Adopting new standards for student achievement is only part of the statewide effort to increase learning in dance. CEDFA, the Center for Educator Development in Fine Arts, is helping dance educators prepare to teach the TEKS through professional development activities that are much more substantive than "seat time" or "make-and-take workshops." Three themes are predominant among contemporary models of professional development: on-the-job learning, collaboration, and performance assessment of teachers and students. The pages of this section of the site explore models of professional development and new initiatives that promote effective professional development.

In order to help their students demonstrate the TEKS, dance  teachers should be involved in professional development that:

• Directly relates to the content of the Dance TEKS
• Helps make the Dance TEKS accessible to students who are in the greatest need of improvement
• Meets teachers' individual needs as related to the needs of their students
• Engages teachers in experiential learning, progressing to new levels of understanding and achievement and building on what they already know
• Models appropriate development of knowledge and skills for students in specific grades and courses
• Provides examples of expected student achievement in dance
• Focuses on critical and creative thinking in dance content
• Integrates the four content strands in dance, as appropriate
• Promotes research-based practice that results in demonstrated excellence in student work.