BOOK CURRENT COURSES NOW
These short online courses offer you the opportunity to do some CPD and fit it around your existing home and work commitments. These courses are suitable for teachers of all dance genres and dance awarding bodies or organisation/s. The online courses are not about syllabus. Instead they offer opportunities to explore topics that are non-syllabus related but vital for dance learning and teaching. In this way you can enhance your dance teaching knowledge, skills and understanding in short, doable, and so teachers have confirmed, very interesting and enjoyable courses.
To jump to the details of current short online CPD courses for dance teachers further down this page click here.
Format of short online CPD courses for dance teachers
Below is some general information about the format of the courses.
Course type: each course is one of a series of short online CPD courses for dance teachers and trainee dance teachers created by Dr Sho Botham.
Duration: 3 weeks
Time commitment: the time commitment for each course is 10 hours over the three weeks. This means that you have flexibility in when you study and prepare the weekly assignments to fit around your existing work and family commitments.
Delivery: each course is delivered via short, online, learning activities that may include reading, presentations or videos to watch and practical tasks. Some learning materials or guidance may be provided as PDF files for you to download.
Email tutorials: a very valuable part of these CPD courses.The weekly, email tutorials with your course tutor is a vitally, important aspect of how each course is personalised for you and your dance teaching practice. This provides excellent opportunities for discussion, reflection and feedback.
Cost: each course ONLY costs £99 (GBP) and offers terrific value for money. This includes your three, email tutorials with your course tutor.
ONLINE PAYMENTS: You can now pay for your courses online via Paypal and major credit cards.
Generic outline of courses
Week 1 – Guided learning and/or reviewing plus email tutorial
Week 2 – Planning and application to practice plus email tutorial
Week 3 – Incorporating the development topic into your teaching practice. Reflections and thoughts for future practice plus email tutorial
Each course offers an opportunity to apply the course development to your dance teaching practice through the planning of a class or session incorporating aspects of the course. You receive feedback on your teaching plan, via the weekly email tutorial, before you deliver the taught session. This enables you to incorporate the feedback into your taught class or session which you deliver in the third and last week of the course. Following this taught class or session your last email tutorial reflects on how your class or session went, identifying what went well and why and what needs further development and why. This email tutorial also enables you to consider your future dance teaching practice in relation to the course topic and your development.
Writing: there is no formal essay writing on these short CPD courses. Any writing is in note form. This means that you can write about the topic and your practices and experiences on the course without needing to pay attention to formal essay writing protocols. The key focus of the courses is on applying the CPD development to your dance teaching practice rather than essay writing. Teachers on the courses often find that this takes the pressure off and they can relax and write about their experiences in some depth knowing that the focus is on their teaching practice rather than their writing skills.
Certificate of completion: a certificate of completion is sent to you following your completion of the course.
A sample completion certificate
Further information:
Posts with information about individual courses and course dates are added to this site on a regular basis. You can sign up to the notification facility for free and then you will receive an email each time a new post is published on the site and won’t miss new posts – you can find the Follow or RSS buttons on the right-hand side of the home page or any post on this site.
Questions
There is a comments facility along with the posts on this site and you can leave comments about a post or ask questions there.
You can also contact Sho via email on: sho @ cpdfordanceteachers.com (remove the spaces when using this email address)
New dates for courses
Please check back regularly for information about new dates for Short Online CPD Courses for Dance Teachers. Or why not sign up for free for email notifications when new posts and articles are added to the site?
NB: please remember that all Short Online CPD Courses for Dance Teachers have a closing date for bookings.
List of courses.
For current course availability please go to the Book a Course page
LEARNING AND TEACHING DANCE:
Tension & Rigidity in Dance
A popular course with teachers where we begin by reflecting on how tension and rigidity are often taught or encouraged as a way of achieving control in dance. This might relate to a rigid and tense posture or use of tension and tightness to support the arms or perhaps tensing the feet when dancing. then we move on to explore methods and approaches relating to your own dance teaching practices that aim to develop control in your students’ technique and performance without relying on tension and rigidity.
Information sheet for –Learning and Teaching in Dance – tension & rigidity in dance
Teaching Dance to Older People
This is an ideal course for dance teachers in all dance genres looking to teach dance to older people. It is also a useful course for dance teachers already experienced in teaching older people dance. During this course we will explore and raise awareness of some key issues that we need to consider and put into our dance teaching practice when teaching dance to older people. Considering the needs of the individual older person participating in dance and balancing them the needs of the whole group or class is an essential element of this course. We will explore some of the potential health and social benefits that dance has to offer older people.
Information sheet for – Learning and Teaching Dance: teaching dance to older people
Teaching Social and Leisure dance
Teaching social and leisure dance can be great fun as well as challenging. Explore a variety of teaching structures, methods and approaches appropriate for teaching social and leisure dance. We will also consider differences between teaching syllabus or serious career dance with social and leisure dance. We also consider how to keep dance learning fun as well as safe in the social and leisure dance class. This is a useful course for experienced dance teachers wanting to move between elite and social dance teaching as well as teachers focusing on social and leisure dancing.
Information sheet for – Learning and Teaching Dance: teaching social and leisure dance
Mindfulness in Dance Teaching
A recent addition to Sho’s short online CPD courses for dance teachers. This course is suitable for dance teachers in all genres and teaching all ages from children to adults and older adults. We will explore some key aspects of Mindfulness in relation to dance teaching including, noticing, non-judgemental observing, mindfulness in action, mindful breath and a mindfulness body scan. If you have already taken the Tension and Rigidity Course then you will be interested to explore some of the differences between relaxation techniques and the mindfulness body scan and its use in dance. Join Sho in exploring teaching dance in the present, in the Now. For some this will be the first step of a journey of exploration into Mindfulness in Dance Teaching.
Information sheet for – Learning and teaching dance: Mindfulness in Dance Teaching
Child Development for Dance Teachers
A popular course where we explore ways of enhancing dance teaching practice through introducing understanding of child development. We identify and explore some key milestones of child development from two years to pre-adolescence including physical, emotional and social development all in relation to the teaching and learning of dance. Teaching what your young student dancers are ready to learn developmentally makes for more effective teaching, learning and progress and benefits both teacher and student. You will be encouraged to consider how best to bring understanding of basic child development into your teaching. This will include planning a class or session and then teaching it in the final week of the course. You will be applying in practice aspects of what we cover on this course and receive feedback in your weekly email tutorials. This will ensure that you have the opportunity to reflect on how to effectively put this understanding into your own dance teaching practice. Throughout this course we will consider how your dance teaching can support positive social development within this population of young dance learners.
Information sheet for – Learning and teaching – child development for dance teachers
Teaching Dance for Health
Teaching dance for health is becoming very popular in society today. In the UK there are reports of GPs giving out dance prescriptions just as they give out exercise prescriptions. There are many potential health and social benefits for people enjoying regular dance classes and opportunities. In this course we will explore what we mean by health in the context of Dance for Health and how we can focus on the health and social benefits when teaching a Dance for Health class in contrast with say, a class focusing on high levels of technique and elite performance. You will consider ways to promote healthy physical activity, positive mental health and social interaction within a dance class or session. You will plan a dance class where the focus of the teaching is on promoting the potential physical, mental health and social benefits of participating in the dance activity and meeting the needs of your dancers. In the final week of the course you will teach your planned class or session, reflect on it and consider it in relation to your future teaching in this area.
Dance for Health can be a very rewarding experience for the dance teacher as well as the dance learner. Dance for Health is suitable for all dance genres and all ages.
Information sheet for – Learning and teaching dance: Teaching Dance for Health
Positive psychology for Dance Teachers: an introduction
Positive psychology for dance dance teachers explores some key aspects of positive psychology from a dance teaching perspective. We will look at the concept of flourishing and what it means for dance teachers to help their dance students to flourish and thrive in the dance learning setting. We will consider teaching approaches and methods that enable and support application of elements of positive psychology within the dance class. Other elements of positive psychology such as facilitating autonomy, flow, positive feedback, a sense of competence, creativity and so on will also be considered and explored.
During this course there will be opportunities to discuss, via your email tutorials, and reflect on potential key benefits of positive psychology from a dance learning and dance teaching perspective.
Information sheet for –Positive psychology for dance teachers – an introduction
DANCE TEACHING ETHICS:
An introduction
Another popular course that engages teachers in areas of dance teaching that encourage us to think about the sorts of ethical dilemmas that arise in relation to dance and dance teaching. Dance teachers have actually been dealing with ethical dilemmas for a very long time but without necessary recognising them as such. In ethical dance teaching practice we aim to deal with such dilemmas in ways that respect the whole person. We do this through teaching methods and approaches that value dance students and dancers for what they are rather than what they can do. In other words, valuing the person they are and not just their dance abilities. This ethical or person-centred dance teaching practice considers both the physical and psychological aspects of the teaching. Ethical teaching helps student dancers and dancers to reach their fullest potential.
During this course we will explore, discuss and reflect on examples of teaching ethically and how ethical principles can be applied in dance teaching practice. We will also consider the codes, rules or standards that dance teachers often sign up to and how they work or not in practice.
Information sheet for – Dance teaching ethics – an introduction
SAFE DANCE TEACHING PRACTICE:
Proprioception
A fascinating aspect of dance. We begin by exploring the ‘sixth sense’ or ‘awareness of one’s own body in space’ and during the course consider ways to develop and enhance this in the dance students you teach. We also explore teaching techniques for dance students with reduced proprioception such as those with hypermobility syndrome. Planning and teaching a session or class focusing on developing and enhancing proprioception in the dance class enables an opportunity to apply this understanding in your dance teaching practice.
Information sheet for – Safe Dance Teaching Practice: proprioception
Teaching the Adolescent Dancer
Dance teachers often find it challenging to deal with the physical and psychological changes that their adolescent dance students experience. This short course aims to identify and explore some of the key changes that occur around the time of the adolescent growth spurt in relation to the learning and teaching of dance. We also consider effective teaching approaches and modifications that support the adolescent dancer. Planning and teaching a session focusing on applying this course content relating to teaching the adolescent dancer in your own dance teaching practice Planning and teaching a session or class with adolescent dance students enables a valuable opportunity to apply the understanding from this course in your own dance teaching practice.
Information sheet for –Teaching the adolescent dancer
As further courses are developed they will be added to the list above.
cpd for dance teachers 