Hi all,
Yesterday's Skype meeting gave me a lot to think about, even though I had to drop out to feed my little one. Apologies for the sudden exit!
It is interesting to see what issues and questions re-surface for me and other members of the group. One thing for me is our group discussions. Skype sessions are working more smoothly and are certainly always very constructive but it seems to be a difficult thing to do well. This from someone who doesn't enjoy phone conversations! The lack of body language and facial expression definitely cause me some difficulties. There is the video option of course, but as far as I know you can't see everyone's faces at the same time, in real time? That would be really good!
Still on the theme of communication, I notice that often someone else can put into words exactly what I was trying to say, and often say it so much better, effortlessly summing up the ideas. Someone, sorry, I can't remember who, Ainsley? did this when talking about the difference between the communication spaces of Linked-in and blogs. Statements v questions, group v individual, and ease of use were all mentioned.
Thinking, reacting and responding quickly is obviously a key part of teaching (being able to think on your feet) but going back to learning styles, if someone is more of a reflective nature, needing time to formulate ideas without too much pressure, perhaps this need for a fast response is one of the more challenging aspects of teaching practice for them. This might contradict what I was saying in my last blog about responding and just putting some thoughts out there. I think it's great to do that but not always easy in case you reveal your thinking to be confused or lacking in knowledge which can result in feeling vulnerable, or even embarrassed.
Sometimes words, spoken or written, feel inadequate. It could be my language skills of course but a passage in Case Study Research in Educational Settings (Bassey, 1999, p.43)) helped shed some light on feeling unable to make your meaning clear to someone else or the possibility of your meaning being misconstrued....
'language as a more or less agreed symbolic system, in which different people may have some differences in their meanings;'
Here the author is talking about qualitative research and the problem of differences in perception, interpretation and language that which make it unsurprising that we all have different opinions on what is real. What stood out were the words 'more or less' in relation to our shared understanding of language.
Was any of that clear!?
Hi Rose, I definitely share your views on communication. I feel like a struggle with articulation in the Skype sessions I do plan what I'm going to say but I aways feel that people don't understand what I'm saying when answering their own dilemmas. I always try and repeat what I said but yes without seeing facial expressions you never know if people have understood what you are trying to convey. Maybe the presentation in module three will be better because it's longer, about your subject and more rehearsed I guess what Im trying to say is that I struggle with articulation with "on the spot" questioning! Hoping it's experience, but I get nervous... funny though as a professional dancer dancing in front of a thousand people doesn't phase me! This post actually brings brings me around to when you posted about on my blog about teaching jazz dancers to find their voices thank fully the course caters to finding you voice vocally, theoretically and practically. Really interesting subject matter Rose thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Rose! I as well feel exactly the same way! Throughout the Skype call I found myself nodding my head and agreeing with people as they spoke. Part way through I realized that no one can actually see me doing this. I felt engaged, but without speak aloud no one would even know I was there, let alone engaged in the conversation. I have never liked phone conversations, unless they are video Skype where I can see the persons face and interact with them on more of a human level. I am sure that growing up as a dancer and being a dance instructor plays into this because I am so used to face to face interaction. As dance instructors we don't sit at an office desk all day, staring at a computer screen, and talking for hours on the phone. We are in the studio, smiling, laughing, and sweating with our students!
ReplyDeleteHowever all of that said, I did find the Skype helpful and it gave me a much greater sense of community. Following the Skype call I wrote a quick blog about community. I missed the first Skype because of the time change, and being over here in Canada I feel quite disconnected from the MA as a whole. But hearing everyone's struggles and revelations made me realize that we are all working through the same processes together.
Anyway, great blog! Glad my own little revelation about Linkedin vs Blogs helped you :)