Module 3; the beginning..

Over the Christmas break I have had opportunity to reflect on my inquiry topic and what I hope to gain from it. I will continue my reflections here for those that are interested!..

As a professional ballet dancer who when in between performing contracts works at local dance and performing arts schools as a teacher, I decided that the hole in my knowledge lies within teaching methodology. I trained at vocational schools where my education was based solely on furthering myself in a career as a performer. I have never had formal training as a teacher (although I can claim that my technical knowledge of dance is vast but not complete). I would like to learn more about teaching and learning theories that lead to bringing the best out of students. Therefore my inquiry question is "How could different teaching methods/theories affect ballet pedagogy and will they positively optimise young dancer's abilities?"

As a student I was often taught under a strict authoritarian method, where I was just expected to listen and apply corrections, never being encouraged to question or reflect on how I personally could better myself. I was dependent on the teacher to tell me what to do and how to do it. Reflecting on this in module 1 I realised that this could have affected me personally long term as I entered my career. Starting out in the industry I was scared to speak up, scared to put myself out there, lacking in confidence in my own abilities and unknowing in how to continue to better myself without a teachers presence. I wander if this is down to the way I was taught and how classes were conducted at school?

It was this reflection that led me to consider different learning theories.

Since turning in my inquiry proposal plan, new challenges have developed in my professional practice. I have taken on some new classes at new schools which to say the least haven't been the easiest to adapt to. I have been very conscious to try to not involve too much authoritarian method in my teaching practice however these more challenging classes have led me to some interesting questions; is authoritarian teaching what parents of non-vocational students expect from ballet classes? After all, ballet training doesn't just teach technique, it is also an education in manners and respect. Is this important to the training and could it take away from the education if I were to use a different methodology? And should I be more specific in this inquiry as to researching the teaching methods in vocational or non-vocational training? Should the methods used be different depending on what kind of school you attend? And out of all of this - how do I focus my search in order to find the best benefits to my practice?

I will keep you updated as my reflections and findings unfold throughout this inquiry. But please in the meantime, comment below if you have any thoughts or opinions (or questions) for me to consider. It would be of great help and hugely appreciated! 

Module 2; Creating the structure!

This morning I had an incredibly helpful 1:1 tutorial with Adesola. We discussed my inquiry topic idea, ethics and structuring my time for module 3. 

I had been worrying that I couldn't find any literature contradicting my thoughts of how a ballet dancer's voice is silenced during ballet training. Adesola corrected me in thinking that there wasn't anything out there - I just haven't found the right way to search for it yet. But this could take years, and this course and inquiry isn't about trying to prove a point. It is about trying to fill in the gaps. I have been formally trained as a technical dancer, not as a teacher. Therefore this inquiry for me is to try to fill some of gaps in my knowledge to help further my practice in teaching. 

So instead of worrying about finding literature that goes against my opinions of the subject, I am instead going to continue to focus on the different teaching techniques and explore the literature around them - including the outcomes that other scholars have discovered. 

In my last post I discussed my new 'sharing rule' in class. Adesola pointed out to me that I don't actually know for sure yet how this will effect the class as right now I still haven't done enough research into the results of using this peer review technique. Therefore in a way I am experimenting on the class (which sounds utterly awful and is far from my intention of bringing the class together in a focused, positive and uplifting environment.) But this has made me aware that I do need to research further into different teaching techniques and the outcome effects that they have on the students (before I introduce them to my classroom). 

This brings me on to deciding to interview teachers and their own opinions on the best ways to conduct a class in order to bring the best out of their students. Learning is a very individual thing and everyone learns differently. But to find a way that makes everyone feel included in a classroom situation would be an ultimate aim now for me. And to do this I need 

Module 2 is about creating a structure (or a road to travel down) for module 3. During module 3 we may stray away as we uncover new ideas, but the structure will be there to pull us back to the main road so that we can continue to travel towards the aim we set out with. So my next plan is to start to structure out my time - first for the rest of this module and then for module 3, so that I have more of a plan to go forward with. 

So onward with planning the rest of this module, writing my first draft of my proposal and completing the MORE form.

My ‘sharing rule’

For my inquiry, an idea I have been looking into is ballet pedagogy and how it effects a dancer’s personal identity; particularly focussing on how it silences a dancer’s voice. Speaking to a friend last night who I went to school with, without any prompting from me, she bought up how she now struggles in ‘regular’ jobs; if she doesn’t have an authority figure instructing her on what to do, she feels at a loss for what she should be doing. She is working in a primary school as a teacher’s assistant and has been struggling to keep herself busy when not instructed. She also feels nervous and shy whenever a person with higher authority does talk to her, as if she doesn’t feel worthy or appropriate to speak up her ideas. She puts this down to her upbringing in ballet. 

In the ballet studio we are instructed the whole time and we are taught to obey our teachers without hesitation. Not to say that this isn’t always a bad thing, as we have grown up with respect, manners and some would say the best hardworking mentalities and drive for perfection in whatever we set ourselves to achieve. However do we now struggle to speak up from being taught as forever inferior to the person with authority in the room? At vocational ballet schools you had to abide by the rules of the studio, or risk being assessed out therefore ending or at very least stunting your career pursuit. Don’t get me wrong, I adored every second of my ballet training, however since entering the working world, I have at times struggled to network myself or speak up to get myself noticed as it just hasn’t ever been a part of my upbringing. 

So, I have been looking at how I can make a change in the studio for my students that I teach. This half term I have begun to enforce a new ‘sharing’ rule. I separate the class into groups and then as one group dances, the other sits with me to watch and then we share with each other what was good and where they could improve. If a student, for example, recommends that another’s pirouette is falling to one side during their turn, we discuss how they can correct this and what they can look out for in themselves in the future. I have noticed the classroom become much more lively and concentrated. They feel more involved and I have noticed physical improvements in all as well as in their confidence when they dance for each other. I recommend other teachers give this ‘sharing rule’ a go ...and if you do, please let me know the outcome and what you notice in your students! 

Also if anyone has had similar experiences or indeed the complete opposite to myself and my friend at vocational ballet schools, please comment below so that we can discuss! Any ideas for further research, teaching tips etc are greatly appreciated. 

Transmission, transactional and transformative learning

One of my initial ideas for my inquiry and one that plays on my mind daily is the silencing of a ballet dancer’s voice during training and how this effects us as professionals and human beings. Since graduating I have experienced working in professional ballet companies as well as in the fitness industry and during this time I have discovered how much I have grown to shy away from speaking up. During my training as a ballet dancer I was always taught to only speak when absolutely necessary and even then I would, I’d often be shot down for speaking up. Essentially I have grown up with the understanding that I must be told what to do and never question this. And now this has affected me going into my adult life, I have had to work hard to push past these boundaries of silence in order to put myself out there so that I can forward my career. For it is the 21st century, and my voice should never feel the need to be silenced.

Maybe I am the only one that feels this way, or maybe others are experiencing the same as me, but this is something I would like to find out. And then looking ahead to my career, work out how I can push past these boundaries and also how I can make a change in the studio for my students that I teach.

During my research into this idea I have been looking into teaching theories, 3 of which stand out;
- Transmission
- Transactional
- Transformative
I believe I experienced predominantly transmissional teaching (where knowledge is transmitted directly from teacher to student in a predetermined order). Transactional teaching was also a necessity where we would be encouraged to draw on our own past knowledge with current experiences in order to further our learning. But my intrigue is whether I can start to incorporate some more transformative teaching methods and whether or not this will have positive affects on the student and the ballet industry.

Transformative teaching was developed by Jack Mezirow. It provides opportunity for critical thinking and acting on new perspectives. Students are encouraged to question what they see as correct in order to become more open minded and break down barriers which may be holding them back from fully developing their capabilities and talents.

But could this work in the ballet studio? Ballet technique is essentially quite black and white, but could this help with how individuals can personally achieve the technique in their own way? And more than that, could it help us retain our individuality and allow us to be confident and speak up to promote ourselves and our beliefs?

References
https://www.learning-theories.com/transformative-learning-theory-mezirow.html 24/10/18;

Mezirow, J. (2009). Transformative learning theory. In J. Mezirow, and E. W. Taylor (Eds), Transformative Learning in Practise: Insights from Community.

Christie, M., Carey, M., Robertson, A., & Grainger, P. (2015). Putting transformative learning theory into practice. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 55(1), 10-30

Howie, P. & Bagnall, R. (2013). A beautiful metaphor: Transformative learning theory. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 32(6), 816-836

Johnson, A. (2015). Three views of teaching: transmission, transaction and transformation. [Blog] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/three-views-teaching-transmission-transaction-andrew-johnson [Accessed 24 Oct. 2018].

An unanticipated lesson learnt

I haven’t had a chance to blog in a while and as much as I would like to say that this is because of my packed schedule it is unfortunately because I have suffered a technical disaster .... all my work somehow decided to delete itself (I’m not the most technical person, but for the life of me and all the people who I have gone to for help, we can not recover the work or figure out why it has disappeared!) 

So after a pretty major freak out, I have set about trying to manually recover everything that I had already done. Thankfully I hadn’t deleted my search history, so I have been able to rediscover the literature which had taken my interest. (Although having to essentially start from scratch again has been a pretty big set back and I am going to have to push to catch up again.) 

I have always backed up my work, but now I am taking further care to back up and then back up again (and then again...) I have updated all my storage plans and expanded on these where needed. I am now backing up my work to several different places as well as always remembering to email my work to myself after every session. In a way I am happy that this happened to me now closer to the beginning of the module as opposed to the end and I have certainly learnt a lesson from it which I desperately needed to share with everyone. 

My message is this guys - back up your work!! 

Questioning questions/exploring the landscape

I am writing this post to clarify for myself what we discussed on Thursday in our Module 2 Skype session and also to see if it can spark anymore discussion amoung my peers. I had been eager to discuss some ideas and questions that I had been thinking about over our summer break for my inquiry and have started to zero in on a few and this is where my thought process is at the moment...

With help from Helen, Laura, Naomi, Nikita and Amber, I was able to delve further into 1 idea in particular - the silencing of a ballet dancer's voice during training. Earlier this year during a contemporary contract I realised how shy I have become in the studio in terms of voicing my opinion or questioning how my body can achieve certain movements or even just speaking up within discussion. This I think stems from my training. As ballet dancers we are taught to only do as we are told and to never talk back. Essentially the studio must be silent and the teacher is 100% in control. This is how I have been bought up, having started professionally training at 13 and I feel there are consequences (admittedly both good and bad) that have come out of being taught in this environment. Through discussion we started to question this idea further and the different angles I could take to explore this pedagogy focus. 

After the call I wrote down all of the questions that had arisen during our discussion. Here are some of my main areas of interest at the moment;

-Have other vocational students experienced this feeling of being silenced and unable to truly voice their emotions? 
-How does it effect us as dancers and people?
-How does it affect the work environment?
-Is this something that needs to be changed in ballet pedagogy?
-How can I going forward into my career, make a change to the way I teach and conduct a class in order to avoid my students having this experience? Will this be a good thing for them? Are there definite elements that shouldn’t be changed?
-Do other industries experience the same thing?
-Will this be a universal welcomed change? 
-Does it have an affect on mental health?

These are just some of the questions that I discovered during the session on Thursday and going forward I plan to explore further into all these areas through various literature resources. 

If anyone does have any opinions or more questions for me based on the idea of 'Does ballet pedagogy silence a dancer's inner voice' then please feel free to comment so that we can discuss further! 

1st Blog of Module 2 - My Party Guest list...

On Thursday (27th September) I attended our first Module 2 Skype session... And I couldn't be happier that I made it to this one! My initial read of the module 2 handbook had left me overwhelmed by the tasks ahead but after discussing with my peers (and discovering that they all seemed to be in a similar situation to me) I feel reassured that my thoughts had in fact been going in the right direction!... Here are some of the insights and tips that I gained from our discussion:

The Literature Review
Before starting this, you need to zero in on your focus. At the moment this will be quite broad (and don't be afraid that it is). For example, I have recently undertaken a few more teaching jobs, so I have been wandering if basing my inquiry on ballet pedagogy could aid my practice best. Obviously this is a huge subject, with many different options for me to explore (such as my teaching techniques/focusing in on specific ballet techniques/student welfare etc.) So I have a focus to start me off... 

Now the literature comes into play. Using the literature (and that could be found from many resources such as theatre, books, videos, articles, online, within your own practice, in day to day teaching) you can start to explore your currently broad subject area. As you explore, certain articles and areas may start to jump out at you and it is at this point that the search is starting to narrow down to a smaller question (and not one that is aiming to 'change the world').

As you search, start to compile a 'guest list'. Imagine you are planning a party, and question yourself this - who are the most important people who have to be there? Who absolutely have to be there or the party can not go ahead? These people should go top of the list. This is how you should look at the literature. Which is the most important to me? This is your starting point. 

The point of the literature is to offer you a landscape/map. Explore the landscape from all angles until you start to find that one area that interests you most of all. And of course, don't forget to compile your guest list (bibliography) as you go! (*NOTE TO SELF!*)   

I hope this has helped anyone who didn't make it to the Skype session. I'm looking forward to discussing the outcome of everyone's guest lists soon!