Browsing by Author "Borchers, Aleksandra"

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to examine and elaborate teachers’ views on Finnish National Ballet’s dance workshop called So You Think You Can Muuv?. The workshop is conducted by professional dancers and participated by pupils from ages 11 to 16. The teachers’ views on the workshop were compared to the objectives set for the workshop as well as to David Kolb’s model of experiential learning. An evaluation report on the workshop has been compiled in 2015. According to the evaluation report, the workshop has been exceedingly successful and functional. However, as the report only covers the experiences of instructors of the workshop and pupils participated in it, there has not been any previous survey, in this scale, about teachers’ views on the workshop. The research questions were: 1. How successful, in the teachers’ experience, is the workshop? 2. How well are the objectives set for the workshop met in practice? 3. How does the workshop affect the actions and culture of pupils, teachers and schools? 4. How does David Kolb’s model of experiential learning actualize in the learning of pupils participating in the workshop? Methods. The research data was collected through five individual semi-structured interviews. All interviewees were teachers who had participated in the workshop with a group of students during the year 2017. The data analysis method used in this study was theory-based content analysis. Results and Conclusions. The workshop was highly successful, and the objectives were adequate and attainable. To have more far-reaching impact, however, the workshop should be proceeded individually in schools. Extending the workshop was rare and therefore, the workshop did not have significant influence on students’, teachers’ or schools’ actions. To proceed with the workshop after participation, teachers need additional training and help as well as information about dance as a hobby to share with the pupils. The workshop also seemed competent in the viewpoint of a successful experiential learning process. The workshop did indeed start a learning process, but the process rarely seemed to become complete. The workshop, it appears, shows great promise in developing the organizational culture of schools, but further actions are required.