Thread: Ending sessions

(sorry, I can't seem to talk about things without telling stories, I'll try to keep it brief! ..l;, )

Spontaneously decided to quiz students yesterday as it was the last day of my sessions.

For the level I's I asked about what made up the elements of good dance posture, and why. I did it in open format and people shouted out answers. They were well able to describe what makes the elements, but had a harder time explaining why and so I did visual demonstrations of poor posture, varying the elements. They were able to pick them apart and you could see some "aha!" moments happening for people.

It led me to thinking about several things

1. as a measure of what people have learned we often use choreography. My choreographies are written with my syllabus in mind, Level I learn posture, turning, hip lifts, hip clicks, hip shimmy, etc. My measure is how good their technique is when doing the choreography.

2. doing the brief quizzing really left me feeling as if some of my students really needed that very specific sort of discussion to concretize what they had learned.

3. I usually leave my sessions feeling as if most (if not all) people have "gotten" the material I intended. But the quiz seemed to remove the doubt from their minds, probably more important to a student. In other words, they didn't just leave with the choreography, they also left knowing that they knew, if that makes sense.

Teachers: How many people formalize the ends of sessions? how many people really quiz? how do you feel about a teacher who has you do this?

I'd like to add a level III class at some point, but it will be structured MUCH differently from my other classes, in that I hope to institute an audition, and make a requirement that people pass my other levels before starting in II.

Level III may lead to troupe work, may not, not the goal.

Students, how would you feel about a quiz? would written be good? or is informal better?

I like written, because then both I and the student have a record and can refer back to it, maybe it could be something like a competition scoring sheet, that is modified to fit the level?

hmmmmmmmmm

Hello from a fellow storytelling poster!!!

I only did this once, after a 6-week session on solo skills. I brought in little prizes (bindis, stuff from the dollar store, threw in a few cool things like finger cymbals & CDs). I did the quiz in game show format. I'd ask a question and they raised their hands (would've been fun to have some kind of buzzers!) Whoever answered the question correctly got to choose a Fabulous Prize, then they had to sit out. So everyone wound up getting a Fabulous Prize eventually, but those who answered first got their pick of the very best stuff.

It was really fun. Maybe I'll try doing a simpler version -- sans prizes and hoopla -- just for fun. It'll give the students a chance to see what they've *really* learned.

Because like you, I hide my technique & cultural teaching in choreos. Kind of like putting doggie pills in bologna. It would be fun to show them at the end how much they've REALLY learned!!!

Originally Posted by kina

Students, how would you feel about a quiz? would written be good? or is informal better?

I like written, because then both I and the student have a record and can refer back to it, maybe it could be something like a competition scoring sheet, that is modified to fit the level?

hmmmmmmmmm

I love the pop quiz idea - how innovative (for dance teaching).

I have been studying how to teach/learn for my job (i.e. when i have to teach people to use software). I learned something interesting about learning and I'd like to share it (to confirm the track you're on). It is one of the reasons that I now do pop quiz type questions in my training sessions...

But it's two pages long so I'll have to summarize.

Our brains were designed to keep us safe and alive, long enough to reproduce. I.e. our brains are designed to filter out the unimportant stuff, and filter in the survival stuff like "stay out of the way of tigers." When our brains are stimulated with emotions, chemicals, nerves - we remember those things for our own survival. Most other information, our brain is working hard to forget to save room for the "important stuff". So the best way to learn something is to convince your brain that the information is a dangerous tiger, if you don't learn it - you're going to get eaten. The fastest way to do this is to stimulate different types of brain activity, repeating the same things in different ways (redundancy, plus different learning styles), activities, pictures with text, and challenges...

Challenges because your brain is tuned to remember and learn when it has to work at something...

so basically, by doing your pop quizzes, not only are you confirming their knowledge, and letting them confirm their own knowledge as you pointed out - you're also ensuring that they are definitely going to remember that info, because in the excitement of trying to recall information and compete to give the right answer, adrenaline is flowing, neurons are firing and the brain is thinking "This is a tiger".

this reminds me a lot of what I learned about teaching high school.

We are supposed to give objectives at the beginning of the lesson, to let students know what they will learn. And have some measure of assessment, but it need not be a quiz or test. And we need to wrap up at the end of a lesson and give them closure. But still give them a hint of what is to come so they go home and think about it.

Objectives -- that reminds me of another thought I had.

Handing out at the beginning of class the teacher's objectives for that session (or posting them online or on a bulletin board, to save paper) would allow the more methodical-type students to measure their own progress. I have a few students who would LOVE that.

yep.

i start lessons with saying 'today we will work on' and i often end with "next week we will work on".
i used to give them hand outs with what we'd do every lesson (and that actually made people do more of an effort to show up every week, as they'd know what they'd miss. oh we'll miss the camels, what's that new and exciting move...). but i stopped doing that for lack of time. and i can only do it with the real beginnerslevels, as with the other levels i tend to adapt the shedule mid term, depending on the pace of the group, and what they are enjoying/not. i have very flexible syllabi...

i dont do a real quiz, but every now and then i do throw in questions, very much like i'd do in a non dance class at university. mostly about stuff like music. so, can anyone tell me what this song is called again? yes! and what's the composer? who is the singer? anyone remember what it's about?

and then i make them all say it out loud even, ;-) . it seems silly, but otherwise they really dont remember. and it makes them smile, and while they are doing so, they remember the names... abdul halim hafiz! sometimes i make 'em say it a couple of times.. ;-) if i give it to them on a hand out, they wont read/remember.

or "what did i say last week about those heels". (they have to stay ON the floor, yes, that's right)... etc... i do think it helps people (well, some people) retain info... and they feel they "know the stuff"... it also helps get people's attention back. or makes a student that is not necessary the best student technically but who does pay attention when i say things about the music be othe star for once who knows the answer

i dont think i'd do a real quiz. i dont like anything that has a hint of competitiveness in it.

I think your quiz idea is fun, because it rewards those who paid attention and learned it. The "everyone shout out answers" format is good because it doesn't penalize people who may be embarrassed at having not absorbed the answers, nor does it put shy people on the spot. Another think I like about the quiz idea is that it shows students that there is more to learning - belly dancing than learning a bunch of moves and sticking them together; ie, it gives students a more realistic view of what level they're at.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Because like you, I hide my technique & cultural teaching in choreos. Kind of like putting doggie pills in bologna.

Lurking and learning here, but Lauren just made me snort my tea. Thanks for that!

Originally Posted by kina

(
Students, how would you feel about a quiz? would written be good? or is informal better?

I like written, because then both I and the student have a record and can refer back to it, maybe it could be something like a competition scoring sheet, that is modified to fit the level?

hmmmmmmmmm

I would vote more for something like a competition scoring sheet. It would feel a little less like being "graded" in school (unless you teach at a university or college where that is appropriate). A written test may put some students on edge and give them the feeling that they could fail. A scoring sheet would emphasize the areas that they need to work on and highlight the parts they are doing well without so much pressure. Just my opinion.

As a student, if there is going to be something like a pop quiz, I'd rather know that it's a possibility. In one of my grad classes, the professor randomly decided to make us answer questions. It made pretty much everyone in the room uncomfortable.

I think this could work, depending on the kind of class you're running.

Originally Posted by kina

Students, how would you feel about a quiz? would written be good? or is informal better?

I like the idea of a quiz, but not written. Keep it fun. Most students (Level 1 and 2) go to class for fun, not to be tested or put on the spot.

I think I like the idea of the quiz most, it generates good responses and seems the least stressfull.

BUT, if I take up that Level III class idea, how do I fairly judge competence?

I mena, not fair to me, but to people who are interested in doing it?

Originally Posted by gwyncara

I like the idea of a quiz, but not written. Keep it fun. Most students (Level 1 and 2) go to class for fun, not to be tested or put on the spot.

I agree, don't do something written, unless it is optional questionaire to take home and fill out. I also would be a bit irritated to have a large portion of a dance class filled with a written quiz.

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

so basically, by doing your pop quizzes, not only are you confirming their knowledge, and letting them confirm their own knowledge as you pointed out - you're also ensuring that they are definitely going to remember that info, because in the excitement of trying to recall information and compete to give the right answer, adrenaline is flowing, neurons are firing and the brain is thinking "This is a tiger".

Haha! This explains why can still recite the geologic time scale that we had to memorize in 9th grade. We had weekly pop quizzes every week, and Mr. Martin was a stickler for details!