Draws from personal experiences in teaching a fourth-grade class in Canada to highlight the benefits for students of incorporating into the curriculum such playlike activities as shaping plasticine models, painting, cutting and pasting, and playing games. Identifies skills reinforced by particular activities and the benefits of the activities to…

Knowledge can be taught effectively in the classroom, but skills can best be learned by on-the-job coaching. Coaching is a cost-effective way to reinforce new behaviors and skills until the skill feels more natural and begins to result in better performance. (SK)

Skills transfer will occur if planners (1) structure expectations (clarify objectives, focus on behavior, keep expectations achievable and consistent, ensure learner ownership); (2) improve skills (keep objectives at the correct level of cognitive domain, focus on applications, integrate training with the natural environment); and (3) establish…

The author discusses misconceptions about behavior modeling as a management skills training method and elaborates on three major steps in the modeling process: (1) effective demonstration of master performance; (2) guided student practice; and (3) feedback on the quality of student effort. (SK)

It is argued that a behavioral objectives approach to dance education is dangerously limited because it is dominated by a particular view of theoretical psychology that attempts to understand skill learning in terms of conditioning and reinforcement. This approach is especially limited in the teaching of creative and expressive dance. (RM)