Task 3c - My current sources of information

I have thought about this a great deal and had a read of other peoples blogs to see if we all share common sources and the range of sources others use, as i know i'm finding it hard to pinpoint just a few as i feel information (professional and personal) comes from many places. Here are my thoughts on the ones i feel i use the most.

FACEBOOK - and indeed other social media sites such as twitter, but certainly facebook is the predominant one; it's on my phone, it's on my kindle, its always open on my laptop and i must get distracted by it far too much! However i use it as a source of daily information both ppersonallyand professionally. I belong to groups such as dance teacher hub where i can find out about jobs, or get advice on dance related subjects, as well as belonging to groups where i can advertise my classes. I use it to keep in contact with my friends and share information and often follow links posted by friends that relate to work (such as links to articles about dance/teaching and posts my the ballerina project) or ones purely for entertainment. From reading other blogs it appears a common issue with facebook is the personal/professional line. Many offices now block it due to the distraction it causes and it seems most people have a personal account but belong to professional groups too.   I discussed this in a previous blog about web 2.0 - its definitely something to consider further.

MEDIA - I watch the news as i wake up each morning and i listen to the radio in the car. I spend at least 2 hours a day in the car so i listen to the news reports several times a day. This is how i gather and organize my general day to day information on what's going on in the world. Its not often a source i use for professional purposes it keeps be connected to the rest of the world - and is perhaps a more reliable source than Facebook!

SOCIALIZING - By talking with my own professional and social networks i feel i gain most of my information. Talking ideas and issues through you can bounce off one another and get another point of view or idea that you might not have thought about or heard of. I meet with my team at Popdance once a week and now attend networking sessions with my boss in order to gain information. Once a week i meet with my boss at the dance studio over a coffee and talk about the week, how things have gone etc. I think it's so important to do this as information amongst your professional networks should be shared. I would also hope that this source of information can be relied on as it's coming from someone you trust, whereas you have no or little connection to where online sources come from or started. I do believe that 9 times out of 10 face to face contact is the most beneficial but i know i'm guilty of sending an email instead!

LITERATURE - I like to read, both for work and pleasure. I always have a fiction book on the go as i like to read when on the train and before bed and also like to read autobiographies on dancers or choreographers, as well as books on technique and training. All my books however i access on my kindle so i guess my source is technically coming from the internet as well as my reading for the module, all of which i have accessed online! I also attend ISTD training sessions once or twice a year in order to refresh work and receive any updates, including new music choices or syllabus. These training sessions are another good source of information, to meet other teachers and network.

Task 3a - Current Networks

What is Networking?

Networking' is a socioeconomic business activity by which groups of like-minded businesspeople recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities.(wikipedia)



During this task we are asked to look inwardly at the tools we currently use or could use in order to network or create a network. Networking is something i have got better at since running my own classes and found a certain amount of confidence is needed in order to interect directly with people. As i have said before i am not of a 'business mind' but things such as networking via social media have made it easier.

A network 

interact with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.

a group or system of interconnected people or things.

(google translation)


What are the current and different ways (tools) that you have or do engage your professional network?

Below are a list of the tools i use to network - i would say i use them all professionally to keep in contact with my collegues and meet others, but i use most of these resources for personal use too.

facebook - specific groups for teachers and performers
twitter
email
google +
flickr
star now
blog
business cards
face to face meets at events

What are the established (and different) ways that others use their networks, especially if they are more established or experienced practitioners that you admire?

I know a lot of people who use LinkedIn and have found it extremely successful - a friend of mine recently created a profile and met some useful contacts, therefore propelling her into a job. However my husband used it last year when looking for a new job and found it unresponsive. I guess it can depend on your industry and the type of job you are looking for. I don't have a LinkedIn profile but for the purpose of this study i will be creating one out of interest.
My boss at Popdance Sue Wybrow attends something called 'a jelly' once a month where a group of business associates meet to work and network together at a local office or pub. I have been attending the last couple of these and have found them to be a fantastic way to meet others, whether they be in the same profession as you or not. At the last meet i went to i got chatting to a girl who teaches voice coaching - a little different to my forte of dance but we swapped teaching techniques and the discussed various different methods used to help children learn and it was great to hear another persons view on the same profession but a different subject. Sue has met many important contacts through these meets who have helped build the business in terms of our website building and marketing and it got me thinking - are face to face meetings still the best way to network rather than social media?
Having said that after starting a website forthe Saturday schools that i teach in, over 200 new pupils have enrolled and the school has expanded extremely successful. Perhaps customers prefer an online approach, its easy and can be done quickly, on your phone if needed. All the compnaies i work for have their own websites, i would say that is essential in bringing in clients.  But in terms of your own professional gain in terms of people talking about you and spreading the word, meeting others and actually getting your face and personality out there, rather than just your picture and blurb is more beneficial?
2 friends of mine perform in a cabaret act and have found facebook an ideal place to advertise - it was by posting their act on facebook that eventually led to their act performing in the Edinburgh fringe festival and i know from experience that suing certain groups in facebook is great for finding teachers for cover or one off jobs.

Are there methods, approaches and technologies that you use socially that might apply and help you develop your professional networking?

As i said above i use many of these tools socially such as Facebook, email and twitter, however i have separate professional and personal pages on Facebook and a professional and personal email accounts. I do think it is important to keep these things separated as a teacher; when talking to parents of children i teach i ensure to maintain a professional manner so that they are confident that i am the right person to be teaching their child and leave in my care. I try not to speak to formally to parents as i think it is also important to have a friendly relationship with them so they are able to talk to me directly about any problems. How i communicate online professionally, where i am talking and posting to parents and colleagues is obviously different to that of how i communicate and talk with my friends.
A friend of mine recently has become a real pioneer in networking after building her own business. She explained to me that she sees every social meet as a potential opportunity to network and meet others, and is confident enough to go up to people shes never met, introduce herself and explain what it is she does. Whilst she has become very successful through doing this i feel it is important to separate your social and professional life and by seeing every social event as a networking opportunity do you ever switch off?

When you reflect upon current networks, can you think about the motives of others to be in the network and what the value and purpose they have in mind?

I \am lucky enough to have a close group of friends who i work with. We are all dance teachers, working within the same company, we run parties, classes and events together but as well as working well together professionally, we see each other socially on a regular basis too. Our motive for being in this network is obviously for work but personal friendship too.

I have other associates who i only see due to work and therefore the motive is for work purposes - i am in regular teaching work but still dance in one off shows and events so i continue to get my face out there and remind contacts i have from previous jobs who i am! This year i was asked to choreograph for a professional panto (my first experience at such a vast choreographing opportunity) and have met an entire new group o f contacts. Its important to maintain (and i feel we do have) a good relationship and be friendly and warm to these contacts, but i only see them under professional circumstances rather than social. Their motive for being in this network is for work as is mine, and surely this is true of ,many. 2 of my bosses met recently and agreed to a 'you scratch my back i'll scratch yours' sort of deal and now advertise each other on their websites - their motive was to market and promote their dance school whilst helping someone else out - a good idea in an industry that can be very bitchy - it's important to make friends and remain loyal!

What would your ideal network look like and why? What realistic things could you do to develop your ideal network?

Honestly i feel the networks i have now are pretty ideal! I have a good group of friends who i work with professionally and see socially, and maintain good working relationships with contacts that i work or have worked with. Within the company Popdance, i work with people who have become friends - we all specialize in different areas - some in business and marketing, others in choreography and performance, therefore our network covers more than one industry, hopefully making us a strong network with the makings of a successful business! Below is us on a recent research trip in Paris. Image consent has been given.

In terms of my current work i am happy with the networks i am in, however in terms of developing i would say i would like ti help expand our current networks. Popdance as a company has aspirations to branch out into the fitness/sport industry as well as dance with hopes to becoming as bug as companies such as Zumba therefore we will need to expand our network to those in that industry. Personally i am hoping to go down the dance therapy route in the future therefore i will need to look at meeting new contacts who can help me join networks related to this field.


What tools and methods do you need to use? What do you know about your current and intended networks and importantly what do you not know?

I feel there is a mixture of tools and methods needed - a combination of face to face networking and the use of social media - they each have their own benefits. Tools such as facebook (as i mentioned previously and in earlier tasks) have been extremely beneficial due to its vast amount of users and ability to share and promote. Having a website is essential too and maintaining good relationships within your networks.
As i said i would like to expand my networks in terms of where my career may be headed and hope to continue to meet new people. I hope to learn more about the use of LinkedIn and becoming more confident at face to face networking meets.

task 2d - inquiry

Finding my line of inquiry

This is something that i have been considering for a while and have not found an easy task. There is such a variety of experiences and people that i work with every day, with so many different questions and ideas that arise, finding one line/person/idea has been difficult. There are so many things i love about what i do day to day as well as specific experiences i have had. I hope by answering the questions asked in the hand book help me come to a decision!
Did anyone else find this?

What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?

In my day to day practice, seeing personal achievements, no matter how big or small, makes me enthusiastic and re ignites my passion for teaching. My belief that dance should be for everyone is a re occurring theme so a student or pupils personal achievement that may gives someone more confidence or allow them to progress in their grade work or class makes me enthusiastic. Everyone's goals and achievements are different, I love teaching the variety of different age groups and abilities so that everyone can have that feeling that dance can provide, which no written or spoken words can give. Dance can be an unspoken form of communication that people from all backgrounds. cultures and social groups can take part in and come together. I would like to find out more about how to make dance more accessible to everyone. There is a stigma attached to dance, particularly for boys, and in terms of image which i would love to stamp out. Many adults who come to my class were afraid for so many years to come incase they got something wrong or felt 'silly'. I run my adult classes under a company called Popdance, and the founder, Sue Wybrow, started the classes to stop people feeling this way and allow adults of any age or ability to dance.
http://popdance.co.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/

I admire Sues bravery to start up a dance company as a non dancer, for those who just want to dance for fun. As a dancer i feel strongly about dance and its discipline etc but also want that incredible feeling dance can give you to be accessible to everyone. Sue has allowed that to happen and has now developed the company, providing classes for children, tots and adults and runs 'Popdance active and able' for children and adults with physical and learning disabilities,

Possible line of inquiry: Making dance more accessible by removing stigma attached and allowing everyone the freedom of dance.

What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the anger or sadness?

Sadly there is still a real 'stigma' attached to dance. The ratio of boys to girls at all the dance schools i have taught in is so one sided and the boys that do attend often leave as they get older due to peer pressure or because they feel on their own. Just yesterday a parent bought her little boy to a toddler ballet class and immediately asked if we got many boys and would the class be too girly for him. I tried to explain we do tailor our classes for everyone but sadly ballet is associated with being 'girly'. At one of the dance schools i teach at the owner, Miriam Bold, is hoping to introduce a specific 'boys ballet' class to encourage more boys to join. I think this will be invaluable as with a class of their own the boys will hopefully not feel so self conscious as they might in a class of girls and can work specifically on boys work and strengthening.
Something that continues to make me angry is the ignorance surrounding what it takes to train to be a dancer, whether it be working as a professional or teaching the art. The discipline, the long hours, the lack of social life, the competitiveness of the profession, seems to go completely unnoticed. I am not saying those in other jobs do not work hard, not at all, but i'm sure some of my friends think all i do is run around on my toes all day! Come and do one of my days and see how you feel after! A parent once asked me if i had a 'real' job, as if teaching for up to 9 hours a day, 6 days a week, was just some hobby i did! I am sure many of you dancers on this course will appreciate this and i know my collegues share my feelings. I have learnt to try and let it go, as this is something that would drive me mad if i continued to dwell on it!

Possible line of inquiry: similar to that of above, removing the stigma attached to dance

What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also
seems to love this or is an example of what you love?

Something i love about what i do is the social and psychological benefits dance can have, particularly in the classes i teach for adults. I have recently started writing a blog for the company Popdance, http://www.liannepopdance.blogspot.co.uk
about the various benefits dance can have aside from the obvious links to fitness and exercise. Having had experiences with the adults that i teach i understand that dance class for them can be so much more than the dancing, but meeting others, escaping real life for an hour and building their confidence and self esteem. I teach several adult classes a week and all the ladies have become friends and often go for a coffee or a drink after class together. This is exactly what Sue Wybrow the founder of Popdance who i have previously mentioned wanted to achieve and i admire her greatly for making this happen.

Possible line of inquiry: understanding both physical and mental benefits of dance

What do you feel you don’t understand? Who do you admire who
does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not
understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same
questions as you?

Something i really struggled with when i first began teaching was the marketing and advertising side of running dance classes - seeing it a business. I had absolutely no experience in business or marketing and its something i have had to learn along the way through my peers and experiences. I am extremely lucky to work along side several ladies who own dance schools and have a fantastic knowledge and understanding in how to market their classes and make their schools successful. Miriam Bold owner and principal of the dance studio (http://www.thedancestudioherts.co.uk/4.html) has almost 500 pupils and has been running the school for 15 years. As mentioned above the owner at Popdance, Sue Wybrow does not come from a dance background, her knowledge lies in marketing and advertising making her the perfect person to start up a business. My boss at Hillingdon Theater Dance School, Helen White (http://www.htdancecentre.co.uk/index.php?page=dance-teachers) has successful expanded the school since taking over 3 years ago through the power of social media and getting online. I really admire all these ladies and their dedication to advertising and marketing to ensure classes can continue to run and be financially viable. There are still many parts of running a dance business that i know nothing or little about but i do understand that finding and marketing to your target audience and continually advertising is crucial to running a strong and successful business.

possible line of inquiry: How important is business within dance?

How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation? To
what extent are disciplinary responses different to that you might expect more
generally in society? For example, what level of physical contact would you
deem appropriate (and not) from another professional that you would find
unacceptable more generally? Why?

Dance teaching and its disciplinary responses are certainly a very different to that of what you might expect from generally in society.  I feel it is extremely important to attend child protection courses have guidlines in relation to a physical touch. I hold a current DBS and also ensure parents are familiar with me and allow a trust to build between parents and carers as well as the children so that they feel reassured that their children are safe with me, The nature of the subject does some times require a 'hands on' approach in order to be able to physically correct a position or movement of a pupil in order for them to learn and progress giving them the best possible teaching and understanding. Of course the pupil can learn through demonstration and verbal explanation but sometimes helping the child move so they can feel a muscle etc working can be the best way to learn - i know i found this when training.
In other lines of work the level of physical contact would be very different and perhaps in general society contact such as a handshake, would be a show of trust.
Situations such as children changing at the side of the studio between classes, or changing side of stage during a performance due to a quick change would not be seen in general society. In my occupation this is deemed ethically acceptable however i must be aware of others and take responsibility for the children involved and ensure their safety in what could be a vulnerable situation.

possible line of inquiry: Is the importance of safe guarding children affecting the 'hands on' approach to teaching dance?

Task 2c - reflective theory

My awareness of reflective practice in my profession- A critical reflection

I am not sure that I have always been 'aware' of reflective practice within my profession. I have always believed that the greatest tool to learn by within my work is experience. Working for different schools and with different children over the past 6 years has taught me so much - all through experience. However i feel we are constantly having new experiences whether it be at work or something in our personal lives - like buying a house or getting married. A mix of experiences, learning all the time. This can be linked to Deweys ideas of different 'levels' of experience and his theory that having a 'full' experience lead to eventually becoming a better part of society. I can certainly relate this to my practice - the more experience i have the more confident i am and hopefully the better i become at my job and progress. Equally one must experience life - this 'full' experience Dewey talks of. He saw education as an experience and that the quality of the education effected the persons engagement with the experience they are having. During a dance class you engage in new and different ways to that of learning within a school. You are moving around, physically interacting with others, learning new skills in a very different environment to that of a classroom. You must fully engage to get the most out of the experience and i feel this can therefore improve your engagement with your other experiences as Dewey believes: 'interaction with the arts led to a unique and invaluable experience' (reader 2)

His view that reflective thought is a way for us to be aware that we are having an experience is something that i found happened during my ROL module. It made me really think about what i had learnt and reflect upon my experiences and how they led to others. It;s something i had not realized i had been doing until i thought about it and wrote it all down. An unconscious form of reflecting. Therefore reflective practice is something i have been doing without being aware of!

Kolbs reflective cycle

This reflective cycle can definitely be useful to my reflective practice. Something happens at work (concrete experience) and then i come home and think about it, discuss it with my colleagues if it's been a significant experience and reflect upon it. Now, learning about reflective practice i have written about the experience. This has allowed me a new and different way to move on to the next stage of Kolbs cycle; concluding and learning from the experience, by reading back on what i have written and writing the experience in different ways. His cycle is a way of breaking things down and working through them to gain the most you can out of your experience, For the children i teach they too can follow this cycle. They watch me demonstrate a movement, prepare to see if they can execute the movement, keep trying if they can't or continue to perfect and develop the movement. 

Kolbs theory and the 4 distinct learning styles created from this by Mumford and Honey allows us to understand an individuals learning style (that of a child i teach, or a collegue) as well as a form of learning that applies to all of us. His view that learning about how others work is definitely key to myself; teaching over 100 children and adults a week the same technique most certainly does not apply to all. different methods and techniques work for some and not for others therefore i must understand the individual and how they will learn and how can i make that happen.

At what point do i feel i enter Kolbs learning cycle?

In my practice i had always assumed that i learnt best through active experimentation. When choreographing, i have a listen to the music and begin visualizing and trying out ideas to see what might work. When teaching children i try various different methods and techniques to see what is most effective. I had therefore assumed that i was best at learning through reflection in action and entering the cycle at active experimentation. However when considering Kolbs learning cycle when starting up my blog i found i entered it at a different point. I had no idea how to start up a blog; they were a part of social media i had never explored before and i literally had no clue where to start - so i turned to social media that i was familiar with! A YouTube video. I watched a couple of YouTube videos initially therefore entering the cycle at abstract conceptualization. I then used my concrete experience; my previous knowledge of building facebook pages and twitter accounts to begin, before moving on to trial and error. Once i had my blog up and running i visited others to compare and learn what else you could do with blogs in terms of layout and design - reflective observation. 

Other theories

As previously said i have been using reflective practice without even realizing it! The many different theories that I have read about and considered during this task have allowed me to explore the way that i learn and understand how i reflect upon my work, as well as developing new ways to reflect.

I found Schons idea of reflection in action' and 'reflection on action' interesting and agreed fully with these ideas, as i saw myself as always learning from 'reflection in action' when initially reading it. However as i previously cited, when thinking about Kolbs learning cycle and how learn in things other than my practice this is not always this case. And in fact even within my practice how i have dealt with situations in the past, for example a troubled child, i have looked back on it and realized there may have been a better way to deal with the situation, therefore looking back and reflecting. Having understood this i now find that i am continually doing this, looking back on my experience and learning from it. partially now i am keeping my reflective journal i am looking back on my day and finding that as i am writing things done my initial point is developed further, leading me to other thoughts and ideas. I have never seen myself as an 'academic' someone who learns by conceptualizing and looking back, however i am doing this every day reflecting on my experience and understanding what i have learnt. 'Experience as the source of learning and development'

Another theory that i feel i can relate to is the VARK learning style

This theory was used to try and assign students to a particular style, and therefore mean teachers were able to more effectively teach their students in a way they would understand. I feel all these styles can be used and implicated to help us learn although we can assign ourselves to one of these learning styles by taking the VARK questionnaire. After considering all these theories i decided to take the questionnaire to see what my learning style came out as:

• Visual: 4
• Aural: 5
• Read/Write: 2
• Kinesthetic: 8

This certainly supports my earlier theory that i prefer a hands on approach to learning, but that i also learn greatly from listening and talking about my experiences. I have also found reading/writing difficult and prefer to write initially in note form when learning and then discussing it in full. I often find when reading information i can't take everything in, and have to read it several times.

'A core concept is that individuals differ in ow they learn'

Conclusion 

My feeling from experience is that individuals learn in different ways. This is supported by most researchers and i would agree having taught so many different children and trying to meany different methods and techniques. I have found this task fascinating as whilst what i had always considered my learning style is not always necessarily the best way to learn and that my style varies. I would agree that the best way to learn is through a combination of styles and that by continuing to consider these theories when learning i will be able to develop a further and better understanding of my practice.