Critical Reflection of Module 2

Working through parts 4 5 and 6 of Module 2 has provided me with the knowledge I need to conduct my inquiry.

Part 4: Developing lines of Professional Inquiry
During this part of the module, we were asked to begin to think about and develop our own line of inquiry that was specific to our own practice. I wanted to base my inquiry around teaching dance in schools so that's where I began (Appendix 1) these questions were very current at the time as I was just beginning to do some work experience and cover some classes by myself, therefore I found the answers to these questions (Appendix 2) inspiring to myself personally and also valid and helpful to my inquiry. Connecting with my SIG Dance Teacher Community enabled me to develop my line of inquiry and get support and advice from peers who were focusing on similar topics to myself.

In the final task, identifying pieces of literature that were suited to our line of inquiry was incredibly helpful and eye opening as it allowed me to research and find out things that I didn't already know about my chosen topic (Appendix 3). After researching 'How the arts benefits students' I realised just how much information there was out there and decided that it was the right subject for me to develop further.

Part 5: Professional Ethics
In Part 5 we were looking at ethics in the workplace, my first blog (Appendix 4) was my own personal ethical considerations, based on working in schools. I knew that there were lots of other considerations that I hadn't thought about so therefore in part 5b (Appendix 5) I did some research which broadened my knowledge and made me realise just how much there is to think about in terms of safeguarding children in a school environment. After completing this research I explored theoretical approaches to ethics (Appendix 6) which I found in Reader 5, they made me think about my own personal approach.

Part 6: Tools of Inquiry
In the final part of this module, we had to decide what tools we want to use to carry out research that is specific to our inquiry (Appendix 7) after doing some research I decided that I am going to use observations, surveys and interviews. In the next module I will be trailing these different tools and I will decide then whether they are suited to my own inquiry.

To conclude Module 2 has allowed me to discover literature related to my specific interests, explore and research the importance of ethics and helped me decide the most useful tools for my inquiry. All three tasks have enabled me to prepare for my final line of inquiry.

Task 6a: Tools of Inquiry

Before creating my inquiry plan, I need to think about what tools i am going to use to gather my information. I need to ensure that the tools I pick are suited to my inquiry.

Observations will be incredibly useful to me as I can observe the students as I teach them but also go along and watch my work colleagues teach and observe them as teachers.

Observing will allow me to analyse the student’s motivation throughout the class. I will be able to see the different teaching techniques teachers use to motivate their students. I plan to observe three classes a week, all different age ranges, abilities, genders and standards; I plan to do this over a six week period. I am very aware of the difference I am going to find when observing a class of 4 year olds, to a class of students at GCSE level but this is something I want to use and compare how the different ages act towards me as a professional as appose to their regular classroom teacher.
As well as written notes, I plan to record the observations this way I can see more clearly what is happening for example, how many times a particular behaviour happens.
Before I can observe anything, I must ensure I have gained consent from the necessary people. Firstly the gate-keeper and the teacher whom I plan to observe. I would also need consent from the students involved and although this is vital before I can begin my observations, I am worried that once the children know they are being observed or recorded then their behaviour might change and they may act up or behave better than usual therefore my research may not be accurate and genuine.

Interviews are a valuable method for me; I will be interviewing fellow dance teachers who have the most knowledge and experience about my specific topic.

I will need to ensure that the questions I ask are appropriate and specific to my inquiry. The method I will use will be a semi-structured interview 'which includes a set of questions or themes with the flexibility of following interesting or useful emerging issues' (Reader 6, Page 17) I believe this is appropriate for my research as I can ensure its specific to my inquiry but it also allows the person I am interviewing to be flexible in their answers.
I will also create another set of interview questions for my students to answer, this way I will be able to compare answers from both sides.

Surveys are another great way for me to gather information. I will create an online one (for my SIG to answer) but also printed ones that I can take into the schools for students and teachers to answer. Surveys differ from interviews as they are mostly yes/no answers therefore straight to the point, where as in an interview the questions allow the interviewee to go into more detail in their answers. Not everyone has time to sit down and go into detail and would prefer a yes/no survey. I believe I can still gather vital information for my surveys as long as I make the questions specific and straight to the point.

Task 5c: Theoretical Approaches to Ethics

ethics

ˈɛθɪks/

noun

plural noun: ethics; noun: ethics

1. 1.

   moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.

   "medical ethics also enter into the question"

   synonyms:

   moral code, morals, morality, moral stand, moral principles, moral values, rights and wrongs, principles, ideals, creed, credo, ethos, rules of conduct, standards (of behaviour), virtues, dictates of conscience "the ethics of journalism"

2. 2.

   the branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles.

   "neither metaphysics nor ethics is the home of religion

In Reader 5 we discover that there are 3 main contexts where ethics are considered; Personal, Professional and Organisational.

 

Personal ethics can come from many sources such as family values and religion. My own personal ethics come from my upbringing at home and experiences I've had, and are determined by the people or situations we deal with in every day life, these ethics have stayed with me through my life and have defined me as a person. Many people are guided by their religion and live their lived following that path.

 

Professional ethics have evolved over the years of a particular profession, in may case the teaching profession, they are a set of rules that an employee must adhere to in respect of their business. In most workplaces these ethics are in a 'code of conduct' and as i work in many different schoold i have to be sure i follow each schools ethics correctly.

Organisational ethics is the way a certain organisation creates their own guidelines and principles "how we do things around here" (Reader 5).


Reading through Reader 5 I have discovered that there are 3 different Theoretical Approached to Ethics; Consequentialism, Deontology and Virtue ethics.

The BBC website says this about concequentialism 'Consequentialism says that right or wrong depend on the consequences of an act, and that the more good consequences are produced, the better the act.'

Deontology is a compete contrast to concequentialism, it is 'duty-based'  and more concerened with what people do rether than the concequences of their actions.

Virtue ethics looks at the person carrying out the action rather than the action itself.


'The difference between these three approaches to morality tends to lie more in the way moral dilemmas are approached than in the moral conclusions reached. For example, a consequentialist may argue that lying is wrong because of the negative consequences produced by lying—though a consequentialist may allow that certain foreseeable consequences might make lying acceptable. A deontologist might argue that lying is always wrong, regardless of any potential "good" that might come from lying. A virtue ethicist, however, would focus less on lying in any particular instance and instead consider what a decision to tell a lie or not tell a lie said about one's character and moral'

This quote found on http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Consequentialism.html explains these 3 different approaches to lying. 

Award Title

Ba (Hons) Professional Practice (Dance)

This Award Title is specific to my knowledge and understanding of the subject. Gaining IDTA Intermediate grades in Ballet, Tap and Modern, and then in 2013 graduating from Bird College with a Level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance and Musical Theatre shows where my strengths lie.
Since leaving college I have chosen to go down path of teaching and in the past month I have been working with children from as young as 4 all the way up to GCSE level.
As I am new to the teaching world I believe BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Dance) is more specific to my own expertise at the moment, with this I hope to go on and gain more experience and develop my skills and qualifications in teaching dance and have a successful career.

Task 5b: Ethics/Code of coduct in my workplace

In the last task I blogged my own thoughts about ethical considerations that I believe have to be taken into account when teaching, I am now going to blog about the codes of conduct I have to follow when I am going into different schools and how one schools regulations may differ from another.

All of the statements I made in task 5a are still correct but there is a lot of things that I didn't consider that I have found since researching.

I found the code of conduct for one of the schools I work at on their website named 'Safeguarding - Child Protection Policy'

Here are a few quotes I found relevant to this task
Found on http://www.queens.cheshire.sch.uk/Mainfolder/Safeguarding-Policy-Sep-2014.pdf

'We understand that children cannot learn effectively unless they feel secure and we recognise our responsibility to provide a school environment that promotes self-esteem and self-worth, where children are respected and valued and are confident that their concerns will be listened to and acted upon. We are alert to the signs of abuse and neglect and follow our procedures to ensure that children receive effective support, protection and justice.'

'School safeguarding/ child protection aims
-To ensure that all staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities, are familiar with the school’s policy and are adequately trained in safeguarding procedures.
-To maintain a safe and caring environment in which our pupils can develop academically and socially; an environment where pupils know that they can talk to someone they trust, be listened to and be given appropriate support in any sensitive situation.
 -To use curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to equip pupils with the knowledge and skills they need to stay safe from abuse and to develop realistic attitudes to the responsibilities of adult life.'

These 2 quotes highlight just how important it is for the children to feel protected and safe in order for the pupils to develop.

'Types of abuse To ensure that our pupils are protected from harm, we need to understand what types of behaviour constitute abuse and neglect.
Abuse and neglect are forms of maltreatment. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, for example by hitting them, or by failing to act to prevent harm, for example by leaving a small child home alone, or leaving knives or matches within reach of an unattended toddler.
Abuse may be committed by adult men or women and by other children and young people.
There are four categories of abuse: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.' 

The policy mentions different types of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, neglect, bullying) and how to ensure that the pupils are protected from harm everybody needs to understand what types of behaviour constitutes abuse and neglect.

'Safer Recruitment
Our school endeavours to ensure that we do our utmost to employ ‘safe’ staff by following the guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education (2014) together with the LSCB and the school’s individual procedures.

Safer recruitment means that all applicants will:

-complete an application form which includes their employment history
-provide two referees, including at least one who has recent experience of the applicant working with children and who can comment on the applicant’s suitability to work with children
-provide evidence of identity and qualifications
-be checked in accordance with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) regulations as appropriate to their role
-provide evidence of their right to work in the UK
-be interviewed.'

This shows just how important it is to employ safe and trusting staff and all the procedures they must go through so the school can be sure that they are employing the right people.
After reading through the policy I realised just how much there is to think about in terms of ethics when teaching young children, there is so much to take into consideration and although different schools policies may differ they all want the same outcome; the safety of the children and all members of staff.
  

  

Task 5a: Ethics in the Workplace

In my place of work (Dance teaching in primary and secondary schools) I believe there are many ethical considerations to take into account to ensure a safe  and secure environment for all individuals involved, Here are a few things that I think are important to my specific work place.

It is compulsory to have a DBS/CRB check to ensure that the employer meets the standards required to work with children. We as teachers are responsible for keeping the children safe and it is important that the parent/guardian knows that their child is in a safe environment.

It is incredibly important to make sure that as teachers we ensure that school policies and procedures are in place and practiced by not only ourselves, but also by the students. We have to teach the children how to stay safe in an active dance class and make sure that the studio/classroom is a safe environment.

Teaching and performing dancing is hands on, it is a physical class and often requires contact between student and teacher. I think it is important to be physical with the students, in the correct way (non-sexual) to help with corrections and allow them to improve and progress.

Student confidentiality is so important in my profession. It is vital to ensure that we do not pass on any information about any students without their permission.

It is important for the teacher to respect the students just as much as the students should respect the teachers. Reminding and encouraging students to treat each other with respect and showing them the importance of listening and watching one another will create a respectful environment.

'Reward & Punishment' As teachers we must praise the children for good work/behaviour but also make them aware of when they are doing wrong and ensure that they are punished in the correct way.

Children pick things up so quickly at a young age so it is important to be the best role models we can for example always arriving on time with a lesson plan prepared in advance.

Task 4d: Literature

Having being a dancer all my life, it has become my passion and I want to pass that on to school children who may not get the opportunity out of school time. After reviewing my inquiry questions and looking at other module 2 blogs, I have realised how important dance and performing arts are in education. When I was in high school and primary school, there wasn't an option to take dance as a subject, and it was just brushed to the side, but as the years have gone on it has become clear how much it can benefit students achievement in schools, so therefore that is what I am going to focus on and what I have researched for the literature part of this task.

Critical Reflection: How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement

Written by Sandra S. Ruppert

As a nation, we are close to reaching a collective understanding that all students benefit from the opportunity to learn about and experience the arts. Study of the arts in its many forms—whether as a stand-alone subject or integrated into the school curriculum— is increasingly accepted as an essential part of achieving success in school, work and life.

Yet, at the same time we celebrate the arts for the value they add to learning and to life, study of the arts is quietly disappearing from our schools. In schools across the country, opportunities for students to participate in high-quality arts instruction and activities are diminishing, the result of shifting priorities and budget cuts. Poor, inner-city and rural schools bear a disproportionate share of the losses. Studies show children from low-income families are less likely to be consistently involved in arts activities or instruction than children from high-income families.5

Put simply, our rhetoric is out of sync with the reality. Why is it so important to keep the arts strong in our schools? How does study of the arts contribute to student achievement and success?

(Page1)

MOTIVATION TO LEARN

The arts nurture a motivation to learn by emphasizing active engagement, disciplined and sustained attention, persistence and risk taking, among other competencies. Participation in the arts also is an important strategy for engaging and motivating students at risk of dropping out of high school and for those with special needs, as these studies show:

• Students at risk of not successfully completing their high school educations cite their participation in the arts as reasons for staying in school. Factors related to the arts that positively affected the motivation of these students included a supportive environment that promotes constructive acceptance of criticism and one where  it is safe to take risks.

• An ethnographic study of seventh grade boys in special education revealed use of the visual arts helped them become more sophisticated, less reluctant readers. Described as learning disabled, the boys were encouraged to use visual forms of expression to convey their understanding of reading assignments. After a nine-week course of “visualization training,” they also took a more active role in reading and began to interpret text rather than passively reading it.

(Page14)

I found these 2 extracts from Sandra S. Ruppert very interesting, as was the rest of the read. It pin points the importance of the arts and the value it adds to learning, which is a vital part of my inquiry and something I would like to research in more detail. Ruppert also highlights the sad fact that participation is diminishing due to school funds which is something that is very current in schools at this time. I agree very much so about how the arts increased motivation to learn and this is also something that I realised when analysing the answers to my inquiry questions.


Take Time for Art's Sake! By Kathreen Francis


Children are born artists, dancers and storytellers! They are naturally creative and enjoy all kinds of artistic expression: story-telling, music, dramatic play, dance and visual arts. Even babies and toddlers are capable of appreciating aesthetic experiences at a very young age; many babies demonstrate a preference for certain music, textures, colors and shapes over others. They are absorbed by images in books and express delight over music - even the most informal contact with creative media generates a positive response in children. It is our joyful responsibility to add meaning to these experiences and expand these artistic opportunities so that a child’s understanding of and love for the visual and performing arts is nurtured. As their knowledge and experience grows, research has show that so will their self-confidence, literacy skills, social skills and problem solving ability. Through the arts, a lifetime appreciation of creative expression will begin to develop.

A Harris Poll taken in 2005 measured American’s attitudes toward arts education and found that an astounding 93% agreed that the arts are a vital part of a well-rounded education, while 86% believed that children’s attitudes toward school are improved by a good arts education. More than half - 54% - rated the importance of arts education a “10” on a one-to-ten scale. Head Start, state school boards, No Child Left Behind requirements, teachers, and researchers all recommend quality arts education. Arts education funding is oftentimes tight, with programming sacrificed for those subjects considered more "academic." Student populations of economically disadvantaged areas are especially at risk, generally leaving them with the fewest opportunities to benefit from the arts.

The arts should not be perceived as a flimsy elective, nor should it be reduced to coloring books and paint by numbers for the youngest children. By almost every measure, children who have the opportunity to study the arts are happier, more self-confident and more likely to academically outperform those who don’t. Research has demonstrated repeatedly that the arts can enhance children’s experiences in almost every social and academic standard of achievement. The College Board Profile of SAT and Achievement Test Takers demonstrated that students with four or more years of arts study outperformed their peers by an average of 59 points on the verbal portion and 44 points on the math portion on the SAT. Employers appreciate workers who have excellent communication skills, can think creatively and can proficiently engage in problem solving. All of these skills can be fully developed and finely tuned with the study of the arts.

So what does this mean for the caregivers and teachers of the youngest children? It suggests that the child’s exposure to arts will affect his creative and academic growth as the child matures. It is up to all of us who spend time with babies, toddlers and preschoolers to create an environment that supports the love of and appreciation for all artistic endeavors, both as observers and creators.  Our efforts will become an immense source of aesthetic pleasure and bring with them quantifiable improvements in both academics and social relationships.

I love this article by Kathreen Francis! It is so helpful to me as she writes about arts from a very young age which is what I am focusing on, and how to bring out of them the capabilities they have from toddler age. The statistics Francis mentions shows just how much the arts brings out of a child such as happiness, confidence and improved academic performance.


The Arts Education Partnership

Making a Case for the Arts

Learning in the Arts is Academic .

Learning experiences in the arts contribute to the development of academic skills, including the areas of reading and language development and mathematics.

Learning in the Arts is Basic

Arts learning experiences contribute to the development of certain thinking, social and motivational skills that are considered basic for success in school, life and work. These fundamental skills encompass a wide range of more subtle ,general capacities of the mind, self-perceptions and social relationships.

Learning in the Arts is Comprehensive.

The arts help create the kind of learning environment conducive to teacher and student success by fostering teacher innovation, a positive professional culture, community engagement, increased student attendance, effective instructional practice and school identity.

 

Although this is just a small extract I found it was informative and straight to the point, not only does the arts improve students academically but also in social skills and a positive attitude and environment, this is something I will be doing further research on along side my main focus of academic improvement.

 

 

 

 

Task 4c: Developing inquiry questions

Chloe Jones: House of Dance teacher

How do you inspire/motivate your students?

I will always encourage my students. I have a positive attitude and will personally compliment students. I will set achievable goals eg finishing a dance which excites the students once reached.

 What and who inspires you in your teaching?

Music is a big inspiration to me. I love watching choreographed dances on you tube also. My style of teaching is very much inspired from my business partner.

 What is your favourite part of being a teacher?

My favorite part of being a teacher is seeing my students build in confidence. Of course its great when their technique improves and their ability but confidence is a huge thing.

 What do you expect of your students?

I always expect them to put 100% in everything. Even if its a new style or something they are unsure of, as long as they are trying I'm happy. I also expect them to be team players, supporting one another through out my lessons.

 How do you think bringing dance and performing arts into schools can help benefit the students?

I think bringing dance into schools benefits them because its a great way to exercise. It teaches discipline and is a great way for the students to interact with each other. The children always love the fact that their is music.

 Are you on Facebook? How do you manage the teacher/student relationship with your students while on social media sites?

I am on Fb. I have a private account and have no students as friends who are under the age of 18. I do have a business Instagram account where I post pictures of my dance school. All photos have convent from the parents and nothing inappropriate or personal goes onto that account.

......................................................................................................................

I thought Chloe was the perfect person to answer my questions as she works for house of dance (theatre school in my local area) and all the house of dance teachers also work in primary schools, therefore in a few weeks time she will hopefully be a close work colleague of mine.
Once I start working for House of Dance, Chloe will be someone who I will look to for inspiration and motivation so I am very thankful she has taken time to answer my questions.

Task 4b: Special Interest Groups

Since writing my last blog about doing some work experience in local schools, I have spoken to the company and they think they can offer me a job which I'm thrilled about!

Della Estlin has recently created a Dance Teachers Commuinty which I think is going to be a really great place for me and other students who are focused on dance teaching to chat and discuss all of our different ideas.

Since having a Skype session with Paula last week Della also created a specialist Facebook Group for BAPP to make communication faster and more accessible, and I am checking my Facebook account constantly throughout the day so I'll be sure not to miss anything that is posted on there.

Task 4a: Inquiry Questions

In the next coming weeks I will be doing some work experience with a local dance/theatre school whereby I will be going into schools in my local area and helping assist with dance and performance classes,
I believe these questions are relevant to my upcoming work experience:

How do you inspire/motivate your students?

What and who inspires you in your teaching?

What is your favourite part of being a teacher?

What do you expect of your students?

How do you think bringing dance and performing arts into schools can help benefit the students?

Are you on Facebook? How do you manage the teacher/student relationship with your students while on social media sites?

Task 2d: Inquiry

What in your daily practice are you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?
As a trained performer I am very inspired by other professional dancers singers and actors, I get great joy out of watching YouTube clips and find it a great way to lift my spirits on a bad day, recently all over facebook my dancer friend have been sharing one particular dance clip which is really inspirational to me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14p7tkbZ1Sw

Watching videos like this really make me remember why I love my chosen career path so much! The talent is unreal!
Kristen Chenoweth is someone who I admire and have admired for many years! She is the definition of a triple threat! I first found out about her when I bought the original 'Wicked' soundtrack. Kristen was the first Glenda and since then I have always followed her. One of my most favourite performances of hers was when she sung 'Taylor the Latte Boy' her comic timing is just perfect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXS0nEOx_20
Kristen is performing at the Royal Albert hall in July and me and my mum are looking into buying tickets. Going to the theatre is the a hobby of mine with gets me the most enthusiastic about my passion. There's no better feeling after watching a musical, its inspiring, spirit-lifting and feel good!

What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around this sadness or anger?
In my dance practice, one thing that gets me angry is when professional companies expect dancers to work for free! We have trained most of our lives to make a living out of something we are passionate about, we have worked our hardest in the hope of being on stage and performing to hundreds and thousand of people, but this is something that some companies can take advantage of, they advertise it at good exposure and experience. I read recently that Kylie Minogue's dancers were expected to work for free as they didn't have money in there budget to cover the extra costs.
This is something that we as are seeing too often, not only in dance but across all performing arts. The sad part is that people are so desperate to get themselves seen by anyone possible that they will work under these circumstances, which really undermines those that are wanting this as a profession. Organisations expect people to work for little to no pay at all just because this is something we love; and that's not sustainable in any industry.
I admire all the performers in this industry who refuse to work for less than the Equity rate. Equity, the trade union for the performing arts, has negotiated minimum weekly pay rates with the Independent Theatre Council of £420.
'As a leading industry organisation, Equity is known and respected nationally and internationally for the work we do with, and on behalf of, our members working across all areas of the entertainment industry.'- Equity website.

What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or an example of what you love?
I love the excitement and variety of what this industry has to offer. The hundreds of different avenues and journeys performing arts can lead to. We are so lucky to have such a wide range of skills that not only lead to performance but also many other different career paths. As we all know, dancing is not something we can do forever and there are many things we can do in the future which is connected to our qualifications, even more so now I am on the BAPP course I have opened many more doors of opportunities, the world is our oyster and that is the beauty of this amazing industry.
I admire all the people I have been lucky to work with throughout my dancing life. Especially my dance teacher who taught me from the age of 3-17, she always believed in me and instilled the love in dance that I still strongly have to this day. All of the staff and professions I have been privileged to have met whilst at college, who always gave off an infectious enthusiastic energy, all these people have been the inspiration for me to achieve and continue my love for my chosen profession.

What do you feel you don't understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions to you?
The thing I don't understand about this industry is how you go to an audition and can do amazingly well, I once got down to the final 4 dancers for the Royal Caribbean cruise ship for Chicago, I felt a great sense of achievement and it gave me tons of confidence, even though I was unsuccessful in getting the contract. So obviously I went along to the next one, it was the exact same cruise ship and show, they even did the same audition sequence; but this time I was cut in the first round! How can that be right? A few months earlier I was so close to the end and then that happens?
Time and time again I see people getting picked for parts and I just don't see why they have been chosen. Throughout my training teachers always had their 'favourites' they weren't necessarily the most talented students, but for some reason or another they got given better opportunities and I just didn't understand why, I would find it so frustrating. Why wasn't it me? What have I done wrong? And this is just something that will never ever change in this industry, sayings such as 'its who you know' how can that come above roar and pure talent? I suppose we will never be able to answer this, different companies and organisations will like different things. What someone may hate, somebody else could love and that will never change.
I have had this debate with my mum many times, crying down the phone asking her why. My mum is a great believer in fate and says that everything happens for a reason, this is something I now strongly believe in and it has really helped me to come to terms with all the knock backs and look towards the future instead of dwelling on the past.

How do you decide the appropriate ethical response to give in a 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?
I think its very important to act and respond in a particular way depending on the situation, for example the way you might approach a teacher at college would be different to the way you would speak and approach your fellow students. Its crazy how some teachers at college felt its was okay to be so cruel and nasty to students. They said it was a way of toughening us up for the outside world, but being personal and down right rude was definitely not necessary or helpful. I think it's really important to have a healthy relationship between student and teacher, and by this I mean a friendly and respectful one, but the way I witnessed some teachers behaving at college was not respectful to students, yet they expected the upmost respect of each and every student.
Growing up in the dance world, I have always been very confident and open about getting changed infront of people, during quick changes in shows there is no time to be embarrassed when you have 20 seconds to change, I suppose this is something you wouldn't find in many other professions but we have no other option. I also think as dancers we are very open with our feeling and not afraid to show affection and physical contact. Doing paux de deux at college meant we had to be confident in working in partners and not to let it phase us or worry us.

Task 2c: Reflective theory

What is Reflection?
Reflection is an everyday process. We reflect on a wide range of situations and problems on a day to day basis. Reflection is a huge part of work based learning. It allows us to think deeper into certain situations and enables us to think about what worked well/ didn't work well and decide how to change the situation for the better. Reflective practice teaches us to discuss how different circumstances make us feel and to see a particular situation from the view of somebody else. There are many different reflective theories which I will be discussing.

Throughout my years training at college, I was unknowingly reflecting all of the time. Not necessarily written down reflection, but during dance classes almost every lesson I would reflect upon my own work and think about what worked well and how to improve myself. Although I had been reflection in that way, I had never before kept a journal so doing this was all new to me. Learning from experience is a way of turning information into knowledge and this work based learning course relies heavily on this method of work.

David Boud refers to reflection as a key tool for understanding and learning from experience, he writes about looking at our own experience's and comparing them to other peoples existing understanding to learn something new. I found his example of learning from experience (the meaning of bachelor) really helpful as it gave me full understanding of this way of reflection. Boud's theory really got me thinking about how much we learn on a daily basis without even realising. This helps me on my BAPP journey to reflect on my experiences as a means to learn something new. Since starting my journal I've learnt a lot about myself, I wasn't aware of my attitude when going in for a dance audition, after evaluating myself I realised that I need to change my outlook on auditions and go into them with a lot more confidence and fight rather that going in already defeated! So next time, that is exactly what I will do! I'm so glad I was writing my journal at that time because if I wasn't I wouldn't have reflected and evaluated myself so much, but because of this course its given me the kick up the bum I've needed to go into those auditions and believe in myself! I've got an audition at the end of may so I will be sure to right a journal about that days events and compare it to the last audition!

Reflection can also help people in the process of change. Dewey was interested in experience and believed there were different levels of experience. He thought that the quality of education was linked to the engagement with, and consciousness of the experience (Dewey, 1916) for example the higher the education the better the experience and engagement; therefore enabling you to learn more. Like Dewey, Kurt Lewin was also interested in a social change in experiential learning he came up with a theory he called 'spiral steps' a way of dividing a certain experience into individual steps: action, evaluation, planning and action. This is a great way of breaking the situation down and working out a better outcome.

David Kolb developed the learning cycle. By using this theory we can identify the experience and realise the tools we need to be able to reflect on the experience. The learning cycle is on-going, with one point leading on to the next, therefore there is no beginning and end, but it is up to us to decide where we start to learn something new. The different points of the cycle are:

• Concrete Experience
• Reflective Observation
• Abstract Conceptualisation
• Active Experimentation

The way I worked out what point of the cycle I would enter learning was to think about when I was first learning to make my blog. For me personally I found it helpful to visit other peoples blogs to get ideas, therefore I would start with Reflective observation, once I had an idea in my head on how it was supposed to look I decided to watch a couple of videos off YouTube on 'starting a blog' this part of the cycle would be Abstract Conceptualisation.
After watching a few different videos and reading up on information I started to use trial and error, and put into practice what I had learnt from research (Active experimentation) because I have used a lot of web 2.0 site in the past I realised it wouldn't be much different to setting up something like a facebook account therefore I would end the cycle using concrete experience. The way in which I learnt to set up my blog is the same way I would learn a new dance sequence; I find it helpful to learn from others for example the teacher and would then carry on the cycle from there.

Howard Gardner introduced the idea or multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983) he thought people were intelligent in a number of different ways. He discussed the ideas of VAK learners. Gardner developed these 3 different learning styles but he also believed we should not limit ourselves to being just one kind of learner, but to realised there are different ways in which people prefer to learn. For myself I believe I am a Auditory learner, l learn best by being told the information where as other people will prefer to learn through sight or learn through experience.

Honey and Mumford created four stages, this was inspired by Kolb's cycle:

1. Having an experience
2. Reviewing the experience
3. Concluding from the experience
4. Planning the next steps

This theory was particularly helpful when writing my journal as it helped to evaluate, conclude and learn from my experience's after they had happened.

Donald Schon introduced reflection-in-action (RIA) and reflection-on-action (ROA) this is the idea that you can reflect in the situation or the reflection can come after it has happened. RIA is most common in artists whereby we realise something is not working so we change the steps there and then where as ROA is used mostly by academics who go away and look back at what has happened afterwards.

Kottcamp uses the terms on-line (RIA) and off-line (ROA) he discusses how RIA is harder to achieve but most powerful for improvement and ROA is done at a time when full attention can be given to analysis and planning for the future (Kottcamp, 1990) I believe both of these ways of reflection are equally important. Being from an artistic background I have always used RIA therefore it is second nature for me but I realise for this course it is particularly important to use ROA which I am less familiar with.

Kottcamps theory got me thinking about his stereotype of dancers, he believed dancers were Kinaesthetic learners but this is not necessarily true for all dancers. Although I am a Kinaesthetic learner when I am learning a dance sequence, I am also a Auditory learner when learning academically which brings us back to Gardners theory that we don't have to limit ourselves to being just one type of learner.

Tactic knowledge is the fact that we can know more that we can tell (Polanyi, 1966) Tharp explains the idea of muscle memory when demonstrating a dance as tactic knowledge. As dancers we are not used to explaining the steps therefore when asked to do so we may hesitate or second guess ourselves. We are not confident in using language to interpret something we know nonverbally (Tharp and Reiter, 2006) Tharp also talks about being a choreographer, and the importance of being able to 'come up with the goods' therefore she has to develop a different reflective practice to be sure she is in touch with the muscle memory.

Tufnell and Crickmay discuss how our body is the ground from which all our knowing of the world begins (2004) Without the sense of the body we loose connection to what is around us. This shows that reflection does not have to happen as a written process but it is important to be able to do so.

Reader 2 has given me a greater knowledge and understanding of the different types of reflection. Its helped me within the course to analyse and evaluate my own experience to create a better outcome. It has taught me to be more positive and confident in certain situations. It has helped me not only with my BAPP course but also in my personal life.

Task 2b: Reflective writing

Ok so I decided to try out the different ways of writing on a day that I had a dance audition down in London.

I firstly used description then initial reflection, evaluation, graphs, what if and another view. I was really surprised at how much these different reflecting styles really helped my get deep into my thought process.

The first method I tried was Description this involved my purely writing out my days events in a diary format, writing in order exactly what happened and what the main events were. I found this the easiest method to start with as I had the main bulk of facts to build on with each other reflecting style.

The second one I used was Initial Reflection I found this way of writing the most eye opening. I thought about my emotions and feelings throughout the day before, during and after the audition, and it showed me a lot. I'm glad I chose this particular day to try out these different methods because its showed me my attitude towards auditions which I hadn't noticed before. Its enabled me to think about how I act in these situations and how I could change my attitude to be more positive and relaxed.

Evaluation flowed perfectly after initial reflection as it allowed me to reflect on my feelings/emotions from the days events. I was able to criticise and analyse myself which is a very important part of reflection. Thinking about what worked well is a vital part of journal writing and allows the writer to notice what needs changing or improving. Without evaluation how could I overcome bad feelings or change for the best?

The next one I tried out was Graphs, charts and diagrams at first I wasn't sure about this; how could drawing a chart help me to reflect? But it really did! I decided to put all of my feeling from throughout the day into a graph, it showed the ups and downs of my day and showed me what worked well and what needs improving. This is something I am going to create for each day so I can look back and see the changes.

What if? Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing? Wondering what if can be quite depressing because it means recognising what you actually did wasn't that great! In my situation, wondering what if I had done things differently that day could have created a different outcome! But on the other hand it can be quite motivating for the future and actually is a good way of concluding the day. Writing down what could have happened, what I would have loved to happen can also give a positive attitude for the future and creates a better mind-set for next time I am in that particular situation!

The final method I tried was Another view this could involve writing about the day from another persons perspective or looking at the day from the view of someone you had a professional disagreement with. After doing this at the end of my journal I found it helpful to see my day from a different view point and also how someone else saw me in a particular situation.

After trying out all the different writing styles I see the importance of them all and how they help to get an overall view of the days events and reflect on each part. I realise that the styles that work best for me may not work as well for others. I need to decide which ones are most effective for me and continue to use them throughout the reflective process of this course.

Task 2a: Reflective Practice

Ok so the second part of module 1 is reflection! I haven't posted in a few weeks because of work commitments but I've also been putting it off because reflection is something I'm not 100% confident with!

To be totally honest I didn't know what to talk about, at the minute I'm a waitress in a restaurant/café and it's not exactly what I want to be doing so having to reflect on my days isn't filling me with joy or excitement! Where as if I was in a performance job I would find this reflection process a lot easier as I'd be writing about something I love and am passionate about!

After sitting down and making myself do it, I realise its not actually as scary as I had first thought. I started reflection on Saturday 29th as I has been asked to start taking on the role of supervisor. The thought of this was daunting as I am not used to telling people what to do...actually I'm used to the opposite! And with it being Mother's day this weekend we were booked up, so it was up to me to organise what everyone needed to do and to also create a table plan for all the guests we were expecting! Once I'd got into the swing of the day I was getting more and more confident and I was quite enjoying myself, and realised it was great experience for me to be given this chance, as it will help me with teaching in the future.

I wrote about the whole weekend at work in a diary format, at first I thought that would have been the hardest way for me to reflect, I thought I'd prefer to do it through pictures and diagrams, but the diary form just seemed to flow!

I wish I'd kept a diary before now because its actually a great way to put everything into perspective and made me realise that although I am working in a restaurant at the minute I know that won't be forever! I have up and down days, but the beginning of this reflective practice has made me think about the future and to be positive! A great phrase my mum always says to me is 'everything happens for a reason' and I am a great believer in that, and the experience I am gaining now will somehow help me in my future career path!

Task 1d: 2d images

I have never owned a Flickr account before so this was something new to me but straight away I realised it is not much different from Instagram of which I am a regular user.
Creating the account was simple and straight forward, and I enjoying getting all of my performance photos together.

I decided to include my professional headshots as well as pictures from my college shows and assessments throughout my 3 years. As I only graduated in July and haven't yet performed professionally, this is a collection of my favourite photos of my performance experiences.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/118039117@N06/

 

 

We are a visual consuming society therefore the use of images and audio visuals are a great way of grabbing attention and are therefore a very important and easy selling tool! All the thousands of photo apps make it easier than ever for people to create great images from the click of a button.

 

An image can say a thousand words, often far more effective than just words. I know that pictures are far more attractive and interesting to me than just a page full of non stop writing.

 

But!...images in social media can also have a negative effect on its users for example; can social media images affect peoples body image?

we are now exposed to more and more images of unattainable beauty thanks to social networking, this can put pressure on people to have the perfect bodies.

 

Fantasy, reality, and painful comparisons

 “When looking at images of girls in a magazine almost all us know that they are altered electronically to appear perfect. When it comes to social media such as Facebook, most believe that they are looking at raw pictures, or ‘real girls.’ Whether this is true or not, they are ultimately used as a standard of comparison. --Mary - See more at: http://proud2bme.org/node/244#sthash.FTXEjHx6.dpuf

 

So although I do believe images in social media are a great way to share pictures amongst friends and family and an important tool in most professional businesses, there are also implications of this use which can have a negative effect on readers.

Task 1c: Audio-visual

This is the task I have been dreading and putting off all week! I hate the sound of my own voice so making a YouTube video of just me taking straight to the camera is my worst nightmare!
Whenever I have to speak in public, even just in class at college I always speak to fast and mumble and slur my words! You'd think being a performer this sort of thing would come naturally, but no! Give me a song to sing over speaking in public any day!
It took me about 20 time to finally be remotely happy with the video so here goes:

Starting out on BAPP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TfE5jg5kWc

Task 1b: Professional Communication Technologies

For a long time now I have been a regular user of Web 2.0, but before reading 'Reader 1' I didn't even know what it was and after reading other students blogs, I realised I wasn't the only one.

This is my understanding of the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0:

The internet was still only starting out when I was born, so its crazy to think how far its come in 20 years. Web 1.0 was created in the early 90's, it is a one way communication whereby the creator of the website gives information to the visitor and that's where the interaction ends.

Web 2.0 wasn't created until the late 90's- early 00's when I was still quite young, but old enough to be interested in this new way of communication which now a days our generation rely on. Web 2.0 is a two way communication whereby the reader and the creator interact and allows the reader to become the creator.

All social networking sites are included in Web 2.0, the site that I have been using the longest is Facebook, so that was the one that I decided to break down and show why I love it so much, and use it everyday:

• Members have their own page where they can upload and share whatever they want
• It can be accessed anywhere in the world
• The user owns their own date and can delete/add when they want to
• It is user friendly, quick and easy to use
• Most importantly its a fantastic way to interact with friends and family to share, connect, comment, like and collaborate.

After breaking down all the amazing things Facebook allows us to do, I realise that all the above point apply to every other social networking sites I use everyday such as twitter, Instagram and now blogger!

I joined Facebook in 2007, and have been hooked ever since, its the first thing I check in the morning and the last I check at night! Living miles away from home whilst training at college, Facebook allowed me to keep in contact with all my friend and family at home. Now I have left college and am living back at home in the North, it is also a great place to find out about upcoming auditions and classes through groups such as The Hustle, Dance Cast and many more.

Instagram and Twitter are another site I use daily. The great thing about these sites is that as well as friends and family, you can also follow your favourite celebrities! I love being able to see what all my friends are upto aswell as the Beckhams or the cast of TOWIE!

As teaching is something I am hoping to go in to, I am very aware of the dangers of using social media sites. Teachers have to consider confidentiality when working so closely with children. So using sites such as Facebook teachers need to be extra careful about what the say and discuss with other users, and be sure not to upload pictures, statues or comments about students.

On a bigger scale, Web 2.0 has changed the way we communicate, there are no boundaries and anyone, anywhere can be a user. I think the reason Web 2.0 is so popular is its relaxed approach, its not a place to be judged and there is no right or wrong, its for you to share anything you want with no pressure at all. It can be beneficial both professionally and personally is one of the greatest inventions of our time and I believe something we couldn't live without!

Task 1a: Professional Profile

Ok so here I go, my first blog! After spending most of the day reading through what seems like millions of pages about module 1, I am finally getting to grips with it.

After reading through some other blogs, I now have an understanding of how to write and go into detail on my own blog.
I'm not very good at bigging myself up, so the easiest way for me to start was to draw a diagram of all my experiences/work both theatre based and also waitressing etc.
I was actually surprised at how much was on there, and doing the diagram made me feel really confident about myself.

I have written it up in my 'About Me' section of my blog, so please feel free to read and leave any comments on how I could improve :) Thanks.