The advantages of using Imagery when teaching

Going back to my journal writing and reflective practice I wanted to write a blog about a few things I have learnt whilst teaching.

Since starting teaching properly in July this year I feel in a short amount of time my classes have improved because of my increased understanding of the use of Imagery.  The words that are cropping up in my journal regularly are 'images', 'imagination' and 'creativity'.

A small experiment

In one of my classes called 'Tricks and Tumbles' which is a combination of Gymnastics and Dance, I decided in this session I would be teaching 'Split leaps' or 'Split Jetes' across the floor.  The children I teach in this class range from 6-9 years and are mostly beginners.  At first, I explained the move and showed them how it should look.  I asked them to give it their best shot and do the move across the floor.  After this, I used the image of a big puddle in the middle of the floor and they had to jump over this puddle from one foot onto the other foot.  Immediately, I noticed a huge improvement in the leaps and I could see a lot more excitement in the children's faces.  I developed this idea with the children and added in a fence in front of the puddle.  Again, the height in the children's leaps improved greatly.  Since this lesson, I have used images in most of the moves that I teach.

This brings me to Ken Robinsons quote as shown below:

I have realised the importance of imagination so much in the past few months and think it is something that all teachers should use in their classes.

Affiliation and my Professional Network

I looked a bit more into Affiliation today and was not surprised when I read the extract from Crisp, J and Turner stating that Affiliation is an 'inherited trait'.  It also said that 'some people are more inclined than others to seek out affiliation.'  I can relate this back to myself.  For example, my partner works for a building company where he has little need to expand his professional network to improve his job.  On the other side of the scale is myself.  I need a support network of other professionals to help me grow as a professional.  Most of the jobs I am getting is through good word of an employee or someone seeing what I am up to on social media.  This provides my income and therefore helps me survive.  When I think of affiliating and networking as a survival mechanism it makes me determined to spend more time on expanding my network.

So, I wanted to try and expand by Professional Network by reaching out to the rest of you on the course.  I have recently been offered three classes at the Theatre in my town.  One for 6-18months, one for 18m-3years and one for 3-5years.  This is exciting, but I also want to go in as best prepared as I can.  If anyone has had any experience with these age groups, I'd love to swap ideas on class layout, games, rhymes and themes that you may have, even if it was something that didn't work out.  As I pointed out in my last blog there is something to learn from everyones experiences!

Theories relating to networking - Connection

On reading 'Connectivism - A learning theory for a digital age' this quote came up:

“nodes always compete for connections because links represent survival in an interconnected world” Albert - Laszlo Barabasi

If we change the words around to suit our industry it might look a bit like this:

'Performers always compete for connections because having these links means getting a job in this industry'

Connection is so powerful, especially in the arts industry.  Reading this research made me think about 'The Six Degrees of Separation' which I found to be a very interesting theory.

The theory was first proposed by Frigyes Karinthy who wrote a story called 'Chains' which kickstarted the theory. Then Stanley Milgram found a way to prove the theory.  In short, the theory means we are all connected to anyone else in the world by just 6 stages.  To help you understand and see Milgrams experiment explained I have posted two links that helped me.

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/six-degrees-of-separation

http://www.sciencealert.com/are-we-all-really-connected-by-just-six-degrees-of-separation (A good video explaining the theory)

So, what I am trying to say is that if there is six degrees of separation in the world, then think about how many there will be in our small arts industry.  The more people you can connect with in this industry then the more likely your network is going to expand.  

Equally, it is important to not dismiss someone from your network, as you have potentially just cut off another 20 people!

My Current Professional Network

I have just read Reader 3 and also just had a great chat with Paula on Skype.

The concept of 'The Networked Professional' makes perfect sense to me as it is something I have thought about since my final year in college.  Before I graduated, I sent my CV to numerous kids clubs around my area (both dance and non dance) so that I could network with professionals in my area and asses the need for Dance and Gymnastics classes.  This benefitted me hugely as I have now managed to build strong working relationships with them and means I am often offered work as an outside Dance Teacher to come in and teach.  I know that I eventually want to open my own classes and a number of working professionals in my area have said they will support me with this.

A great quote that came to mind when I was talking to Paula about this was:

'Every man I meet is my superior in some way.  In that, I learn of him.'

I got this from the book 'How to make friends and Influence People.' by Dale Carnegie.  I read this before I graduated and have always kept it in my mind.  Every has different experiences in life and it is good to try and learn something off everybody.

Carnegie also has a chapter dedicated to 'Cooperation' and how to get it.  He uses the example of an Artist who struggles to sell his paintings to a leading stylist in New York.  Once a week, for three years he would go and visit the stylist and every time his paintings were rejected.  The artist then took on a new approach and went to the stylist and said 'Here are some uncompleted sketches.  Won't you please tell me how we could finish them up in such a way that you could use them?'  In the end, the stylist gave suggestions and the artist finished them up accordingly.  All paintings were bought from then on.

This example made me understand cooperation and its importance.  We need to be able to take on other peoples ideas and combine them with our own.  I can relate this back to myself to when I was offered to take my own classes for a company.  I had the knowledge and they had the target audience and trusted name. We worked together and made a successful class reach out to many young children in my area.  They had something I needed and I had something they needed.  It just worked.

I would really recommend reading Carnegies book as some of the quotes still ring in my head now in my Professional Practice.

As I get more experienced in networking I find that I really enjoy it now.  If I see someone at an event that I know works in the same area as me, I make a point of going up and introducing myself.  I'm not trying to be nosey or intimidating, I just think it is important to be aware of Professionals around you and I am genuinely interested in this line of work so it's great to share ideas.

I have recently been offered a dance class for 18 months - 2 year olds. I found this quite daunting, however, once I had reached out to my network who had experience in this area I felt inspired and interested to learn more.

 I feel in a good place with my current network, but am always looking for ways to build it.  How does everyone else feel about their professional network and how do you go about building it? Would love to hear thoughts.

Journal Writing Experience

After reading through the different ways of writing a journal I instantly knew what could work for me and what would not.  I immediately scrapped the idea of writing a journal from the view of somebody else, however, on deeper thought, I realised that I often imagine a parent or another teacher in the room when I am teaching, and this helps me to remain completely professional and 100% enthusiastic at all times.

For the past week, I have written journal entries and I now think I have come up with a format that best suits me

I want to be able to refer back to these so I want them to look simple and colourful so I can easily remember them.  The use of lists really works for me but I don't want my journal entries to simply be a list of words.  I aim to do a mind map for each event and then write a list of aims for improvement so they are clear in my head.

I did a bit of research into mind maps and found the creator 'Tony Buzan' to be very interesting.  In his clip that I watched he says 'the mind map is a reflection of the way the brain thinks'  You have a central idea/event and then it branches out into other ideas.  This way, I still feel like I am being creative with my reflection and letting my ideas just flow.  I think this ties in well with the Ken Robinson video I watched about the importance of creativity when learning.  I want my classes to be creative and allow my pupils to be creative, so I think I should reflect creatively too!

Here is a link to Buzan talking about the importance of mind maps and creative thinking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlabrWv25qQ 

What I found was inhibiting my journal writing was the fact that I would get home from my classes or auditions and I had forgotten to either write the journal, or I had forgotten what I had learnt from class that morning.  Therefore, I like to carry my journal around with me so if an idea pops into my head it can go straight to paper!

Questions to ask yourself when writing a journal

I was unsure what to actually write about when starting my journal.  After reading 'Reflection on Practice' by Patricia Mclare it became a lot clearer. When taking time out to reflect on events I will ask myself:

1. What was I aiming for?
2. What exactly did I do?
3. Why did I choose this action?
4. What was I trying to achieve?
5. How successful was it?
6. Could I have dealt with the situation better?
7. How would I do it differently?
8. Did the Kids/Adults enjoy it?
9. How do I know that?
10. Will I now change future classes?

I think this has shown me how detailed my reflection is to be if I want it to help me learn and improve future experiences.  I may not answer all these question every time but this is a good framework to work with.  

Reader 2 Skype Session 26th October

Last nights Skype session was a really great chance to hear other peoples opinions on Reflective Practice and has led me to a lot of great research this morning!

We all realised that in this industry we engage in different forms of learning for different tasks.  For example,  when learning a dance routine we are engaging in Bodily-Kinaesthetic and Spatial Intelligences, where as if we are learning a song to sing, we are engaging our musical intelligence.

I read through David Boud 'Using Journal Writing to enhance Reflective Practice' and found it useful when he talked about 'focusing our thoughts'.  Often I come out of a class I have been teaching or an audition and have a million thoughts in my head of how I could improve for next time or what I should be practising, but then when I arrive home I have forgotten completely about it.  I am hoping that by starting a journal and taking fifteen minutes out of my day to write comments I will focus my thoughts and make sense of my experiences.

Paula put a link to Ken Robinson on her blog and I have watched a few of his videos and ideas and I have to say it has really clicked with me.  I think I agree with his thoughts so much because I can relate it back to myself.  He emphasises the need to teach children into creativity and not teach them out of it.  I remember when I suddenly wanted to change my career path from Physiotherapy to Dance.  I can still see my teachers faces when I told them.  It was sort of confused and bewildered that I would take up this 'unstable' career as I'd worked so hard to get the grades I needed.  But now, I have jobs that I love and been given so many opportunities that a university would not have given me.

He says:

'Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent.'

This is so true.  We should be encouraging young people to study their passions.  Not just something that will get you a job.

Another quote that I had to write down:

Everyday, everywhere, our children spread their dreams beneath our feet and we should tread softly.'

All teachers should have this up on their walls in my opinion.

Heres the link to his talk if you haven't seen it!

https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to keep Ken Robinson's ideas in my mind when I teach and reflect to make sure no one I teach feels like I did when I decided to do what I love.

Reader 2 - Initial thoughts

The past two weeks have been very busy for me with work and last minute auditions, so I've been challenged with time-keeping and making sure I'm up to date with the course. I am currently on a bus home from Edinburgh and writing my blog on my Blogger app. If you don't have it I'd recommend you get it for blogging on the go!

Having read over Reader 2 a few times I have realised that reflecting on my practice is something I have done a lot maybe without realising.  As a dance teacher and children's party entertainer I am constantly looking for new ideas, class structures and age appropriate exercises to improve my classes.

After reading Kolbs learning cycle I decided I am mainly a concrete learner. I need to be totally involved in something to fully understand. For example, when I had exams the best way for me to learn was to sit my parents down and take on the role of the teacher and teach them the subjects for me to fully understand them too. Therefore, I have an experience of that subject that I can relate to. 

I really understood the terms 'reflection in action' and 'reflection on action'. As a children's party entertainer I found that I  could plan a party in full detail but when I got there I had to respond to the children in that situation and possibly change what I was doing.

For example, I have arrived at a venue and the hall is far too small for any of the games I have planned. This required me to respond 'on-line' and alter my plan.  This may have been stressful at the time but that experience is now so valuable as I am now prepared for future situations similar to that.

When Kottcamp says 'reflection in action' is harder, this may be so, however I think it is more valuable to you for future learning and experiences.

Further to 'on-line' and 'off-line' engagement, the reader asks you to think about an idea you really like and why this may be. What instantly came into my mind was the book 'The Secret'. I took so much from that book because I already believed it's ideas to be true. I have always believed in positive thought and visualisation. Before I auditioned for college I used to visualise myself there all the time and I think this really made me determined to get in. Therefore, I already had an emotional attachment to the ideas in 'The Secret' which makes me believe it more.

I look forward to starting a journal of reflective practice. I plan to use it to reflect on classes that I teach and also auditions I attend.

To round off this blog, I saw this link today that a 16 year old has written about what makes a great teacher and thought it may be interesting reading for all the arts teachers out there :)

http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/oct/11/show-care-students-view-what-makes-perfect-teacher

Interesting Reading from Reader 1 - Building Participation in the Arts

I read this article and took a lot from it.  This is probably because I am currently working for a few Arts Organisations at the moment that are constantly trying to encourage new participants.

The article talks about what may stop people from participating in the Arts and cost was a contributing factor.  I found this interesting:

'We surveyed 102 arts organisations during the course of our research.  When asked to name the single greatest challenge to their participation-building efforts, these organisations consistently cited the difficulty of balancing competing demands against their available resources.  When asked to name the three biggest challenges his organisation faced, one respondent said, 'First, dollars: second, dollars: and third, dollars.'

I am sure everyone in the Arts can relate to this quote.  I do find it highly unfair that some people with the biggest talent and interest in the arts may be held back due to financial reasons.

They have also developed a 'Participation Model' which aims to show the different stages we go through when making the decision to participate in the arts.

The Background Stage - Looks at a persons background eg Education, income, age, gender, prior experience to the arts, an individuals personality etc.  Where I live, there is a lack of Arts teachers and therefore it limits experiences to the arts.

Perpetual Stage - Participants must develop an inclination to start.  They look at the benefits/ how much it will cost. It also looks at social norms.  This reminds me of Billy Elliot.  Billy almost stopped participating in ballet classes because his family did not encourage it.  I think a lot of people may have never thought about taking part in dance classes because their family never encouraged it or knew enough about it.

Practical Stage - People are ready to make an informed decision on whether or not to take part in the arts.  As I said before, cost often comes into play.  Classes and shows can often be expensive and limits what you can take part in.  I know that I would love to take part in classes a few times a week but sometimes cost can affect my overall decision.

Experience Stage - You can have good and bad experiences of the arts and this can really affect whether you continue to take part.  Personally, injuring my back gave me a negative experience and has stopped me participating properly recently.  As a teacher, I never want to give a child a bad experience of Dance or Gymnastics.

I would like to read more on this subject so if anyone reads up on anything please let me know

First Group Skype Session - October 6th

I had my first group Skype Session hosted by Adesola yesterday which  was a great chance to talk through ideas and queries we had.

We all took different things from the chat and what I found most useful was the chance to actually voice opinions and worries that we all had.  For me, I sometimes need reassurance that what I am doing is actually the right thing, so this was really important for me that we all connected and my thoughts were clarified.

We discussed that it is really crucial that we all connect, as this is different from a university where you see all your classmates everyday and talk through tasks, ideas etc in person.  This links back to my point in my previous blog about connection being a human right.  Well, in this case I think we need to connect and share if we want to gain from this degree!

We also briefly spoke about the length of our blog posts and if they should be formal or informal.  We came to the conclusion that its better to be varied and mix it up.  I feel my blog posts have been quite long so I will keep in mind doing shorter less formal blogposts in future.

Task 1b - Initial Thoughts

Web 2.0 - A highly valuable resource for Professional Practice when used correctly

Earlier this week, I left my laptop charger at work and as the saying goes I felt like I had 'lost a limb'.  I hate to say that but it did.  I realised that I need my laptop to work, to do my degree and I need it to keep connected with the world.  Before this incident and before reading Mark Zuckerbergs 'Is connectivity a human right' I would have said no, connectivity is a want not a need.  However, now I think being connected is actually a way of life for most people in the world, with over a third of the worlds population on Facebook.  In his article he says:

'If you know something, that doesn't stop me from knowing it too.  In fact, the more things we all know, the better ideas, products, and services we can all offer and the better all our lives will be.'

This is the beauty of sharing.  I can relate this back to myself.  I have a network of professionals on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter always sharing new ideas and inspiration.  A group Facebook page called 'The Hustle' shares job and audition information everyday, making it so easy for me to keep up to date with the performing industry.  Another example is 'Dancers Pro'.  On this site you can create an online profile of yourself and they send you auditions that are tailored to your profile.  Most of these auditions I would not know about unless I had this account.  More locally to me, is a page which connects hundred of mums from Inverness, this is a fantastic, easy-to-use, free tool to advertise my Dance and Tricks classes.

Saying this, I know that being connected on the internet opens you up to a world of dangers.  One personal example I can give is of my friend in college who was caught out whilst on a night out for her 21st.  An anonymous person had sent over Instagram and Facebook pictures to our college and they were told she was no representing the college appropriately.  Needless to say, she made everything private and no longer posts any photos which could possibly be used against her.

As a dance teacher, I know the way you come across on Social networking is so important. I found it very interesting to read 'Getting into trouble on Facebook' by Larry Kuehn.  It tells an example of an American teacher who gets fired after making comments about her children on Facebook.  She may not have been friends with any of the parents but that is not to say that the information cannot be passed on.  After reading this, I decided to look for some more examples and found this link:

http://www.businessinsider.com/17-people-who-were-fired-for-using-facebook-2014-7?op=1&IR=T

Some of these examples may not seem particularly fair but it shows you that as a professional, you need to be extremely careful with what you choose to post on Social Media.

Kuehn also talks about befriending students on Social media and says:

'Most high school students think it is okay to be Facebook friends with their teachers' Toronto Star

Since I have started teaching my Dance and Tricks classes I've had many new follow requests from students.  To accept them, would be to take away the professional relationship I have developed with them.

This brings me to a quote I saw shared on Facebook a few days ago:

I find this quote important as it shows that in this industry you are your own business, and you should think about this before posting.

I've made it a rule for myself to only post positively and to share positive experiences with everyone.

Lisa Horn has a blog called 'The Publicity Gal' which I found whilst researching.  She says:

'Everything you post on Social Media impacts your personal brand.  How do you want be known?'

And I will think about this quote every time I post something new to my Social Media.

Professional Profile Task 1a

They say everyday is a learning day and I do really believe that.  From reading the Module 1 Handbook and Reader 1 I feel I've already taking in such a lot of information!

In this line of work, CV's are so important to get right.  I have watched my mum throw a CV of a possible candidate straight in the bin because of a simple spelling mistake.  Personally, I had an incident where I had sent my CV to a company and was successful in obtaining an audition, however, I hadn't put my contact details on it! I ended up receiving an e-mail from my college that had been passed on from the company.  I still got the audition but the thought that I had forgotten the most important details just made me cringe inside! I now put my contact details at the top in bold font!

I decided I should have two CV's.  One for performance work and one for Children's teaching work.

  

My current Headshots.

Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated :)

Personal Profile

As I mentioned I come from Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland.  A totally different scene to my years studying in Cambridge and regularly visiting London. I am 22 years old and love to keep a positive mental attitude :)

 My housemate Becky and I when she came to visit my hometown :)

Becky, Tilly and I in Cambridge exploring the university grounds in our first few weeks of college :)

Prior to my Bodyworks training I attended MGA Academy of Performing Arts in Edinburgh and obtained my HNC in Musical Theatre.  Growing up I really was a gymnast at heart and it wasn't until I was about 12 years old that I started to take dancing a bit more seriously alongside my gymnastics training. I don't regret this, Gymnastics gave me such a strong foundation and I think it definitely contributed to the Dance and Drama Award I received to go to Bodyworks College.  The bad side of my gymnastics background is that Ballet was a struggle for the first few months of college.  So many bad habits!

At the moment, I am teaching for my local Musical Theatre School, Performers UK and take my own 'Tricks and Tumbles' classes.  I recently worked at Drayton Manor Theme Park as a Childrens Presenter and Dancer in the 'Rory Show' which I loved.  

 I love my Tricks and Tumbles class and feel I have a lot to pass on from my Gymnastics and Dance training.

Teaching is a big passion of mine.

Performing at Drayton Manor Theme Park.  So much fun :)

As much as I love teaching, I want to perform as well.  As soon as i've saved up enough money I can't wait to get back down to London to experience auditions and see old friends.

A 2014 highlight.  Performing in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.  Carrying a giant Tunnocks Teacake!

Studying from Scotland - Induction to BAPP

Hello to all my fellow BAPP students :)

I'm typing from all the way up North in Inverness.  For those who have not heard of it, I'm a short drive away from the famous Loch Ness Monster!

I am a recent graduate from Cambridge Performing Arts and am currently at home working to save my pennies and embarking on the Middlesex degree programme.  There are many reasons I have chosen to do the degree.  I do actually like academic work for one.  Secondly,  during my studies at CPA I hurt my back quite badly.  I have done gymnastics and dance from a young age and I think my back got tired of me flinging myself around without warning! This made me realise dance is not a hugely stable career, so I want this degree for my future.

It feels weird to be studying from home and from the Skype session Paula told us that we would be a bit stuck for the first few weeks until we have our 'lightbulb' moment.  So for now, i'm navigating around the MyUniHub page and trying to make sense of the Student Programme Handbook :)