Teaching Tip - Know your Scope of Practice

 Wondering what you need to know to be an effective teacher?

"Dance educators need training in pedagogy that includes not only learning what to teach, but also how to teach. Core principles include the need to:

• ensure that physical and psychosocial environments are safe and inclusive
• adhere to principles of safe dance practice and provide appropriate physical training, mental training and stress management tools
• provide diverse instruction and constructive feedback on alignment, technique and artistry
• provide basic information on hydration and proper nutrition for dancers
• help students understand the difference between excellence and perfection
• address normal emotional, behavioural, mental and social challenges through dance and discussion
• recognize the signs of injuries, eating disorders and psychosocial disorders, and make referrals. Understand that it is outside dance teachers’ scope of practice to assess, diagnose and treat these problems and that the best help may be to direct the dancer to someone else." 

(Andrea Downie, 2017)

Learn more about the necessary knowledge base for dance teachers in Dance International's article Toward a Scope of Practice by Andrea Downie.