Conversation with paula

After speaking to Paula on the phone afew days ago, i feel much more clear and connected to the BAPP world once again. (Even though i am still over the otherside of the world.) I still need to become more connected with my peers as i deffered for a term i now have new peers, So expect some comments in the next few days. I feel i now better understand the path i need to take with my inquiry i feel the dots have now joined up and i can forward my research in a posative way.

Looking back at the first interview i carried out, I can see that i gained some usefull information but it did not really go much below surface level. I would like to carry out a follow up interview with them to talk about their dance background.To find out what inspired them to teach, as the 'why' information (being why they teach) co insides and backs up the 'how' information. I shall blog the follow up interview and my thoughts when compleated.

I would also like to expand my knowledge base further, as my inquiry is based around the age group, two to five ear olds, i would like to have some conversations and discussions with some people that teach this age group within different subjects, to learn and see what methods and teaching styles they use, to see their points of view and if any methods reflect or co-inside with the dance teachers i have spoken to.

I would also like to look at the actual title of my inquiry after speaking to Paula;

'What are the different approaches to teaching dance to two to five year olds and what do teachers say are the best approaches?'

Looking at the word BEST im not sure if it is the right word for my inquiry question, as no one can have a correct response to what is a best approach as what someone thinks it may be someone else could disagree,
Taking the definition of the word best;The most excellent or desirable type of quality.
I was thinking of ways to reword my question so that i have a more clear inquiry.

l What are the different approaches to teaching dance to two to five year olds and what do practitioners feel are the approaches they value the most?
l What are the different approaches to teaching dance to two to five year olds and what do practitioners say are the approaches that work well.

Your thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Getting social

So i have began to update my web based presents once again, as you can see i have my blog up and running again and i now intend to access uni pages and find out who i shall be participating in this module with, so that i can get commenting and starting up discussions with my peers.

I have also refreshed my linkden ( my SIG Group) with a new topic of discussion, so please feel free to join me and share your thoughts.

https://touch.www.linkedin.com/?sessionid=3459868761522176&or=true#home

I decided since i was progressing onto anew and final module i wanted to widen my social networking experience. I have my delicious account,linkdin, twitter ect but i want to develop my social networks as much as possible, as i feel from what i have learnt from the other two modules social networking and web 2.0 is the way to advertise and manage yourself as a business for the sector i am working in.

The new social networking site i decided to join is pintrest. I came across this website when i was searching for literature i could review. I am sure many of you know and use it already, however it is new to me. It is where you basically have a virtual pin board where you can pin websites ect that are of interest to you, i intend to use this to pin all the websites i have took research from so i can visible see where i have been and it all be in one place.

http://www.pinterest.com/stephlarty/boards/

Finally i am reaching out to students of the BAPPS course past and present to see if you could help me with my inquiry process. One of the tools i am using isinterview, asyou an see in my blog post below. The part that i am struggling with is getting people to agree to be interviewed. I wonder is anyone else having this problem? I set about with five people in mind that i wanted to interview. Three of these i have contacted by email (As that is the only contact i have) To receive no response from them, which is frustrating as i am sure you all know, as i planned out a time scale of when i would like things to take place and be completed by. However i understand you can't plan for other peoples lives or responses. So i am reaching out to you people on the BAPPS program,I am looking to interview people that teach dance to five year olds and below, or know anyone that does. So that i can carry out an interview,over the phone, skype or even just via email, anything would be much appreciated in the help to further my inquiry.

Thank you and i look forward to collaborating with you all.
Steph.

reflections and further developement

I now feel I am beginning to pick up the pace with my research once again, I have started to produce two literature reviews to do with the benefits of dance to young children. My inquiry title is:

 

What are the different approaches to teaching dance to two to five year olds and what do teachers say are the best approaches?

 

However I do feel the benefits of dance should be covered in my research also, as teachers would not teach if they did not feel it was beneficial to there students.

 

The first review focused on dance as an art form and as part of the arts world, and did not want it to be viewed as a form of physical exercise for children. So this article focused more on the mental positive dance has for young children a quote from it is;

 

We are concerned with studying dance as dance, i.e., as an aesthetic domain with its own goals and characteristics. We use both terms ‘dance’ and ‘aesthetic movement’. We use the latter term to refer to movements of an aesthetic kind, i.e., movements that have a representative form (a gestalt).’

 

I particularly like the part where it sates it is looking at dance just as dance in its pure form, this is something that I have not come across as much in my research as it is normally always related to health benefits.

 

            The other review I looked at was a booklet advertising the benefits of dance for young children, and this stresses the importance of how healthy dance is for children:

 

‘Dance is a universal language and in an age where child obesity is increasing and the taking of exercise is decreasing it has never been more important to present dance to young children in an enjoyable format. In doing so it is more likely that in some form or other participation in dance as a form of exercise may continue into adult life.’(Fouracre.M)

 

This I find seems to be a more well advertised positive for children, which is again a very key factor when looking at the physical well being of this age group. It is giving them a healthy life style in a fun and enjoyable way.

 

I have carried out two interviews so far with two teachers who teach this age group and older, the recording of this is below.

 

This is the first interview I have carried out for my research so the questions and answers aren’t very detailed they give me a summery however of the areas that they teach and the different styles they use, I now intend to focus more specifically on some of the questions they have answered to create new questions and develop them into more detail about there teaching styles and methods.

 

            I am currently working as a dancer on a cruise ship so at the moment having access to the internet is slightly limited. From here I intend to go forward with some more interviews with other professional people via email or skype I am just awaiting there confirmation, and hopefully plan on getting my SIG group more up to date this week to develop some conversations with more professional people in this field. I also intend to hold a second interview with the teachers but make it more of a group discussion developing there ideas and theories.

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

New Start to mod 3

Hello all,

Haven’t blogged in a good while so feel very out of the loop! Had to put my studies on hold for a term but now back to them and looking forward to sharing some ideas with some new people at this stage of the course.

            Im slightly nervous to get back to it as its been afew months sincei had my head in the studying mindset but hopefully I should get back into the flow.

            As you can see in my past blogs I am a dancer and dance teacher and my inquiry question is based around teaching dance to young children around the age of two to five.

            I now plan to refresh my SIG group which I have on linkden

 http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=4664320&trk=anet_ug_hm

Your thoughts and comments would be much appreciated, and any SIG groups you have that I may be able to give feedback to please comment with the link.

I look forward to getting back to it and sharing ideas with some new people.

Interviews

I havent blogged for the passed two weeks as iv had some job changed so not sure if or when i can continue with this course at present. But i thought instead of being stuck in limbo it is something that i want to comleate so why not carry on now and hopefully the financial and time side will be figured out in the next few days so i will know where i stand.

With regards to interviews this is something i have really struggled with, i chose four people to interview, two who owned there own companies specialising in teaching dance to this young age group and two who currently teach it.

Out of the two that teach it one said she has been happy to do it but has been off very sick for the past two weeks so i have not been able compleate the interview. The other i do not work with and is a friend of a friend so i don't see them often thus i am still waiting for them to reply back to me.

So those side of the interviews are still on hold at the moment, i was wondering if other people have struggled trying to set up interviews having to work around other people?

Out of the companys one did get back to me and has been a great help, as she is based in london and me in north wales we have been corrasponding via email at the moment and i shall post some answers to our first email interview below, from this i intend to carry out a phone or skype conversation with her to further delve into the questions and answers.

I still feel slightly overwhelmed at the moment but if we don't try we won't succeed i intend to look at paulas slide show this weekend so intend to blog my thoughts after that.

The interview;

The questions that I would like to put forward to you are as follows;

 

• Why did you decide to focus on this particular age range to teach?

I find them the most fun, innocent and rewarding age group.

 

• What do you base the structure of your class on?

Fun, we explore 14 different dance styles but its very loose at this age and the emphasis is repetition to build confidence and fun to keep them engaged

 

• What characteristics do you notice coming out in the children during the class.

Confidence is the main one, it can be instant or take a few weeks but there is something about dancing that at this age they love and naturally cant resist doing to funky music.

 

• Do you think a dance class bestows values on children, if so what are these values?

Its good for social skills, turn taking, manners and confidence within their peers.

 

• What is the length of your class?

45 minutes

 

• What are the energy levels and physical excursion levels of the children during your class?

Very high, our music is very funky and poppy so the children are full on. Everything has to be taught with energy and enthusiasm to keep this age group engaged. Every elemant is short and we move from one thing to the next quickly to keep their attention and keep them moving.

 

• What would you say your dance class focuses on for the children?

Co-ordination, rhythm and motor skills plus increases confidence.

 

 

• What do you feel the children gain from your dance classes?

All the above plus learning that dance is fun and being active is enjoyable in the hope this view will stay with them for life.

 

• Do you feel there are any downfalls to starting dance at this age?

No not if taught in a relaxed, fun way where theres no pressure of technique, competition or exams.

Reflecting on begining

Well we are coming to the end of our second week so i feel here i would like to voice where i am up to with my inquiry so far, i stated that last week i was going over my information from module two and booking in my interviews, this i have found particularly frustrating as i would like to work within the time plan that i have made for my inquiry and i find this increasingly difficult with interviews as people are in no rush to sign up for them and much prefer to work around there time instead of yours ( which is understandable) So as of yet i have not carried out any interviews, i have one planned for next week and two the week after so hopefully i shall have some feedback from them then.
     i have spent this week begining to look at the literature that will help me further my inquiry, for one of the pieces i have decided to continue using one of the literatures i used as a trial in module two;

Movement and Dance in early childhood by mollie davies.

I decided to do this as i feel it is very relevant to my chosen inqury.

I also began by putting a poll on my SIG group;

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/BAPP-dance-education-4664320/about

I have had no response to this from my SIG group, but after further thought i feel that it may be because when i started the group it is off a much wider field of discussion just on dance in general and not honned in on this specific area, so i have decided to look further afield and found a number of dance forums that have different areas for teaching and different ages, where i intend to post similar questions there and see what the response is.

My next plan of action is to begin studying the literature and progress with the interviews when they booked in. I am still feeling anxious about this module as it just seems such a large scale thing to compleate in a short space of time, and i worry i will not gather enough information to produce my critical review and artefact (which i am still unsure of how i am going to produce)

but with it being the campus sessions this week i am hoping the people that went will share the knowledge they have gained to help give a better understanding.

Any of your thoughts or how you are feeling would be much appreciated.

First Blog of 2013

Well even though we are know well into 2013 i would still like to wish everyone a happy new year as this is my first blog. i spent january as most people did, deciding on the changes and what i wanted to achieve out of 2013 and i can happily say i had a full tidy up of my personal and working life allowing space for concentrating on things i feel are important to me, the BAPPS program inparticular as i feel this module is going to challange me the most as at the moment it feels like such a huge leap. However im sure i have stated this at the begining of each module, something new is always daunghting at first. But i intend to dive right in and give it my best.

After spending the day reading the handbook and reader i can safley say my first thoughts were AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!! however once i settled down i realised i need to take it all in my stride and as i did with the other modules i feel the best way to succeed is to PLAN PLAN PLAN, as i have stated, before an organised space is an organised mind. I intend to spend the next few days organising my research and how i am going to carry it out with putting together timetables for myself aswell as documents that i know i will need to carry out the research so that i can just pull them up as and when i need and will not need to spend time in the future weeks typing them up.

I look forward to getting back into blogging and sharing ideas with everyone.