Learning Blog Four: Reflection

Having now almost completed the BAPP course I have now come to realise how misconceived I was at the start of the course in relation to how much work would b involved an how much longer full academic writing can take when compared with what I had previously experienced. Before this course I felt that two days was ample time to complete a 2000 word referenced essay as this is what I achieved when doing the written work required for the NQF Level 6 Diploma obtained at Performing Arts College. I have learnt to always try to allow extra time than what you think a piece of academic writing is going to take you as it probably will take longer than you anticipate.

The first term of the BAPP course involved a number of small tasks that were set in order to develop our research, analytical, reflection and writing skills which were necessary experience to prepare us for the writing of our project proposal and the conduction and writing of the research project. These tasks were also a gentle start to learning the time management skills necessary for the later work. Term two at the time felt like being thrown in the deep end of research and academic writing on a larger scale as I had not experienced these before (with the exception of the short task in term one) however looking back it was far better to undertake this steep learning curve at this stage of the degree rather than having to undertake this learning while doing the final research project. However through this I have learnt about a number of different styles of research, how to undertake research (both primary and secondary) within my professional practice and of I can development my teaching skills through research and through looking ‘outside the box’ from the syllabi that I teach and the way that I was taught to teach it within the teaching course provided by the ISTD. Although I found the blogging created a sense of community within myself and my peers throughout the course, enabling us to help each other with problems and provide feedback, I found that I struggled trying to fit this in with the demand of writing my final project, I had to make the decision of what was more important getting the project finished or keeping a regular track of what my peers were doing as I could not fit both in.

I have learnt academically within this project on how to write in a professional academic manor but also how to analyse my own learning in a way that is more than ‘ok in that pirouette my weight was to far back which is why I fell off’. The analysing of the research and deducing the meaning of this is not a skill that I have previously struggled with as this is the type of personality that I have (a tendency to over think things) however the final project in particular I have learned to be more direct with my analysis and to be critical with what I have written in order to fit within a specific word limit. Although the thought of writing a 12,000 word report in the beginning I found quite daunting when I began to write the report I found that I was basically writing 6 shorter essays which were not any longer than those that I had written before. Once I got writing I found that I easily reached the 12,000 word limit and when quite far over this therefore I had to develop my editing skills leaving only the most important relevant information within my report, a skill that I had not previously had to use as this was the first project I had undertaken with a word limit.I have also learnt a number of personal lessons while undertaking this degree course, the most prominent not to take on too much as although I would have considered myself an organised person having to work full time, teaching, do a degree, plan a wedding/ get married, undertook my own dance exams as well as the day to days of life, I found myself not being the prepared person that I always had been. I had to quickly learn to really prioritise my tasks and make sacrifices in areas so that I could achieve what I deemed most important.

My project has had a tangible effect on my professional practice and given me further thought of how I can help the students personally which will help them in life and will remove a barrier that is preventing their success in dance. The project has also shown my employer a different way of working and she witnessed the effect that this project had on the students. This course has ultimately nurtured and provide me with new academic skill and shown me ways of looking at my own professional project and how I can improve myself as a teacher going beyond reading articles provided by the ISTD, the dancing times and going to seminars at ‘move it’ but by actually changing my own teaching practice to see what works, ultimately improving the dance skill and enjoyment of my students but also developing them as people not just as dancers.

Learning Blog 3: Project Summary

The aim of my project was to ‘Asses the effects of the inclusion of creative dance in a private sector ballet class on the students syllabus work’ and the following were the main project findings:

- Creative dance is not a style of dance but rather a process by which dance is created which encourages self- expression and exploration of self, an idea or the social world. Creative dance in essence cannot be neatly defined as it is personal to each dancer.

- The educational approaches taken the ISTD and the Public Sector (State Schools) can be explained by the mission of the ISTD to provide technical training for the dance profession and within state schools the creative educational aims set out by the government.

- That in the situation of Action Research group one the inclusion of creative dance had a positive effect on student’s performance skills within their set syllabi ballet work. In the situation of the Action Research conducted although an improvement in technique was seen this is unlikely to be attributed to the inclusion of creative dance.

- Within the situations of the Action Research and those within the Royal Academy of Dance Case studies the inclusion of creative dance enhanced the student’s enjoyment of dance.

The main benefits of my findings are my enhanced knowledge of creative dance, the conclusion that it is possible that the low confidence in adolescent (self-esteem) can be detrimental to the application of learning. The main benefit I have learnt that within the scope of my professional practice the inclusion of creative dance enhances the enjoyment of the dance education they receive and with younger students a positive effect is seen on the performance skills required for syllabi

Learning Blog Two: Google Docs

Google Docs is an additional function created by the search engine Google in order to be able to store or create documents on the internet. This enables you to access your documents from any computer and or allows you to share your documents with others. In order to be able to use Google Docs it requires a Google email account however on this occasion this did not cause a problem as previously within this course we had to create a Google email account in order to use Google Reader to monitor our peers blogs. The site allows you to apply different share settings to the documents you store on Google; Anybody can access it, Those who have been provided with the link can access it (When a document is uploaded an the share settings selected Google provides you with a link to this webpage of your document which you can email to others), or private settings where you can invite certain people to be able to access your work which requires them to sign in. Google Docs also had the facility to create a range of documents including, Microsoft Word, Excel and Publisher documents.

The concept of being able to access you work from anywhere without the use of a memory stick is useful however the use of Google Docs to store documents I do not believe to be a secure storage of information and in storing any information resulting from my primary research would cause ethical issues as I had not stated the possibility of this being done to the participants within my research. Uploading this information having not informed my participants of this would not have been good ethical practice. I did however use Google Docs to allow my interview subjects to access the ‘Informed Consent Form’ for my project to enable them to read it before the interview (As I had not met in person the subject of my interviews before the conduction). This was an easy, convenient and quick way to provide information to the participants, to ensure that they were fully informed about the project (I took a paper copy to the interview, in order to obtain a signed copy from the participants). Although throughout much of this project I have considered Google Docs an insecure way to store work once my the first draft of my project was submitted (this way an potential leaks of my work onto the internet from Google Docs it could not be brought into doubt if any work was copied from the internet) I found Google Docs useful in illustrating some help that I provided to a peer. The best way to explain to her what I was trying to convey was to provided an example however the work was simply too large to publish on her blog therefore by giving a brief explanation and signposting her to Google docs I was able provide her with advice in an applied way.

For information that is not confidential Google Docs is a useful tool to distribute a document to a number of people and I believe would be useful if a person does not have their own computer from which to work as Google Docs is more reliable than a memory stick which can be lost however due to ethical consideration to obtain feedback on my own project this was not possible.

Learning Blog One: Delicious

The website ‘delicious’ is a social book-marking site which enables you to create internet based bookmarks (much like ones that you can create from a desktop) which can be accessed by yourself from any computer or which others can find. The site delicious enables you to search using keywords for sites that others have book marked. One disadvantage I found with this site was the necessity for a Yahoo email address thus adding to the long list of email addresses I currently have in order use to certain web based applications and for my personal and professional use. Delicious suggests that you can still set up an account using another email provider however I was unable to do this and was forced to create an account with Yahoo. The concept of this facility suggests that it would make it more time efficient to search the internet for sites on specific topics however for the purpose of my research project I found this was not the case. I searched a number of key words relating to my topic which centred around creative dance and dance education hoping to find possible literature that I could reference and would provide useful insight into my topic however all delicious provided was websites for dance schools advertising their dance classes. I utilised delicious finding one website which referred to dancer’s nutrition which I knew one of my peers was researching and therefore booked marked the site to hopefully assist her with her project. The use of delicious was not beneficial towards my research project. I believe that delicious could be improved by being able to add descriptors to the bookmarked website e.g. advertising or academic in order to be able to quickly decipher whether the websites retrieved from the search are worth-while accessing thus making a more time efficient process.

I retain the notion that the concept of delicious sounds as though it would be a time-saving tool for searching the internet however I did not find this the case and do not consider it a research tool beneficial during the research for my project.

Help!

This is my first blo in a long time, as time has been so precious I've struggled to be able to do all the things I have to do for my prject and blog as well. having gone through the handbook on what we need to include in our projects can anybody tell my what a research statement is and how this differs from our aims, objectives and research questions?

Please help me!

Rational for Degree Title

I propose the following for my degree title:

BA (Hons) Professional Practice Dance Education

Previous to commencing this degree course I obtained a NQF level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance from Stella Mann College where I studied a variety of dance genres, as well as obtaining a classical ballet teaching qualification (Foundation in Dance Instruction with the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing). The education that I received whilst at Stella Mann in order to achieve the Diploma in professional dance and an FDI qualification has provided me with the knowledge and skill that it required for my professional practice today. The knowledge of technique, performance skills, dance history, teaching methods, syllabus knowledge, choreography, safe dance practice and child development gained is essential and has provided the groundwork for my professional practise as a teacher. My professional practice at present is as a ballet, modern, tap and jazz teacher for students aged 2 ½- 14 at a private sector dance school where I provide my students with an education in the dance genres that they choose to study. I have taught for a number of years whilst a secondary school and dance college student however know having graduated I have been able to make teaching dance my professional practice

As a dance teacher I am constantly looking for ways to improve my teaching practice and the dance education that my students receive and this is what led to topic choice for my research project. My research topic centres around extending the dance education that my students receive by integrating creative dance into their classes, thus improving their experience and knowledge of dance. I aim to improve my knowledge of creative dance and seek the positive benefits that this will have on the students in a technique based classical ballet class. It is widely acknowledged that the dance education provided in the private and public sectors is focuses on different aspects of a dance education and generically the education received does not cross over between the two. In the future I plan use my knowledge to integrate the two by bringing my knowledge of a public sector education into the private sector and vice versa. Following this degree my plan is obtain Qualified Teaching Status (QTS) so that I can teach in secondary schools, bring the knowledge I have gained on technique and performance skills into a public sector education. The process of this degree course has been exceedingly beneficial to my professional practice as a Dance educator and I believe that this should be shown in my degree title

I believe that having the words ‘Dance’ and ‘Education’ are instrumental to my degree title, they reflect my current professional practice as a dance teacher, my previous training and the future progression that a plan to take as a dance teaching professional. My professional practice at present is educating young girls in the world of dance and I plan to continue to educate students in dance in a variety of institutions providing a long and fulfilled career. The degree title; BA (Hons) Professional Practices encompasses my past, my present and my future and therefore is completely appropriate and justifiable.

Critical Commentry

This module has been a intensive learning experience for me, it has increased my knowledge or research methods and data collection tools/ the process when conducting primary research, developed my analytical and evaluation skills, nurtured my academic writing skills, developed my secondary research skills, and enhanced my organisational skills (in particular time management skills). I have found the process of completing Module 3835 has taken my academic learning to a level that I have not experienced before and although the experience has been demanding I have learnt or enhanced a multitude of skills that will be crucial to both the research project for this course and for my professional practice.

At the start of this module having read the handbook and the first few chapters of the recommended text by Judith Bell I was rather over- whelmed with the enormity of information and confused over the various social research methods. My first diary entry that I wrote on the way to the first campus session (unofficial diary entry not on blog) focused on my confusion on what exactly was involved in each research approach and how the application of these could transfer to my situation, a number a re-reads of the Bell text was required before I formed a basic understanding of the methods however through further research, attendance of the campus sessions and a particularly useful conversation with my academic advisor (see Learning Blog 4) I now have a comprehensive understanding of the common social research methods and how they apply in an educational setting. I now understand that the choice of research topic can dictate the method that you use, it depends on what you are trying to find out as to which method will work best. Having said this I found that it can be very easy to over complicate matters (see Learning Blog Four) and this is never productive. Looking back I believe that my confusion was caused by a combination of me reading a vast amount of material in a short space of time, not fully comprehending the material and not allowing the material to ‘sink in’. This process quickly took me from knowing nothing about research methods and tools to having a vast volume of information in my head that I had to process however once I had systematically organised my thoughts on paper I was able to take what I had learnt about experiments, action research, case studies and ethnography and deduce what would be most appropriate for my study and why.

Looking back at my learning Diary and blogs I can see the though process and development of ideas, one re-occurring process that I looking back I have noticed is the evaluation of my experiences and the formulation of action plans/ questions for future use. The questions that I formulated in Learning Blog Three were a true test measure on whether my final idea for the topic of research was feasible, the enabled me to structurally analyse my project idea to ensure that the idea was feasible and then make the appropriate amendments before starting the cycle again. I state the word cycle as although I was not aware I was doing this at the time, the process that I was completing was representative of Kolb’s learning cycle that was looked at in Module 3002. The process included a concrete experience (formulating the research idea), reflective observation (applying the questions), abstract conceptualisation (analysis of what the answers to the questions mean) and active experimentation (coming up with ways to combat any problems of experimenting with new ideas). Similarly the reminders that I produced in Learning Blog 5 have given me a guidance to follow when that can be applied to my final research project proposal, the research project and any future write up of a work. based research project that I may conduct thus making sure that I produce the best work that I can in an respected academic style and in a time efficient manor. This analytical skill I will be able to apply to a innumerable number of situations and I believe one of the most important learning skills that I have developed.

This module has propelled a vast amount of learning however I can now see how the activities and projects set in Module 3002 were the foundation building blocks of skills that are required for a research proposal and project. The tasks of finding resources that we use for our professional practice, analysis of what has been passed down to use from our teachers, our influences, Kolb’s learning cycle and learning to write in an academic writing style, were all preparation exercises for the research, analytical and academic writing skills that have been required for this module.

Throughout this course I have found my the learning environment to be very different from my previous academic learning experience as my previous learning has always been extensively supported by teachers telling me what and how to do things, however in this module the focus of study what completely under my control and when I became stuck I had to solve the problems by myself rather than just asking my teacher for help. Through the process of this module I have been able to develop my problem solving ability as now I am able to conduct self- sufficient research and analysis to solve a problem a skill that I can use both in academic work and my professional practice. Although there were guidelines and advice throughout this module this was not specific to my situation and study and therefore I have had to evaluate this advice and see what can be applied to my work and how. Having said this I have also learnt the benefit of consulting with one’s peers when facing a problem as they are able to offer advice and they are able to look at scenarios with a fresh pair of eyes. The blogs and campus sessions have been crucial to this as they have given me the opportunity to converse and discuss problems and ideas with others who are in the same situation as me.

This process has taken me through a journey from having a few sketchy ideas right through to a formulated and precise research proposal. The formulation of ideas has come from looking at my own professional practice, how I can improve this while also considering my future aims. There were a number of ideas however looking at my interest in the subjects, the feasibility of the project and the notion of ‘who cares’ I was able to formulate a research project that I feel will be most worth- while to my professional practice and to that of other private sector dance teacher.

This module has provided me with many difficult problems which at times I thought were almost impossible to overcome however it is through these difficulties that I have accomplished the most fruitful learning. I have developed a number of essential skills that will be integral as I continue through this degree programme and throughout my professional practice both in the present and in the future. I am sure that I will come across a number of problems in my professional and academic future and now I have the analytical and research skills to overcome these problems. The prospect of actually now doing the proposed research is somewhat daunting however I am certain the I will learn even more doing this and I am excited about the information that I will uncover that I am sure will have a profound effect on my professional practice as a dance teacher.