Summary of Action Research Jayde Vaillancourt

1.Original RESEARCH QUESTION Does student self-observation and self-assessment through the use of videography impact dance performance and choreography more than teacher feedback alone?

RELEVANT RESEARCH Capacity Building series (Ministry) -Student self-assessment: -Assessment practices starting to change -Building larger repertoire of assessment tools and strategies -Self-assessment shown to significantly raise student achievement

RELEVANT RESEARCH Benefits of self-assessment: For students: -more skilled at adjusting what they are doing to improve the quality of their work -increased responsibility of their own learning -more opportunities for self-reflection -reduces achievement gaps -develops critical thinking skills -develops problem-solving skills -reduction in disruptive behaviour

RELEVANT RESEARCH Benefits of Self-Assessment For teachers: -increase in student engagement -access to information, otherwise unavailable, about student effort and persistence -students begin to internalize instructional goals and apply them to future efforts

2. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS What I did: Final Exam Performance/Choreography Choreography analysis Theory

2. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS What I did: Performance/Choreography Students (Grade 9 and 10’s) Choreograph 1 minute dance piece Solo or Duet 3 classes given same task

2. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS CRITERIA Criteria decided as a collective (student input) Student focus in their routines CRITERIA GUIDELINES A)Use of levels (high, medium, low) B)5 elements of dance Time Body Space Energy Relationship C) Performance/Expression D) Creativity

2. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS PROCESS 1- Class time given to work on pieces 2- All classes practice performance 3- Performances filmed 4- Culminating activity done in the past…Difficult to mark students without video review 5- Reviewed videos as a class….Assessment/Feedback sheets given out

Self-assessment & teacher feedback

2 classes participated Students asked to improve/change pieces based on both teacher feedback and self-assessment Sheets used while working

teacher feedback

1 class did not do “self-assessment” Originally were not to watch video Students asked to improve/change pieces based only on teacher feedback Sheets used while working

Observations Feedback and self-assessment sheets collected after every work period Class that did not self assess were more anxious for teacher feedback sheets than other classes Class that did not self assess put a lot more value on the teacher feedback form than class that did self assess Classes who used both forms seemed to have used sheets less and less each class …they seemed more confident earlier regarding changes etc…

Final Product Final performance/Filming Students more prepared Improvement and changes noted Compared videos (Initial vs Final) Students who had both feedback sources made more changes DOES Student self-observation and self-assessment through the use of videography DOES impact dance performance and choreography more than teacher feedback alone

3. How has your action research changed your classroom practice Will incorporate in future practices Followed similar exam format last year…added practice/feedback section this year Positive feedback from previous students who did a similar exam Higher performance results in comparison to last year Nature of my course…self- assessment is great to incorporate Use of mirrors etc…

4. Next steps : Implement into classroom to a larger degree Incorporate self-assessment into other activities in classroom Found websites that have self- assessment ideas and checklists for dance (Incorporate classroom next year)

REFERENCES Mcmillan, J.H, and Hearn, J. (2008). Student Self-Assessment: The Key to Stronger Student Motivation and Higher Achievement. Educational Horizons. v.87. p The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat Capacity Building Series. “Student Self- Assessment”. Special Edition #4. December 2007.