Advice for teachers - Dance

Employability skills

The VCE Dance study provides students with the opportunity to engage in a range of learning activities. In addition to demonstrating their understanding and mastery of the content and skills specific to the study, students may also develop employability skills through their learning activities.

The nationally agreed employability skills* are: Communication; Planning and organising; Teamwork; Problem solving; Self-management; Initiative and enterprise; Technology; and Learning.

The table links those facets that may be understood and applied in a school or non-employment related setting, to the types of assessment commonly undertaken within the VCE study.

Assessment taskEmployability skills selected facets

Written report/responses to structured questions

Communication (writing to the needs of an audience; reading independently, persuading effectively)

Multimedia report

Technology (having a range of basic IT skills, using ICT to organise data)

Performance of a learnt group dance work

Communication (listening and understanding, empathising)
Team work (working as an individual and as a member of a team, coaching and mentoring skills including giving and receiving feedback)
Learning (being open to new ideas and techniques, being prepared to invest time and effort in learning new skills)

Choreography and performance of a solo dance work

Planning and organising (managing time and priorities, being resourceful, taking initiative and making decisions, developing a vision and a proactive plan to accompany it)
Problem solving (developing practical solutions, showing independence and initiative in identifying problems and solving them)
Learning (managing own learning)
Self-management (evaluating and monitoring own performance, having knowledge and confidence in own ideas and visions, articulating own ideas and visions)
Initiative and enterprise (being creative, translating ideas into action)

*The employability skills are derived from the Employability Skills Framework (Employability Skills for the Future, 2002), developed by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Business Council of Australia, and published by the (former) Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training.