Student Management Strategies for the dance class.
Eye contact
Eye contact is an excellent student refocusing tool because it does not interrupt the flow of your class for others. The student sees that you see them off task and in most cases the problem resolves itself without you having to do anything else.
Proximity Control
Physically positioning yourself near the concern can often tackle any student-related issues without interrupting the flow of your class for others. Teachers should always be actively determining where the best place to stand during that portion of the lesson is.
Voice Level Change Loud volume voice changes draw attention.
Quiet volume voice changes draw interest and mystery and encourages quiet. You only have one voice and it has to last for a full evening of dance. You should never have to scream, if you find yourself on the verge screaming there is a good chance you need more work on developing core teaching skills and should seek a mentor.
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Clapping/Musical Patterns for Attention Grabbing Incorporating a variety of clapping or musical attention getting strategies can gather attention quickly and advise dancers it’s time to listen for further instruction. These should be adjusted in complexity for the age of the dancers.
Encourage the on-task behaviours you are looking for
Offer praise and celebration for the behaviour and effort you are seeking.
Pause and Wait
Hold the activity and wait for dancers to return their focus and attention to you.
Use of Name with Question Asking Simply asking off-task dancers a question can return their focus without interrupting your lesson. It lets them know, you know, they are off task, and usually the off-task behaviour will change.
Give Students More Choice
If you sense dancers are a little bored with the activity but you feel it needs to continue, try giving students more choice and voice in the activity.
Change Activity
If behaviour starts getting off in your class it’s important know when it’s simply time to change the activity.
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