I have been considering different roots related to dance that I could consider for my Inquiry.

I drew a spider diagram, listing some of the things I could look into:

The two I outlined in pink are the two categories I am most interested in.

My Mum is a teacher of the deaf so I would be very interested in looking into how dance and theatre can be used to aid the learning of children who are deaf or blind.

I am currently training to be a TA, so I would also like to look into how qualified you really need to be to become a TA. 

I would love some input if anyone has any! 

In the second section of Reader 4, I was very interested in the difference between competence and capability, I had considered pointing my lines of inquiry towards teaching assistants and asking how qualified do they need to be and what do they really need to know? So this concept has interested me as there is a marked difference between competence and capability.

“The real issue at the heart of the generic competencies debate is whether competency attainment is necessary to be a good practitioner.” Reader 4, Middlesex University (2016) ((Raelin, 2008, pp. 43-44))

“Competence, the ability to do a specific job, is one with which many people are familiar, but capability, the scope to which a person can gain new knowledge, is perhaps the overriding concept used in WBL in higher education. Both are important to identify and both can be seen as framing devices for knowledge in the workplace.” Reader 4, Middlesex University (2016)

I’m interested in the idea that purely being competent is not enough but proving you are capable is another step entirely, I have recently considered that teaching assistant jobs are becoming increasingly professionalised, more qualifications are required, despite the actual teaching experience gained. I have found this myself when applying for TA jobs and have been recently told, despite my years of teaching experience, with all age groups, in various different environments, mostly performing arts related, that I need a formal qualification before any school will hire me. This got me to thinking what exactly it is that a TA needs to know, if my many years of leading my own classes are not enough to prove I am capable, what certificate must I have to prove I am competent? I considered that if I were hiring someone, as a builder lets say, would I prefer to hire the builder with a certificate that says he has passed a building test or to hire the builder who has shown me round a street of houses he has built. Is it (implied) knowledge or experience which is more important?

Any thoughts?

Wilkommen, Beinvunue, Welcome

Starting Module 2

My first blog for module 2 may be a tad overdue, and as I'm sure many of you will understand, life somewhat got in the way, moving house, working a full time job and doing two courses all at once has meant my commitment to all has not been what it should be. So I am a little behind others in my line of inquiry but I am hoping everyone is willing to get on board with me and discuss our idea together.

So Reader 4, after reading other peoples blogs, I was a little apprehensive as man had said they were a little confused after reading this section. I like most needed to re-read the document to really gin everything I wanted to get out of it. Having previously had a Skype conversation with Paula I had an idea of where my inquiry was going to but reader 4 helped me to consolidate that I was going down the right path. 

Links to Work Based Learning

Fisrtly I was struck by Peter Senge's idea of 'learning organisations', his original focus was on businesses and how professional inquiry is useful in the professional business world, but I believe his ideas can be applied to, my chosen career path, teaching. 

"…organizations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together." Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization (1990).

Teaching is a very fast paced and ever changing work environment, no two years in teaching are ever the same, some would argue no two days are the same, so Serge's approach could help to navigate through this industry.

"While all people have the capacity to learn, the structures in which they have to function are often not conducive to reflection and engagement. Furthermore, people may lack the tools and guiding ideas to make sense of the situations they face. Organizations that are continually expanding their capacity to create their future require a fundamental shift of mind among their members." Mark Smith, http://infed.org/mobi/peter-senge-and-the-learning-organization (2001)

Smith suggests that for Senge's 'learning organisation' to work, everyone has to be on board and ready to make the changes necessary to work in a new way and to begin with I struggled to bring to mind any organisation that would have 100% readiness to consistently challenge their employees to learn and question how they can improve. Then I considered that all places of work try this method to some extent or another (with varying degrees of success) whether that be through assessments, catch up interviews or even through simple targets but I doubt that many organisations would be willing to change their entire ethos and attitude towards workplace learning. I have heard in the past that Google are pioneering the way forward for new ways of creating productive work and learning environments in their business and thought I'd see if I could find any information on their business model. 

Here is what I found:

"It’s really the people that make Google the kind of company it is. We hire people who are smart and determined, and we favor ability over experience. Although Googlers share common goals and visions for the company, we hail from all walks of life and speak dozens of languages, reflecting the global audience that we serve. And when not at work, Googlers pursue interests ranging from cycling to beekeeping, from frisbee to foxtrot.

We strive to maintain the open culture often associated with startups, in which everyone is a hands-on contributor and feels comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. In our weekly all-hands (“TGIF”) meetings—not to mention over email or in the cafe—Googlers ask questions directly to Larry, Sergey and other execs about any number of company issues. Our offices and cafes are designed to encourage interactions between Googlers within and across teams, and to spark conversation about work as well as play." Google Inc. https://www.google.com/about/company/facts/culture/  (2016)

"You can be serious without a suit.

Our founders built Google around the idea that work should be challenging, and the challenge should be fun. We believe that great, creative things are more likely to happen with the right company culture–and that doesn’t just mean lava lamps and rubber balls. There is an emphasis on team achievements and pride in individual accomplishments that contribute to our overall success. We put great stock in our employees–energetic, passionate people from diverse backgrounds with creative approaches to work, play and life. Our atmosphere may be casual, but as new ideas emerge in a café line, at a team meeting or at the gym, they are traded, tested and put into practice with dizzying speed–and they may be the launch pad for a new project destined for worldwide use." Google Inc. https://www.google.com/about/company/philosophy/ (2016)

This is a photograph from inside the Google headquarters in London, It has a 'bringing the outside, inside' theme. 

And this is a photo from the Mountain View site in California, there is a bowling alley in the workplace in line with Google's 'casual atmosphere'.

Now, I'm not suggesting we start putting bowling alleys in the staff room but I think there may be something we can apply from Serge's ideas and Google's ethos that could change how we approach learning and adapting in teaching. There is already a lot of planning, strategy and analysis in teaching, but is it done in the right way? Is it conducted in a healthy and constructive way?

These are two questions I could look at as part of my inquiry and I have only reached the first chapter of Reader 4!

I'd love to hear what other BAPP students, especially those also in teaching field, think about the ways in which work based learning and inquiry are used within teaching.

Networking Websites

Task 3a: Current Netoworks

Definition of 'Networking'

“A process that fosters the exchange of information and ideas among individuals or groups that share a common interest. Networking may fall into one of two categories - social or business. In the latter category, one of the implicit objectives is to form professional relationships that may boost one's future business and employment prospects.” [1] (investopedia)

I currently use websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, but I recognise that my current networks are fairly limited and that this is something I need to work on. I have a couple of contacts who I can call on for jobs or tools or general help, but I have not built up a vast network of contacts or industry friends. This may be partly to do with moving into teaching where keeping up with the current fashionable networks is less important and certainly the networks you need change, but as a choreographer I have definitely dropped the ball. I could definitely engage more in the choreographing world, find more new connections and inspiration, even do some free work to get noticed. Many of the people I trained with and my theatre friends have vast networks of contacts and websites that keep them in the loop. Having good connections can get you into secret auditions, score you some free tickets or even drinks with some famous people in the industry, all of these can help you further your career. I believe that the further you progress with your career the more important and useful these networks are, it becomes more important to be in the know and up to date, more important to know the right people and say the right things. It is interesting that we can now network via social media, you can tweet your favourite performer or share your work with an inspiration in your field, this is a while new method of creating a career network.

But why is networking important, how does it benefit us? Having a network can benefit us is many ways from job opportunities to fame to just having someone to talk who understands our networking can provide us with many opportunities. This gives many people motives build strong networks. Most will build networks as way of advancing in their career, the theatre industry can be being in the right place at the right time, so networking can get to that place at the right time. Networking can also be of use even if you’re already at the top of your field, so many celebrities and theatre industry leaders have social media accounts, this both aids their ability to achieve more fame and success but conversely is also a way for the less revered to learn from their idols. Networking is also a two way connection, you may be as useful to your network as your network is to you, this provides a nice group environment to networking as everyone can help each other.

My ideal network would consist of many leading industry professionals, theatre companies and leading performing arts schools. As a choreographer and teacher I want to be connected to emerging young talent, the best performing spaces, inspirational performers and helpful supporters. Many people use social media and online networking to raise their profile or to raise money such as Kickstarter, this is a great way to reach a wider network and a wider range of supporters. It is also important to think of the way you present your online presence, if you are going to network via Facebook, it is important to remember to remain professional and not post anything that might lose you a contact or even a job. You no longer even need an agent as most auditions are now posted on a variety of theatre websites such as casting call pro and spotlight, networks created for you, though they are also used by everyone else so it is not a very exclusive network.

I definitely believe that networking is both important and useful and that I certainly could get better at it (and probably need to). As modern technology pushes ever forwards I struggle to imagine the ways in which we may begin to network in the future.

  

[1] Investopedia “Networking” online. Available from: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/networking.asp#ixzz3uEaM8fNt 

Task 2d: Inquiry

What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?

As a choreographer, choreographing is part of my daily practice and that makes me enthusiastic, being creative and putting what I think or feel into movement. Sometimes I’m more limited when working with younger children, but that merely presents more of a brain challenge to convey my message with fewer steps to choose from. Using movement to share an idea or an opinion or even just to make the audience feel a certain way is great fun, sometimes hard work but a great achievement when it works. One of my favourite choreographers is Mia Michaels, every piece she choreographs has a different message or feeling, she has a distinct style but that doesn’t get in the way of the story. Her choreography gives a dancer room to interpret the emotions and messages for themselves, which gives the piece a greater depth and more realistic.

What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found away to work around the sadness or anger? 

I get angry or sad as a teacher, when I see students who are being pushed by their parents, either to be the best or even into classes they don’t want to do. Pushy parents can be found in many competitive environments from sport to theatre to academia, but “Dance Mums” are by far some of the worst. There has even been a television show in America based around the lives of several pushy theatre mums and their children and whilst it may be amusing to watch on tv, it is not so amusing to witness it first hand. I used to teach a contemporary class on a Saturday morning, a specialist class of only a few specific students capable of the work required. All but one of the children present had earned the right to attend that class, the other had been allowed to attend due to the persistence of her mother. This is inefficient for everyone involved! The capable children are stalled in their learning because they are being dragged back by one struggling student, the struggling student is learning nothing because everything being taught is out of their capabilities, this can also demoralise the less capable student and finally it makes planning and structuring a class difficult as a teacher as you have to compensate for the other student. The only person winning in this situation is the pushy parent who can feel good and brag about their child’s success. Sadly this is often the case for many classes, it is not easy to hear your child hasn’t reached the required standard and therefore many children are pushed into classes they are not read for. Learning more, earlier will not improve a dancer, it will give them too much to learn at once and thus everything will be a little bit worse due to the load. I admire the many teachers that I see who struggle with this daily, though I do wish it was a little more acceptable to tell a parent that their child is not great at something, surely this is saving them less pain in the long run, if they invest many years and money into their dreams for their child only to find out later that they were never capable?

What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?

I love teaching, the sense of achievement and pride when a child finally gets a step they struggle with or gets a brilliant exam result, it is a very rewarding profession. You get to engage with young people, to learn about what they like and what sort of people they are, you even get to have an impact on their growth as a person which is an important role. You have the opportunity to pass on morals or passions or quirks and even friendship. And as a dancer who worked all of their lives to get into the theatre, although I later realised I wanted to teach, there is no greater job satisfaction than sharing your love for the theatre. I see many teacher particularly in the theatre world who really strive to get everything out of their kids whilst keeping their classes fun and inspiring, which is not easy I can tell you, because of this I wouldn’t say there is anyone who stands out as someone I admire. I admire anyone who goes into the teaching profession, it is not easy, there is a lot of responsibility on your shoulders and a hell of a lot of pressure to achieve great results, it can often be a thankless job, rife with criticism and yet we teachers continue to push through all that because when that one child who really struggles finally achieves what they thought they never could, it is worth it!

What do you feel you don’t understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?

I don’t understand people who don’t see the importance of education. I find more and more nowadays, especially when teaching in academic schools rather than performing arts schools, that very few people have a real enthusiasm for learning. I loved going to school, I loved learning and taking part and it saddens me to see so many young people throw away such an opportunity. I fear however that it stems from our view on education as a whole nation, in Japan teachers are revered and held up with doctors and lawyers, they are respected and heralded, and this does not happen in the UK. Teachers are given grief and impossible tasks, asked for more than they can give and given no respect in return. It is not quite the same for dance teachers as most of our students have chosen to come to our classes and as such the standard of behaviour and enthusiasm is higher, but it is not without its challenges. I admire the students who still care and battle everyday to get the education they want in deprived situations. I have vivid memories of one particular class I taught, whilst working as a supply teacher. It was a year 8 English class first thing on a Monday morning, there was one boy who finished all his work on time and with great aplomb, he was also a member of the student council. He was constantly subject to jokes, jeers and general bullying, all because he worked hard and wanted to achieve, he had aspirations to study at Oxford University which I thought was wonderful and all he received from his peers was distain. I cannot understand how we have fallen into a society where wanting academic success is laughable or shameful, I will forever admire that young boy, for not being afraid to strive for what he wanted no matter what anyone said or did. I think a lot of us could apply that to our professional lives and probably don’t think about it often enough, imagine how much we could all achieve if we didn’t care what people thought?

How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation? To what extent are disciplinary responses different to that you might expect more generally in society? For example, what level of physical contact would you deem appropriate (and not) from another professional that you would find unacceptable more generally? Why?

Deciding on an appropriate response to a given situation requires experience and a little “reflection-in-action” it is interesting that we use this method without even thinking about it. Unfortunately there are no black and whites with ethics so the correct response is dependent on many different factors such as environment, age, sex an so on. If someone punches you in the face the correct response is different if the person in question is a child than if they were an adult. The same for physical contact in teaching, as a dance teacher it is considered acceptable to move a child’s arm or foot to aid their learning as it is a physical subject and sometimes just saying or showing isn’t enough, feeling is the only way to improve, however, this is far less appropriate in an academic class such as English or maths, in this case the environment changes the ethical code. As a teacher I am regularly required to make tough decisions and discipline children, finding the correct response and most appropriate course of action can be challenging, it also difficult to keep the balance between friend and teacher. You want to have the right amount of fun and enjoyment as this is key to learning but enough discipline that you are still in charge and respected, this is a hard balance to strike especially with the added complication of ethic responses. 

Task 2c: Reflective Theory

When approaching this task, I was reminded of various experiences at school, when we were told about different learning styles and techniques. I spent a long time thinking I was a kinaesthetic learner, and I do still believe that to be true, but through experience I have learnt that I learn in multiple ways and they often depend on the type of learning I’m doing. I think reflective practice is closely linked to this, by reflecting I have noted other ways of learning and decided that the one technique is not always the best approach.

Firstly I asked myself, what is reflection?

I would categorise it as a key tool in understanding your experiences, enabling you to learn from those experiences. According to Dewey a reflective thought is an “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends” [1] (Dewey, 1933). This is an academic way of saying that reflection allows us to look back at an experience and use this experience to change our opinions, our learning and our response to future experiences.

However as noted by Donald Schön (1987) reflection doesn’t always have to be after the event or experience. Reflection as I have discussed it so far would be considered ‘reflection-on-action’, reflecting on something after the event has occurred. I agree with Schön that there is another form of reflection, which he called ‘reflection-in-action’, which refers to reflection on an experience during the experience, responding to the event as it is happening. This particular type of reflection is more commonly used by artists and theatre practitioners in particular. Dancers regularly ‘reflect-in-action’ when correcting themselves during a move or a rehearsal, as a teacher I am always giving pointers and notes, for my students to take these on board and apply them during the lesson requires ‘reflection-in-action. I consider ‘reflection-on-action’ to be a much more intellectual and analytical way of reflecting, it requires deeper thought on the experience and how this can affect your future experiences, ‘reflection-in-action’ could lead to a quick decision which later on may prove to be the wrong choice.

Graham Gibbs (1988) came up with the “Reflective Cycle” based on previous uses of the cycle such as Kolb’s learning cycle (1975) [2]

Gibbs presents 6 stages of reflection and how we process our experiences.

Description – What happened?

Feelings – What did you think and feel about it?

Evaluation – What were the positives and negatives?

Analysis – What do you make of it?

Conclusion – What could have been done differently?

Action Plan – What will you do next time?

It is a cycle because the action you take will feed back to the beginning starting the cycle again.

This neatly breaks down the reflective process into 6 separate thought processes, although they may happen differently for each person, everyone can view the cycle and see how the process experiences. Each of the processes links to a different tool for reflection, describing was discussed in keeping a journal, whereas for me feelings links to making lists. We may not always process for a long time, these 6 six steps can happen extremely quickly especially when taking into account Schön’s ‘reflection-in-action’ when correcting a dance mistake you immediately describe the faults in the step, feel that it needs changing, evaluate what was wrong with the technique, analyse your process, conclude how to proceed and improve and then create an action plan on how to do it right next time. All this happens in a matter of moments, but it is still there in some form or other.

I can relate to this way of processing experiences and information, it is a useful learning tool and I regularly use this in my classes. Dance is such a practical subject that reflecting after the class is not always useful, because you no longer have opportunity to try out the changes or feel the body learn from the evaluation. It is however useful to process feelings and struggles with the career and environment of performing, getting turned down from a string of auditions can be a difficult mental process and reflection can really put your feelings into perspective and is very important if you wish to keep up your confidence and drive. It helps you to persevere by reflecting on how you feel about rejection and what you can do at the next audition to improve your results but also just to come to terms with the face the industry is a tough place to work in and that you may not have done anything wrong and that what you need to learn is to be strong.

Samantha Davies (2005) discussed the benefits and limitations of reflective practice. [3]

Benefits to reflective practice include:

·                    Increased learning from an experience or situation

·                    Promotion of deep learning

·                    Identification of personal and professional strengths and areas for improvement

·                    Identification of educational needs

·                    Acquisition of new knowledge and skills

·                    Further understanding of own beliefs, attitudes and values

·                    Encouragement of self-motivation and self-directed learning

·                    Could act as a source of feedback

·                    Possible improvements of personal and clinical confidence

Limitations to reflective practice include:

·                    Not all practitioners may understand the reflective process

·                    May feel uncomfortable challenging and evaluating own practice

·                    Could be time consuming

·                    May have confusion as to which situations/experiences to reflect upon

·                    May not be adequate to resolve clinical problems

I can identify with several of these benefits and can see the improvement in my students by asking them to tell me one good thing about their class and one bad thing about their class, I can see that this simple evaluation not only gives a sense of achievement but helps them to self-motivate and learn from their experiences. I can also see that some students find it more difficult than others to come up with evaluation that quickly which leads me to assume they prefer to use ‘reflection-on-action’ and take time and distance to process their experience.

I believe we all use a mixture of all these theories depending on what we are experiencing and what said experience demands from us from a growth perspective. I have however changed my opinion on reflection, I have never kept a diary before or gone out of my way to fully set out my reflection and having tested it both on myself and my students I can really see the benefits of just a small amount thought out reflection rather than just what we do automatically, I can see it change their thought processes when dancing in class and I can attest to how it has helped me change my emotions towards certain difficult experiences.

Bibliography

[1] Dewey, John (1933) How we Think, 2007 reprint, Champaign: Standard Publications, Inc. 

[2] Gibbs, Graham (1988) “Reflective Cycle” online. Image available from: http://www.cumbria.ac.uk/public/liss/documents/skillsatcumbria/reflectivecyclegibbs.pdf

[3] Davies, Samantha (January 2012). "Embracing reflective practice". Education for Primary Care: 9–12

Other reading sources used but not quoted

Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential Learning, Englewood NJ: Prentice Hall