Getting "More and More Comfortable": Using an Activist Approach in a Dance Physical Education Content Course

• In Event: Social Justice, Diversity, and Activist Approaches in Physical Education

Abstract

While dance can be intimidating for physical educators (Goodwin, 2010), this study looked specifically at a dance content course for PE preservice teachers in an effort to help better understand what facilitates and hinders their interests, motivation, and learning and to help them become more comfortable with their own dancing and dance teaching. The purpose of this study was to see how the Activist Approach to teaching (Oliver & Kirk, 2015) could facilitate preservice teachers’ comfort in a dance context and their willingness to take risk in class. We find that by using this student-centered, inquiry-based approach that we were able to build relationship as a class and offset students’ discomfort through pedagogy to help students become more comfortable in dance contexts.

Authors

• Jackie Beth Shilcutt, New Mexico State University

• Kimberly L. Oliver, New Mexico State University