commentary and evaluation on research undertaken

I mentioned in an earlier post about changing my 'normal' comfortable lesson plan and trying a different technique and method after discussing assumptions. Reading back over my journal i found i was very nervous about doing this but really enjoyed the experience; mainly as the response i got from my students was wonderful. To see them working creatively together and thinking more about learning to experience feeling in movement rather than the outcome being a perfectly demonstrated step or sequence was wonderful and reminded me why i had started dancing in the first place - because of how dance and movement can make you feel.

I compared this experience directly with an interview question that i had asked 'what teaching methods do you use when teaching children?' The practitioners who work within my practice listed teaching methods typical to that of working toward a specific outcome, teaching methods that i always use within my lesson plans; 'group and individual feedback, physical and verbal correction, task setting' However those from a creative background did not mention physical correction at all: 'community techniques which include everyone and are more therapeutic to a dance school framework. Trying to engage all with the intention of learning from the process rather than the outcome.' However both backgrounds had undertaken safe guarding courses and were aware of policies within their own practice regarding child protection.

Whilst dance i feel needs some kind of physical correction in order to achieve goals such as exams, this creative technique is something i will try and include in my lesson plans regularly in order to achieve a more well rounded practice.

update of inquiry progress

I have contacted and spoken with 2 other practitioners who work and studied in a more creative dance environment to that of my own. I have interviewed them using the same questions as those asked of my peers who work within my dance school to compare and see experiences beyond my own. I will blog more on this and the comparisons made in regards to my inquiry later.

Taking on board these different techniques of teaching, i planned a class last night different to my usual style of teaching and took on a more creative approach, involving them choreographing their own pieces of dance. I gave my students 4 steps related to their genre and grade and gave them some free music, asked them to discuss how the music made them feel/think and then got them to dance that feeling, using the steps given as well as their own. It was interesting to see them talk about the music and it was awkward to start but once the class relaxed they produced some lovely choreography. We did not talk about technique at all, nor did i correct any steps that were not picture perfect.  I have written about this on more detail last night in my journal which i will post and use as evidence later.

I planned and led this class with somatic practice in mind (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatics)  and my next step is to look at other learning theories such as that of Schon, reflecting more and link to my inquiry using literature.

Our own practice needs to be constantly reviewed - things change such as syllabus and we as practitioners must go on courses to update our knowledge and keep our ideas fresh. CPD is essential in this profession. As well as going on these courses, speaking to other professionals outside our own practice is invaluable and i have found this so helpful in terms of now mixing up my lesson plans and trying out different ideas.

In direct relation to my inquiry i took a basic safeguarding course over the summer and have since updated this, taking a more in depth course online via high speed training; safeguarding is a buzzword right now. There are many articles on young people pushing themselves too far in order to achieve what is expected of them (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-12/intense-competition-drives-young-dancers-to/6848432)
As much as laws are in place for protecting children, they are pushing themselves in order to achieve what they feel is neccesary to be successful.

Another interesting article relating to the loss of the 'soul' in dance http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jul/12/contemporary-dance-debate-shechter-khan-newson-laban-students-training

Trying to organise the messy stage

My Title: 

The Importance of Safeguarding Children and How It Has Affected Dance Teaching

The term 'safeguarding' needs to be defined. 

Safeguarding legislation and government guidance says that safeguarding means:

Protecting children from maltreatment

preventing impairment of children's health or development 

ensuring that children are growing up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care

taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes

http://www.safenetwork.org.uk/getting_started/pages/why_does_safeguarding_matter.aspx

The ISTD who i work under have their own child protection policy:

file:///C:/Users/Woo/Downloads/istd-child-protection-policy.pdf

After completing my field research and making my own assumptions i need to compare this to what is available in my literature, how it differs, if comparisons can be made etc. I also need to look at other points of view and perhaps speak to someone from a more 'creative' background/working environment. 

Is there anyone on the course from this kind of background or who teaches in this way who would be able to speak with me about this topic? 

After discussions/interviews with my practitioners and through literature i have had my eyes opened to safeguarding being not just a physical protection of children but an emotional/mental protection too. How you speak to and direct children needs to be thought about in more detail as well as how you refer to dance when teaching. Thinking about why the children come to dance class and what sort of experience i can offer them is what i want to find out; i would like to be able to offer them a more well rounded view from what i will learn through more literature, other peoples points of views.

I will think about the 'routine' of my own classes and perhaps re structure slightly in order to see how this might benefit students - will they prefer routine or enjoy this more well rounded approach - i will write in my journal about this to record what i learn.

Exploring this subject will be valuable to myself and other practitioners as its a hot topic that isnt always talked about due to its vastness. 

Looking beyond my own practice

I have been doing some research on community dance, something i have never taught or worked in, having always worked within the western codified environment, often working towards examinations and making progress on paper and in technique, rather than the creative aspect of dance.

Having grown up in the kind of dance school that i now work for, other teaching techniques are something i have little knowledge in. I trained in ISTD syllabus and was told ultimately what was right or wrong in order to pass my teaching exams. I have never taught much 'creativity' as i am normally focusing on helping children through their dance exams and correcting them in order to help them receive their desired grade by getting the syllabus right. Then when it comes to choreographing show pieces i am frustrated when children don't understand how to dance the emotion or feeling behind the music and movement. Does anyone on the course work or teach wihin a community dance school or work mainly on creativity and understanding?

I have found some interesting articles online which i will blog further about later on in the week. This one in particular mentions the coming together of technical and creative.

 http://www.communitydance.org.uk/DB/animated-library/in-its-purest-form.html?ed=14067

starting back

On Friday i joined a skype chat with Paula, Adelosa and a few others on the BAPP course. It was really good to talk and get back into the right mindset for uni - i felt quite overwhelmed after coming off the call but in a positive way!

We talked about assumptions, questioning our question and looking further than our own field of practice something that had been mentioned in my feedback at the end of module 2. I had become consumed with what i already knew about my question (how safeguarding of children has effected dance teaching) rather than exploring teaching outside a western codified dance technique/environment, in which i live, work and teach in.

Ultimately what i want to get out of my question is what kind of teacher do i want to be and what is going to benefit me and my students in my practice with the teaching methods i use. The biggest point that was made on Friday was looking outside my own practice and after talking about this i need to explore the following:

• How dance syllabus has changed and whether or not that has affected how teaching methods have changed 
• Looking at a more creative based dance school, rather than one that concentrates on further education and examinations
• Looking at safeguarding and the protection of children as a whole not just a physical point

This last point is something i had stumbled upon when looking at literature last term. I read a report of eating disorders within dance schools and how the mental and psychological effect of how a dance should look can take hold of students. Dance has been accused of being 'abusive' due to certain dance teaching techniques, looking at the discipline involved in dance, I plan to research some literature on these points before blogging again and perhaps adjusting my question slightly. any suggestions/comments greatly received !

“Critical Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry”.

Initially I found it hard to find my line of inquiry as I had a number of different questions and ideas that I was interested in.(appendix A) I took part in an online skype session and was comforted to hear a lot of others on the course were also struggling to find direction. I knew once I had a focus I would find it easier to continue so sent out my different questions to work colleagues and employers to see what their opinion on the subjects were. After some further reading and discussions with those in my community of practice and on the course I decided to continue to explore the safeguarding of children and whether or not it has affected dance teaching. It was an issue that I was dealing with on a daily basis as a dance teacher and found when talking to my peers that it was something they too were becoming more aware of (Appendix B). Continued research led me to learn that the topic was currently being discussed in higher education (Appendix C)) and realised this could be a very interesting focus.

After reading Adelosa’s blog regarding ethics and making ‘assumptions’ I found that my own feelings and opinions on the subject due to my style of teaching were affecting my reviews initially of literature and swaying questions and conversations toward certain points (Appendix D). I have now focused on keeping my research neutral rather than trying to find an ‘answer’ that I agree with before conducting and completing my research. I have learnt that my topic is one with many ethical considerations due to children being involved; there is much literature on dance teaching and its ethics (appendix F) and I am very aware of handling this subject sensitively.

The literature available on safeguarding policies online was extensive as the safeguarding of children has become a great focus over the past 15 years but I soon found there was a lack of 'rules' for those in dance education. There is set legislature for those in the medical profession and other sports such as gymnastics and football but nothing for dancing (Appendix E) I felt this was where the problem lay as dance teachers as a group have nothing official to follow and wanted to explore this further and to question teachers on this. I developed a few practice questions and dry ran a few of these with colleagues and friends to see how this worked and supported my research.(Appendix G) I also observed a friends dance class taking place and took notes on how she taught in regards to physical corrections.(Appendix G) By conducting these ‘dry runs’ I was able to plan how to continue my inquiry best and learn what questions and techniques would be best suitable.

I hope that my learning over the course of this module has allowed me to develop a significant and important subject to study in my practice. I hope that the plan I have formulated from my learning is successful and allows me to come to a conclusion that will benefit myself and others in dance and dance education. 

Appendices:

(A)   http://www.lianneclootholt.blogspot.co.uk/2015_02_01_archive.html

(B)   http://www.lianneclootholt.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/task-4ac-research_5.html

(C)   http://www.lianneclootholt.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/task-4-finalizing-my-line-of-inquiry.html

(F) http://lianneclootholt.blogspot.co.uk/2015_04_01_archive.html

(D)http://lianneclootholt.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/part-5-continuing-to-think-about-ethics.html

(E)   http://www.lianneclootholt.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/importance-of-literature.html

(G) http://lianneclootholt.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/part-6-using-tools.html

Part 6: using the tools

Over the past month i have tried out a number of the tools suggested to develop my inquiry and aid my research. Here are some examples of practice interviews, conversations and questions i have tried and tested via email and my SIG. I wasn't entirely sure how to go about my questioning as i have never conducted an 'interview' before so i kept very casual and spoke to a family member and a close friend and colleague of mine.

Consent has been given by all participants for these conversations to be posted, viewed and used as data.

Notes taken whilst observing a dance class

More literature

http://www.ethicsdance.co.uk/resources/downloads/ethics-in-dance---a-debate-yet-to-be-held.pdf

http://www.ethicsdance.co.uk/resources/downloads/Sho-Botham-IADMS--presentation-2010.pdf

http://www.ethicsdance.co.uk/resources/downloads/Sho-Botham-PhD-Thesis---Ethical-Issues....pdf

My Inquiry

I have begun to write up my plan for my inquiry and am hoping desperately that i'm heading in the right direction! I have tried out various tools by informal chats with colleagues, practice interviews with friends and families and by observing a friends dance class in a very casual setting. I have found all these tools to be useful in different ways and am looking forward to planning my schedule.

Here is a little bit of what my inquiry is about - i'm really struggling with the title so if anyone has any ideas/feedback please do let me know!

My inquiry will be exploring the safeguarding of children and whether or  not it has affected dance teaching. As a group those in the dance profession tend to be very tactile due to the nature of the art form and its need for contact but when teaching children it is hard to know now what is appropriate or deemed right or wrong. Within my inquiry i will be observing other teachers, finding out what dance schools policies are on safeguarding. I will be conducting interviews with teachers at 3 different schools regarding their teaching techniques and whether they feel comfortable physically correcting children or if there is a code of conduct they follow in their workplace. I would also like to talk to teachers of different ages, who taught before safeguarding acts and laws were passed (in 2004 first in the UK) and look for differing techniques and question if there is a difference, was the quality of teaching more or less beneficial. This brings me on to ethical issues and what is the right ot wrong way to treat a child who is attending a dance class.
I hope to take a safeguarding course myself over the summer.

Importance of literature

http://www.communitydance.org.uk/DB/animated-library/hands-on-hands-off.html?ed=14068

This particular article has been incredibly helpful to my line of inquiry. As a whole I would say evidence in this article states that yes, the importance of safeguarding of children has affected a hands on approach to dance teaching. It's being discussed by leading bodies within the dance world, it talks of the different society that we now live in and the fact that dance does not have its own explicit code of conduct. One of the main points this article makes is that the dance industry does not have a specific code of conduct as a whole that we as teachers should follow. Many other organisations do, there are of course obvious ones in terms of medical practice but this article comments on the fact that other sporting subjects have their own codes of conduct such as gymnastics and football: 'these sporting organisations are well ahead of the dance world. Yet the whole issue of touching is an important one for the dance industry. It is time that we discussed these issues openly and with professional objectivity.'
'The first is that major sports are already well ahead of the dance industry in producing booklets outlining what is appropriate'
Is this what we need in the dance world? It is of course so important that children are protected and this article stated many of the different child protection laws that are in place. These are incredibly important when sadly there are teachers or other professionals out there who do not follow good practice (as mentioned in the article)  'Like it or not, society is now changing in a way which means that even totally harmless actions can result in lawsuits' This is perhaps why the safeguarding of children has affected the hands on approach; society has changed and we, dance teachers, do not have a specific code that we all follow. 
This article also supported some previous research about making parents and students aware that in some cases physical touch will be used to enhance the childs learning and understanding. During a conversation about the subject with a friend of mine she mentioned that ' Parents are made aware of a "hands on" correcting technique when they join the schools I work for' The article states:
'these are the professional standards that we would naturally expect to uphold, but it is useful to he reminded of them and to communicate them to the parents who pay our salaries. It can only be good practice to be seen to have considered these matters and then to have done something about them in a professional manner.'
If all parents and students were made aware of this then would this resolve the matter? It does at least cover a dance teachers back should a complaint be made against them.
' We do need to be aware that other professions are ahead of us in making codes of practice explicit, and that there are real issues of legality, duty of care and child protection that we cannot ignore.'

part 5. Continuing to think about ethics

I was unable to make the online session regarding ethics but after reading Adesolas blog http://adesolaa.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/step-gently-on-line-campus-session-with.html and reading other students blogs about the session i have been able to take a step back from my inquiry and look at it differently.

Finding the answer

Firstly i was panicking about finding an 'answer' and now realize that this is not the object of my inquiry. But i can find out more. Learn and research and hopefully be able to offer people advice and some knowledge and understanding on the subject. It may sound cliche but this can better my teaching skills and therefore benefit my students. for example why they need to be physically corrected in a dance class.

Assumptions

Thinking about assumptions really sent me off on one! I realized that my opinion on my inquiry (that the safeguarding of children has all got a bit mad!) was perhaps effecting my research; i wanted to find that other dance teachers felt the same as me and had picked out quotes that agreed with my feeling. I was glad that Adesola had mentioned that your own assumptions are a good place to start but now i need to take a step back and look at my inquiry again. I think that perhaps my question needs to be adapted slightly; should teachers be educated on the best way to physically correct students? Should teachers working in the dance industry take a course in safeguarding children? Should all students/pupils receive some sort of document when they join a dance class that a 'hands on' approach will be used to benefit their learning? ALL OPINIONS WELCOME HERE AS I'M STRUGGLING ON HOW TO WORD THIS! Will put this question in my SIG later.

Task 5a/b - Ethics

To me ethics is about knowing the difference in whats right and whats wrong; obviously it's not always as black and white as that. At my work place and within my professional community ethics that i feel apply are the safeguarding of children and child protection. Children are left in our care and its our duty as the teacher to provide that child with a safe environment. At all the dance schools that i currently work for there is a code of conduct and a policy on safeguarding children. I assume that these policies are written by my bosses with some guidance from legal frame work or legislature applied to the UK. Outside my workplace i try to maintain professional persona by ensuring high privacy settings on my social media sites.

Task 4 - finalizing my line of inquiry, SIGs and literature

After further research and conversations within SIGs and my work practitioners i have decided to take my question 'has the safeguarding of children affected the hands on approach to dance teaching?' as my line on inquiry. It interests me as there are many different thoughts and feelings on this subject and is also currently being discussed in higher education as Helen Kindred pointed out (http://helenkindred.blogspot.co.uk/)

Here's my SIG group - please feel free to join https://www.facebook.com/groups/1659347854293196/

I have an existing SIG via facebook with a group of dance teacher friends who i went to collage with. We use it to keep in touch etc. I have used my line of inquiry to start a new conversation and gain others thoughts. The general feeling is that often physical correction is the 'only way' to help a student achieve something but that parents are always made aware of a 'hands on' approach when joining the school.

This question has also opened up many others within my SIG; what is the correct way to teach? Should dance teachers have sort of rule regarding us being 'allowed' to physically correct children? Why has this become such an issue? Why/when did this start? Should we all attend a safeguardung course or just be aware of the governments policy in the UK?

I therefore began researching 'how' to teach; whether or not actual physical touch is mentioned as a tool that dance teachers must use as well as description and demonstration. Here are a few links i found when looking into physical correction and my line of inquiry:

http://movingoncenter.org/DynamicSMTT/Files/AbriefhistoryofSomaticanddance.pdf

(11/3/15)

'Participants were also invited to experience increased responsiveness as they received skilled touch and/or verbal input as ‘fresh stimuli’ from a somatic educator or therapist.

http://www.communitydance.org.uk/DB/animated-library/hands-on-hands-off.html?ed=14068

 '

http://atimetodancecolorado.com/giving-corrections

 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.mdx.ac.uk/doi/10.1002/car.2228/full

http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.mdx.ac.uk/docview/208443641?pq-origsite=summon


Books:

Managing Dance: current issues and future strategies. By Linda Jasper and Jeanette Siddall



I will blog on the importance of the literature i have found most useful soon after a little more 

Task 4a/c research

I am really enjoying this module, having taken part in a skype discussion and questioning my peers and work collegues in relation to my possible lines of enquiry. I am still unsure of exactly which direction i will be taking but hoping to firm up this weekend after some further reading.

My findings so far:

Facebook conversation with a friend who used to work with me at Popdance and now works for NCT:
I know I was always much more aware of not touching children to correct their posture etc - or being aware of only touching hands, shoulders and arms let's say rather than the torso. I also was told that the palm of the hand is more acceptable to touch kids than using the fingers or fingertips. I was also aware that I always wanted to have an assistant or someone else present rather than just myself as it can put you in a vulnerable situation to be alone with the kids. Now at our school the peripatetic teachers coming in have to be chaperoned by another teacher for safeguarding, plus we are much more aware of being sued these days over nothing and it's just the kids words against ours!

This got me thinking how lucky i am as during most of my classes with younger children i have an assistant or a parent present in the room covering myself.

After raising some of my questions with my boss at Popdance she sent me a few links to her blog and website that explained her thoughts and feelings on the issues:

http://popdance.co.uk/physicalandmentalaspectsofdance/

http://popdance.co.uk/important-business-within-dance/

I have also been reading a great deal about safeguarding children, reading policies that other companys follow as well as those that i work under. All major organisations such as RAD, EMDP ISTD etc have their own safe guarding policies in order to be covered. In most 'code of conduct' documents there is nothing that says you cannot physically touch or move a child but that it should be explained fully which i feel i do.

'avoid unneccsary physical contact with children. When physical touch is required during dance teaching the involved adult should explain to the child exactly what he or she is doing but only with the consent of the child and in full view of as many parents as possible.'

Often in my younger classes children become distressed when sepearted from their parents or take a tumble when running around; i never think twice about going to that childs aid and often pick up the smaller children to give them a cuddle and comfort them. They don't need an explanation!

 I have become much more aware of how often i do physically move children in order for them to achieve a correct alignment or posture since looking at this line of enquiry and whilst demonstration and explanation are key a child needs to feel how they need to be to fully understand a movement or position.

'teachers and assistants use a hands on approach that is vital to teaching young dancers as they develop their skill'

This quote is from the Texas ballet theater (www,texasballettheater.org) on their lower school programme.


I will be updating this continually throughout course and be adding my literature soon.

Task 4a Questions relevant to my practice

After looking back at previous task 2d and thinking more about my practice i have developed the following questions to help lead to my line of inquiry:

Is the importance of safe guarding children affecting the 'hands on' approach of teaching dance?

How important is business within the dance world?

How important is it to understand both the mental and physical benefits of dance?

Has the stigma attached to dance changed due to how it is now portrayed in the media?

I have spoken with peers and employers regarding these questions and have asked for their opinions and views on these subjects. I look forward to blogging these once i have had feedback. I hope to receive comments from those on the course who work within the same field and with similar questions/ideas in order to hear other thoughts and with a view to making a start on a SIG (task 4b).