IDTA LONDON MEETING

2014

PROFESSIONAL REPORT WRITING

You are all examiners who have a wealth of knowledge in a range of areas of dance

You have been working in the dance business for many years

The change in structure to the examination process has meant the development of a uniformity of practice needed across all areas

To be able to do this we are going to explore together the diff erent aspects of the process

My knowledge in this area comes from creating, developing and analysing reports for 20 years

This is a two way process and I am learning as well as giving advice, so please feel free to interject and to make points if you feel they are appropriate

TERMS OF REFERENCE

A report is a statement of the results of an investigation or of any matter on which definite information is required

The statement in this case will focus on – DEMONSTRATION- UNDERTANDING AND APPLICATION OF THEORY – THE ABILITY TO TEACH THE SUBJECT- SOFT SKILLS (Presentation, Communication etc.)

What kinds of underpinning investigative terms are used in this type of professional report – TECHNICAL – KNOWLEDGE OF THE AREA – STYLE – PROJECTION – COMPETENCY – EXPERIENCE - ETC

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A REPORT

A report should be written in the third person avoiding words such as “I”, “we” and “you”.

It should be logical The tense should be regularised in the past (The candidate

showed a high level of ability in….) The report is feeding back to the candidate, the exam board

and the teacher/coach and thus should not be personalised The report should always be constructive Never trust a spell check unless you have changed it to

English from American English as it will not pick up certain terms used

Avoid words like nice, and good as they are meaningless and do not attribute a value. Appropriate must be used in conjunction with some form of theoretical advice

Use a Thesaurus to fi nd alternative words

HOUSEKEEPING

Knowledge and

understanding

Ability

Stylistic integrityCompetence

Application in context

THE EXAMINATION MODEL

OBJECTIVITY AND NOT

SUBJECTIVITY

WHAT IS THE FOCUS OF THE REPORT

STRUCTURECONTENT

STYLECONSISTENCY

THE REPORT

Have you used clear and concise language?Are your sentences short and jargon free?Have you used the correct technical terms for the

level examined?Are your paragraphs tightly focused?Have you used the active or passive voice in the

same way throughout the report? It is not appropriate in a report to use colloquialisms

e.g. “singing from the same hymn sheet” or “at the end of the day” etc.

WRITING STYLE

TriviaNon dance related activityThe way the candidate looks, (apart from grooming)

e.g. the candidate has nice hairPersonal remarks about the candidates attributes,

e.g. weightMaking assumptions

THESE TYPES OF COMMENTS ADD NO VALUE AS THIS IS NOT

WHAT THEY ARE BEING EXAMINED ON

WHAT THE REPORT IS NOT ABOUT

A balanced investigation, which clarifies the terms of reference for the examination

The use of a range of terms that will be helpful in both understanding the result and to help with preparation for future examinations

The whole experience should be both examination and preparation and it is a two way experience e.g. a constructive and critical appraisal not a discussion of what was presented

WHAT THE REPORT IS ABOUT

To ensure that each time that a candidate receives a report they are getting a balanced examination

To ensure that the money that they are paying for their examination is thought to be good value

To prepare the candidate for their next examination

OBJECTIVITY MEANS THAT YOU STICK TO THE FORMAT AND DO NOT MAKE PERSONAL REMARKS IN REGARD TO THE CANDIDATE

WHY DO WE HAVE TO HAVE A SUBJECTIVE UNIFORMITY IN THE

REPORT

THEATRE BRANCH CONFIGURATION

60%20%

20%

Theatre Branch Examination

Technical Knowledge etc.Choreographic Skills etcPresentation & Communication

BALLROOM BRANCH CONFIGURATION

Ballroom Branch Examination

25%

25%25%

25%

Ballroom Branch Examination

DemonstrationSolo DemonstrationTeaching AbilityTheory

PRACTICAL ANOMALY

AREA

Examination Time

KNOWLEDGE & INFORMATION

TECHNIQUE

TEACHING ABILITY

SOLO DEMONSTRATION100%

100%

100%

100%

When marking out of 100% it can be very diffi cult and time consuming however, if you identify the following areas it can be much easier

Create objective categoriesBreak up the main chunks Identify a marking frameworkUtilise anchor points

Over time this becomes second nature

KEY POINTERS

THE WHITE SPACE CONUNDRUMREDUCTION OF COMPATIBILITY

Likelihood ofCompatibility

Likelihood ofCompatibility

Examiner 1 Examiner 2

Examiner 1

Examiner 2

45%

10%

THE EXCELLENCE SCALE

DESCRIPTION

CRITICALANALYSIS

&APPRAISAL

ANALYSIS&

APPRAISAL

There are a number of sections in the report that are not mutually exclusive – For example – Demonstration – Theory – Teaching ability and - portfolio

All of these elements are linked as the understanding of the theory will be demonstrated and will come out through their ability to teach and may be reproduced in the portfolio. Thus by using the examination as an holistic tool you as examiners can give a more rounded assessment of the subject

The report must refer to the mandatory sections of the examination

CONSIDERING THE REPORT AS A WHOLE

Too little information creates uncertainty and a feeling of being short changed – Good portfolio with information and photographs

Very factual but has absolutely no indication for the candidate why the mark was given or how to improve on their mark

The majority of questions were answered correctly and the candidate had obviously studied very hard

Again factual but does not state which areas were weak and which were strong and the sentence ending does not make any sense.

Nice hair, nice smile and the candidate has a very nice personality

What relevance has this?

POOR COMMENTS ON THE FORM

Comprehensive comments

A very expressive and rhythmical performance showing a strong use of syllabus figures. For even more progression the candidate must work to lock the supporting leg during the backward walks and allow the last backward walk during some figure work to complete the action in full. Otherwise excellent work at this level

WELL PREPARED COMMENTS ON THE FORM

The candidate shows an excellent understanding of technique at this level with most pleasing ideas for teaching this work throughout. Faults and their correction were confidently discussed and pleasing and additional exercises to aid the development of strength and flexibility were offered. Anatomy has been studied and applied to discussions on the exercises arranged. The importance of good posture and the ability to alter this to create character style was explored. An excellent portfolio of work was presented.

WELL PREPARED COMMENTS ON THE FORM

This is not about the amount of comments but the quality of the feedback and the enablement of the candidate to cross reference reports year on year

White space does not look good It is about giving the candidate a feeling that the

examiner is interested, showed them the courtesy of giving them some feedback and was there to help them in their dance career

A caring comment at the end may go down well but beware of too much personalisation

CONSIDERATION – COMPETENCY - CARING

WHAT IS IT REALLY ABOUT?

Create intended learning outcomesChecklistsElectronic formatLevel descriptorsSupport websiteReport writing sessions for new examinersTaking out the issues of bad practice

WAYS TO IMPROVE A REPORT

ANY QUESTIONS?