John Bohannon: Dance vs. Powerpoint

Dance those thoughts

This post is about a TEDx presentation by John Bohannon, an American, who presented in Brussels on this theory of dancing to present information instead of using power point. He is a biologist and a journalist and uses an alter ego known as the Gonzo Specialist. He runs the “Dance Your Ph.D.” contest.

This presentation is not only about that concept but John does it with an example of teaching/conveying science ideas. It also is about the information age and creativity and so many other ideas may popped into my mind as I watched this TEDx. John has challenged his students to use dance to present findings for Ph.D. research and it has turned into a world-wide contest. If you google Ph.D. dance you will see numerous examples of submitted ideas for the contest. But if you don’t have time right now to look at several right you can bookmark this link that has the 2011 winners of the contest. I suggest on the next snow day you can view them. And, perhaps this might give you ideas on how to engage your students in their learning/assessment in a different way. And here is one example that shows the epic mating battle of the fruit flies stars three dancers who undertake extremely clever choreography to depict various stages in the process. Consider sharing this information with your students. It would be great to hear their feedback.

Thank you to Karen Montanaro for sharing this information.