1-1 with Adesola

Today I had a 1-1 skype chat with Adesola. The session answered some of the big questions I had!

Firstly I was worried that I was moving too far away from my practice and focusing too much on what I want to do as a future career. Adesola confirmed that my ideas were still within my practice as I am a performer.

One of my main topics of inquiry was 'The transition from Performer to Teacher' I thought this a too general subject. Adesola explained that finding depth to this general subject using ethics and tools would help me define this topic of inquiry. One interesting way to visualise this was that my inquiry was a piece of clay.... the tools and the ethics were the knife and spatula... therefore I use the 'knife' and 'spatula' to mould my inquiry into something more defined. I can't define the inquiry before finding the depth.
This was something I was definitely doing, I was trying to find an answer to my inquiry question before I go ahead and search for knowledge and use the tools and ethics to gain depth.

Another question I had was finding the SIG groups, did I have to create one or as long as I was a part of one is that all that I need to help me find the information and ideas I want to find,,, Adesola explained that the sig groups is about finding keywords... for example a big keyword for the general topic above would be the career change of a performer. - There is a fantastic book called 'Exit Stage Right' by Ciara Pressler that is made for performers unsure of where their career change is taking them or unsure of what they want to do....

After having another look at all my previous notes of topics etc. I have decided I am going to collaborate all the ideas I had around education and those within my practice to use my tools and ethics to look into the general topic of  'How do different age groups learn differently to one another?/ How does teaching differentiate between different age groups? 
I feel using this topic relates so much to my current career and future... at the moment I teach adults of different ages dance classes and choreography from shows etc... further on in life I want to be teaching children of a younger age through primary education.

I think choosing an inquiry line of something like this makes me able to use my current practice as a dance captain to ask questions within my workplace and also gives me the freedom to use inquiry tools to find knowledge outside of the work place too.,... The question is both suited to my current workplace and my future one which I think is more beneficial than focusing on just the future pathway. If the question changes as I begin to look into the ethics and tools of inquiry then that's fine, its part of the process.

Having the tutorial with Adesola really helped me realise that I was looking too far into the future.... I won't get an answer for my inquiry within the 12 weeks as there are people who have been wondering this for years.....but I am looking foward to finding more out about it as it's something I am really interested in. I feel much better knowing I have a direction to go in now for Module 2.

http://www.popopics.com/quotes/image-download/science-quote-by-thomas-berger-9k.html

stuck in a rut

This blog post is more of a question to all of you reading it!

At the moment I am working in a hotel as a Dance Captain, I have been doing so for 14 months... I want to start pursuing teaching as much as I can..... or even just working with children to get my CV more suited to a teaching pathway! I am really struggling to get my head in the door and wondered if there was anyone out there that has managed to do it?!

I have had very little experience teaching wise in an educational environment but plenty within a dance school environment but I want to be able to go into a school unqualified and teach... I am so clueless and researching on the internet about ways to do it just takes me back to square one!!! I know I want to do it after I was so sure when I spent a week in the primary school.

My plan once finishing my degree is get onto UCAS and apply for PGCE's or SCITT courses... easy to do if you have a degree to move forward but due to me starting my 15 month BAPP in september I am not due to finish till january 2018 which I regret massively! It now means I have to wait till sept 2018 to do anything like a PGCE.... 8 months after my degree finishing.....It puts me in a rut of I want to do it now but is this possible?!!!

Any comments or tips of how anyone has managed to do this would be great! i know it is possible somehow but I just don't know how!! Qualification wise I have 10 GCSE's all above A's, a level 6 Diploma validated by trinity.... PLEASE HELP!!!

Knowing that Module 2 and 3 are fast approaching I need to be able to find a job I'm going to stick in for the remainder of my degree so now is the time to do it if any!

Task 4b - Creating a SIG

Task 4b creates questions for me...

Do I set up my own SIG? or Do I join another persons SIG that is the same topic as me?

Creating my own SIG would be good because it would enable me to start discussions of my own and get comments and ideas from others outside of BAPP but it is finding those outside people to be a part of it, however I notice Eleanor (also on module 2) has set up a SIG of the same topic as me. I would be worried that if I was to create my own SIG then I would clash with Eleanor's and we would end up talking about the same things.

Paula stated in the Skype chat the other day that we didn't necessarily have to create our own but as long as we could involve and engage with another of a similar topic we would still be able to get answers. I think it is best to consolidate all ideas into one SIG group so my next plan of action is to find out if this is possible for all the people interested in teaching/performing arts would be able to join Eleanor's group. As one large group of people is much more beneficial than 3 or 4 smaller SIGs of a similar topic. Networking from module 1 has certainly taught me this.

Paula suggested using images more and I think this is a good way to visualise our thoughts... the image below certainly puts into perspective how a SIG group can help with one big idea!

What I do plan to do is still create discussions but do this via my blog and try to attract the people in the SIG group already created to discuss topics I have found useful too.

For now I have joined Eleanor's community on google : 'Performing Arts in Education' and this is my first stepping stone into involving myself with discussions around this topic to help develop my lines of inquiry.

I am thinking of creating my own sig group about transitioning from a performer to another career...

Developping Lines of Inquiry/ Task 4a

Sorry for the delay in this blog post!!

The skype chat we had with Paula confirmed what most of my ideas were for starting module 2. We talked about lots of interesting points and I have attached my note sheets into this blog post for anyone who missed the session. 

One of the main questions most people had was about the Special interest group. How do we set it up etc? Who do I include?

- Paula explained that this group didnt necessarily have to be just people on the BAPP course, it could extend out to the workplace. 

- The main idea of these SIG groups are to have discussions and blog feedback on these discussions. 

- Paula also reminded us that the SIG could challenge our ideas and thoughts or ask more questions that you don't necessarily know the answers to. 

- Module 2 you are practicing your research with your SIG not REAL practictioners

When I open my community up and decide what topic to focus on I will be blogging my thoughts and information. 

Another topic we covered was looking at sources and our preparation for our topics of inquiry. 

- The big tip is to Relate to what you do OR What you want to do!

- the four main questions Paula told us to think about when preparing is 

- WHAT DO WE KNOW?, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO FIND OUT? WHAT ARE THE ASSUMPTIONS? (STEREOTYPES)

- Another thing we have to remember is Our research is more exploratory rather than scientific, we are not trying to prove anything we are just trying to build our knowledge. 

For me I am going to blog these questions to help build upon my original ideas in my previous blog post.....

What Do I Know? 

- I am a dancer working in the industry but want to move onto teaching in primary schools. 

- I have worked in a school for a week to show me what it is really like

- I may struggle doing an inquiry based around teaching as I am not working full time in that field

What Do I Want to Find Out?

- How performing arts can influence children of a younger age?

- How my skills as a performer can benefit me in the teaching world?

- Can I suceed as well as a teacher who went through the University lead route?

- What personal skills can be taken from someone of a performance background?

What Are the Assumptions?

- Performing arts is a drop out subject!

- Performing arts students are not very educational!

- Children don't learn anything from jumping around and dancing?

Answering these questions has really helped show me that my interest is definitely in the teaching field, but its how I can adapt these questions into my current practice as I feel I may struggle moving away from my current practice too early. Therefore I have adapted the question a little more to see if this would make my inquiry any easier....

What do I want to find out about my current practice?

- What are the differences when teaching a vocalist to a dancer? How do their minds function differently?
-should my practice( performing arts) be provided earlier in education?
- are the assumptions that dancers are non educational correct? 

- What skills do I have in my current practice that may influence my teaching?

- Is a performer adaptable to work in what we call a 'normal' job?

I'm still very confused as to where my lines of inquiry are taking me but only due to the fact I am not currently working full time in a school? The position I am in with my job at the moment is very unstable and I am worried if I undertake an inquiry at my current practice that I wont be here in time to complete it when coming to Module 3.... This is something I am going to talk to my tutor about in a 1-1. 

I hope anyone who missed the session has found this helpful and please feel free to comment on your thoughts or with any other questions!

Pre Skype Blog/ Task 4a

After receiving my grades today for Module 1 I was very pleased to get what I got and know what I need to work on for next time to aim a bit higher on the grading system!

I thought it would be a good idea to blog some of my ideas prior to the skype we are having tomorrow with Paula/Adesola for the first part of Module 2. This way I can share things and my ideas to see if I am going along the right lines for the start of the tasks.

Looking back at Task 2D already placed some ideas in my mind for Module 2 Line of inquiry however after reading the reader I still have to explore some more ideas but was going to investigate these after the first skype chat.

My main ideas all link back to my future career pathway that I am wanting to pursue- TEACHING. Surely my inquiry should be something I want to explore further and learn more about, something that inspires me and motivates me.... for me personally this is teaching.

Now obviously the question cannot be something as simple as 'what makes a good teacher?' as this is too vague and comes down mostly to opinions. However I enjoy exploring ideas into how children learn best and how teachers can adapt their methods of teaching to help the different learners.... this could essentially be very complicated.

Another idea I considered was 'How can my performing background benefit me as a teacher?' this can also feed into 'How can I adapt my teaching style to include my performance background?' 'What can I bring to an educational environment that a non performer can't?' 'Does a 3 year university course in primary education make a better teacher than those that have studied through a different route (a performer)? '
The performance aspect of an inquiry would be a good line for me to explore as performing is my current practice and teaching would be my future practice therefore I am benefiting from both sides of the question.
Keeping on with the performing ideas I would love to also explore 'How performing arts can benefit children in an educational environment?'

Finding the perfect line of enquiry for me is going to be a long process but I know I want to include some aspects of learning/education. Whether that be within my current practice or exploring a bit of both and using my tools and networks to their full potential.

The next step for me is going to be a collation of all my thoughts in a mind map, but I feel now I can go into the Skype chat tomorrow with a clear thought of what I believe is expected of me for thinking of ideas and to begin Module 2. If I didn't go in with any thoughts how would I know if I'm treading along the right lines?

Teaching Experience

As most of you probably know by now I have spent some time in a local independent primary school teaching different year groups each day. The year groups are incredibly small at this school which means a more one on one chance for tuition and any extra help needed. The week has been tough and very full on but has opened my eyes to the world of teaching and has only made me want to pursue it more. Throughout the week I kept an online journal that I edited everyday.... BEWARE LONG BLOG ENTRY BELOW!!!!

Day One
- I spent all day with the year 3's, consisting of only 10 in the class there were plenty of chances to get very 'hands on'. What opened my eyes most about the day was how quickly time can go in a lesson for young children... by the time they have got out their books and pencil cases ten minutes of the lesson has already passed. Short lessons of 40 mins at this school meant things seemed to fly by!
- The children in the class were incredibly bright for those of a 7 or 8 year old, it was wrong of me to go in with expectations of their level of intelligence but I did expect a lot lower than what was shown to me.
- Throughout the day it became very clear that teaching dance was very similar to teaching curriculum based things.... for example similarities included lots of repetition, discipline firm but fair, explaining things very slowly and making all lessons seem fun to the children so they can learn to their best efforts.
- I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with year three because I have taught children of a similar age in dance and I am used to ways in which they do things. I do think it is very apparent at this school though that the children are taught to 'love to learn' perhaps even by their parents as they are the ones paying the fees.
- The day was very long starting at 8.30 and ending at 5.15 for those children doing extra curricular activities.
- At the end of the day what was most rewarding was the children running up and giving me a hug and not wanting me to leave as they knew I would be with a different year group the following day. It just goes to show how much things or a person can impact a child's day and that even though they are young they have an incredible memory name wise and can become very attached very easily!!

Day Two
- Even though I am only interested in primary it was nice to see parts of the Junior sector today. I spent most of the day with the year 6 students who are aged around 10 and 11. It was amazing to see the jump in age and how much they can develop from just starting at junior school to almost the end of their time at junior school. The students were a lot more independent and didn't need as much help the difference with older students is they will always attempt their work before asking whereas younger children tend to ask for help first.
- I also personally feel that at this school the younger students enjoy the learning experience more than the older years, I felt that the teachers of the young years delivered their education to the students in a fun way whereas the older years cannot have the fun and excitement of games and things because they then feel that the teacher is treating them like a baby. This then can make the learning experience for older children boring. This is something I am going to bear in mind if I ever teach the older sector of a school, is to keep things new and exciting but at the same way not too patronising.

Day Three
- Today had been my favourite day of the week so far! I spent all day with Year 1, the age group I am more interested in teaching in the future. The children were in awe that a new teacher was going to be spending all day with them and they couldn't wait to show me their skills. When the main teacher asked who wanted to read to me, all their hands shot up in the air! This enthusiasm is just not there with the older children and it becomes more of a chore for them.
- Simple tasks like eating their school dinner was a learning experience as these are the age groups where manners need to be taught so the whole day becomes a teaching experience.
- PE was a great lesson for me to observe as the lesson was delivered with fun games. The children forgot that they were being active and keeping fit because they were having so much fun playing the games given to them. This is a great thing to hold onto and remember for when I go into teaching- is to try and make the children forget they are learning by delivering their education in a way they really enjoy.

Day Four
- The hardest day of the week so far was today due to the fact I was with the most challenging children of the school - RECEPTION
- Only age 4 and 5 they are at the most important stage of their life learning the basics of everything from the alphabet to numbers. Without this foundation knowledge they can't move onto anything else. Therefore when teaching this age group it's vital you can be in control as children of this age can lack focus. The day was a lot more free in terms of lesson structure as it was very bitty and time had to be allowed for them to play and refresh so they aren't learning too much within the day.
- It was a great day to observe as the children learnt life lessons from them being naughty. Discipline for them needs to be more of a telling off and it has to be an explanation. For example- one little girl pushed a girl into a bench so she banged her head, the little girl refused to say sorry and this event leaded onto the teacher sitting all the children down and explaining why it is important to say sorry. After the explanation the little girl went over and did eventually apologise. This was a major life lesson for all the children to see.
- The day definitely didn't put me off teaching reception age, I think it is such a rewarding year group to teach. The teacher showed me the children's work books and it was amazing to see the transition from September (the start of the year) to now (halfway through the year) at the start they were only writing shapes that were barely readable and now they are writing full words and can sound them out and spell them. As a teacher to look back and see that must be so rewarding.

Day Five
- Because I had enjoyed the primary sector so much this week I spent the last day of my week placement with Year 2 so I had covered all ages of the Key Stage 1 and early years learning.
- Again the transition in maturity is incredible to see, it was most noticeable in their writing and reading skills. Throughout the day it was also nice to walk in corridors and see children from other year groups I had spent the day with shouting 'Miss Sampson' and remembering who I was and the younger children being so sad that i wasn't with them and that I was with Year 2 instead.

The whole experience has confirmed that this is definitely the right pathway for me to take in the future and I can't wait to get started. I got the chance to speak to a lot of teachers about their career pathway into teaching and it confirmed my ideas that a PGCE full time route was the quickest way into it and the most fitting for me. I originally wanted to do School Direct but this is a long process and the teacher's said even though a PGCE is a lot of coursework, once done it is the best thing to have when finding a job. The best part of the week was that they said they would have me back for when I am doing my placements on a PGCE and that to me meant a lot! Even though I worked for free the whole week I would do it again! I highly recommend anyone who wants to go into teaching should try a week in a school of an age they want to teach and see if it is for them as it is so different when you are actually placed in the environment!

Skype Session 7th February

The first skype session of the year gave me a really good grounding for how I was going to go about Module 2. It was really helpful having both Module 2 students and Module 3 students in the same chat so they could share their experiences and this in turn helps out with those moving onto the new module.  After receiving my Module 1 feedback I was pleased with it and I'm still awaiting my grade which is taking rather a lot of my patience, however I feel ready to move on swifty and crack on with the tasks given to us for Module 2. In the session we covered two main topics that came about from some questions people had.

One of the main ones was Scheduling and how you can build your own timetable to manage your work. Talking about the ideas some people had really helped me to picture how to move forward with module 2 and not fall too far behind as I felt I did this in Module 1.  Some people said dedicate yourself a set amount of time a day where you have pure focus on your studies- for example a coffee shop away from any distractions at home. For me Module 2 seems a lot more free and therefore I am worried that it is going to take a lot more of my time up than Module 1 did. One student who had just completed module 2 explained that my feelings were correct but to just go with it and trust your instincts.

The second topic we covered was Literature. Having not had much experience with too much literature in Module 1 it was nice to finally understand where I could correctly locate resources I may use for the next module and Paula gave us the instructions to access the online library which was really helpful! I am a little more confident that I could happily search for more resources now whereas at the beginning of the conversation I didn't have a clue!

A conclusion from the whole chat for me was to use others experience to help my own, other students are a great resource that sometimes I forget about. One thing I'm going to do is take a look at some students blogs that have already completed Module 2 and use some of their comments to build upon my own thoughts. I am also going to try and attend as many skype sessions and campus sessions as possible as I think they can really help bring out the best in our studies.

I am starting the first task of the module this week and I am awaiting a 1-1 skype chat with my tutor which should really help get my idea's going for the next few months.

Good Luck to everyone starting their new module! :)

Back to it!

During the short break we had off from studying it allowed me to do plenty of retail therapy in the new year sales and get my life together! It came around fast but it's finally time for the next chapter of the course! I printed off all the module handbooks and readers today and have been left feeling a little helpless at the moment. Hopefully things will start making sense after some online chats and sessions as at the moment I don't understand where to even start! Hope I'm not the only one feeling this!!!

Next week I'm taking a holiday from Warner's and I'm doing a week experience in an independent local primary school. I'm so excited to get an insight into the world of teaching and what it will be like and whether I even like it! I will definitely upload a blog after the week has finished! Wish me luck!

Feeling a little nervous about results from the previous module too! Impatience is kicking in!

Speak to you all soon!