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Educate...

Motivate...

Inspire...

A of my work

This collection represents my journey in Sport Coaching and Leadership through the Master's of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University. As a dance educator seeking to educate, motivate and inspire, I am tasked with appealing to the physical, mental and social aspects of my athletes. Recognizing that many of my dancers will not puruse dance at a higher level, I seek holistic development through skills and knowledge that can be applied in a variety of domains. The following work depicts examples of how I seek to educate, motivate and inspire my dancers to perform their best and strive for personal growth in all that they do.

Click the photos or buttons below to open each artifact in its entirety.

Physical Education

Applied Research Summary

In this research summary, I took an evaluative look at how eating disorders

and the "ideal" body image affect the classical ballet culture. Environmental, psychological and cultural risk factors

are presented in hopes of educating coaches and shifting the focus back to healthy athlete development.

Becomming familiar with common health issues related to dancers will help me recognize potential signs and

symptoms in my own students.

Critical Performance Factors

This essay outlines the top 5 factors that I consider to be critical to dance as a physical sport and performing art. These performance factors can be used by coaches to enhance athletic development, increase support and heighten success. As a dancer myself, I was familiar with these concepts, but evaluation through this project strengthened my ability to use these factors to strive for personal growth and improvement in my own students.

Strength and Conditioning Circuit

Dance is a physical sport that uses the body as its instrument. This leaves dancers vulnerable to injury if not prepared and conditioned correctly. This project presents common dance injuries along with strength and conditioning exercises that can be performed to aid in injury prevention. Relying on my own knowledge of classical ballet foundations, Yoga and Pilates, I compiled this circuit to provide injury prevention exercises for

my students and help them

condition their bodies correctly.

Mental Motivation

Social Inspiration

Critique of Rewards

Motivational Design Project

Mental Skills Training

Teachers can use rewards to support an individual's motivation to learn and increase understanding. This paper presents my view on the use of rewards as positive reinforcement and uses research to discuss ways that extrinsic motivation can increase performance. As a student who struggled with motivation myself, I recognize rewards as effective only if used correctly. Some strategies in this paper are derived from situations I've experienced in my own classroom.

In this case study, a motivational plan is developed to help a stuggling student stay on task and actively engage in activites in dance class. By creating autonomy, recognizing leadership and developing appropriate groupings, one can help develop behaviors and regulate motivation to learn in this student. Building off of my experiences with a struggling student, this project depicts in classroom research and a variety of strategies used to spark her motivation.

This project discusses imagery as a mental skill that coaches can utilize to help an athlete overcome anxiety, recognize proper emotions and enhance performance. Observations and reflections are made on an imagery script used with a dancer prior to practice and performance. Based off thoughts and imagery I've used as a dancer, this motivational and performance enhancing tool can bring an athlete or any student into a positve, process-centered mindset.

Inside Out Coaching

InSide Out Coaching: How Sports can Transform Lives by Joe Ehrmann describes his coaching philosophy and how coaches can use their platform to impact young lives and make a difference. This book review dives inside my attitude on coaching and evaluates how I can turn transactions into transformations. By reflecting on my own experiences as an athlete and coach, I adapted my own coaching philosophy as a

result of this examination.

Positive Youth Development

This paper takes a look at my existing dance program and discusses key points for revision in hopes of promoting positive youth develpment through dance. Relationship, resiliency and service emerge as key elements in redirecting the focus of the organization. As a result of this paper, I adapted many practices within my own organization and focused my coaching on enhancing my student's holistic experience while under my care.

Teaching Through Experience

Looking at inquiry through the lens of teacher experience helped me to reflect on my own classroom and discover ways I could improve and adapt my teaching to better fit my students. This paper outlines my development into a lifelong learner dedicated to using my experience to grow and evolve with my students. Using my passion to ignite inquiry, this paper reevaluates my interactions and relationships as an active teacher.

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