3A/ 3C Range & value of my current Networks/ Sources of information

Networking is a vital element within many career choices, the ability to interact and build contacts with people within your industry can be the key to building a successful and extensive career.

Being a successful Dance performer and teacher can rely heavily on reputation and getting you face known, be it by recommendations, networked online contacts, friends or even social acquaintances.

Recommendations/ Word of mouth.

In my teaching recommendations are vital to ensure I am continually in work. As a freelance performer and teacher, being self motivated and having the ability to 'drum up business' for myself is essential. Much of my work is based within Schools so being able to be in constant communication with the Headteacher is really important. When i first started out with my own business and began to find my feet i would question the head teachers to ask how they came across and would decide to employ different providers, perhaps by email, a phone call or flyers? At almost every case their response would be for them to receive a recommendation from a fellow Headteacher I therefore ensure I take advantage of head teacher networking meets and ask current employers to recommend myself as a way to get my name and work out there and known.

Social Networking i.e. Twitter & Facebook

Social network to most is a vital way of life, the ability to be in constant communication with the world at a touch of a button. Auditions can be posted as late as hours before they take place, location changes, cancellations and most importantly the ability to network with fellow practitioners in your profession. So much of the Dance and Performance world is now spread and built online, with many individuals taking full advantage of the ability to speak to near strangers to further themselves. I found that at many auditions it wasn't necessarily 'what you know' but more 'who you know' which to me just emphasized how important it was to be known within your industry. Getting to know Choreography & Casting Directors before auditions, being in communications with present cast members, finding out as much information as possible about the audition/job and what in particular they would be looking for. All of which can be done through the use of both Twitter, Facebook and other similar Web 2.0 based program's. In a sense not even 'who you know' but 'who knows you!' 

Virtual communities 

A virtual community is a community of people sharing common interests, ideas, and feelings over the Internet or other collaborative networks. Communities such as LinkedIn provide a professional platform for people to openly discuss topics with can In turn lead to many opportunities and 'opening of doors' which might otherwise be closed. One particular community I find incredibly useful to start and create conversation & communication are the BAPP blogs which provide a space to post thoughts and work to a closed community enrolled on the same course encouraging comments and feedback from fellow students and lecturers.

Websites/ Web 1.0 programmes

Websites such as Dance Cast, Spotlight & Dancerspro can be incredibly useful to Dancers such as myself as a way to advertise yourself and begin communications with potential agents and future employers. Each website enables Casting Directors & agents a platform to view online CV's, Head shots & Showreels whilst also giving the performer the opportunity to apply for auditions and jobs. They also provide a way to 'stay in the loop' within the industry and to keep connections open through Websites such as The Stage. 

Dance class/ Social engagements 

A good old knees up or night out on the Town can be the perfect place for networking! The relaxed, fun & social atmosphere can almost guarantee you will find yourself picking up a conversation with a complete stranger, for some reason many of my conversation seem to begin in the ladies loo...Glamorous I know! Many 'artists' tend to head to the same known night spots where you will be immersed by like minded people throughout the evening, random conversations discussing current Performance jobs, up and coming auditions seem to just flow naturally, which in many cases can provide incredibly useful information and give you a new 'contact' within the industry. 

Dance classes & studios again provide a huge platform for networking and picking up new contacts, a great place to mingle and collaborate with other industry professionals who can inform, educate and advise. The information which can be seen plaster across studio walls can be on its own brilliant in finding advertised auditions, workshops and classes.

I must admit when I first thought about Networking Tools my immediate thought was to think about Internet technologies, but when I really began to reflect and think about all the ways in which I Network the concept became so much more. I do believe however a way to possibly improve my personal Networks & contacts could be to take more advantage of the Web 2.0 based program's and virtual communities as I feel these do offer a constant stream of Networking possibilities 24/7.

2D Inquiry Questions

Along my BAPP Journey to date many exercises have made me consider different aspects and questions that I would have perhaps overlook in the past.
I feel these questions and topics could possibly be explored leading somewhere toward my later inquiry, but as yet I have so many that I am nowhere near ready to decide on one single topic or question.
A few questions & statements I have been asking myself and reflecting on are listed below.. I would really appreciate any of your thoughts...

Who should be the main disciplinarian during a one off workshop, the main school teacher or a visiting teacher?

The effects of my personal energy and mood on others during a workshop.

Which teaching styles and theories have the most success when applied in my practice, showing both development and may increase the children's learning?

Children's ability to retain information/ choreography... any possible theories or styles which can encourage this to a better level.

How pressure in performance can relate to a child's progression...sink or swim!

2C Reflective theories

Each and everyone one of us use reflection on a daily basis without even contemplating it. A natural process in which we are able to learn from experience, extend our understanding and to learn something ‘new’.

Learning from experience is a way we are able to turn information and learning into knowledge Work based learning programs (WBL) such as the BAPP rely heavily on such methods, as experience in a specific area is expected as a way to gain sufficient knowledge for the course.
Boud et al 1995 refers to needing 'tools' in order to turn learning into knowledge many thinkers feel reflection and reflective practice are key tools within the process.
Using such tools within my personal journey on the BAPP course helps me to find alternative ways to look at my experiences, in order to extend my own understanding beyond its present capacity, learn something ‘new’ and question personal and others experiences in relation to learning.

The first stage of learning is to be able to identify something is missing in order to gain knowledge to find and experience the new learning. Mcfee describes this by using an example based on the concept of the word 'Bachelor'. 
A way in which I was able to understand in more depth this concept was to reflect on a personal experience relating to colours. When looking at a towel which I presumed would be commonly seen as blue I found that my friend comment on the fact it was green. My first reaction was to question whether I was correct in my knowledge and perception, or the difference between us was our interpretation of the colour. In order to find and solve the misunderstanding between us I first had to learn what we both understood as Blue or Green ie a blue sky, a blue sea, the green grass, a green traffic light. But in my reflection I found myself again asking how we can be sure what each of us is seeing and interpreting? Part of what we know and understand is based on what we have understood and adopted from people who are around us frequently. An extreme example of this would be the film the Truman Show where he is conditioned into thinking that his whole world is with in a fixed environment and daily routine as this is all his has been taught and learned from birth. Therefore he has not had the tools to enable him to reflect and question his knowledge and to identify anything missing. We all to a certain degree except what is around us for what it is, the degree to which we question anything depends on individuals and there inquizitivness and need to know more.  
Going back to my original example I quickly realise that my friends family refer to that colour as Green and that is where her interpretation stems from. Whilst me and my friends have always looked upon it as Blue. 
In general we all go as individuals for the most commonly perceived view and acceptance of things around us, up to the point where someone questions it, we then need to make an evaluated decision on what the 'consensus' is. Sometimes to be comfortable in or minds we may just except this. 
In the case of the colour we could actually refer to an internationaly excepted standard suchas the Pantone which would say definitively what that colour was. As long as both I and my friend agree we are both looking at the same colour we can then interperate it individually as we wish. 

Within my role as a dance teacher my ability to understand individuals ways to learn and process information is essential, in order to be confident in this I need to ensure i am able to identify different ways and aspects of learning. Both Kolb and Gardner refer to this in their thinking, with Kolbs learning cycle & Gardners multiple intelligences.
I have discovered that the point in which i enter the 'learning cycle' can alter depending on what learning I am doing. Reflective observation and active experimentation are key processes to begin for my personal learning, I find to initially get myself started I rely on examples and viewing other people's opinions as inspiration to create my own ideas, however at some points I simply use 'trial and error' (active experimentation) as a way to get my ideas out and down on paper before editing for a final piece. 
As a child my Brother was extremely academic, flying high through school always performing well in exam situations and gaining fantastic grades at both GCSE & ALevel. For me it was slightly different, I hated exams and never thought myself to be an academic, I always classed myself as the 'Creative' one. My parents would constantly comment on how this didn't make me any less 'bright' for perhaps not getting an 'A' in Maths but that I shone in the subjects that required more practical elements. I never really thought about this until looking through the reader and reflecting which actually made me realise that infact my parents where completely correct in what they were saying and the fact was that the way in which I processed and learnt form information was completely different to that of my Brother. 
Children can be very vulnerable during times of learning and if they feel the information is not perhaps delivered in a way they can understand and relate, this can in some instances stunt their learning rather then insure its growth. In this respect Garderners concept of multiple intelligences or VAK can be incredibly useful. His research change the way we think of a 'traditional learner' and enabled us to uderstand that people can be 'intelligent' in a number of different ways. With regards to my teaching this can help me to identify the best way to communicate and get the best from my children in both a class and individual basis, ensuring each child can reach their potential though learning in the way which comes easiest and most natural to them. 

A major part of my work involves choreography, developing and adapting pieces
depending on individual needs. When devising choreography I rely heavily on methods such as reflection-in-action as theorised by Donald Schön (1987) to ensure a hands on approach to correcting and editing my work. Schon introduced the idea of reflection-in-action, and reflection-on- action the theory states that Reflection can happen both while you are in the middle of it or reflection can happen looking back on it. Referring back to the comparison between myself and my Brother, who I class to be more of an 'academic' as a-posed to myself would be a prime example of both types of reflection in practice. On a daily basis I head into a new school with little information as regards to ability of classed and individuals bar their age, the process of reflection -in- action is one i use frequently. If I find the children are finding certain steps difficult or the choreography perhaps hasn't developed as I would have hoped, I'm able to identify this and change parts as we go along to create the desired effect within the time allocated. Whereas My brother tends to use the concept of 'Reflection -on- action taking his time to reflect on previously written works to go back and develop at a later date after rereading & analysing from a new perspective. 
Dewey also makes this temporal distinction, looking at how the time/situation impacts on how you engage with new ideas, 'present' or 'future' being two distinct and different ways to engage with experience. (Jackson,1998;Dewey, 1934)

It has been a very interesting process looking at how relevant many of the theories are to me personally and how I rely heavily on many for my work  on a day to day basis. It had also given me food for thought regarding my possible inquiry questions .

Task 2B Journal writing experience

What is reflection?

“Learning from experience” 

(Spalding, 1998) 

“Thoughtful deliberation” 

(Tickle, 1994) 

“systematic, critical and creative thinking about action with the intention of understanding its roots and processes” (Fish and Twinn,1997) 

In this task we were asked to refer to the Reid & Moon framework, however after reading the reader and looking though the Library and researching I struggled to find a specific framework outline. My research lead me to finding ''Reflective practice Reid (1994)'' and ''A Framework for Reflective writing- Source Jenny Moon University of Exeter'' I have used both of these plus other journal/log frameworks as a benchmark including ''Reflective learning log (Jane Williams & Pam Cowley, Mid Devon Working Group Approved DMT Sept 2004)''

What was the event?

Todays event was a South American/ carnival themed workshop where the children were expected to take part in learning a short routine which would be performed to the rest of the school at the end of the day. Sessions were 40 minutes with class sizes of between 25 to 35 students aged from reception to year 6 (4 to 11)

What was I expecting to learn (if appropriate)?

At every workshop I intend to look and develop my own teaching style to insure I keep a fresh approach and maintain high standards in each  respective school I visit. taking into account different types of school needs including ethnic , religious and cultural considerations. I look to find the most effective and fun method for the children to learn as in my opinion fun is vitally important in a learning environment .

What have I learned?

Positives -  Children in the main were fully engaged, with few becoming distracted. Some children excelled as the style is quite free and energetic, However a few did required a
 little extra guidance therefore I continually tried to paint a picture in their minds to remind them of the Party atmosphere which is present at a carnival this encouraged those that struggled to relax and  were able achieve the aim.
Negatives- I find generally that behaviour seems to deteriorate towards the end of the day, especially with the younger ones, this was definately apparent today. This came to light partly because its an energetic lively kind of dance therefore they get very giddy and excited which can sometimes lead to children becoming a little chatty and distracted. Although there was nothing particularly major behaviour wise it only takes  1 or 2 youngsters to have an affect on the dynamics of a whole class. There was one class however where this was apparent...my final class of the day, where I found myself constantly picking a few individuals up for lack of concentration & being rather chatty.   It cases such as this I try to 'nip it in the bud' so to speak, however this does bring me to thinking is this really my responsibility if members of staff are present in the sessions?! 

What is significant about this learning for me?

I became rather frustrated today as I felt I had to keep reminding specific children in one particular class to be quiet or stop chatting on several occasions, again this leaves me questioning whether this is what I am there to do. I recognise that I have to keep a good hold and control of the classes I teach or else the learning will suffer, however my main purpose is to teach Dance not to impose discipline which should already be set in place especially when class teachers and support are present. Although I have no problem imposing discipline and control, I feel my main purpose is to deliver a fun, exciting  creative workshop, mainly given to the children as a reward which I don't want to make negative with constant references to discipline by myself.

How does this learning link to the competencies for my job?

I believe that the lesson preparation and my understanding of the dance and what I hoped to achieve is clear and reasonable. I need to be able to adapt quickly as there is a vast array of abilities even within the specific year group from school to school.
My competencies were confirmed to me in a number of areas including knowledge of dance, ability to communicate, to encourage the children in their quest to learn and in maintaining discipline amongst other competencies.

How will this learning change my practice?

I will continue to have a range of options available at my fingertips for future lessons within both choreographic aspects and warm up/game sections. 
 

What were my feelings about what happened?

I was worried about treading on other people's toes with respect to reacting to pupils behaviour. There were two members of staff in the room during the specific session and they did not seem to take the initiative to clamp down on persistent disruptions to ensure it did not escalate. I felt that had I been in their position I would have intervened.  I need to perhaps question my standards and whether they are too high

What were the feelings of others involved?

I believe that my work was valued and received well, many were very impressed with the amount and variety of material presented in such a short space of time. Very impressed with how the children retained the choregraphy for the performance and danced with enjoyment. The performance was good the children seemed to enjoy the performance themselves.

What evidence do you have?

Positive feedback, A sense that both the school and I achieved what we set out to do. Formal feedback reports are a part of the post delivery process and a written feedback is provided. The official feedback document has yet to be seen.

1D continued...

Below will hopefully be a Link to Flickr showing images including headshots & Work resources (1st attempt at using Flickr!).
As mentioned in previous blogs I have found it very difficult to source permissions for the use of photos due to work circumstances - as to finish the task I decided to post pictures of resources which I use during my workshops, unfortunately not as interesting as I would have hoped this task would be.
Enjoy!



http://www.flickr.com/photos/bapp_newell/

Task 1D 2D images

Now this task serves me with a few problems...
A main part of my Job is working within Primary Schools across the country deliver Dance based workshops, this obviously offers up some ethical issues when it comes to being able to take and use photos. As I am only in a school for a day or two at a time, to get permission from all parents, as I don't necessarily have a 'bond' or a 'trusted relationship' with the school (although I would like to think I establish this before I leave) would be quite difficult. I therefore am rethinking my initial approach to this task...watch this space!!!

Task 1B

As you may have gathered from my previous post I am completely new to
some aspects of web 2.0 based platforms, not through ignorance or being
a technophobe, but purely out of choice. I find it rather bizarre to
think about complete strangers being able to see pictures, posts and
personal information and even impersonate people...MTV's Catfish.
Leaving details open to ‘the public’ also exposes you to possible fraud
and ‘phishing’ etc.
I know you will all say 'what about privacy settings, only accept
people you know’, but I really do question how safe these so called
privacy settings are and how sure can you be that you are in fact
talking to the person you believe to be???

However the ability to be able to communicate with the rest of the
world at a click is utterly fascinating to me and as such I can
completely value program's such as Facebook for leading the way in
‘real time’, providing international conversation and even giving many
countries where communication is somewhat censored, a voice. Equally
there is the possibility of misrepresentation of the news, information
and current affairs as a real and apparent activity by political
organisations. The current evidence of ‘viral’ posts can demonstrate
the power of any one individual that can quickly lead to a national
uproar! Typical examples include the sensation of 'Gangnam style' which was the first video to reach a billion views on you tube, the individual who put a neighbour’s cat in a wheelie bin or indeed the dance activities of sheep with LED
lights attached to them, all provided remarkable results and gained
massive attention!

Many times whilst working I have found myself questioning the
authenticity and accuracy of information and research. For me it is
vital that the information  I share and pass on to my students is
correct and accurate, this has lead me to improving and widening my
information sources and digging a little deeper to insure the
information I am delivering is correct.

So many people can also utilise resources online to assist them in
learning or clarifying aspects they may have been trying to learn,
especially where they may be hesitant in standing out in a class to say
that they ‘don’t understand’. People without access to schools,
colleges or other learning resources due to where they live or not able
to afford to formal study, need not be excluded from education or
keeping up to date. It is a really wonderful resource and learning
tool.

The concept of using Web 2.0 for professional networking purposes,
expanding ones knowledge & resources is brilliant. Within my teaching I
rely heavily on the ability to have information at my fingertips, you
tube gives me the ability to experience new & original music,
inspirational choreography from across the world and the chance to
comment and ask questions to fellow professionals and practitioners.

Just a few initial thoughts and opinions, I look forward to re-reading the information to go into more depth and expand!