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Humanities
- ISSN: 2155-7993
- Journal of Modern Education Review
Merging Dance with Poetry through Collaborative Learning: Exploring
Classroom Practices Studying Improvisation as a Tool for Choreography
Mary Lynn Babcock
(Department of Dance and Theatre, University of North Texas, USA)
Abstract: Collaborative learning is an instructional method in which students group collectively on an assignment (Diaz, 2010, p. 1). Successful collaborative groups demonstrate the ability to support each other toward reaching their shared goals. Interactive and student-centered, these practices promote the exchange of ideas. In this setting, the vehicle for collaborative learning is framed around the use of metaphor as found in Haiku, a short form of Japanese poetry, and how that metaphor can be translated into movement and dance-making. Japanese Haiku provides a way of looking at the physical world as seeing a brief, spontaneous moment of life. The work of the groups is to collectively find the metaphoric connections from the Haiku, and then translate that into a short dance. A lesson plan is provided to show the progression of this work. The conclusion of any lesson should include time for reflections which allow learners to recall, process, analyze and understand knowledge acquired. Reflections can also occur in group form with brainstorming questions addressing how they worked and what issues arose with resulting resolutions. This work, structured in five sections, is useful for the dance student and teacher because it provides experiences used in a “team approach” for learning. Learning outcomes demonstrate group-building skills, listening skills, underscoring that creative and collaborative work can be a powerful tool for learning and understanding life, in this case, through merging dance with poetry. Section 1 introduces the work and extends a discussion on collaborative learning, what it is and the significance of working in groups in the 21st century. Section 2 focuses on metaphor in poetry with specific attention to Japanese Haiku. Section 3 looks at how metaphor can translate into movement. Section 4 concerns strategies for “assembling” the final work together. Within this section we identify how the group finds and identifies a Haiku metaphor, how students collaborate to capture that essence in a dance, how the process extends meaning and relevance to these students, and how they tap into creative group problem solving. Two student groups reveal their process and outcomes. Section 5 focuses on reflections, which allow learners to recall, process, analyze and understand knowledge acquired, and can be in the form of the group brainstorming reflection questions addressing how they worked in a group, addressing issues that arose, and their resolutions. Final thoughts conclude with findings and future work.
Key words: dance making, collaboration, poetry, Haiku, dance education
