My Student Teaching Journey

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I got the amazing opportunity to student teach at Greeley Central High School in Greeley, Colorado alongside Dance Teacher and Arts Magnet Program Coordinator Christy O'Connell Black. There I received an exponential amount of experience and have grown in more ways than I can explain. My master teacher was the perfect role model for me as she showed me how being a dance teacher encapsulates the dancer as a whole and not only the instructor aspect but the way performing, choreographing, and directing plays a huge part in developing the strongest community in the classrooms and giving the students a truly well-rounded dance education.  I taught a Dance 1- Arts Magnet Program class where all students in the class have a Arts Magnet emphasis (ex: Dance, Music, Theatre, Choir, Visual Art), a Dance 1- Regular class for students wanting to receive elective and P.E credit, and a Dance 1- IFL/SPED class for students within the ranges of disabilities that show up in cognitive, emotional, verbal and physical ways. 

In these classes, I taught all forms of dance education through lecture, technique development, choreography building and assessment, classroom and personal reflections, research, and performance. These classes gave me the opportunity to understand how to teach similar concepts to different demographics of students and utilize dance as a true form of communication and connection. From embodying all concepts of dance inside the classroom to performing at events like the Big Band Boogie Ball, the Arts and Culture Assembly, Basketball Games, and the end of the year Arts Magnet Gala; these students took everything they learned through the semester and brought it into their school and community and I feel very lucky to have been a part of this experience. Though I already knew how important dance in school was and is, teaching proved even more to me how teaching these students and helping them find themselves through movement create the next generation of creators, inspirers, and dreamers. I learned so much from these students, my master teacher, and this school that have made me a better teacher and artist and I am very excited to take my experience into my future teaching. To give you an idea of my teaching experience at this school and the community we built,  here below are pieces that encompass me as a dance teacher, educator, and instructor.