By Madeleine Scott, Registered Movement Pattern Analyst
The application of Movement Pattern Analysis in building teams was not the focus of my experiment with making basic profiles of undergraduate dance majors for a seminar on career development. However, I realized that an implicit team relationship clearly exists between student and teacher.
Students and teachers must work together, or they will fail to collaborate successfully in the educational enterprise. The profile information about the group allowed me to re-assess the strengths and weaknesses of my own profile. This re-assessment of my own style helped me to be a more effective teacher and to respond appropriately to the “team profile” style that this group of students engendered.
In summary, the use of MPA as a teaching tool can improve performance for faculty in various ways:
1) MPA can provide a novel and self-reflective way to analyze course organization and management, and to strategize meeting the needs of students with different learning styles;
2) MPA can provide perspective on the academic advising activities required of the professoriate today;
3) It can enhance mentorship practices required for new faculty and staff.
Find out more about Movement Pattern Analysis in MoveScape Center’s March introductory course.