{"id":13168,"date":"2021-11-24T14:55:24","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T14:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/?p=13168"},"modified":"2021-11-24T14:55:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-24T14:55:24","slug":"brass-bands-and-ballrooms-what-can-we-learn-about-assessment-and-feedback-from-strictly-come-dancing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/flie\/2021\/11\/24\/brass-bands-and-ballrooms-what-can-we-learn-about-assessment-and-feedback-from-strictly-come-dancing\/","title":{"rendered":"Brass bands and ballrooms: what can we learn about assessment and feedback from Strictly Come Dancing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A very long time ago, in the early 1970s, I competed at national level, even dancing in the finals at the iconic Blackpool Tower ballroom, and can share some insights from my \u2018lived experience\u2019 of dance competitions. There happened to be a ballroom dancing school in the village I grew up in, famous for its woollen mill and for being cut off by deep snowfall in winter.\u00a0 The dance teachers frequently appeared on Come Dancing,<\/em> the forerunner of Strictly Come Dancing<\/em>. (There\u2019s a link at the end to find out more about Come Dancing). The Black Dyke Mill band practiced in the schoolroom over the road from the house I grew up in and the Brighouse and Rastrick Band in rooms at my secondary school. \u00a0In competitions we danced to \u2018big band\u2019 music.\u00a0 I have brass band music as well as ballroom dancing \u2018in my bones\u2019. As a result I know a thing or two about posture, footwork, and musicality, enough to be able to join in the marking when Strictly is on TV. \u00a0Maybe this is where my interest in assessment and feedback came from!<\/p>\n

Some thoughts about Assessment and Feedback in Strictly Come Dancing.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What are the celebrity dancers being judged on? What is being assessed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fundamentals \u2013 posture, footwork and musicality or \u2018performance\u2019 come up a lot.\u00a0BUT there are no explicit criteria<\/em> (unlike the BU Generic Assessment Criteria), no clear pass or fail thresholds<\/em>. This has always seemed mysterious to me \u2013 but hey, it\u2019s only a TV programme!<\/p>\n

Is it possible to compare very different dances? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Some dances have the reputation of being notoriously harder than others, for example the rumba and the samba, but some contestants excel at them. Are some assignments perceived to be harder than others?\u00a0The implicit\u00a0basic criteria<\/em>\u00a0about posture, steps and musicality apply to all dances. There are no stated Intended Learning Outcomes<\/em> in the show, but we could propose some, such as demonstrate the fundamental principles of the dance; perform a routine without mistake; interpret the style of the dance effectively to music.\u00a0 You can probably think of others.<\/p>\n

What is the quality of feedback? <\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the judges tends to give simple statements as feedback \u2013 \u201cFab-u-lous\u201d<\/em> or \u201cI loved it\u201d<\/em> or \u201cAwful darling\u201d<\/em>, without constructive comments about the reasoning behind this, or how or what to improve.\u00a0 The chair of the judges frequently provides a detailed critique of the aspects that impressed and the aspects to improve, particularly the technical aspects of posture and footwork.\u00a0 This can be applied to later dances, though each dance has distinct techniques and style. Another judge provides enthusiastic encouragement but little technical critique, and another often refers to his own recent experience as a pro-dancer in the programme. Which judge are you? This is far from the balanced statements contained in the BU Generic Assessment criteria <\/em>and elaborated by the marker.\u00a0The formative feedback<\/em> is provided throughout the week by the professional dance partners as they teach and rehearse the dance. The couples often say they have taken the judges\u2019 comments seriously and integrated the feedback into the training.<\/p>\n

The public vote<\/strong><\/p>\n

Viewers are invited to participate in the decision by voting online or by phone. The judges\u2019 ranking on the scoreboard and the public ranking are combined and are of equal value. It\u2019s not easy to predict who\u2019ll be in the dance off when the judges\u2019 scores and public vote scores are combined. Is this like having 2 elements of assessment each worth 50%, one involving peer feedback? The <\/em>couples must impress the judges and the public. Only the resulting changes to the scoreboard are revealed. This aspect is not transparent. <\/em>The criteria used by members of the public is a complete mystery. Is it skill? Is it comedy value? Is it attractiveness? \u00a0Are they voting for a popular professional dancer rather than the celebrity partner? Is it a disadvantage to be paired with a new professional partner who hasn\u2019t developed a popular following?<\/p>\n

Are the pro-dancers (who choreograph and teach the routines) being judged too? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes we hear \u201cthe choreography let you down\u201d, \u201cnot enough content\u201d.\u00a0Pro partners will often apologise and offer to \u2018take the blame\u2019, but it does not change the marks.\u00a0\u00a0 This might be similar to situations where the assignment has not been designed to meet the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs), or the assignment content failed to meet all the ILOS. \u00a0\u00a0This links with the literature on alignment.<\/em><\/p>\n

Does the marking get \u2018harder\u2019 as the series progresses? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Much in the same way as the expectation for performance from Levels 4 to 5 to 6 to 7, differs, the competitors are expected to improve from week to week. \u201cThis is week 7, we are expecting more of you than in week 4\u201d. You could replace \u2018week\u2019 with \u2018Level\u2019.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, how does Strictly align with Sambell\u2019s assessment for learning<\/em>? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Quite well on most of the dimensions.<\/p>\n