An Evaluation of Virtual Training for Teaching Dance Instructors to Implement a Behavioral Coaching Package

Few dance instructors receive formal training on how to teach dance skills using behavioral coaching methods and may employ an authoritarian teaching style that utilizes coercive feedback, which can adversely affect dancers’ experiences. A behavior analytic approach to dance education may provide dance instructors with strategies that increase the accuracy of dance movements and positively affect dancers’ satisfaction with their dance classes. Using a concurrent multiple-baseline design across five dance instructors, we evaluated the outcomes of a virtual training informed by the behavioral skills training framework on dance instructors’ implementation of an introductory behavior analytic coaching package consisting of four strategies: task analyzing, emphasizing correct performance with focus points, assessing performance through data collection, and using behavior-specific feedback. We selected these strategies to provide dance instructors with a solid foundation to behavioral coaching methods. It is promising that all dance instructors who participated in virtual training met mastery criteria and maintained their performance at a 1-month follow-up. Future research may consider exploring virtual adaptations that promote more efficient training methods for teaching dance instructors to implement behavioral coaching methods.