STEM plus Arts = Learning Full STEAM ahead!

What a difference a year makes!

I had the pleasure of returning to Salem Elementary School in West Virginia to work with a group of pre-K and Kindergarten teachers for a second year. And, what a fantastic opportunity it proved to be for all of us. 

When we met to plan virtually, as I was in Vermont attending a residency for graduate school at Goddard College and they were attending a professional development workshop, we were able to connect via video chat for planning purposes as a group. The four teachers were gleeful and excited to come together and make a plan.

This was a sharp juxtaposition to our first year's planning meeting. The first year, they were tentative, unsure about this whole "dance integration" thing. They had no firsthand experience with how dance could be a useful tool in their classrooms. This year, they were ready. They had informed questions, expectations, and a solid wish-list for our time together. And, most importantly, they were leaning into our work with open minds and open hearts. They wanted anything and everything I had to offer them based on some simple, yet extremely important ideas: cultivating community, kindness, friendships, participation, and identity. They were interested in using dance integration to build on math concepts like patterns, counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's. They wanted more rhythmic exercises. They understood, based on our work last year, that dance can also be a powerful classroom management tool. A tool that keeps the students engaged from one area of study to another, and from one physical space to another. They were ready.

On-site, we dug into our plans right away. I established a "name game" seated in a circle, based on rhythm and repetition. The name game built into a vocal exercise, and then a dance. We memorized each other's names and created movement for each name. Then, we took out the sound and performed the name dance to music. In ten minutes, we established that we would be using our brains and bodies to do our work together. We established that each voice mattered, in just the way each person presented themselves, and that there are multiple correct answers to the given question. And, we created success for ourselves. 

We built on this foundation throughout the classes to explore balance, flexibility, momentum, our relationship to time, rhythm, music, music, effort, shape, levels, and pathways. We incorporated activating the parasympathetic nervous system, our internal "brake", with three intentional breaths as a transitional exercise before we shared our reflections on each activity. 

We explored the basic story arc (beginning, middle, end) using a pathway exercise that we translated to a visual art activity. Understanding the story arc supported our exploration of the text, "I am Yoga." Together we listened and watched a video reading of the book, repeated on consecutive days. Each class explored the poses presented in the text and illustrations. We supported the text by learning a set of sun salutations that we repeated three times during classes 2-4. 

Finally, we created a body tracing of each student in an individual pose on large sheets of paper. Students then answered the open-ended question: "I am ____" with support. Teachers helped the students write the words they offered to describe themselves within their body tracing. Students were encouraged to add illustrations to their body tracings to support their description of themselves. This unconventional self-portrait will hang in the classrooms to be revisited periodically as new learning, vocabulary, and discoveries are made.

The sheer joy students expressed performing their work was refreshing and motivating. The teachers were co-learners with their students, finding out new details about each student's motivations and perceptions of self. 

The teachers were reminded that their students share their knowledge in many forms, particularly when their learning is embodied. When a student struggled to verbalize, they could demonstrate. When they could not demonstrate, they could illustrate it through drawing. 

As educators, we saw ourselves again through the eyes of our students and were reminded that we all learn best when we feel welcomed, seen, heard, and encouraged to be our best selves. 

I'm already looking forward to the possibilities of next year!

-- Kelly King, Story Tapestries Teaching Artist and Artistic Director of Contradiction Dance Theatre

Links:

• https://storytapestries.org/
• The Movement
• http://contradictiondance.com/