Wednesday 18th November Module1 Task3 Breeze Session.

This was another very successful and informative discussion, unfortunately my mic was not working so I was unable to participate as much as I would have wished.  I also lost all sound for about 10minutes whilst I rebooted my laptop.

We discussed methods available to hand in the final Critical Reflection and I was also made aware that because my previous qualification is over 5 years old I have to also write 500 words about how my qualification is still relevant and how I am using it daily.  Paula assured us it did not need to be an academic essay just a personal explanation of how we are applying our qualification to work now.

PROFESSIONAL NETWORK = MACHINE

Cassie started us off as we began discussing Part 3 The Network Professional and reader 3.  Cassie mentioned Affiliation and how she saw that as relationships we build in professional networks. She went on to comparing a professional network to a machine, in the way it works.  I really liked that imagery. We have to put in what we take out for it to be a successful network.

 

HOW DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF CONTACTS MADE?

 

As professionals we are meeting new people all the time through new jobs or projects. How are we meant to keep in touch with all these people?  How do we decide who is worth keeping in contact with?  I have always found it hard keeping connections with people, this stems from being a shy person, I would admit Id prefer to simply not speak to someone if there was a chance I may look stupid. I realise this is not the best way to think because what have I got to lose, I might as well just speak up.  We also came to more questions, 'what is classed as keeping in contact?' does a simple 'Happy Birthday' on Facebook mean you are part of the network related to the person you are wishing it to? Is that enough? 

Connections are established through common interests, how many interests you have in common will affect what kind of network connection you will have with a person.  It is defiantly harder to keep in contact with someone you have only one common interest with. This will determine whether the network is professional or personal. 

I discovered that since the age of eighteen I have shifted through many networks, in college, at work, at home.  I have only kept in contact with a handful of people, these are the people that I have common interests with that are not only work related.

We all have to make decision on who we give our time to as we all know there are not enough hours in the day.  

 

 

NO NEED TO TALK, I CAN SEE YOUR LIFE ONLINE!

 

This was another great point made.  We are a generation who shares our lives online, so we have less reason to contact each other to ask what have been up to.  How do we know if people are genuine when they comment on your photos or thoughts.  Is wishing someone Happy Birthday on Facebook lazy?

 

PROFESSIONAL CONTACT -> PERSONAL CONTACT

 

PERSONAL CONTACT -> PROFESSIONAL CONTACT

 

We spoke about how contacts can merge from professional to personal and visa versa.  I could relate this to a situation I am currently experiencing.  The principal of the school I teach for has recently merged into a personal contact. We have discovered we have more than the love of dance in common. Which has in turn allowed us to connect on a deeper level.  I would now consider her as a friend rather than a boss to a certain extent. We are now more open with discussing pupils and teaching methods, which is helping us both as well as the school.

 

6 DEGREES OF SEPARATION

 

Sophie brought up 6 Degrees of Separation.  She explained as the theory that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world, so that a chain of "a friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps.  This is a scary thought, if we cut just one person off from our network we could potentially be cutting off hundred of useful contacts. This proves how careful we need to be online with the way we portray ourselves as well as who we keep in contact with.

I look forward to finding out more about this research.

 

ITS OK TO BE A NOVICE

 

All professionals must of been a novice at something in their careers.  Discussing how we all feel like an outsider at some point when joining a new network whether it be professional or personal made me feel more at ease.  I have recently started a new teaching job, once a week I have to sit and share an hour an a half lunch break with a very experienced drama teacher, singing teacher and principal.  At first it was so awkward, I found myself sat just soaking in all the knowledge they were unaware they were sharing. I am slowing becoming part of the network, its now week twelve and I am feeling more confident within my job role so I am able to be more confident within the network.  I look forward to exploring this new network and making new connections.
We need to remember that everyone knows what it feels like to be on the outside of a cycle. 

Task 2c - Reflective Theory



How do we 'Turn Experience into Learning'?

Graham Mcfee, believed the first stage of learning is seeing that something is missing.  Reflection is a tool to help find that missing piece.

I can agree and relate to this, nothing can ever be perfect, there will always be something missing in a creation.  Whether that certain something is missing for the viewer or the creator, it is still missing.  It could be a gut feeling you get when your choreography just isn't working, or it could be a critique from a viewer/consumer stating your piece of work was lacking something.  Either way you have you go away and reflect as the creator to improve and work out what it is that is missing. As a perfectionist I could argue that nothing will ever be perfect, although it may be in your own eyes it most probably wont be in someone else eyes. Creating is a never ending process, there will always be room for improvement and room for new ideas to be introduced and combined.

As a dance teacher and choreographer, reflection is a big part of my every day life whether it be consciously or subconsciously.  It is a job that is involving in a process of change.
I have tried to relate to John Deweys' theories but am finding the way in which he describes his methods very confusing and hard to understand.
I can relate more to the Spiral steps of Kurt Lewin and Kolbs learning cycle as seen below

Image of the continuous Spiral of reflection.

Kurt Lewin.

 

I use this spiral way of learning and reflecting daily when compiling my lesson plans.  I give my self a goal for each class, whether its working on turnout or getting a set exercise perfect.

I Plan my lessons so they are structured and substantial. 

I Act out my plans whilst teaching the classes, adjusting as I go. 

Whist acting out my plans I am Observing the childrens reactions to my exercises and making a mental note of certain elements they are struggling with as a class.

I Reflect once I get home, on how the students coped with my lesson plans, did they get all they could out of it? Did I go too fast? Did I go too slow?  Why did I loose the concentration of the class? What kept the concentration of the class?  There are endless questions to ask my self once I get home. All the answers I get, transfer on to next weeks lesson plans, where the whole spiral will start again.  I am continually learning and trying to improve my teaching methods.

Week by week my spiral continues.

 

 

Kolbs learning cycle looks similar and has a similar thought and action process but.....

Are they the same? Do they have the same out comes? 

 

 

 

Image of Kolbs Learning Cycle

 

 

Is a Concrete Experience the equivalent of a Plan? This is the question I keep coming back to ask my self. I mentioned it in our last Module 1 Skype session and in my last blog.  I get the impression that Lewins' spiral is more relevant to everyday work situations no matter who you are.  Where as Kolbs cycle is aimed at the more creative. It is a cycle to help create a creation, where as the 'spiral' is a learning process that can be applied in any situation. 

I personally find Kolbs Learning Cycle more stimulating.  An example of me using this cycle is also to do with dance choreography. 

 

I accompanied one of my students to a Dance Festival recently. We had entered her into the Ballet solo section for the first time, it was my choreography.  As I watched all the other dancers in the category perform I just knew my student would not win. Not because she didn't not perform to the best of her ability but because of the lack of knowledge in festivals on my behalf.   We were given 4th Place. On the way home we discussed the adjudicators comments and agreed, it was the content of the dance not the way the content was performed.  I went home and changed parts of the dance ready for the next private lesson.

 

In this situation I entered the cycle at the 'Concrete Experience' stage, I experienced watching performers at a festival, that was my experience but I would argue that I would usually enter the cycle at the 'Reflective Observation' stage.  I learn by watching other people.  I get ideas, inspirations, and knowledge from observing, I don't see this as copying, it is me taking little snippets from all kinds of things and putting them together to create my own work. 

Before coming to this conclusion I also considered myself to use 'Active Experimentation' stage to enter the cycle, I thought I liked starting off with trial and error to get new ideas, but after thinking deeper into it, I am taken back to the 'Reflective Observation'.  I would personally not have an idea to play with if I had not previously observed and created it.  This clarified to me this is where I enter this Learning Cycle.

 

Howard Gardner looked further into the idea that people are intelligent in a number of ways.

  

 

 

Reading the above definitions of each intelligence, I can straight away narrow myself down to be a

Logical-mathematical, Bodily-Kinaesthetic, Musical and even a Naturalistic learner.

I am now intrigued to look deeper into this, as I'm sure I can not be all of those and even if I am, one must over power another.

I used the question in the reader to get the ball rolling in my thoughts and mind. What Ideas Do You Like?  From this I have learnt that I am definitely not one of the learners I thought I was.

 

I like the idea that dancers are kinaesthetic learners.  Looking at this on the surface, it makes sense and seems fairly obvious, dancers move, so what better way to learn than move?

After asking myself that question, I thought back to my NBS days and continued as far back as I could remember.  I have struggled picking up choreography all the way through my life. I always loved set exercises and corner work, as they were always structured I felt strong and secure and excelled. But when it came to learning a new routine at the end of the lesson, I would be filled with anxiety and worry that I would not be able to pick it up as fast as my peers.

 

I wasn't and am not a kinaesthetic learner, I remember having to go away and practise the routine on my own and go through it mathematically in my head until it made sense. Until that point when it made sense in my head, I would not be able to perform the steps together.

Obviously the learning environment in a dance class does not allow for this type of learning, it is fast paced, on the spot learning.  I was always the one at the back that didn't know the routine fully. This wasn't because I was physically incapable but because I learn in a different way to most dancers.

Which leads me to another question:

Do Dancers have to be Kinaesthetic learners to become great performers?

Is that why I have found my calling as a teacher rather than a performer?

 

 

Peter Honey and Alan Munford took Kolb's Cycle and made it there own.

They created Four 'Stages'.

I found this image that helped me understand more about the difference in between the two Cycles. It also shows what kind of learning style you supposedly are, dependent on where you enter the cycle.

 

All these methods are very similar, its very interesting that all these theories exist, when at a quick glance they all seem to have the same objective.  I'm quite sure they do all have the same goal of 'learning from an experience'  so are they just aimed and different styles of learners?

I am sure going to try out as many as I can with new experiences to find out which truly works the best for me.











Part 2 - The Reflective Practitioner

I have surprised my self.  When I had a read through this part briefly at the start of part one, I thought 'ooo I like the sounds of that, that shouldn't be a problem.'. I was really looking forward to it. Now almost 3 weeks after our Skype session I have only really just got my head around it all and made a start.  Something I thought I would be really confident with has turned out to be the hardest yet.
Reflecting back on it, I think it is partly self inflicted.  I kept putting it off as I struggled to find a way to start. I read Reader 2, three or four times highlighting phrases and quotes but still found myself feeling overwhelmed my the amount of information it contained. 
I have learnt a lot throughout this struggle.  My learning style is defiantly 'Reflective Observation', I feel I learn so much from watching others, from analysing the way they deal with situations and picking up new teaching techniques and ideas to what people wear or how they do their hair.  Thinking about it now as I type, Reflective observation is with me all day everywhere I go.  I love people watching, maybe this is why.  I also used it to start up my own blog, I didn't watch any YouTube videos on how to write a blog, I simply looked at other blogs and then navigated my self around the site through trial and error, finding ways to make it my own.

I found thinking of Schon about reflection as being 'IN-Action' or 'ON-Action' very intriguing as I could not decipher which I preferred of found easiest or used the most.  It was only when I read on to Kottcamps view that reflection In-action is harder, this is thought to be because he is a writer and an academic and is more used to reflecting on-action (offline).  I can see why people may come to this conclusion but I don't agree its as black and white as that.
I am a dance teacher, so straight away people will make the assumption that I do most of my reflecting in-action (online).  Ok I am not denying ever using this method whilst teaching, as that would be almost impossible, but I do everything I can prior to reduce the amount of on the spot thinking I will have to do.  I hate being caught on the spot in front of a class of dancers and not being able to work something out.  The pressure of them watching me makes my mind freeze.  With experience this has improved, but I still prefer to do double the amount of offline reflecting to make sure I am prepared before hand.  So once again proof every individual will have different ways of dealing with and doing everything.  So interesting!!

Further on in Reader 2 I read the excerpt from Twyla Tharp - Creative Habit. It was a light bulb moment for me.  Having only been a teacher for 2 years I am still a novice.  I had always thought it was just me. I know personally I need to have an exercise embedded in my muscle memory to be able to then teach it. Even having done this, when I am demonstrating there is always  that one student that needs it breaking down further and sometimes comes up with a question I can't even answer about a basic step.  I always thought feeling like this was due to the lack of experience and knowledge.  Reading that paragraph from her book made me think wow ok its not only me if professional choreographers with tons of experience are going through the same thing!
I bought the book! I'm on chapter 3 now, it is very interesting and I think it is really going to help me along with this degree, organising my time is the first step.
I wont go too much into it at the minute but I would definitely recommend it.

TASK 2a: Reflective Practise/ 2b: Reflective Writing

I bought my journal, this took me 2 weeks.  I was conveniently holding back to find the perfect one with an inspiring design in it, when really I was just putting the task in hand off for as long as possible.
During our Skype session I felt I didn't really have any ideas to bring to the table, or to write about in my journal.  I am still slightly confused about what kind of ideas I'm meant to be writing about, are they personal or can I reflect on lesson plans and choreography or even both.  I think I did ask this but there was no clear answer obviously because this is another grey area.  I need to trust my self to find the right way, no one can guide me in my own creative thought otherwise it wouldn't be mine.

So I just started writing, first of all just jotting some exercises down out of the book 'Creative Habits' in a purple pen that matched the cover, that made me enjoy it a little more.  Today I have remembered what it feels like to just write.  As a teenager I kept a diary religiously, I shared thoughts, feelings, reflections, goals, sketches, secrets, pretty much everything about me was shared with the paper.  I still have them now.  That feeling just came flooding back as I started to write, I felt like a teenager again.

I had finished writing about my day, and continued to read on in the Module 1 Handbook to the next task, 'reflective writing' and noticed I had used 3 of the list of ways to write.  I did not do this purposely but it just came out naturally.  I have been doing this style of writing all my life with out knowing it. I used a combination of 'Description, Initial Reflection and Evaluation.  I look forward to using the other methods that I am not as familiar with and comparing them.

Coming to the End of 'Part 1' - Task 1D

So I am coming to the end of Part 1 of Module 1 on my BAPP Course.  I must admit although I am feeling a lot more confident with my approach to this first module I am still anxious as to where I am heading.  I felt the ideas flooding in after our chat on Skype last week but unfortunately after a week of teaching I can't seem to get my train of thought back.  Something I am also finding hard is finding the right balance between work and study, I do understand that my work is my study in a way but its finding the way to combine the two I'm struggling with.  Not sure if that even makes sense but hopefully someone on the course can relate to me.

So far I have approached this module in a 'step by step' manner, completing each section as it comes and not reading ahead.  I am not sure if this really the best way to work but it seems to be working for me.  I actually completed task 1d without even knowing it.  In a previous blog I mentioned that I had set up a professional Instagram account, I didn't know it was a task as such at the time, but previous tasks had got me thinking about ways to get my professional self in the public eye.  I have decided to keep my Facebook account private and for mostly personal use. Where as I will use Instagram to advertise myself as a Dance Teacher.  In the future when I find my self more established as a freelance dance teacher I will then look into creating a Facebook Group to advertise my services. 

In case you missed it in my previous blog,
https://instagram.com/alexandriablakejacks15

Task 1c - Audio-Visual........ this scares me a little. I have never been good at public speaking and the thought of a video of me speaking about my self being out there on the web makes me very nervous.  I know I will need to over come this to be able to progress, I just feel this task might take me a little longer.  I think I will be able to complete this task at a higher standard once I have learnt a little more from this course.

I am really excited about my Instagram account, its possibilities are endless.  So far I have uploaded a few professional dance photos of myself, I have also uploaded a picture of my new NATD Membership card stating 'I will be offering their Contemporary Syllabus as from December 2015'.  I thought this would be a good way to advertise my new classes starting in the new year.  Most of my followers are students of mine so it is vital that I stay 100% professional with what I'm posting, but I'm finding it really handy to advertise new classes and myself as a dancer.  Although I am no longer dancing professionally I still think it is useful to have professional dance photos taken to show off your skill and encourage students to admire you.
I am also going to use my Instagram to document my journeys to any CPD Courses I attend and to dance festivals etc, making sure any students photographed have given parental consent for use of imagery.

Using 2D images to sell yourself is a way of life these days. This is because it has become so easy for anybody and everybody take photographs, edit, add dialogue, crop and do practically anything they want to them.  I remember as a child my friends and I would buy a disposable camera for special occasions and I'm sure I've got some undeveloped film reels in a box somewhere, who knows what's on them.  Now with all this advanced technology children as young as 4years old can snap a picture of anything on their IPad and it can be shared worldwide within seconds.  I am learning how I can use this way of life to my benefit and I look forward to sharing my journey with you all. 

Answers were not what I was looking for. (Skpye Session 16.10.15)

Hi everyone,
I am back to share an experience that I just shared with a few other BAPP students.
It was great to meet and chat to people in the same position as me but scattered around the world. Unfortunately our breeze session was unsuccessful but we had a good old chat on Skype.

This has been the first time I have spoke with other people on the same course and now I wonder why I have not contacted them before now.  I was so nervous but Paula asked us all to introduce our selves and that really broke the ice and made me feel more at ease with speaking to complete strangers.

It is just helpful knowing that I am not the only one who is struggling with things and feeling a bit lost.  One of the questions I had jotted down to ask Paula was:

'how will I know if I am heading in the right direction as some times I feel as if I'm waffling and drifting away from the point I'm trying to make.' 

I learnt that there is no right or wrong way to go about what we are trying to achieve as all of us are individuals and will see and explore topics and tasks in very different ways.  We are on a journey trying to find what way works for us personally.  I think I felt I was waffling because I was so excited about this new way of sharing my thoughts and feelings, it was hard finding a way to start.  There are so many current topics that are affecting me in the work place that I want to share and discuss with others in the profession which leads to the next question I had for Paula:

"can we use our blogs to speak about other topics that are not tasks?"

I now know I can discuss anything at all as it will all add as experience and hopefully generate a wider audience and allow me to debate and discus matters that are affecting me as a professional. 
Relating back to Reader 1 - Remixable data and transformations, In my previous blog I struggled with what to write for this topic as I felt I had nothing that related to it.  I know understand more about this and it obviously relates to me in so many ways.  I think it was Lucy Calvert who asked "can you delete and edit your posts?"  Paula made it very clear that this is what we should be doing. Writing blogs, reading them back then editing and improving them. We also discussed how it would be useful to screen shot the blog before you edit it, as you will be able use these to document on your learning process through out this Degree.
So yes I do remix my personal information constantly, the blog is only one example. I pretty much edit every post I put on social media for one reason or another.

We also touched on the subject of our personal information being out on the web for everyone to see and how important it is to be careful with the way we are portraying ourselves as professionals. Also an interesting subject to look further into is, if someone else has published information about your self can you then delete that?

 

These are a few words Paula said that really stuck with me. It made me realise that I have been only looking out in my research and blogs. Relating topics to other people in other circumstances and not to my own personal self. Although its important to relate to other peoples situations it is equally as important to look back at your self and your own experiences.  This is how I will learn and improve what works best for me.

I hope this blog has been helpful for anyone that couldn't make the session today. Look forward to meeting you all in the future.

Thanks again to Paula, Cassie, Bethany and Lucy for making my first session so enjoyable and informative.