Juries vs. Alternate Assessment in Stimulating Higher Order Thinking in Dance Technique

Abstract

Performance juries are a standard form of assessment in many dance programs, particularly in university programs and performing arts high schools. Yet, they often assess lower level procedural knowledge and do not require or encourage students to engage in higher order thinking, metacognition, or in the cognitive or affective learning domains. This article details an alternate assessment, movement portfolios, which adapts a common assessment from multiple intelligence theory and applies it to the dance studio. This assessment requires metacognition, allows for student-centered pedagogies, and encourages students to create a narrative of their own learning, which promotes an understanding of what, how, and why they learned.