:)

So starting module 3 again I very lost and unfocused! However after meeting with Paula and a few other students in module 3 it helped me find my focus again.

So what am I looking to find out through my inquiry?

My question " What techniques do Dance Teachers use to get the best response from their class? "

By response I mean how do the teachers make the students progress well with technique , how to make the students feel confident about themselves, which is very important for a performer. Also just to make sure that the students are happy and enjoying the class!

I was doing my inquiry to help me become the best dance teacher I can be, however I don't know where exactly I want to teach yet, be it high school, vocational school or technique dance classes/clubs. I point I made in the session with Paula, is that I think if you combined all the different techniques the different types of dance teachers used I feel that would be the perfect dance class. 

I am interviewing one dance teacher from each of these different types of dance schools and hopefully I will see some similarities and some differences in their teaching methods.

After one of my interviews I actually got myself a job in a High School so I am looking forward to putting all that I learn during my inquiry into practice. 

If any of you are dance teachers and want to share anything with me it would be much appreciated :)

Lee

Critical reflection- Module 2

I have found that I have been a lot more engaged in the tasks in module 2. I feel this is because I have been able to link them to my own professional life a lot better than I could in module 1 and again I found them more useful in my own professional work. I have also seen a big link through doing these tasks how they were going to help me carry out my Inquiry Proposal.

Developing lines Of professional inquiry

When thinking about my initial questions in task four I knew that my goal is to become a full time teacher so I knew my question should be focused in that area. It was great to get so many comments on my blog, they really helped me see that I was going in the right direction with my inquiry . I really wanted a question that was going to get me searching for answers which I believe I have now found. (Appendix A)

I found that creating our own "sig" has been a very useful tool for this course and I also believe that it will be for the future as well. I think it's a good reference to go to for information on my professional practice as I have a variety of dancers and dance teachers as part of my group, so it is a quick way of putting questions out to my professional network. I have also found that the "sig's" have been good for interaction between BAPP students in module 2. It has been a way of helping each other along with the tasks and asking each other questions on our inquiries. (Appendix B) (Appendix C)

Professional Ethics

Ethics was something that I have never really thought about in great detail until this module, when I attended the campus session on ethics we were asked " what is ethics?" We all struggled to come up with a simple definition without giving examples but by the end of the session I felt I came away with a good understanding of what Ethics is.

Bobbie Pingram's post on the Ethics campus session really captured everything we learnt from the session. (Appendix D )

During the first tasks in part 5, I found it interesting how big companies have so many ethical rules and regulations in place to make sure everything is run correctly. There are obviously things that everyone is aware of i.e. you can't come in to work under the influence of alcohol, however I didn't realise the there would be pages of rules and regulations about this one subject. (Appendix E)

In my professional inquiry I am now aware that there will be a lot of ethical concern as I will be involving children under the age of 16. However I am already planning on getting written consent from the child's parents.

Tools of professional inquiry

The last task in this module has guided me through the inquiry tools that I will be using in my professional inquiry. I have carried out some pilot inquiries which proved to be very useful in helping me decide what inquiry tools to use in my own inquiry and also the results helped me decide on my final question. (Appendix F)

The following quote was one from reader 6 that I really agreed with. It is talking about what you get from interviews, I believe this to be true as I feel you get a more honest answer from actually interviewing somebody and not just asking them to fill in a questionnaire.

“can follow up on ideas, probe responses and investigate motives and feelings” (Bell, 2005, p.157)

Summary

This module has made me learn knowledge that will help me throughout my career. Coming from a purely dance background I have never really sat down and thought about ethics, however this is a very important topic as no matter what job you are in there will always be ethics to consider and I am now trying to implement more rules in my dance classes. I also feel that this module has made me explore tools which I can already see are going to be very beneficial to me in my professional inquiry.

Bibliography

Bell, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project (4th ed), Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

5b

I spoke to my manager in the theatre about the ethics and rules and regulations of the theatre. He informed me that the company has a new HR department and many of our policy's will shortly be changing. He also informed me that the head of the HR department isn't from a theatre background so the policy's will be becoming more strict as for some reason you can get away with a lot in the performing industry.

He showed me the many files that they have in the office such as the whistle blowing policy, alcohol and drug misuse and general health and safety.

The points I spoke about in my previous blog did arise and all my thoughts were correct obviously the actual policy's go into a lot more detail. I wouldn't like to be in charge of all of these policy's as there as so many. Below I have taken a few photos of some of the policy's that my manager gave me copy's of.

5A

At the moment I am working front of house in a West End theatre as a supervisor so as every work place, I think there will be many ethical rules and regulations in place   To guide us through the working day at the theatre from plagiarism to staff hygiene .

I know that when every employe starts they are given a handbook with the general rules and regulations and what is expected from them.

Some ethics that I think apply are

PLAGIARISM

As we work in a theatre obviously we have shows in which are all copyrighted including the set. Also the design of the theatre is copyrighted so I would presume that no photography is allowed to be taken by staff or patrons. Also posting any information about the show/theatre on social networking sites won't be allowed

GENERAL CODE OF CONDUCT

I think this covers everything about your performance whilst in work including timekeeping , make sure that all staff are in work at the correct time and leave at the correct time. Uniform, we must be in the correct uniform durning working hours and make sure we are presented well. These are just two points however I think under the general code of conduct it will cover points like disciplinary's, what to do in certain circumstances such as sickness or holidays and how to carry out various aspects of the job.

 PROTECTING DATA

This is not something that I deal with in work however I know when you start working at the theatre the managers need personal details such as a copy of your passport, NI number and current address. I presume all of this information will be kept so that only the managers can access it. 

CPD 

I have recently been asked to attend a manual handling course this is something that I need to do to make sure I am carrying out my job properly and I know throughout the year there are various courses that we need to take part in.

4D

Ok so after spending a lot of time thinking about what award title I would like to propose I have come up with

BA Honours Professional Practice in Dance

The reason I came up with this is dance has always been my life and although I see my future in mainly dance teaching, I will still always dance and choreograph so I think "dance" fits all of these things and doesn't restrict me to just dance teaching, choreography or performing.

Survey

If you get a spare few minutes if you could answer my survey to help me focus my questions

Thank you ;)

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XDWR32B

4B

Sooooo I have got my sig on Facebook , please visit and comment if you want me to add you let me know :) http://www.facebook.com/groups/171353579680356/  :)