproducible, a description of the performance sample should be provided.

Criterion-referenced evaluation may be based on these steps:

Step 1	Identify the expected learning outcomes (as stated in this Integrated Resource Package).
Step 2	Identify the key learning objectives for instruction and learning.
Step 3	Establish and set criteria. Involve students, when appropriate, in establishing criteria.
Step 4	Plan learning activities that will help students gain the knowledge or skills outlined in the criteria.
Step 5	Prior to the learning activity, inform students of the criteria against which their work will be evaluated.
Step 6	Provide examples of the desired levels of performance.
Step 7	Implement the learning activities.
Step 8	Use various assessment methods based on the particular assignment and student.
Step 9	Review the assessment data and evaluate each student's level of performance or quality of work in relation to criteria.
Step 10	Where appropriate or necessary, assign a letter grade that indicates how well the criteria are met.
Step 11	REPORT the results of the evaluations to students and parents.

Assessment and Evaluation in Dance Education

Assessment and evaluation in dance should reflect outcomes from all four curriculum organizers. For example, while evaluating Elements of Movement skills and concepts, teachers should also evaluate student performance in relation to the prescribed learning outcomes from Creation and Composition, Presentation and Performance, and Dance and Society.

Consistent feedback is particularly important to the successful development of dance techniques and to the development of a positive and enthusiastic attitude toward lifelong involvement in dance. Dance teachers have a responsibility to help students set goals and objectives for their own artistic and physical development and lifestyle choices, and then to work with them to monitor their progress.

Much of the daily work in arts education will be process oriented. Students should be encouraged to challenge themselves personally and explore new ideas and learning styles. While this may be intimidating for students—a higher standard in the final product or presentation may be easier to achieve if they "play it safe" and work in more familiar ways—teachers should emphasize that this process of exploration is essential for artistic development.

Some students may be reluctant to challenge themselves if they know that their work will always be on display or presented to others publicly. While they should be encouraged to take pride in their artistic products, students need to know that the creative problem-solving process itself is of equal importance. As well, whenever students' work is to be shown in a formal or public presentation, they should be involved in the selection and decision-making process.

Teachers should carry out assessment using a variety of genres and context s that are articulated in this curriculum. Students also benefit when they participate in developing the assessment criteria. Tools and techniques include:

holistic rating scales
journal writing
dance portfolios
teacher-student conferences
participation records
planning and goal-setting worksheets and exercises
short- and long-term observation reports
practice assignments
checklists
self-assessment tools
peer assessment tools
performance and skill-testing exercises and drills
creative process anecdotal reports
projects
pencil-and-paper tests

Portfolios

A portfolio is a purposeful collection of a student's work that shows her or his effort, progress, and achievement over time. It provides information for a comprehensive assessment of student development. Criteria for evaluation can be established for each reporting period. Items in a portfolio can be suggested by the teacher or selected by the student. Student entries should be dated so the teacher can track each student's development over time.

Portfolios can achieve a variety of purposes. They can motivate students, encourage parental participation, and provide direct evidence of student progress. Before using a portfolio approach to evaluation, the teacher should consider the following questions:

What are the applied tasks for which the portfolio will serve as a record?
What should be included in the portfolio?
In what ways should students be involved in the process of answering these questions?

The teacher and students can use a planning sheet to determine and clarify the purpose, design, and construction of a student portfolio.

Dance portfolios might contain:

videos of dance creation activities, rehearsals, and performances in various context s
daily records in double-entry journal format (What I Did, How I Felt)
daily self-assessments
analyses and critiques of videos, films, concerts, performances
background information on costumes, cultural and historical context s, music, biographical information (on choreographers, dancers)
evaluations of peers' performances
self-evaluations of skills based on viewed performances
self-assessments of contributions to group work
original artwork, poetry, music, and so on
notations of dances learned or created
organizational features, such as table of contents and introductory autobiography
work from related subject areas (e.g., music, drama, visual arts, social studies, English language arts, career and personal planning)
teacher's comments, checklists, and rating scales

Questions such as the following can stimulate and guide students' self-assessment of their portfolios:

What strengths or successes in the work stand out?
Analyse one piece of work that was not successful for you. Why didn't it work? What might have helped? What did you learn by doing it?
What techniques or strategies are you most interested in refining? Make a plan that indicates what to do and how to get support.
What ideas do you like to work with? Have you always been interested in these ideas? How has the meaning in your work changed?
When you look ahead, what role do you see for dance in your life?

Student Journals

Journal writing is a valuable part of instruction and assessment in the dance classroom, and it provides a dated record of students' development over time. Student journals help students to reflect on their experiences. Journals may be fairly structured, or they may be general reviews of weekly events in the dance class. Entries may comment on specific activities or topics, or provide broader reflections on progress or issues of importance to students. Journals may also include poems, artwork, stories, songs, or other material that reflects students' thoughts or feelings about themselves and their work.

Journals are also an important aspect of communication between the student and teacher. Students may ask questions, indicate successes, or identify areas where they need further assistance in developing skills. The growth of insight that develops within the journal may itself form a basis for evaluation.

Questions such as the following can focus journal-writing activities and assist students in understanding their dance experiences:

What did we do in class today?
What did you learn from the activities?
What did you learn about yourself?
What did you like or dislike about the activities?
What solutions or approaches to problems did you use?
What special adjustments or considerations would you make for a different situation?
What would make you lose interest in a performance?
What images or feelings were evoked during today's activities?
What plans do you have for applying what you have learned today in your future dance activities?

Teachers can respond to each journal through a letter, a short comment in the journal, or a conversation with the student.

Teacher-Student Conferences

Conferences can provide valuable information about students' understanding, thoughts, and feelings regarding dance education. Through conferences, students gain opportunities to reflect on the unit of study, while the teacher gathers information about students' knowledge and attitudes and diagnoses their needs. Conferences may take the form of a planned series of questions that lead to open-ended discussions, or they may require independent completion of specific questions. Informal conferences between the teacher and student should take place on a regular basis throughout instruction.

Observation Sheets

Observation sheets may be used to assess an individual student or a co-operative activity. It is recommended that teachers focus their assessment by selecting only a few attributes for each observation. In any one period of instruction, teachers will find time limited and may only be able to observe a small portion of the students in the class. Information from observation sheets is useful when reporting on individual student progress.

Planning and Goal-Setting Worksheets

Setting individual goals for progress in dance education is an important assessment strategy. Planning and goal-setting worksheets, including reflections on physical interests and abilities and specific short- and long-term goals, can form the basis for evaluating students' progress in the various units of a dance program.

Checklists

Checklists allow the teacher to observe the entire class "at a glance." They provide a quick reference sheet that can identify specific information regarding student attitudes, knowledge, or skills. Checklists allow the teacher to create an individual record-keeping system (e.g., by date, using a legend of skill proficiency, using check marks for yes or no). Teachers can use checklists to develop learning profiles of students that indicate growth over time and to gather information about student co-operation, participation, attitude, leadership, or skill development.

Revised: January 25, 1999

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