Fostering critical thinking in dance education: A dynamic teacher education model

In many parts of the world, dance and arts education are now recognized as school subjects. In fact, primary and secondary physical education curricula in Hong Kong include dance education. Furthermore, education reform urges teacher education programs to promote innovative teaching approaches which will enhance lifelong learning skills. Despite the wishes of Education Reform, traditional teacher-centered pedagogy continues to dominate dance education teacher preparation. A radical change must be initiated in order to redress this philosophical dilemma. The purpose of this research was to investigate a teacher education model that would implement the shift from teacher-centered to student-centered pedagogy, thus from replication learning to learning by critical thinking. This presentation highlights critical thinking theory (Ennis, 1991) as an alternative teacher education perspective and how it can be utilized to promote higher-order thinking skills in dance education. The model includes three components: content (what is taught), method (how it is taught), and outcome (what is learned). The proposed dance education content emphasizes the three essential arts appreciation elements of performance, choreography, and assessment. The method stresses a dynamic learning environment which capitalizes on critical thinking via creative and collaborative problem-solving learning tasks. It is argued that the model's content and method result in the learning of not only motor skills, but also higher-order thinking strategies that will be used across the life span. In addition to revalidating dance education, this dynamic model offers future teachers a tool to provide all learners with meaningful lifelong holistic experiences. Finally, three recommendations are made for teacher training institutions to successfully apply the dynamic teacher education model to foster higher-order thinking skills in dance education. Copyright © 2003 Thai Association of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.