GCSE, AS and A-level Dance specifications Liz Dale GCSE Dance Principal Examiner and Principal...

GCSE, AS and A-levelDance specifications

Liz Dale

GCSE DancePrincipal Examiner and Principal Moderator

Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.Version 3.0

Copyright © AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Why the change?

What does this mean for teachers?

40%

60%

GCSE Dance

Written

Practical50%50%

AS & A level Dance

Written

Practical

Dance Reform


Timelines

GCSE, AS and A-level Dance

First teaching – from September 2016

First AS exam Summer 2017

Free-of-charge launch meetings to be held July–September 2015 nationwide

Free preparing to teach meetings in 2016

First GCSE and A-level exam – Summer 2018


Dance Reform

Three core areas of content remains the same:• performance

• choreography

• dance appreciation.


GCSE Dance subject content

Per

form

ance

Physical skills and attributes

Technical skills

Expressive skills

Mental skills and attributes

Safe working practices



Cho

reog

raph

yChoreographic processes

Choreographic devices

Structuring devices and form

Dance for different performance environments

Different stimuli and aural settings and their effect on choreographic intentions

Selection of spatial and relationship design

Selection and use of aural setting



App

reci

atio

nCritical appreciation of own work through analytical, interpretative and evaluative

judgments

Critical appreciation of professional works

Choreographic approaches

Constituent features of dance

Contributions of choreography, performance and features of production

Relationships between choreography, performance and features of production

Purpose and significance of different performance environments

Appropriate dance terminology and subject specific language


Structure of new GCSE Dance specification

Linear • Assessment at the end of the course

Two components• Performance and choreography (Practical)

• Dance appreciation (Written Examination)

New grading system• 1–9 (9 being the highest grade available)


Structure of new GCSE Dance specification

Component 1 60% Practical non-exam

Assessed by

teachers

Moderated by AQA

Component 2 40% Written examination

Three sections

Section A

• Knowledge and understanding of choreographic processes and performing skills

Section B

• Critical appreciation of own work

Section C

• Critical appreciation of professional works


Component 1: Performance and Choreography

• Solo performance of set phrases – 15 marks• Duet/trio performance – 25 marks

• Choreograph a dance – 40 marks

• solo or group (two-five dancers)

• in response to list of tasks (published by AQA at the start of each academic year).

30% Performance + 30% Choreography

Performance

Choreography


Component 1: Performance and choreography

Solo performance – set phrases 15 marks

• All six phrases will have comparable demand and comparable content

• Each phrase is approximately 20 seconds in length

• The performance for assessment must be an accurate reproduction of action, spatial and dynamic content as choreographed

• Phrases will be available in Autumn 2015 with supporting notes

Each of the three selected phrases must be performed independently and recorded for assessment

• The accurate reproduction of movement created by someone else, reflects the skills necessary for a performer in the dance industry

Performance

Teacher or student chooses three from six set phrases to perform

Why?



Duet or Trio performance

25 marks

• Can be in any style but must address the assessment criteria

• The same three set phrases that the student performs for the solo performance must be included in the duet/trio

• The phrases should be developed to accommodate a chosen dance style

• Final performance must be a minimum three and a half minutes to five minutes maximum

• Inclusion of common material provides parity of demand across performance pieces

• A useful teaching tool for exploring how to develop movement

• Assesses different skills to performance of the phrases

Performance

Why?



Choice of Solo or Group Choreography

40 marks

• Student chooses one task from a list of tasks set by AQA• List of tasks available at the start of the academic year of certification• Tasks based on broad categories• Solo choreography two to two and a half minutes• Group choreography (2–5 dancers) three to three and a half minutes

• Different tasks each year adds interest

• Externally set tasks provide more tightly focused/suitably creative stimuli

• Provides link to the demands of AS and A-level

Choreography

Why?


Component 2: Dance appreciation

One and a half hours – 80 marks – 40%

• Three sections

• guidance given for how long to spend on each section

• marked by AQA examiners

• example specimen paper and mark scheme

• a GCSE Dance glossary will be provided on the AQA website.

• Evidence of academic study

• Links to the demands of AS and A-level

Written exam paper

Why?



Section A: questions about

• a hypothetical dance scenario

• performance skills

• choreographic processes.

Section B: questions about

• own practice during the course

• own choreography or own performance piece.

Section C: questions about

• the study of works in the GCSE Dance anthology.



GCSE Dance Anthology (approximately three hours total length)

THE GCSE DANCE ANTHOLOGY WILL BE PUBLISHED IN AUTUMN 2015

Students study all eight professional works

• Each work is between 10 & 30 minutes in duration

Works will cover a range of styles and style fusions including:

• ballet

• urban

• contemporary

• inclusive dance

• dance for camera/film

• dance from other cultures.

• Allows for the study of a range of styles in current dance practice

• Provides students with appropriate breadth of study

• Can be used to exemplify good practice in the study of the practical elements

• Works can be viewed in a single lesson

Why?


How do I assess?

• Teacher ONLINE standardisation available and refreshed every year• 60% (all practical work) is marked by the teacher• All work must be assessed during a live performance in the year of certification• A recording of the live assessment must be made• All practical work will be moderated by an AQA moderator using the recording of the

live assessment• Recording guidelines as documented in the specification must be followed• After the external moderation process has been completed, a report will be sent to

each centre, giving feedback on the standard of the marking and the suitability of the work presented for assessment

• Teachers mark all practical work

• Moderation on video means that the work can be assessed at a time to suit the centre providing

it takes place in the year of certification

Why?


Timeline for resources

GCSE solo performance set phrases published from December 2015

GCSE Dance anthology published Autumn 2015

Free-of-charge launch meetings to be held July–September 2015 nationwide

Free preparing to teach meetings in 2016

Courses to deliver set phases – Summer 2016

Exampro launch Autumn 2016


Resources

What can you expect over the next year?

• The GCSE Dance anthology free and online, available when you commit to teach.

• Exampro a searchable bank of past AQA GCSE Dance exam questions.

• Exemplar student work (practical and written) with moderator/examiner commentaries.

• Dance advisory service each school or college is allocated a subject adviser. You can contact them for one-to-one

advice on any aspect of the subject, assessment and/or support with planning and

delivery.

• Subject communityprovides access to free resources and services offered by many dance organisations and

universities.


Courses

Teacher standardisationour teacher online standardisation (T-OLS) system allows teachers and whole

departments to work through exemplar and standardisation material quickly and easily

Support meetings offering practical teaching strategies and approaches to help you with course delivery

Teacher network group allows teachers to contact colleagues at other schools/colleges to share ideas about

resources and teaching strategies for the AQA specification

Training coursesby AQA appointed experts - to help you deliver AQA dance qualifications

Subject expertise coursesfor all teachers, from newly-qualified teachers who are just getting started to experienced

teachers looking for fresh inspiration


Structure of new AS and A-level Dance specification

They are stand alone qualifications

The work assessed at AS level does NOT count

towards the final A-level grade, as it does currently

The course is co-teachable further guidance on how you can do this

will be available on the website

Linear – all assessment at the end of the course



50%

• Component 1• Performance & Choreography• Visiting Examination

50%

• Component 2• Critical Engagement• Written Examination



Component 1

Practi

cal

• assessment tasks in performance and choreography are specific to each course

• knowledge skills and understanding of performance and choreography will be developed from AS to A-level

Component 2

Written

• short answer and essay questions• areas of study (including practitioners)• additional set works at A-level


AS and A-level Dance overview

AS Dance A-level Dance

Component 1Performance and Choreography

• Solo performance of own choreography

• Duet/trio performance

Visiting examined

Component 1Performance and Choreography

• Solo performance in the style of a practitioner

• Quartet performance• Group choreography

Visiting examined

Component 2Critical engagement

• Own practice• Compulsory area of study• Optional area of study

Written exam 2 hours

Component 2Critical engagement

• Compulsory set work and corresponding area of study

• Optional set work and corresponding area of study

Written exam 2 hours 30 minutes


AS and A-level Dance

New structure and content for the written paper

• greater variety of question styles • more time for completion

Areas of study (AoS) and set works

• includes one compulsory and four optional areas of study• expected to remain the same through the lifetime of the

specification

Each area of study has a corresponding set work for study at A-level



Ram

ber

t D

ance

C

om

pan

y 19

66–2

002 The Romantic ballet period

The origins of American modern dance 1900–1945

American jazz dance 1940–1975

The independent contemporary dance scene in Britain 2000 to present

Areas of Study



• AS - students answer questions linked to own practice which links to GCSE

• A-level - the focus is on responses to professional works and practitioners

• AS and A-level - allows students (as they develop as dancers) to embody the knowledge and understanding through the exploration of areas of study, practitioners and set works

• AS and A-level - provides a firm foundation for further study at Higher Education and links with the professional dance world

Why?


Progression to AS and A-level The GCSE, AS and A-level have clear progression through the qualifications:


Support

• We’re here to support you throughout the exam changes and beyond, please contact the Dance department if you have any questions.

• Sign up for our email updates to get information about the changes, details of free launch meetings and available support materials

• aqa.org.uk/keepinformeddance

• Visit aqa.org.uk/dance

• Email [email protected]

• Call 01483 437 750

GCSE, AS and A-level Dance specifications Liz Dale GCSE Dance Principal Examiner and Principal...

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