EF MAPP Journey

After having last week off for half term it meant that I could really focus on my studies and try and get all my thoughts down on paper. I had my first tutorial of the term with Angela, which helped to align my thoughts further, and I feel like i'm at a place that I can put together a question/topic to base my inquiry proposal etc around (which is scary, but exciting, in itself).  This week, however, I feel like I've lost my mojo a bit, being back teaching 6 days a week plus trying to study and find time for me is proving challenging. But, of the research I have managed to do this week I found myself reflecting upon this while teaching my lessons, so I guess thats a step in the right direction! I'm still yet to get my head around being philosophical but I'm hoping, and from advise from others, know that this will come in time! I hope everyone's research is going well :)

As the first week of module 2 has come to an end, I have found myself feeling really excited about the weeks ahead with this module. Although I'm feeling nervous about the idea of philosophical thinking, I think it'll be good to take myself out of my comfort zone. However, for now, it is back to writing my remaining 2 RPL essays, which oddly feel like coming back to an old familiar friend. My final 2 RPL essays centre around 'teaching to support student's physical and mental needs in the classroom' and 'teaching to shape movements and create aesthetics'. As they are both fairly contrasting essays in terms of content it allows me to look back over my teaching career thus far, and determine what I do in my teaching practice to acknowledge these topics.  It's nice to be back in the realms of research and thinking and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone that is just beginning their journey with module one. Heres to a great term everyone! 

My research has led me to think about the communication I have had with myself and others to generate ideas, for both teaching and thinking about my professional practice and lifelong learning. I have discovered that I use both interpersonal and intrapersonal forms of communication.  Interpersonal Communication -  is an exchange of information between two or more people.  From looking back at module 1, I have found that this type of communication has come from blogging and MAPP discussion groups. This exchange of information has allowed me to them express thoughts that have come to light from this. Thinking about the idea the "vision is the art of seeing things invisible" (Swift), the use of the blog, especially has allowed me to convey thought processes and make them visible by being words on a screen. "When we search for words to capture and communicate our experiences, we discover what language is the medium through which we clarify and express our uniqueness" (C...

Over the past (and my first) 10 weeks of the MAPP DTP course I realise that I think a lot about what I do and how this helps my teaching and proving that what I learn gets put into practice. But, after speaking to Adesola about my DAN4510 essay draft this morning, I have realised that I need to focus on what I think about certain topics and what I have learnt from this. Thinking about knowledge, information and learning is where I have decided to begin.  What is knowledge? - the information, understanding and skills that you gain through education and experience. Knowledge is valuable, and to 'know' means to have some special form of competence. Another meaning of 'knowing' can be recognising something as true.  What is information? - facts or details about somebody/something. Information is said to be categorised as, Information-as-knowledge, information-as-process and information-as-thing. I find that information is acquired without us even acknowledging it. Informati...

Following on from Sunday (15/11/20) nights discussion group about communication, I have been reflecting on one specific point that was raised - Have learning styles been debunked?  I have since looked into this, and deciphered that it is a case of psychologists vs. instructors. I do agree that becoming too fixated on learning styles can lead to an assumption of being fixed on using a specific style for a particular student; however, I do also think that we can adopt various learning styles, and more than one at a time, dependent on the activity or skill needed to be acquired. As teachers/instructors I think we need to be aware of these learning styles to enhance learning, as a form of effective communication between teachers and students. Personally, I do think students learn more effectively when they think about their learning style, however, I do think there needs to be a holistic approach to learning and teaching, which includes this, amongst other teaching devices.  From ...

 I have always used mirrors when dancing myself, so that has led me to use them a fair bit when I am teaching. However, are we, as dancers, looking into mirrors too much? Do we get too caught up in the way movements look rather than the way they (should) feel?  This thought stemmed from my teaching via zoom last night. One of my Grade 1 Ballet students, when asked to perform an exercise with the rest of her group said "ooh I'm just going to pin myself first" - was this so she could just see herself so she wasn't then copying others? Or, was it so she could show some vanity and just watch herself? I'm sure her thought process for this wasn't complex, but it did make me think, have I used mirrors too much in my teaching and what impacts is this having, both positive and negative on my students? 

It has taken me a long time to get my head around the AOLs, but, I think I've finally got there. From my BA degree I have delved further into the idea of being reflective and understanding that our learning comes from somewhere, we aren't born with all this knowledge after all! Having only been teaching full time for 2 years, I found it hard to discover what I had been learning since leaving the RAD. But, since I work with young people, I realised that I am in fact learning everyday, in order to improve their learning experience.  A concept of teaching that I had only thought in depth about due to writing previous essays, was the importance of understanding teaching and learning styles and how we must use them effectively to maximise the student's learning and aid them in mastering specific skills needed, specifically relating to, RAD Ballet and ISTD Tap and Modern.  We all learn in different ways, and I think that's one of the vital aspects that we, as teachers, need t...