Sharing Is Caring - Group Discussion 26th Feb 2019

I always enter into the group discussions with apprehension, it's not until everyone starts sharing that I feel at ease. It is reassuring to hear that we are at similar stages and once the conversation starts flowing, it's easy to share ideas and give and take advice. It's also nice that I now recognise most of the voices and now have an understanding of what the practices are behind those voices. Last night we discussed the following.

What to do with our research?

By the time we reach Module 3, we will have accumulated a lot of research, those currently on Module 3 suggested creating something visual with it to see what was relevant and how to arrange it. 

Lists of For or Against/High or Low Importance

Create a mindmap 

Hi-Light Keywords to see the themes.

Diagrams and Artifacts 

We then discussed our Diagrams from Module 1 and how the ideas behind them continue to develop through all the modules. Here is my diagram from Module 1.

I found it helpful, to consider building on this original idea and improving it for my literature review for module 2.

Method & Methodology 

I was thankful for Helen clarifying that method and methodology have 2 different meanings. While I understood that we are using Qualitative Research there are other considerations that will help determine our methods. 

Do we want to capture real thoughts, processes and emotions? 

Are we looking for people to share their experiences instead of just giving YES/NO answers?

Are our methods relevant to our practice?

Will we learn something new instead of angling our research towards our own thoughts?

This part of the conversation has reminded me that I need to concentrate on researching how to research and reading the recommended module list as well as looking into the inquiry topic.

The conversation continued into the method of Observation and how we are encouraged to Observe as much as we can. However, we must keep an open mind and not have preconceptions of what we are looking for. 

I was concerned that my participants may feel that I may be critical of their work, but I was reminded by Andrew, that as professionals we are used to feedback and it can come from a positive place. Sharing is how we learn. 

If you have anything to share or any questions on our Group Discussion please do comment

Multiple Intelligences - Where Do You Fit In?

My search for an inquiry subject has so far lead me from discussing how dance has become more about tricks than technique, to dance in competitions, to the changing of dance in the private sector, and now onto the acknowledgement of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, H. 1983) in Dance Teaching, or something along those lines.

I touched on Howard Gardner's work while studying for my ISTD DDI Teaching Qualification and have always been interested in how we all fall under different categories and often used the excuse that I'm a 'Kinesthetic Learner ' so, therefore, rubbish at Math. (which is not necessarily true).

We touched on the subject again in Module 1 but I was concentrating more on the big ethical questions within dance teaching, so did not explore it further at that time. It is only now when I am looking for a subject that is relevant to my practice, will benefit myself and my students and also increase my knowledge for a future in Primary Education outside of Dance, I feel I can fully indulge my 'Wonders' and delve deeper into the theories and ideas behind Multiple Intelligencies.

Below are the 8 Intelligencies proposed by Howard Gardner, it's most likely that we all come under 2 or more intelligence, which compliments our transdisciplinary practices, but which Intelligence powers your practice?

Image (Study & Succeed, 2017)[online]

This diagram labels me as - Bodily-Kinesthetic quite clearly saying that a potential occupation for me is a dancer. But I also have Musical Rhythmic Intelligence, I can't play an instrument but I can Tap Dance (manipulating patterns in sound with my feet)  Spatial Intelligence is vital as a dancer and choreographer using the ability to read your own space and create a piece of work in a set space.

I also took an Online Test at - https://personalitymax.com/multiple-intelligences-test/

At this point, I am still reviewing the literature, and WOW there's a lot to look into, so I am not taking the above results as Gospel, but I find it interesting that my Kinesthetic traits are not as strong as I thought.

If you have 4 minutes to take the test I would love to hear your results in the comments along with what your practice is. [Link Above]

As a dance teacher in the private sector, the students that come to me will also fall under a number of intelligences. How can I acknowledge that while they have chosen to come to dance lessons, they may not have a natural Bodily-kinesthetic or Musical Rhythmic Intelligence? Is there a way to develop their skills using different techniques that will appeal to their personal intelligences? 

This is where my inquiry is taking me, I am finding some great scholars that I really resonate with, within the Dance Pedagogy Field and I'm looking forward to piecing it all together. 

Reference 

Image -Study & Succeed (2017). Multiple Intelligence. [image] Available at: https://studyandsucceed.com/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences/ [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019].

Image - Personality Max. (2019). Multiple Intelligences Test (Free) - Personality Max. [online] Available at: https://personalitymax.com/multiple-intelligences-test/ [Accessed 21 Feb. 2019].

Gardner, H. 1983 - Frames of Mind The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Research as Chreography - A little gem of wisdom

This little gem has made my Saturday night. The essay found in the link below has backed up what we have learnt in Module 1 about applying our practice to different things and helped bring relevance to what I am doing now in Module 2.

The essay was written by a dance scholar so resonated with me immediately but no matter what your practice is, is there a formula that you use that you can transpose into the idea research?

 After listening to most of us in Module 2 question if we are on the right path or how do we know if we are doing the right thing, I felt that I had to share this with you all.

"It seems important at this point to speak more about the kind of research I do and its relationship to other kinds of research. Some researchers are interested in pursuing questions of ‘Truth,’ or as close as they can get to it. For example, what kinds of dances were done by 15th century Italians? What are the effects of certain traditional dance warm‐up exercises? Other researchers, including myself, pursue questions of ‘Meaning,’ such as, how do different individuals perceive different kinds of dance? How do they perceive its value in their lives? The answers to this second set of questions do not exist as facts to be uncovered by diligent researchers, but are constantly in the process of being created. What we learned about reliability in 8th grade science does not apply, because the answers change over time. As different as these types of research are, all researchers, even those seeking objective truths, are involved in interpretation. We pay attention to things, select from our observations those which appear to be significant, perceive relationships between/among them, think about what these might mean, and make something out of the whole process. And what we as researchers, and thus interpreters, bring to our work is different because of who we are. One difference is that we as artist/researchers often choose to investigate phenomena of little interest to those outside the field. Despite desires for objectivity, we bring our passions, which determine what parts of the world we look at and the lenses we use to look at them. Both are shaped by our experiences as dancers." (Stinson, S.W, 2007)

The full essay can be found at https://doi.org/10.1080/14647890601029618

Bibliography - 

Stinson, S.W (2007) Research as Choreography [online] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14647890601029618 (accessed Feb 2018)

Skype Call Catch Up

Today's blog is a summary of the 2 Skype calls I have had this week. Tuesdays discussion group led by Helen, was mainly us Module Two students discussing our Inquiry Topics, and how to sort through our ideas. Our discussion led me to be inspired to put my ideas through different lenses. Different questions will help me refine the subject of my interest. Such as:

Who are you asking? - Different subjects will lead me to discuss my ideas with different people

Look at relevance and value - Does my subject have relevance to what I'm doing now? Will it add value to my practice?

Are you making a contribution? - Where can I fill in the gaps in the discourses in my practice?

We also discussed Artefacts briefly for those on Module 3 and I found it really helpful to think of an artefact as a Mode of Sharing from your practice. So to step away from the idea of it being an object and it being something in a less static form. 

Today was the Module 2 Skype call based on Mapping To Build Understanding. The conversation really helped create a mental image of how we can add layers to our inquiry ideas by ensuring we go down every route in search for different angles.

One thing that gave me a 'LightBulb' moment was the discussion that this is a Research Project and that there should be as much emphasis on the research as the inquiry discussion.

It's recommended that we look into different ways that we can research. 

How do people research in my practice? 

How can I push the boundaries of what I understand as research? 

What other methods can I find outside of the main routes, such as surveys and interviews?

We were reminded that we are looking for qualitative research and I have been concerned that some are my topics of thought maybe a bit mainstream and literature is only on newspaper or discussion groups online but Adesola reminded us to consider the Ethical Considerations in order to find what the scholars are saying.

For Example, ask - "Should Dance Be Judged" as opposed to "Have Dance Competitions Become About Tricks?

This week's Skype Sessions have given me lots of clarification on where to go next and I'm looking forward to mapping my research ideas and topic ideas and putting them through the handbook cycle, to see what direction I take.

Short and Sweet

After receiving my feedback one note to myself was to make my blogs short and sweet and relevant, I want to spark discussion instead of reel off a list of research. 

My feedback was great, not only did it give me confidence in what I have done already it helped open up new doors.  After reading my feedback I asked myself " Why did I not Google Dance Pedagogy before?" This has given me better access to artistic scholars in my field as well as reminding me to expand my glossary and start using more appropriate terminology. 

After completing Module 1 I felt like something was missing from my everyday practice, it was very samey and difficult to shed new light on it, so I have now taken on a new job for a new school teaching new grades and free choreography which is exciting and will give me new things to reflect on. 

In my feedback response, I also said I wanted to boost communication amongst us Bloggers, not so that we can all panic together but so we can share ideas, make suggestions even if we have different practice bases and feel more comfortable when we all get to chat on Skype calls. 

So that's it - Short & Sweet...

Your turn - comment 3 artefacts (things that you encounter every day in your practice) and let's see if we can guess your practice or what your working on at the moment.

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