So I thought I'd share a few thoughts from my reflective journal with you as I've not quite started my field work (although I am trying to have my research questions constantly on my radar at work).
I'm starting to get into Module 3 and realised that it would have really helped me with designing my research inquiry if I'd read the Module 3 handbook much earlier, like four months ago! I didn't want to overwhelm myself but it would have been good to get an idea of where I was heading, even if I didn't understand all of it. I sometimes say to students when I demonstrate a long phrase in real time (not a slower speed) not to worry, take in what they can but that it can be useful to get a view of the whole picture and then go back and build it up. Funny that I don't apply this to my own academic study!
I'm also coming across books and articles that would have been really useful for writing my proposal but I'm sure they will still inform my research to come.
So, from my journal this week..... It's not edited so apologies if it meanders a bit.
I realised today that I reveal my thought process to my students quite a lot in class. It might be talking about what I've decided id like to do next as I try to create a good progression within the session, or a music change, or or part of an exercise that doesn't flow very well in terms of my choreography. This can leave me as teacher feeling a bit vulnerable and perhaps open to the critism of lacking authority but I think the reason I teach like this, for this particular group is that they are a fairly mature group of 1st year undergraduates, a very small cohort so I am getting to know them quite well, and I think/hope we have built up some mutual trust. I hope revealing my thought process to them about what and how I'm teaching as I go along, might lessen the gap they might feel between themselves and me as teacher, and also, to help them learn as student dance teachers. I am older and more experienced in the technique I teach then my students are but perhaps it's about trying to create a feeling of working together, and perhaps being honest with them about the fact that I'm learning all the time as well and am human, not some kind of dance teaching machine.
What do you think?
Sunday 22 February 2015
Sunday 1 February 2015
Observation, and a few other thoughts on the Skype conversations today
Quite a few things stayed with me from today's discussions and it was good to get into some big questions straight away.
Teacher identity is really important to my research. Who am I? (back to Module 1) How do I see myself in the teaching role? and how does this interrelate to all the other factors that have influenced and built my dance teaching knowledge? How have I learnt the assumptions I make?
We talked about the privileging of professional performance, however we define 'professional' and, I suggested, the possible lower status of teaching and other roles/jobs within dance. Where does this perception come from? Society, parents and the media were all mentioned by Cathy (I think it was Cathy, apologies if it was someone else)
I feel that I value teachers as highly as any other role in dance, of course, being one, but I can hear voices (whose?) saying, 'well, many teachers were dancers themselves'. True to some extent but what if they weren't? Teachers need a deep understanding of the subject they teach, but if we think of a science teacher, does she have to have been a successful scientist in the field, getting paid to develop new ideas, to be a good science teacher? I don't think so but I'm just thinking out loud. Is dance, or the Arts a different case? It's always interesting to compare dance with completely different disciplines or industries to test out ideas about dance.
I seem to struggle to articulate and express myself verbally, interesting for a teacher, but maybe not so weird if you're in the realm of movement? Anyway, just to shed a bit more light on my area of research. I'm interested in the giving and receiving of feedback, both non-verbal and verbal, that happens during the dance learning experience itself. Feedback comes at different times for different purposes (often accompanying a mark at the end of term for example) but I'm interested in the interplay between the teacher and learner during the physicality of learning dance technique in the studio.
One method I'll be using to explore this is observation of my teaching, through video and reflection, and other teachers in action. So how will I observe? Today people made many suggestions such as letting observations sit with you for a while and avoiding dismissing things that don't seem to fit neatly anywhere. They may fit or link to something later or they may become important as the research continues or they may not. Adesola talked about the need to find a balance between not knowing what you're looking for (a good thing!) and knowing what you would like to do in the analysis, which will guide the research. The importance of thinking about the method of recording observations was also mentioned. How to best capture things, in what form?
That's it for now. Thanks for an interesting and helpful talk this morning and nice to hear familiar, and new voices.
Teacher identity is really important to my research. Who am I? (back to Module 1) How do I see myself in the teaching role? and how does this interrelate to all the other factors that have influenced and built my dance teaching knowledge? How have I learnt the assumptions I make?
We talked about the privileging of professional performance, however we define 'professional' and, I suggested, the possible lower status of teaching and other roles/jobs within dance. Where does this perception come from? Society, parents and the media were all mentioned by Cathy (I think it was Cathy, apologies if it was someone else)
I feel that I value teachers as highly as any other role in dance, of course, being one, but I can hear voices (whose?) saying, 'well, many teachers were dancers themselves'. True to some extent but what if they weren't? Teachers need a deep understanding of the subject they teach, but if we think of a science teacher, does she have to have been a successful scientist in the field, getting paid to develop new ideas, to be a good science teacher? I don't think so but I'm just thinking out loud. Is dance, or the Arts a different case? It's always interesting to compare dance with completely different disciplines or industries to test out ideas about dance.
I seem to struggle to articulate and express myself verbally, interesting for a teacher, but maybe not so weird if you're in the realm of movement? Anyway, just to shed a bit more light on my area of research. I'm interested in the giving and receiving of feedback, both non-verbal and verbal, that happens during the dance learning experience itself. Feedback comes at different times for different purposes (often accompanying a mark at the end of term for example) but I'm interested in the interplay between the teacher and learner during the physicality of learning dance technique in the studio.
One method I'll be using to explore this is observation of my teaching, through video and reflection, and other teachers in action. So how will I observe? Today people made many suggestions such as letting observations sit with you for a while and avoiding dismissing things that don't seem to fit neatly anywhere. They may fit or link to something later or they may become important as the research continues or they may not. Adesola talked about the need to find a balance between not knowing what you're looking for (a good thing!) and knowing what you would like to do in the analysis, which will guide the research. The importance of thinking about the method of recording observations was also mentioned. How to best capture things, in what form?
That's it for now. Thanks for an interesting and helpful talk this morning and nice to hear familiar, and new voices.
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