HEY!!!

So, it's draft submission time! 

This is more like a 'Diary' blog for me. I feel better when I've typed/written what I've done so far and need to get working on. Anyway, how is everyone doing? How did your inquiry go? Are you surprised by your results? Have you all nearly finished your Critical Reflection???

I finished all my practical investigations a couple of weeks ago and had been spending a lot of time on my literature review as this is a big part of my inquiry. I usually sit down and do big bulks of the Critical Reflection at a time because I can't quite sit down and focus in my breaks or evenings after work. I'm constantly planning to use any spare time off work to do uni work which is hard nearing Christmas, work is busy, shows, class assessments, end of term presentations etc!!! I am now on the analysis part and really hope to get it done by the end of next week so I can send it off to my advisor for feedback and start work on my artefact!

Hope to see some of you at the Campus Session next friday?! 

Stressy Chiara :) 

Campus Session 3

Hello Everyone! 

Apologies for the lack of Blogs! 
This is a quick one just to give those of you who could not make the campus session today some info on what we learnt and discussed. 
The session was with Adesola, discussed the artefact for the end of the inquiry and the Critical Review. 
The other students will also be posting blogs so look out for theirs; the blogspot address' are on Adesola's latest blog. 

The artefact does not display your results from the inquiry, you can use some of your findings but it's basically a different way of presenting your inquiry. You can be creative, the '3000 word' bit in the handbook is just a guide as to how in depth it should be. You do not need to present/submit 3000 words in an information type booklet or leaflet etc, you can make a presentation, write a song, present it in a class like format etc...if you create some sort of installation, take pictures and write a little bit of info on what it is you've done to submit online whilst bringing in the actual artefact to the Oral Presentation day in January. 

The Critical Review - Be sure to not separate all the parts (like it says in the handbook) you want to build bridges so that the whole of Part 1 flows. The Intro, Evaluation of the inquiry process and Analysis of findings should all piece together, they should not be written as the (beginning, middle and end) It shouldn't sound like a story but more of a big explanation of the finished inquiry. It should all be written in the past tense. You will be writing the Critical Review after you have completed the whole inquiry otherwise it won't make sense, you do not need to include all of your findings, just the useful data that may/may not relate to your data and make sure to include your themes throughout. (Establish the underlying themes of your inquiry and mention them throughout) If you are still doing your practical part of your inquiry, look to start analysing what you have already found so you can begin the draft of your Critical Review, there are only a few weeks until you need to  start thinking about sending the rough copy to your advisor. 

The whole critical review is like baking a cake! If you were to tell someone you were baking a cake, set out all of the ingredients but didn't tell them what cake the ingredients would make, it wouldn't make sense. You need to explain what you're making (what you're finding out from the inquiry) explain the whole process first (tools and lit review), then break it down and explain how you get to the finished product. (the findings, overall analysis) Finally, how the cake tastes, was it a good bake?! (critical reflection on how the whole inquiry was and how you will carry your findings and use them in your professional work) 

Campus Session - a few notes

Campus session 1 

10th October 2014

Module 3 - our project

Friday 10th October: Students from Module 3 came along to the campus session with Paula in the Vine building. We discussed parts of the module with Paula and our peers.

Here are some notes I made and answers to some questions we discussed. Please see Paula’s blog for extra notes and info of the campus session, I think she will also be putting up some videos of our questions on MyLearning :) 

If you have had to make any changes to your plan/inquiry, problems in getting permission from your workplace, changes in ethics, ensure to keep in contact with your advisor throughout the module. 

*Module 3 = 50% of the overall grade. 

What are we doing when we carry out our professional inquiry?
Researching and comparing literature to our findings
What do we do with our results?
Share it amongst colleagues, peers
Use our results in our own practical work 
become a better practitioner.

What change are you hoping to do?

The Professional Inquiry 
*structure your thinking
*drafting and editing 
*make your points
*explain your thinking 

• preparation 
• scheduling 
• doing 
• evalutaing 
• reflecting 

Everybody’s work is different, it involves and professional and personal dimension. 
We discussed our aims and plans in partners to help us plan our module 3 work. 
It is advised that we all create a personal timetable with targets for us to reach throughout the term. Plan our term around our work and other commitments; Plot how our inquiry and work will progress, when should we get drafts to our advisors, start working on our artifacts etc...

A bit of reflection...pre-campus sess blog

Hey Guys!! 

So, I'm really looking forward to seeing some of you at the campus session tomorrow October 10th! 
I have been reading people's blogs this week and am so glad to read that I'm not the only one in a bit of a panic and behind on things (already!) 

I've started looking for literature and have lots of books to read and gather data from, I'm referring back to the reader 5 from Module 2 for some help. I also need to start analysing!!! wahhhh It seems like such a long task and I need to start my interviews and class observations asap. I feel as though as soon as I can get all of my literature reviews done, analyse it and gather my data I will feel more positive and look forward to carrying out the rest of my inquiry. 
As for the thousands of words I need to type for Part 1 of 'A Critical Review'  I have about 200, so I'm on my way, slowly but surely; slow progression is better than no progression so they say... 

My artefact ideas: a book or folder to display my results. I am researching teaching methods and investigating how professionals in the industry use their skills when teaching; I don't feel that an audio video or powerpoint presentation would be a great idea because my results will be for future teachers. I think that my collated data of methods, techniques and any added information from professionals that I interview should be clearly printed like an information pack sort of thing?!? All printed out neatly and professionally, tables of my results and extra info pages etc. 
Please comment if you have any other ideas. 

Anyway, on with my literature research because without that I won't get anything done. If only this module was based on blogging eh?! I already have some questions prepared for the campus session tomorrow. I looking forward to seeing Paula, hopefully my advisor Adesola and the rest of Module 3! 

Smiles and positivity 
Chiara x 

Here we gooooo

Hey Bloggers and members of MDX BAPP course!!!

Blogger, so we meet again...I can't believe a whole year has passed, module 1 and 2 completed and accomplished! Who would have thought that we'd make it to the final module?!
I was away for the whole summer period and failed to 'keep blogging' now I need to get back on it and I feel that this term, my blogging will be non stop! (apologies in advance)
So, here we go, the last term of BAPP!
I have arranged to have some days off of work in my week this so that I can dedicate time to my Uni work. Myself and my SIG members on facebook have already been chatting and discussing the work for Module3. After reading the handbook, it seems I/we are very wary, confused and scared! This module is definitely going to be hard work...

Anyway, until the next blog, I'm off to start Task7 :/ ahhhhh

Critical Reflection

Critical Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry

Starting Module 2 I was apprehensive; after completing Module1 I thought I understood how the rest of the course was going to progress, but then my thoughts changed. Module 2 has been very different and far more challenging than Module 1. The tasks were very different; no more creating new network pages and constant reflecting, which I was thankful for! Though, the thought of planning an inquiry had me very worried; at first I did not know how I was ever going to find a “question” that I could research and plan a whole investigation around. I actually enjoyed working through the tasks however; they kept me distracted and stopped me from panicking about my inquiry, for a while at least. Without noticing I was being lead closer and closer to my final chosen line of inquiry.

Learning about ethics was the most interesting part of Module 2 for me. I felt I learnt the most from the 5^th Reader. I never really understood what ethics were, I also didn’t realise how many ethics I was already using in everyday life and work. I have learnt about the many different types of ethics: personal, professional, organisation and society. I now understand just how important they are and by discussing my ethics with my colleagues at work, they helped me figure out which ones I will need to be aware of and use during my inquiry.

The big learning curve for me during Module 2 apart from studying the Reader5 on ‘ethics’ was creating my final inquiry subject from interacting online with my SIG members. I felt a little strange creating my SIG group at first; using my blog, I found some people who had similar ideas as mine on the subject of teaching, I felt uncomfortable adding people I didn’t know to my Facebook page and asking them for help and advice. Thankfully, it didn’t take long before we were all commenting on each other’s posts and have now created a friendship through the worry that we were all experiencing and all the help that we gave each other.

My SIG members have helped me through my confusion, their advice and answers to my questions guided me all the way to deciding my final line of inquiry. From their answers, I figured that my initial line of inquiry on 'advantages/disadvantages of having teaching qualifications' wasn’t going to make much of an inquiry; I had already found the answer to my question from their responses.

Experiencing this really changed my way of thinking and learning. I changed my questions to more of a 'teaching techniques' theme which actually interested me more and I was getting more of a variety of answers. Interacting with other members on the course proved to me that networking is a great way of learning and on reflection I can understand how I would have never been able to reach my final line of inquiry had it not been for my SIG Group members.

Piloting the tools suggested in the reader also helped me decide which I should use for my inquiry, I realised that by doing face to face interviews and teacher observations, I  would get a better set of results which were reliable because I could judge the situation myself and make my own notes and evaluations.  

Overall, I have enjoyed the Module 2 tasks, I’ve felt eager to do the work this term and really wanted to find something to inquire that interests me and will benefit me. I’m happy to be investigating teaching methods and believe it will guide others and myself in my position wanting to improve their teaching. I am looking forward to starting my inquiry and finding some answers to help me progress my teaching skills and use my findings to help me further my career.

4C - SIG Questions/Answers

Over the past few weeks I've been posting questions to my SIG group, here are the answers that were posted. I'm so thankful that some of my SIG members have taken the time to reply; their answers have really helped me with creating further questions for my line of inquiry.

Facebook SIG Group 
Question1- If you have teaching qualifications, in what ways have they helped you get jobs or have you managed to get jobs without them?
R.B: I teach at a club on a Saturday and I got that job because the lady came to watch a show I was in at a theatre in Leicester and I emailed her company a year later to ask of vacancies and she remembered me from watching the show and offered me the job. She said on the phone normally she would arrange an interview or an audition but I didn't need to. I help in schools but only as an assistant and I do not have any teaching qualification to do this but they are aware I am doing BAPP. Obviously I cannot apply for a teacher position until I have my degree. X

L.W:  I think generally nowadays you're required to teach a class as an audition having your future employers watching. I've lead plenty of musical workshops for children and future professionals but that's all been off the back of performing in the shows themselves. From that I have secured regular work teaching jazz or tap classes. I gained my RAD and ISTD associates while at college but not wanting to teach syllabus I've never put them to use. In the current climate teaching qualifications are becoming a necessity....I'm not sure why.....does anyone know?

R.B:  I think it's because as it's more becoming more popular in schools the government are saying you have to have a degree to teach science etc so why is dance any different, but going to university for a scientist is how they learn their subject. Us performers learn our subject by doing it in shows etc and I don't think the government fully understand this. I have had teachers that went to university to study dance but have never worked in the industry and are no where near as good as true professionals.

Question 2 (teachers) - Do you think your training has effected the way you teach, if so, how?
K.G: Absolutely!! There have been so many teachers that inspired me! Their style and even them having a vast variety of styles. I also feel that I now expect high standards so drive the kids as much as possible n push them to the point that I know is there best! I don't accept the word 'can't' anymore.

L.W: I agree with Kimberley. Positive effects from teachers you've had influence your manner and style of teaching. You'll sub-conscienceley take the, what you consider, best attributes of all your teachers and use them yourself. The same goes for the negative aspects. Techniques you weren't fond of, you'll steer clear of. I believe this all to be dependent on which age group you're referring to? With students who've serious intentions of being professionals your teaching style and attitude will change dramatically to those students for whom it's just a hobby. It's all relevant to specifics.

R.B I think it has definitely because I have learnt from teachers I have been taught by and taken on board things they have taught me and their methods of teaching. Also I have picked out good things from good teachers I have experienced that I want to be like or incorporate in my teaching and the same with the bad experiences I have had from teachers, I will be sure not to be like them. From training I have decided what kind of teacher I want to be x

N.M: Yes, definitely! Many of the vocal warm-ups I learnt at collage I use within my own singing teaching warm-ups. I was inspired by many teachers and they made me the performer/teacher I am today. My training has helped me be more imaginative/creative in teaching style but also taught me to be firm and encourage positive behaviour and encourage pupils to be disciplined and respectful. My training made me work hard to achieve success if you don't put the hard work in then you'll never improve and better yourself this work ethic I bring into everyday life and at work.

K.L.W: Yes defo I learnt so much at college by having different Teachers it helped me more, as the teacher would teach you in there own ways which I found some easier than others and it made me look at different movement in another light

Question3 What are some qualities you feel you have as a teacher/or qualities teachers should have?

K.G : I think for definite you need to have a fun side for the children and a good sense of humour all round, but being firm like you mentioned in an earlier post.

6C Award Title draft

Choosing my award title.
Options...

BAPP Dance: This title is too specific, I want to be able to teach all performing arts subjects and I feel this award title might limit me to do so.
BAPP Performing Arts: I feel that this title would be best for my future, as I already have a Diploma in Performing arts, I'd like to add 'Teaching' onto it to be a little bit more specific and it also relates to my inquiry.
BAPP Musical Theatre: This title is also quite specific, I don't want to limit my title, Musical Theatre only covers 'musicals' and I have been trained in other types of performance such as ballet for example, I want my degree to allow me to teach many other subjects.
BAPP Arts Management: This title doesn't relate to me or my inquiry at all, I am not researching into management though I might need to in the future perhaps.
BAPP Performing Arts Management: like above, this doesn't reflect my inquiry in any way, though performing arts management is something I may look into.
BAPP Theatre Arts: Similar to Performing arts though not quite as broad so I won't be choosing this one.
BAPP Dance Teaching: This relates to me very much as my passion is dance and I'm currently teaching a lot of dance classes. Though I want to follow on from my Diploma and keep my award title open to be able to teach other subjects.
BAPP Graphic Design: This title would not benefit me at all, I know nothing about it and I have never learnt about graphics and design in the industry.

This is a first draft of my award title form. Something along the lines of this...

I feel that the title 'performing arts teaching' will be best suited to me. I am currently working as a Dance, Acting and Musical Theatre teacher hence choosing the broader title would best reflect my current status. In the future I am aiming to continue teaching as well as performing professionally in all areas of the Performing Arts industry. This particular award title also relates to my line of inquiry for my final 2 modules of the BAPP course. I am researching the methods of teaching, studying the different qualities of teachers and their qualifications that enable them to work. I want to be able to use my award title to show that I will be a professional in Performing Arts Teaching, not just dance or musical theatre teaching; I have been trained in all three aspects for three years and gained a level 6 Performing Arts Diploma so this award title would best benefit me for my future career of teaching.

If you have any advice or ways I could improve please comment :) 

Thanks 

5D - Ethical Considerations (notes)

Planning Ethical Considerations

I've just made a few points from my thoughts and discussions. I've also used some questions from the reader to help me think about all the ethics I will need to consider and help me fill out my ethics forms in Task 6. 

Participants: I want to use my employees during my inquiry, some performing arts students above the age of 18 and some workers like myself, preferably older than me though with more experience in teaching and the industry itself. 

I have chosen these participants by selecting those closest to my job and and easier to arrange interviews/observations etc. 

I chose these people because they have all trained/are training and some have been in the industry and have turned to teaching. I believe they are intelligent, well-experienced and I feel they will be able to give me truthful and reliable answers to help me within my inquiry research. 

I will contact my participants via email or in person to arrange the parts of my inquiry that they will be involved in. 

I will have to ensure that I have a few backup participants similar to those I intend to use just in case my participant no longer wish to continue participating in my inquiry. I will explain before commencing that there will be no issues should they want to leave the inquiry. 

As of now, not all the participants have my contact details. I think I will make a information sheet, explaining my inquiry and their contribution to it, I'll add my contact details should they have any issues or questions prior to the start of my inquiry. 

I will be making notes, maybe recording voices, keeping forms that my participants fill out. I will ensure all of this data is stored privately where only I will be able to use it. Also, I'll make sure that the participants are aware that I may be recording them and using their information privately. 

Considering that my some of the participants I plan to use are work colleagues and friends, I will need to be completely professional when carrying out the parts of my inquiry. Atmosphere should feel comfortable and not too over friendly to ensure reliable and sufficient answers/results. 

4D - Literature 1

I have left this task out for a while. I wanted to ask a few more of my questions to my colleagues and SIG group on Facebook. My topic/thoughts for my inquiry have moved on and are mainly based on teaching methods and how teaching qualifications and experience in the industry affects ways of teaching and how people get jobs as Dance and Performing Arts teachers.

I looked around on the Internet for pieces of literature, also the 'summon' part of the MDX library.
Here is a piece that interested me to read on expand my general thoughts.

1 - Google search, newspaper article.
Firstly,  I chose to search on Google, my primary (favourite) way of researching. I typed in 'articles on teachers without qualifications' there were some pages from schools and associations that talked about how to gain and train to be a teacher though I thought this link to The Guardian would best benefit my research and learning. 

The Guardian 

It first caught me when the first line read 'Do teachers need to be qualified?' which is pretty much exactly what my inquiry is going to be about. This article should delve deeper into what I'm looking into. I want to find out what qualifications are needed to become a teacher and if we really need them. Are they beneficial or can we get jobs as teachers without them? Ideally, I'm searching for more information on performing arts teachers (and their qualifications) but I wanted to do a broader search first. 

The article is a viewpoint from a teacher. He talks about how he felt he could not have become a teacher without working towards his qualifications first. He discusses the advantages and disadvantages of schools employing teachers without qualifications and he asks many questions which got me thinking about my own opinions on the matter. He finished off with some advice and final statement 'Teachers should be qualified'. 

The article was quite informal and definitely reader friendly. He was very opinionated in his writing though never overly persuasive towards the reader. There was a box below which allowed readers to post their comments and opinions on the article. I was happy after reading the whole page to find that this was helpful in my research on 'teaching qualifications'. I felt as though I had personally asked him my question (similar to the one I asked my SIG members on Facebook) and this was his answer. Though this piece that I found was similar to my line of inquiry, it didn't give me many facts or theories on the subject. I will need to look for other pieces of literature to help me learn more. 

5C - Reader 5 Professional Ethics

Reader 5

Not knowing much about ethics before researching for task 5B and reading the 5th reader; i found this really helped me learn about the separate groups of ethics.

Personal
Professional
Organisation
Society

There are many different theoretical ethics...
Some people are Consequentialists (JS Mill) - they believe that you can do something that isn't necessarily seen as 'correct' as long as it maximises the good. 
Then there are Deontologists (Immanuel Kant) - They feel that 'Lying' for example is always wrong. The motive behind an action determines whether or not it is morally right. 
Last of all the Virtue Ethicists (Plato and Aristotle) - being rather than doing, virtue ethics emphasises the character of the moral agent rather than the rules or the consequences and what actions taken reveal about one's character. 

I personally feel that depending on the situation I'd react differently. I would say that I am most definitely more of a consequentialist rather than a virtue ethicist or deontologist. I feel that though you may do something that might not be abiding by the rules of your job, for example, if it is correct in the circumstance that you're in then you should do it. 

Religion and Law ethics - Laws exist to provide societies with a framework for a civil and ordered society. The religious ethics basically my own personal ethics and the way I live day to day. I am christian and one of the 10 commandments 'Thou shalt not kill' just so happens to be an act of the law here in the UK. 'Thou shalt not steal', also illegal which is one of the main codes of practice used in all businesses and work places over here. There are some commandments that are not a Law here in the UK, for example, 'Thou shall love thy neighbour', but religious people would follow these types of ethics and that creates the kind of person they are. 

Ethics and Morals - Comparative Ethics
Professional Ethics - by law teachers are not allowed to touch children which I completely understand and agree with, though I know that many teachers would have to disagree with this and feel that to teach a physical subject like dance (especially ballet) you simply have to correct a pupil by moving their arms and legs etc.
At my work there is a rule about leaving children if their parents are late to pick them up. I abide by this rule and leave the children at the after school club though I feel bad and would rather just sit and wait with them. Sometimes pupils get upset about things and naturally I would give them a hug which shouldn't be done. I think this is an example of work ethics going against my morals. In case study2, the photographer that left the African girl to die, perhaps because his job required him not to touch anything that he was photographing; this is an example that I personally feel is wrong. How can you leave a person, a human being to die when you could have helped. If I was ever in a situation like that, I know that my instinct and own personal ethics would take over. 

Normative and Descriptive inquiry questions. 
This part of the reader helped me to learn and focus on how I will word my questions surrounding my inquiry.  
Normative questions - examines principles that people use when they make moral choices. 
Descriptive questions - (factual) reasons behind moral choices and values in society. 

Case Study 5 is a clear example of a bad inquiry. The language used was inappropriate. I could tell that the writer was biased in the way that they described some groups of people, I would consider calling an older generation of people 'old dears' quite offensive. I know that I need to be very careful when directing questions and when writing about people.  I must not show any opinion or seem biased in anyway. 

5B - Ethics in the Workplace

I did some research online, looking for sites that showed ethical codes of practice in schools/businesses. I looked on a few different sites to see which codes of practice are similar to those in my own work place and which ones were different. 
'Ethics' is a subject that I was not particularly familiar with before starting this course. I knew that there were rules that I had to go by when I first started working but I didn't realise just how many different ethics there are in the workplace. Module 2 has helped me to further my understanding and learning by guiding me to research Ethics/Codes of Practice properly.

Overall, I found that there are personal ethics which people must then apply to their professions and depending on the company/business you are involved in, some different rules/ethics apply.  
There are some extra ethics that need to be considered for teachers in schools. One site that interested me was The Institute for Learning. IFL's code of professional practice came into force on 1 April 2008. The code was developed by the profession for the profession and outlines the behaviours expected of members – for the benefit of learners, employers, the profession and the wider community.

• Integrity

• Respect

• Care

• Practice

• Disclosure

• Responsibility.

These are the sites I used for extra research.
http://www.slideshare.net/sankarprasadmohanty/professional-ethics-for-teachers
http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/leader_model/development/media/Targeted%20Lessons/workplace_ethics.htm

This post/web page I found was my favourite. It gives 5 characteristics of having good work ethics. Each point has an easy reading summary and covers most of the ethical codes that I feel are most important. 
- Honest
-Refrains from Gossip
-Values Diversity
-Respects Others
-Cooperative

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/five-characteristics-having-good-work-ethics-11917.html

I feel like I have picked up different ethics over my years of working. I started working from the age of 16 as an assistant and from then I learnt the basic ethics such as working well with the teacher, being helpful, answering phone calls and questions in a professional manor. 

When reading about Ethical codes of practice for teachers, at schools, in the work place etc I figured that most of the ethics I naturally apply when working. I suppose they are considered as personal ethics; being responsible, reliable, respectful and so on. There are some "rules" that are set by my work company, such as uniform and appearance, that I must abide to follow the standards and meet the requests required by the company. I have learnt that there are many types of ethics in the work place that I never really thought about before now. The ethics that are set by the law, rather than "rules": 'do not steal' is an obvious example. 

5A - Ethics

These are my first initial thoughts on the ethics in my workplace and some precautions that I'd have to take when using my colleagues as part of my inquiry. 

I am currently working in 5 different schools, teaching a variety of Peforming Arts subjects and dance styles. One of the schools is a Saturday school, the other schools are primary schools where I am sent to teach at by the company I work for. 

Here is a Brainstorm of some ethics I feel I use whilst teaching. 

Ethics in the work place - with fellow colleagues. 

I suppose it would be quite helpful to ask some of my questions to the children I teach to get their feedback but this would be difficult and it might be more useful if I was to ask their parents instead. To delve further into my other questions, I'd need to speak to/question my colleagues and employer to help me with my questions. 

I would need to be professional when asking my questions, I'll need to ensure that my colleagues and employers are comfortable talking to me and don't feel that I'm interrogating them or being nosey in any kind of way. I need to word my questions appropriately and make sure that my questions do not require them to tell me any personal details. I may need to make notes or record them speaking, so I'll need to get their permission to do so first. I don't think that any of my questions, at the moment, would require me using my pupils which is good because I know that asking children questions might result in unreliable results and answers; also I would need to get permission from the school and parents first.  

Campus Session 6th March

Hi everyone! 

Today I attended the 2nd campus session of the year. I had my first ever lecture from Alan Durant and discussed Module 2 and our progress. 

(brief summary)

The lecture was about Positionality - thinking of where you are in context. You have to think about how you are viewing a situation from the outside, or from which angle. 
Different methods like surveys and interviews will result in different answers. It depends on if you're looking for a broad result or if you're delving deeper into a subject. 

We learnt about the different accounts of knowledge
- Metaphysics
- Rationalism 
- Empiricism
- Pragmatism

How we come to make sense of things depends on where we are coming from. 

The Knowledge Landscape ( created by Alan ) 

- Theology (Supernatural) - cannot be explained naturally
- Humanities (analytical, critical, speculative) 
- Natural Sciences (demonstrable truths)
- Social Sciences (demonstrable qualities) 

The Experiencing Self and the Remembering Self - Daniel Kathneman 
'All of our experiences pass away forever...only our memories that we make remain'

Alan is going to post a blog about the whole lecture with more information.

4C - Questions&Answers

I have been asking some of my questions, using them as topics of conversation with a few of my colleagues (dance teachers)  and Managers at work. 

We discussed some of my 'teaching' questions and talked about how there are many different ways of teaching. I got out my phone to make notes and recorded some of our chat so that I could type it out here on my blog :) 
Surprisingly I found that this one particular topic I was discussing with a fellow teacher led me to a possible line of inquiry! (YAY) 

Anyway, some answers...

Do you think that a teacher should have qualifications to teach?
Yes, I think it helps in some cases. Some teachers may not already have had experience with teaching and doing some teacher courses and get qualifications can help teach them how to arrange classes, give them encouragement and teaching techniques. 

What if the teacher has been teaching for a few years and has some experience already?
"Well then I'd say that it wouldn't be very helpful for them to take the basic teacher training course. I think that if they are coping well with the class and the children are learning and enjoying themselves - that's what is most important." 

Though a teacher has qualifications, does that make them a good teacher? 
"No, definitely not. I feel that some teachers may have all the qualifications but if they have no experience actually teaching and working with children then they can't possibly be a good teacher. It's no use just knowing HOW to teach, you have to be able to cope with the different attitudes and abilities of the classes you take."

After talking about how we teach differently from each other, we went on to talk about why we teach the way we do and how the training we had as students has taken effect on the way we teach.

Dance teacher - "I was trained in ballet from a young age and I think that because of that strict way of learning and being shown and explained how to do the movements and progress through the grades is why I teach the way I do. Maybe because some teachers haven't been classically trained, they don't really explain how particular movements are done, they rely on just showing it and expect the children to be able to do it."

More questions and answers on the way... 

4B - Join my SIG Group on Facebook :)

Hello Fellow Module 2's! 

I have created my SIG on my facebook and have added a few of you whom I think have similar ideas as me. Some members have suggested that we all join one group and post our questions, then we can comment on those that interest us to help each other out. Rather than be part of lots of different groups. 

If you'd like to join, please don't hesitate to add me @ facebook.com/chiara.vainella 

OR ask to be added -  (if you are already friends on FB) Laura May Houghton, Natalie Martin, Amy D'Arcy, Kimberley Gallagher, Leon Webster, Olivia Warner, Emma Price, Gabrielle Fairhead, Heather Smith.

Hope all the 'inquiring' is going well for you all! 
Chat soon 
Chiara 

Task 4a - reader4 initial thoughts & questions

Professional Inquiry - Reader4 

My first thoughts on starting this 'professional inquiry' module were not positive. They were almost daunting. The summary section of task 4a reminded me to look back at my previous blog 'task 2d' which was titled 'inquiry' and immediately I felt better about proceeding with the reader. Questions, questions, questions...that is all 'inquiry' is about. 

When first thinking about the module the word 'inquiry' sticks in my head and my mind goes blank. What questions do I have? What do I want to know more about? I don't have any questions that I can really delve into, research and find literature and other peoples theories on! I had blogged about some questions in my previous 'task2d' about my work and teaching. Though reading them back now I don't feel that they have much for me to really look into further and research. 

Surprisingly I found some of the reader4 quite engaging, it has encouraged me subconsciously to me focus more on questions about my performing side of life and/or my work when teaching. I am going to draw on thoughts and questions based on my experiences and work that I am currently involved in rather than think up random questions that don't really relate to me and that I won't benefit and learn from when discussing further. 

Many new ideas and questions arose in my head following some of the different sections I was reading about. I'm not sure at the moment how many Bapp students will also be interested in my lines of inquiry, though I know that I have colleages in my work places that I can ask my questions to. I have many questions that range from dance, performing to teaching and children's learning. I'm going to post a few and see how much of a response I get and explore into some with my peers at work and friends in the industry. 

I've decided to list my questions under headers. Here goes... I'm sure I'll have more but I'll start with these! 

Work Based Learning(WBL) & Teaching Questions 

- Should a qualified teacher have experience in the industry to be able to teach well?  

- Should teachers be auditioned by taking an observed class before being employed? 

- Even though a teacher may have many 'teaching' qualifications, does that make them a good teacher?

- What makes a good dance teacher? 

- How can a person teach dance without being able to physically do the movements? 

- Why do some companies/schools require teachers with a certain standard of qualifications when they could have a CV full of professional jobs in the industry? 

- Do pupils prefer a teacher who has worked in the industry or a teacher who is just a teacher? 

- Do teachers courses teach how to 'teach' (dealing with the educational side of the class) or just teach the syllabus required for the pupils to learn? 

- What methods have been discovered to deal with distracting pupils in class? 

- How do you get pupils of different ages to work together in class? 

- How do you help pupils overcome their fear of creating a dance piece on their own? 

Dance & the Industry

- Are different 'shaped' dancers becoming more popular? If so, why? 

- Is the west end becoming more Americanised over the years?

- Do performers prefer to have representation or work on their own? 

- With auditions becoming easier to find online/in newspapers etc, is there less of a demand for agents?

- Why do some dancers feel that after a certain age they will have to retire? 

- At what age do performers feel they are too old to carry on in the industry? 

- Has there been a higher demand for street classes over the past 5 years than the demand of ballet classes for children under 16? 

I will be using the TAG function on my blogs from now on. I think this will help others; by searching for specific words/subjects I believe I can find others who are also interested in the same lines of inquiry as me or who may be interested in discussing my questions further. I'm hoping that by using 'Tags' I will be able to communicate easily with other practitioners and students and start developing my Special Interest Group (4b) 

New Year - New Module!

Hello Everyone! 

Happy New Year...time for Module 2 at last! I don't know about you guys but it feels like I haven't done any blogging/Uni work for ages. 

I have read the module 2 handbook and feel like this term is really going to test me. There's far more 'reading', 'researching' and 'inquiring' to be done. I'm currently working on the reader 4, trying to make sense of the tasks at hand. For example, creating an SIG!! (Special interest group) I'm really hoping some of you will have the same interests as me so we can work together, discussing and communicating our ideas and questions via our blogs. 

Anyway...onto task 4a! 

Good luck everyone, speak soon and I will hopefully see some of you at the campus session on the 13th :) 

Love Chiara