October 12 - November 8, 2026

Professor: Patricia Cohen

Tuition: $215 member / $315 non-member

4 Weeks; 1 NDEO-Endorsed PDC

**Optional add-on** College Credits through Oakland University: 1

This Mini Course explores human development as it informs our teaching of students of all ages and abilities. Exploration will cover general domains including physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. As dance educators, we need to be aware of our students’ development in each of these domains. Participants will utilize this information in observing and identifying behaviors in each of the domains, and in creating learning environments in which all dance students can succeed.

No Book Required

To receive college credit for this course in addition to PDCs, you must register through Oakland University by scheduling an advising session and finalizing your registration through OU before the August 15 deadline.

Questions about this Course?  Email opdi@ndeo.org

"This course has helped me apply procedures to my classes that have helped my students have a better dance experience. I really liked being able to think about students I am currently working with and how some of these new procedures or visuals I could use would help them."

"I really enjoyed thinking about different teaching tools that I can use to interact with students. I realized that things I generally use with only one age group can actually work in different ways with a larger age range. I am inspired by the work of the other students in the class and always welcome the opportunity to reflect on the work we do every day in the studio and try new things and new ideas. "

"This helped me to better understand my students, which in turn I think will make me a better teacher. The exercises of identifying teaching strategies for each domain and then creating an activity to each really helped me to better understand how everything is connected."

"I really enjoyed this class! Learning about the different developmental stages and how it relates to dance was truly interesting and definitely taught me new teaching strategies and plans."

"As a teacher I found new and refreshing ways to incorporate all the developmental domains."

Patricia Cohen, MA is an adjunct faculty member in NYU/Steinhardt’s MA dance education program, where she mentors student leadership to promote enhanced understanding of diversity and equity. Cohen develops and teaches courses for NDEO’s Online Professional Development Institute, including the Professional Teaching Standards for Dance Arts; Dance History: Global, Cultural and Historical Considerations, and two mini courses. She presents regularly at NDEO and other national and international conferences. Cohen contributed chapters to Jazz Dance: A History of Roots and Branches (2014), Guarino and Oliver, editors, and to Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetic and Equity for the 21st Century (2022), Guarino, Jones and Oliver, editors.  She co-created NDEO’s 2016 and 2019 special topics Jazz Dance conferences, which were based conceptually on the 2014 book and on contemporary issues in jazz dance. She contributes to and serves on the editorial board of NDEO’s Dance Education in Practice journal. A founding member of NDEO, Cohen has served on the NDEO Board of Directors. She received NDEO’s 2011 Leadership Award and 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award. Pat teaches OPDI-M29:   Dance History: Global, Cultural and Historical Considerations; OPDI-M2: Elements of Movement; and OPDI-M4: Developmental Domains.

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