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