Dance Kinesiology Teachers Survey

Calling All Dance Kinesiology Teachers!

A Dance Kinesiology Teachers' Survey was first suggested by Arizona State University Professor Emerita, Pamela Matt during the 2004 IADMS conference in San Francisco. The idea was so appealing that she was invited to write a draft of the survey to share with a coordinating committee, who refined the content, questions and format. Last summer, Florida State University graduate student, Laura Iverson, created an on-line version of the survey, which has undergone several rounds of pilot testing by a small group of patient and persistent dance kinesiology teachers, and is now ready for use.

The idea behind the survey is to gather and share information from dance kinesiology teachers about who we are, and what and how we teach. When Pamela first conceived of the survey, she realized that those individuals who teach the dance sciences play a special role in the field of dance. In her words, “Ours is a young and unique field. Its content is multidimensional and can be presented to students in a wide variety of ways. The task of putting together meaningful learning experiences in our subject area is a substantial one. Without any desire to prescribe or circumscribe one way of teaching dance science, our collective efforts to promote our field will be more effective if we can learn more about where our members are coming from: their backgrounds, the content of their courses, and what sorts of resources they have found useful. We seek greater understanding of the place of dance science coursework and related activities in dance training programs.”

We hope that by sharing information about our courses and teaching methods, we can better understand the great diversity of successful approaches to teaching the dance sciences. With this shared knowledge, we can improve our own teaching practices, support experienced teacher colleagues, mentor new teachers in the field, and make better decisions about programming for future professional meetings. And this knowledge should improve our ability to help dancers stay healthy while expanding their performing abilities.

The survey is in two parts, and can be completed online.

Part 1 of the Dance Kinesiology Teachers’ Survey asks about your background, your training, and your current teaching position(s) in the dance sciences. It should take about 20 minutes to complete.

Part 1: https://dance.fsu.edu/apps/survey/index.php?sid=3

Part 2 of the Dance Kinesiology Teachers' Survey asks for information about the specific dance science courses you teach. It should take less than an 1 hour to complete. You may want to collect the following information before you begin: (1) brief (catalog) description of each dance science or somatics course you teach, (2) approximate enrollment figures, and (3) reference information for any textbooks and other resources you use.

Part 2: https://dance.fsu.edu/apps/survey/index.php?sid=4

You will be able to scan forward and backward (using "next" and "prev" buttons) to preview and review the questions in the surveys. You will also be able to change your answers at any time until you click the "Submit" button on the final page of each survey. The "Save your responses so far" button, will let you exit the survey and return later to start where you left off.

If you have questions about the survey content or purpose, or if you prefer to receive a copy to complete off-line, please contact:

Pamela Matt <pamela.matt@asu.edu>

If you have technical problems completing the survey, please contact:

Tom Welsh <twelsh@dance.fsu.edu>

We hope all teachers of dance kinesiology and other dance science courses will make the small investment of time required to complete the online survey. It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s fun!

Submitted by Donna Krasnow
for the Dance Kinesiology Teachers Survey Team