Emily Richards BAPP Blog

Generally, I have noticed the quietness across the blogs of the past couple of weeks. I am sure this will be because we are all focusing on writing our proposals, reflections and completing our forms that will needed to be handed in in January. I found my feedback from Hopal to be helpful, and although we weren't able to schedule a Skype call I managed to get in a few questions which will hopefully help me throughout the holidays as i continue to work on and complete my work before the hand in date. I feel safe in the knowledge that I have my SIG group chat, so if anything else does arise, we can discuss this between ourselves. I also have a DDE modern teaching exam next week and as well as teaching my regular class I have also been doing work experience in a school in a hope to aid my UCAS application for a PGCE . I am filled with worry about being accepted and about student finance nightmares that have been going on over the past months, but I am trying to keep my cool an

I feel like this task comes up completely out of the blue! We're talking about our proposal for our inquiry and then all of a sudden this pops up. And through conversations with my SIG I know I am not the only one who was thrown by this. I gather from talking in my SIG and through group Skype calls that this will be the title of our degree upon graduation. We all have been given BA (Hons) Professional Practice in Arts. And from there we need to put something on the end that tells everyone about our practice and what we have been basing our practitioner work on. It needs to be relevant now, but also something that remains relevant in our future careers if possible. I am currently dance teaching, however I am in the dilemma at the moment of what I want to do long term. So I am currently going back and forth thinking about doing a PGCE. As well as dance teaching i am also volunteering in a school to gain work experience for my PGCE. I feel strongly that my career will most

Hi everyone, If you could take a look at my survey. I would appreciate any feedback. thanks. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YGR5M6P

This task asks us to critical reflect on the tools used to address our inquiry. Questionnaires - After reading through reader 6 I have decided the way way to produce my questionnaire would be through a source such as survey monkey. I will ask questions aim at dancers who have undergone dancer trainings for more than ten years under the age of eighteen or three years at a professional college. I will mainly use statements in my questionnaires which will have a multiple choice answer to rate the sentence, for example highly likely to highly unlucky etc. I intend to ask many participants to complete this for me, however I do not expect that everyone will will this out, as reader 6 says to expect only a 20% repossess rate. Advantages -  Ease of use for participants Can collect lots of data in a short space of time If kept to quantitive data they can be easily evaluated. Less time consuming than other methods. Disadvantages -  Rely's on use of internet for participants. L

After reading through reader 6 I feel I have a better grasp on the research process needed for our inquiry.  There are many types of research tools explained in the reader and it is advised we use some, but not all of these tools Observation Interviews Focus Groups Surveys Analising Literature I would first like to do an informal trial within my SIG of an interview. An interview will collect data in a qualitative manner. There are many considerations I need to observe whilst doing an interview. First of all ethical considerations (ensuring my participant remains confidential), human element (for example the mood of the participant could affect their answers), neutral questions (to avoid affecting the answers with bias questions). I would also like to trial an observation, as this is another form of research i would like to use in my inquiry. Ethical considerations also need to be followed for this. I was thinking of ways I can gather information from an observation; an

I feel like at the start of module two there was a real focus on how we shouldn't have a set question and the point of module two is to develop our route for our enquiry. All of a sudden the focus seems to have changed very quickly to 'what is your question?' At the start of module two I had an idea of the inquiry path I wanted to go down and I haven't strayed far from this as I have progressed through this module. How can a dance teacher create a positive role model for their pupils? Do dancers look at their teachers as role models? Should a dance teacher be a role model for their pupils? How can a teachers actions in lesson inspire their pupils? In what ways can dance teachers ensure they are a positive role model for their pupils? If anyone has any feedback on my questions this would be greatly appreciated. I am struggling to steer away from the term 'role model' but I feel it makes for a simpler question.

Reader 5 I have found to be a more interesting read than some previous readers. I have particularly found the case studies interesting and thought provoking. This has allowed me to gain a better understanding of ethics and how they apply to my work as well as my inquiry. Ethics sets out moral principles which help a person distinguish between right and wrong. As my work involves children, ethics have even more worth, as they are there to protect the children and allow them to be treated equally. There are three main contexts where ethics are considered in reader 5- Personal Professional Organisational These all contribute to the promotion of social good in the larger society. Code of conduct, which is covered in task 5B is involved in professional ethics One thing I have taken away from reader 5 is that ethics is not only objective and can be subjective. By sticking to ethical arguments that are based on objectiveness it will be easier to get a clear outcome. When creating

My second literature review has been taken from The American Psychological Association - ' The Motivational Theory of Role Modeling: How Role Models Influence Role Aspirants’ Goals Thekla Morgenroth University of Exeter Michelle K. Ryan  University of Exeter and University of Groningen Kim Peters University of Queensland' This piece of literature is research into role models, it does not relate directly to dance teachers or even teachers in general, but this will help me gain a better understanding of how role models work and also on the people who they are being a model for 'role aspirants'. The study focusses less on the role models themselves but the people who the role models are inspiring and the motivational processes on their side, the research calls these the 'role aspirants'. Leaders do not exist without followers, therefore role models do not exist without the role aspirants. "role models are seen as those who motivate

As the school I teach for does not have a specific code of conduct or set of guidelines to follow, I have looked online into what code of conducts, rules, guidelines and expectations teachers are expected to have and to follow. After reading these, they seem to be common sense and are things I would do as a teacher anyway, without have them as a set of rules to follow. Obviously some of them would not apply to dance teaching directly, but many of them can be adapted to relate to my work. I am not surprised to see what is included in the rules and expectations for teachers, and feel like some of these I covered in task 5A. And some of the things that I found, were not things I covered in task A, but I feel that I do in my practice anyway. Safeguarding  is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of  children  and protect them from harm.  Safeguarding  means: protecting  children  from abuse and maltreatment. preventing harm to  children's  health or development. ensuri

As I work for a private dance school and not in a public school, there is not a set of rules, a code of conduct or any training specific to the school that you need to go through. These are my personal thoughts on the ethics I need to follow as a dance teacher. Permission for photos for social media or promotion purposes. Full DBS Check. Hold dance teaching qualifications. If I want to slightly adjust a child's alignment (e.g an arm in second position in ballet) I would ask first. Treating every child the same, but identifying individual needs. Being an appropriate role model. Stick to timings and plans, so pupils know what to expect. Keep parents informed of any mishaps (fall outs or falling over in class). Keeping my boss (owner) informed of the above. Make sure uniform rules are applied and adhered to by all pupils. Allow toilet and water breaks where necessary. If children are too young to go to the toilet on their own, ensure a helper or parent goes with them.

Approaches to Lying I have always been an advocate for a little 'white lie ' a small lie that will cause no harm, but may help someone or avoid a bad outcome. The reader explains someone who would do this as a consequentialist. Someone who sees lying as always wrong is a deontologist. For example telling someone they look nice rather than hurting their feelings. I personally try to be honest in these situations, as I would want someone to be honest with me. However if someone cooked me something that I didn't like, I probably would lie, to avoid hurting their feelings. i ould class this as a 'white lie' This made me think if I ever use this in my practice. I thought with Christmas coming up a lie many parents tell their children is about the existence of Father Christmas . And I feel that this is absolutely an acceptable lie to tell children. As Christmas approaches I am sure i will say to some children 'Santa watches dance classes remember, he knows

Case study two - Ethics in Photography was a  very difficult read. A photographer, Kevin Carter, who took 20 minutes to take a photo of an eagle spreading its wings, instead of helping a dying girl in Sudan who was trying to make her way towards water. The photo won a prize but Carter took his own life due to the guilt he felt for not helping the girl. There are many conflicts of interest in this case, the lack of intervention from Carter was fully justified, however he was instructed not to touch anyone and the ethical role of a photographer is to observe and not to interfere. This is a terrible situation for the photographer to be in, stuck between saving a life and following rules. I personally know what I would have done. This makes me think of many times where I watch wildlife programmes such as Planet Earth, Blue Planet etc., where you see many animals being chased, attacked and killed by other animals, or them struggling to cross dangerous and treacherous terrain or baby

An Ailey Dancer Loyal to His Miami Roots and Mentor By  JORDAN LEVIN OCT. 9, 2017 Continue reading the main story Share This Page https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/arts/jamar-roberts-ailey-dancer.html?emc=edit_th_20171010&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=58095287   Levin, J. (2017).  An Ailey Dancer Loyal to His Miami Roots and Mentor . [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/arts/jamar-roberts-ailey-dancer.html?emc=edit_th_20171010&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=58095287 [Accessed 16 Oct. 2017]. This article is an account of Alvin Ailey dancer, Jamar Roberts and his relationship with his dance teacher and mentor Angel Fraser-Logan. In an interview with (Levin 2017) it explains how Roberts came from a deprived area of Miami, where a  hurricane Andrew caused devastation for his family in 1992 and with parents struggling with drug addictions Roberts said how his family became " poorer and poorer " but d ancing became an e

First stop. My local library.  It has been years since I last visited a library, (apart from the ship library when I worked on cruise ships) but I wanted to expand on the varieties of sources I use. I knew I wasn't going to be able to get books specific enough to relate exactly to my possible lines of enquiry, but as Adesola said in a group chat we may have to piece information together.  I accumulated books on dancing, books on teaching and children book on exercise.  I was quite disappointed on the lack of books on dancing. Second stop - google This is my main source of information when researching. I found tons of articles, but this time some were more specific to my area of interest.                                                    Third stop - Uni Library - Summon Much like most of uni hub I found this difficult to use and to navigate, but I did find some useful pieces of writing on there. Now I have many different pieces of literature i no

I have been discussing my ideas with fellow teachers at the school I do the majority of my teaching in. I was talking about how I had an idea of a line of enquiry I wanted to go down, this was an idea I discussed with Paula during module 1. I was careful not to assume anything whilst explaining my idea, as this was something that was discussed during the last Skype call. I went on to ask further questions that could help me better understand how to approach my enquiry. Do pupils look forward to a class on different levels depending on who the teacher is? What teacher based factors that contribute to the pupils having a more positive experience in class? Does having practical experience within the performing industry make a difference on how you are as a teacher? Is it important to have practical experience as a teacher? All these questions I hope will help me understand how pupils see teachers and if they see them as someone to aspire to be like. Moving forwards I wou

In order to better understand what a special interest group is , I wanted to understand what SIG's I am already a part of. I found this very similar to module 1 when we were asked to identify our networks . I don't know if I am the wrong lines but I feel the two are very similar? I will hopefully be focussing the remainder or my studies on the BAPP course and my inquiry on my practice as a dance teacher , if there is anyone else who is thinking along the same lines and would like to form a SIG with me so we can discuss experiences or ideas within our practice and possible lines of inquiry within our area of interest, then let me know. I'm sure there could be a lot gained from doing this!

We had a really interesting Skype yesterday (however I was unable to talk for most of it, due to being in a room with a meeting going on). However it was really helpful and even though at times I felt even more confused about where to go from here it definitely made me think more about my practice and possible lines of enquiry. The chat was with Adesola, Ann and Jessica. As the three of use on the course in this chat all have dance as our primary practice I felt we could all really relate to what the others had to say. Do not assume. This was something I took away from the chat. I was talking about role models and I assumed everyone would know what I meant, however we all had different views on what a role model and a teacher would be. This has made me realise that throughout the remainder of the course I maybe need to state what I think is obvious, but may not be for others. After all we all think in different ways and have different experiences.

This was my first group discussion, as I had not managed to make any of these during module one. The chat was between myself, Adesola, Eleanor (module2), Matt (module1) and Selene (module1). After having a general chat about what we had been working on so far, we spoke about the module 2 task of 'wondering'. The theme of the chat stemmed from this and Adesola asked us about our view on perfection and how does this reside in our practice. For me personally as a performer you can work and practice a movement or sequence and keep going until you have reached what you consider perfect. However, as a teacher I could have a class of 5 pupils, give them all the same steps, teach them all in the same way, give them all the same details, corrections, but because of ability every single pupil will give me something different. One thing to remember in this industry, as Adesola said in the chat is that we are not all on the same level playing field . One person could be n

I have found it a real struggle getting my teeth stuck into this new module and handbook. I keep thinking back to how I felt at the start of module 1 and how eventually things did fall into place and everything started making sense - I am hoping the same will happen for this module. More so than module 1, I find this reader even more difficult to get my head around, firstly due to the content and secondly because I feel the language is even more academic than module 1, so many things take a few reads before i actually understand what I am reading. I feel I have not fully understood task A, so wanted to expand on this further before moving on. In order to do this I have looked at many blogs of previous BAPP students to see how they approached module 4. As I started to think more about these points of wonder more and more questions pop into my head. How do my pupils see me? Am I creating a positive and encouraging environment for my pupils? Do they enjoy coming to class?

Task A Requires us to look back through reader 4 and develop a set of points I wonder about that are relevant in my practice. At the moment I am also studying for my Diploma in Dance Education alongside my teaching work. For my Diploma I have just had to write an essay where you need to ask a question that relates to a specific dance genre and research different arguments to come to a conclusion. As I have been spending the past few weeks on this essay, this is something I have been ' wondering ' about a lot. Reader 4 talks a lot about knowledge in the work place and as a dance teacher it is very important to be knowledgeable about the health advantages and disadvantages dance can have on my pupils. I intend from expanding on my knowledge to apply everything i have learned in order to reduce the possibilities of any of my pupils experiencing any disadvantages and getting as many benefits from dancing as possible. The question I decided to ask for my essay and my

Before the Skype call I felt as though a lifetime had passed since module one, however just a few minutes into the call I remembered the feelings and the process and it soon felt as though no time had passed at all. I felt the call was very productive in many ways; Discussing blogs How this is something some of us may need to do more. How some of us had been a little less active in communicating with others through their blogs and that this could be something to improve upon. We also discussed how some of us had issues following and seeing other peoples blogs, before this I thought I was on my own and just simply didn't understand how blogger worked, so it was great to hear it wasn't just me and since then I have (hopefully) successfully followed some more of my peers. Getting into a routine How some of our lives may be different from in the previous modules and how this may impact our study; some had changed jobs within the same area (moving from one school to

After having nearly three months since submitting my first assignment and receiving a mark I am really pleased with I can look back on the experience of module one very positively. I was really nervous with the results day looming and if i'm being honest I didn't find the process of finding the results very easy. However once I finally figured it out, with the help of fellow BAPP students, I was pleasantly surprised and really pleased with my results. It was mentioned within my feedback how my appendices were well presented. I struggled at the time writing my Critical Reflection with writing the appendices, as this wasn't something I had ever done before. I found that I had almost the same amount of words in my appendices, as I did in the main body of the critical reflection, so I was pleased to see that despite having lots of content in them, this was a positive area in my feedback. I intend to continue to develop my formal writing style as I continue through module

Even though I haven't quite finished all the tasks in reader three, I wanted to make sure I leave myself  a lot of time to tackle the big essay. As we can send in drafts before the final deadline date I feel under a lot of pressure to get something done to send in draft version! I want to take every opportunity I can from my tutor to get feedback on this to hopefully end up with the best possible result. I have now sat down on Easter Saturday to hopefully make more of a productive start to my essay, before the fun begins for Easter Sunday tomorrow!  My current feelings whilst trying to write my Critical Reflection... I haven't wrote any kind of essay for five years and the words 'appendices' and 'references' are completely new to me. I have read so many different things on how to Harvard reference, yet I still feel completely clueless! I have wrote down two draft versions on paper. Which is just basically a list of words and feelings on what I

The importance of networking was constantly stressed to myself and my peers during our time training at The Hammond. They told us how important it was to get to know other performers, to take classes, to put yourselves out there on social media and to email after auditions. A phrase that came up a lot when I as training, when I meet people at auditions or classes and it even came up during my Skype call with Paula, Kirsty and Jessica was; 'It's not what you know, it's who you know' For this task I will be referring to my networking that helps me with my teaching. What are the current and different ways (tools) that you have, or do, engage your professional network? The current tools I use to network range from more modern ways, such as using my phone and social media, to going to classes and physically meeting people and being put in touch with people in my network by word of mouth (through other teachers and friends in my network). I much prefer the face t

Before tackling the questions by just simply writing my answers, I first made a mind map for all of the questions and my thoughts and answers for all of them. I  found some of the questions quite difficult to answer, even with referring to my journal to try to find thoughts that might help with my answers. 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? The main aspect of teaching that makes me really enthusiastic is the rewarding nature of the job. It is not the feeling of being rewarded that I like, but the things I see that give me that feeling. When I see improvement in pupils from week to week, seeing them enjoy themselves, ask questions because they want to know more and also the comments from children, when they say how much fun they are having and how much they enjoy themselves. This makes me feel that all the lesson planning, choreography, hours of studying and training

By making Reflective Practice relevant to me and my specific Practice of teaching it is not something I have been aware that I have been using before starting reader 2, although it is something that I have been doing day to day in my life as a teacher. More specifically Donal Schon's reflection-in-action has been a type of reflection I have been using subconsciously whilst I teach. Schon's (1987) describes reflection in action and being ' fostered in artists who respond to what is happening as it happens' .  School (1987) also says how reflection action ' is the more difficult to achieve, but the more powerful for improvement of practice because it results in 'on-line' experiments to adjust and improve one's professional actions. It is more difficult to achieve because the actor must simultaneously attend to performing the action and observe and analyse visor her action, as if from an external perspective.' I always go into the classes I tea