Pilot survey

Here is my pilot survey for my inquiry, which looks in 'What makes a good teacher?'. This is my first attempt at my survey, I would really appreciate it if as part of my BAPP SIG would test it out for me. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, particularly focusing on the order of my questions and the content of them. Also, if anybody has any suggestions of relevant questions that are sparked from this survey.

Thank you in advance :)

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/M55TSBY

Creating my survey/ questionnaire

As I sat down to start producing my trail questionnaire, part of my SIG - fairy godmother Lauren Harper - sent me a useful link on how to successfully create an expert survey. Below is a screenshot of one page, showing how important it is to know what you are trying to achieve from each question. 

Relevant questions provide relevant results.

Here is the link (courtesy of Lauren), I hope it helps others as well.

https://cdn.smassets.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/survey-planning-eguide.pdf?ut_source=content&ut_source2=content_blog_rr_downloadguide&utm_source=content&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=content_blog_rr_downloadguide 

tools of inquiry

Survey - yes

purposive or random

purposive - more valuable to know who my data is coming from as I will be able to choose a variety of people to get a better scope of information. Every individual is connected to teaching - every individual has learnt something from another individual. With this in mind I will not just be asking teachers, but those affected by their impact:

• teaching assistant
• senior leadership
• governors
• parents

I will also be using a range of 'teachers':

• newly qualified teachers (NQT's)
• in the profession up to 10 years
• in the profession over 10 years
• former teachers

This will provide me with mainly quantitative data, which I can analyse and view the evidence clearly on a chart.

Questionnaire - yes

This will allow me to collect more qualitative data than the survey, which could developer a deeper understanding of my inquiry.

Focus group - no
feel the result may not be reliable as people may not feel they can be honest, saying what is ethically ' right' rather than what they believe.

Interview - no

I feel I will struggle to analyse the data effectively, the evidence gathered may be unreliable due to my interpretation of their response being open to assumption.



For both of my chosen tools of inquiry, I will provide consent forms prior to handing out the survey/questionnaire. Making sure my participants are fully aware of what I am doing, why I am asking what I am asking and where the information will go from there. I will make it clear to the participants that in my inquiry they will only be known as participant 1 for example, this will keep their identities confidential and therefore encourage them to be more honest and open with their answers.

quality rather than quantity

I have been trying to set myself goals for the week, of what I would like to achieve within my inquiry process and the time I would put into this. However, I got home from work this evening, made my dinner and couldn't get my mind to focus. So, I decided not to force it, relax and give my mind the peace it needed. I then decided I would have a look into a few areas of interest, that had been buzzing around. I have got so much more out of the past 15minutes studying than I have on previous 3hour slogs!

Developing my inquiry - research questions

WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER?

What defines a teacher?

What influences a teacher?

How can support staff be utilised to promote effective/good teaching practice?

Can the skills of a good teacher be learnt?

What interdisciplinary skills does the arts give to make an effective teacher?

How do outside agencies effect your teaching practice?

Does teaching children with SEN effect your teaching practice rather than mainstream?

What personal qualities are important?

Does the length of a school term impact effective teaching?

Are relationships between teacher and pupil important to help children learn?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreicated :)

Using SIG's

Here are a few examples of how my Sig's have helped me so far....

When I was debating which avenue to take my inquiry down, I was advised to use the imagery of an umbrella, to use sub-sections to gather my ideas together.

More recently, I have been pondering on research questions. As part of my SIG, Lauren Harper and I have regular skype calls and relaying of messages. Today, Lauren has helped me massively, I asked her to have a look at my research questions and offer any advice she may have. This is an image of my original research questions.

Lauren advised:

Reader 6 - How is professional inquiry similar to other professional activity you are involved with?

Targets

At the start of term, teachers gather evidence from previous years to draw together targets and aims for each individual to achieve by the end of term or more long term for the end of the year.

We then discuss how we could help them achieve this target:

What strategies we could put in place. 

What starter activities could we do to put them on the right path.

Looking at Reader 6 and the common pitfalls in research, I can compare how these relate to producing valid and realistic targets:

Having vague and ill-defined aims

If it is not clear what the student needs to have achieved to meet their target, how will we know if they have met it?

Lacking detail about the research design

There needs to be enough detail in the target to be able in order for the student, teacher, support staff, senior leadership and outside agencies to understand what level the student is currently at and where they are required to be by a specified time. It is not enough for the teacher to understand the students targets - if they are absent, support staff should have the knowledge to continue with the planned strategy to help each student. Also, the supply teacher should be able to come in to the class with no prior knowledge, read the class file (a folder, containing all the information anyone working with the children in the class needs to know about each student: behaviour plans, medical notes, targets) and understand the needs of the  class.

It is also important not to give too much detail so the aim becomes unclear.

Being overly ambitious and unrealistic in terms of scope and timetable

(Fox, Martin, Green, 2007, p .118)

Setting targets that are currently beyond the reach of that student will not help in anyway: the student may feel inadequate; the teacher's methods may be questioned; the school could appear to be underachieving. It is the same if the students are constantly over achieving: the teacher's methods may be questioned as they could appear to not be able to understand their students, or they could be questioned as it could appear that they are trying to manipulate the end results.

In terms of timetable, there is enough pressure within a classroom to deliver a certain amount of the curriculum within a time period without being unrealistic with what you wish to achieve.

Theories of Ethics

An act is morally right if, and only if the act maximises the good.

The greatest happiness for the greatest number.

To determine whether an action is morally right depends on the outcome eg, killing one person to save nine people is justified.

The motive behind and action determines if it is morally right.

This theory emphasises the character rather than the rules or consequences. 

Actions taken reveal something about the individuals character.

Traced back to Plato and Aristotle where there is great emphasis on being rather than doing.

References:

https://www.slideshare.net/aclaudiacampos/business-ethics-ethical-theory

What makes a person good?

Personal 

Honest  *  Loyal  *  Kind  *  Imaginative  *  Good heart  *  Dignity  *  Understanding  *  Generous

Professional

Punctual * Responsible * Reliable * Attentive * Passionate * Versatile * Honest * Understanding * Confident

Some qualities I found crossed over to both categories. It wouldn't do to just be honest in your personal attributes but be dishonest in your professional.

Reader 5: Ethics - Initial thoughts

This post is merely for me to put out my thoughts on the reader first time round (I aim to follow Adesola's 'cycle' process). I apologise if my ramblings don't make much sense but hopefully some clarity my arise.

The word 'ethics' originates from the greek word 'ethos' meaning character. Moral philosophy is at the roots of ethics and concerns itself with the right or wrong way to carry out actions.

Throughout time ethics has evolved to centre itself from delivering a civil society to a more religious approach. Both focus on what is right and wrong.

Aristotle considered ethics to be based around the character of an individual (this relates to the greek origins of ethos):

What makes a person good? 

What virtues do they hold?

The difference between the two is the first can be intermittent traits such as: helping others, the second is a solid trait such as: honesty - you are either an honest person or you are not. INDIVIDUAL ETHICS

Kant (1779) believes you should behave in accordance with moral principles. Everything is black and white. Whatever, the situation it cannot be twisted to suit.

JS Mill (1861) works towards the idea that the means justify the end. Direct contrast to Kant where under no circumstance should a lie be told.

Hobbes (1651) viewed ethics as social contract. Everyone should follow a set of moral rules. Working on the understanding that rational people will accept the 'contract' on the premise that everyone else will for mutual benefit.

Task 5b

The ethical framework within my workplace is made of:

Staff handbook

Safeguarding handbook

Job specification

http://www.piperhillschool.net/files/Teaching%20Assistant/Teaching%20Assistant%20Level%201%20October%202017/TA1_Job_Description_and_Person_Specification.doc

Regular online trainings

Task 5a: Ethics within my place of work

Working in a school, ethics play a big part in the overall running of the school. It is vital that people adhere to the professional and organisational ethics put in place by the school or council.

Personal Ethics

• Try my best in all aspects of the working day.
• Treat others as I wish to be treated.
• Leave problems at the door.
• Be punctual.
• Make students feel safe and valued.
• Give off positive energy.

Professional Ethics

• Keep up to date with courses (safeguarding, online safety)
• Attend all necessary meetings and training sessions
• Be punctual
• Students safety is critical
• Confidentiality

Skype call with Helen

I have just had a very uplifting call with my tutor Helen. She has smoothed out creases and overall calmed me. I had started to worry that my research and interests were sending me off on a tangent to unhelpful plains. However, after discussing this with Helen, I now realise tangents are often useful as they illuminate what aspects of our practice really interest us.

I had concerns that my inquiry (still a work in progress) was moving too far away from the arts - The Impact Of A Good Teacher/ What makes a good teacher. Helen reminded me that my knowledge and experience within the arts, would bring specialist skills to my role as a teacher, therefore bringing depth to my inquiry, as I could research whether specialist skills make a better teacher.

We also touched on how assumptions could be damaging to an inquiry. It is necessary to unpick questions to ensure the inquiry and research produced from the inquiry are valid. For example, before starting my inquiry I need to decipher what constitutes as a 'good teacher'. Different people will have different standards of 'good' and what makes a 'teacher'. This would also be relevant to any research I carried out. In the instance of producing a questionnaire, there needs to be clear questions that cannot be misinterpreted.

Mind full or mindful?

In my professional practice there is a lot of attention given to being mindful (for those of you that don't know I work in a Specialist Support High School). We promote the importance of being aware of how we feel, as some children struggle to understand the emotions they are feeling and may act out as their way of communicating. By making them aware of their emotions, they learn to channel their emotions and consequent actions into more beneficial channels.

Considering my awareness of the benefits of being mindful for my personal well being. I can only describe my mind as feeling like this:

I feel I am making steady progress with Module 2, but I am aware that the end is drawing closer. Juggling personal, professional and social aspects of my life seems to be causing me to fumble at present.

 This picture may not perfectly represent what is going on as I don't feel down by the chaos in my head, I feel I am simply hoping my journey down the waterfall and rapids brings me out to a calming pool - before the next descent that is.

The below quote is definitely going to be my mantra! Take back control, prioritise and most of all enjoy!

Anybody else feeling like this??

Further Inquiry Ideas and Developments

Looking further into my possible lines of inquiry, here are some developments:

Instead of just focusing on Dance as a form of therapy, I thought it could deepen my inquiry to look at all of the arts.

Other questions that have emerged through my research are:

Does the pressure to meet certain certain targets have an affect on a child's learning?

Is OFSTED a hinderance or a help?

Are we trying to teach children too much?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

No Handicap To Dance

In an effort to research more into my possible line of enquiry, I ordered this book 'No Handicap To Dance' written by Gina Levete. I chose this book mainly due to the reviews everyone who had read it seemed to be benefited by it in one way or another.

I think that this book will help me understand more about dance therapy sessions, therefore broaden my understanding of the benefits.

Task 4d - Literature

I am not sure if YouTube videos count as literature but this video has really sparked further interest for me. One particular website I have found relating to my inquiry interest was dancevoice.org.uk. This organisation is home to Dance Movement Psychotherapy (DMP), reading through the various pages on their site I became more and more intrigued about the effects of art therapy, dance therapy in particular. So, I went on YouTube (I personally get a lot more out of a video then text) and typed in Dance Movement Psychotherapy and found 'An Introduction to Dance/Movement Therapy' delivered by Nana Koch from the American Dance Therapy Association. Just the way she delivers the talk is captivating. I am inspired, I am awed and now even more interested to delve deeper.

Nana Koch gave her definition of Dance Therapy as: 'the psychotherapeutic use of movement  that furthers the emotional, cognitive, physical and the social integration of the individual'. Surely, anything that can further these aspects of persons life is worth looking into and worth taking part in - whether you have extra needs or not.

She described the sessions structure: More often than not they would start the class in a circle, in a circle everyone is seen, in a circle everyone is equal. The students would then be asked to present a gesture that represented their feelings, this would give the teacher an opportunity to gage the way the class felt and who, perhaps, needed more encouragement to express themselves. The teacher could try delve deeper by asking 'what made them choose that gesture?'. They would then do a warm up, development and then a closure. During the closure, the teacher may ask the student  to, once again, present a gesture to represent their feelings. I feel this is important not only because it book ends the class and adds routine to the sessions, but it is a way of allowing the teacher and the student to acknowledge what the class has achieved.

Two final thoughts she left the viewer with were:

'A dance therapy session is the choreography of emotions in the service of the client.'

'The spark of life started with a movement and dance therapists use those sparks to ignite feelings in those lives who have dimmed.'

That last quote is so powerful. What a feeling it must be to reignite feelings in someone, however small the spark.

Here is the link if you would like to watch the video:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhoEjbvIEw8

Task 4a

As I read Reader 4, it is very clear why it has been split up into sections. There is so much information that sparks different trains of thought. Coming into this module, I have been worried I wouldn't have been able to produce a strong enough question. But after speaking to various people: fellow BAPPers; past BAPPers; colleagues and friends, more and more ideas are flying around.

I decided to make two mind maps; one for the feelings I get and hope to give others when dancing and another for the feelings I get and hope to give to others when teaching. There are so many key emotions that are on both mind maps:-

The reason for doing this was simply to see where my two passions correlated. As you can see, there are quite a lot of similarities. This was really comforting to me, as I have changed career, because I am able as an educator to get the same buzz and feeling of pride as I did as a performer.

Energy

As a dancer, having a solid amount of energy is really important. You could be able to physically do all the moves and complete the choreography, but without electricity behind the movement it would be dull to watch and the moves wouldn't be as strong. However, it is important with energy to know how to control it. There is no use using all your energy in the first 5 minutes of a 45 minute show, not only will the further 40 minutes be a struggle to execute, the quality of the show would also decline - resulting in the audience losing interest. Likewise in teaching, if by break time you have burnt out, it won't take long for the students to lose interest (thats when the disruptions start to occur). A passionate, exciting teacher is much more likely to get the most of their students, than one who is sat in their chair going through the motions.

Discipline

Discipline plays a major role in both dancing and teaching. From the teachers perspective in both a dance class and a school environment; there needs to be self-discipline to plan and prepare the lessons. For the pupils, they learn skills that will help them in all aspects of life, such as: presentation- uniform and appearance of themselves and their work; perseverance - learning something new is never easy and having the discipline to keep going and pick yourself up is a vital skill; respect - developing respect for individuals in a position of authority and for their peers but also for themselves. 

Due to my change in career I thought my questions may be too vague until someone said 'draw your two passions together' - Dance and teaching. This lead me to thinking about:

 The effects of Art Therapy on children with Special Educational Needs.
Can dance benefit children in their development?

For me, dance and music are a way of releasing my emotions and expressing myself without fear of judgement. A lot of the children I work with struggle to express themselves either verbally or physically. I would like to research further into the effects of dance and music and establish if it is a way to help them in the moment or does it increase their academic abilities across other subjects or both.

One particular question from an ABBA song kept playing over in my head:

Without a song or a dance what are we?

Module 2 - Reader 4 - Section 1

Enquiry - The act of asking for information

'Researchable questions set in motion a process of discovery that pursues meaning, cause, relationship, interpretation or significance' (Hanstein 1999 p.27)

These next two modules are 'a way to learn what you are doing whilst doing it' (Reader 4, pg5) this can be achieved by ''examining what you do in order to 'ask the right questions' '' (Reader 4, pg5).  The main aim is to 'engage with relevant problems and scenarios, draw on existing knowledge, seek out new evidence, analyse and present that evidence in appropriate ways' (O'Rourke 2004). Sounds easy when you you put it that way....

We have all just completed a Module based on reflection - looking at our practice and finding ways to improve it. However, more often than not we go about our day to day activities doing things without thinking. Have you ever been driving and thought 'have I been over that roundabout yet?'. Yes? Well, I think that goes for a lot of us, we run on auto-pilot. In dance, we have muscle memory, our bodies know what comes next in the routine before our brains have caught up. Using reflection in Module 1 and writing in my journal has helped me be more present and focused on my actions. I now think, 'are the tactics I use in work habit or are they purposeful choices I have learnt to help my practice?', 'why did I choose to approach that situation like that?', 'is there a better way?', ' what can I take forward from this experience?'.

It is important when reflecting to not look back on possible mistakes and feel down about it. Onwards and upwards!!! We reflect to improve, this is why I much prefer to reflect as close to the event as possible. Another thing I have learnt, is that I use reflection a lot on situations I have observed more effectively than I do in situations including myself.

Work Based Learning ' promotes the awareness of the workplace as a learning environment and uses this to extend the learners capability and individual effectiveness' (Durrant et al2009 p1 - Reader 4 p7). I feel this notion is relevant to me as I am still evolving my practice from performer to educator, I am constantly learning and developing my practice.

When looking into possible inquiries, they should have purpose and intent. If the matter is personal to me, I will be more passionate about the end result to reap the benefits and therefore benefit others around me.

'living my life as an inquiry' (Marshall 2001 p6)

This statement struck a cord with me, as it made me think: Why would I only want to better my professional practice? What about my personal practice? After all, we work to live not live to work!

Welcome Back Top Tips!!!!!!

During our 'Welcome Back' skype session, I jotted down a few key phrases that popped out to me throughout the call. I think that these will be important to refer back to as I move forward on my BAPP journey. Here a few - I hope you find them helpful. If anyone can think of any others, please comment.

Read anything and everything;

Get into a routine - read blogs, comment, research;

Keep using your journal - write down relevant and key ideas;

Expand your research further than the Readers;

Interact with other BAPPers;

Comment as your blog persona not as your google persona;

Find other peoples blogs on UniHub

1. Home
2. My courses
3. BA Professional Practice Arts (135W99X)

Liberate NOT confine;

Keep engaged

Note down useful research for later reference.

Happy Happy Happy

My new job is a wondrous place, this morning I took part in my first sign language lesson provided by the school. Some of the staff who have worked there for a few years grumbled as they climbed the stairs to the meeting room, whereas I literally bounded notebook in hand. I love learning new skills and sign language is something I have always been interested in learning. I can now spell my name, say numbers and colours. I literally can't wait till next week!!!!

That is all :)

First day at school...literally!

I was transported back over ten years this morning, as I experienced the first day of school nerves. What will my class be like? Will my teacher be nice?

After the initial panic, I was soon put at ease by how welcoming my new colleagues were. I was immediately given a mentor and shown my new classroom. Everything throughout the day was made perfectly clear and everyone was so happy to answer any queries that I had.

One of the nicest aspects was the relationships between the staff. A group have got together and are taking part in Tough Mudder this weekend - they even asked me to join them. Amongst the staff there are groups such as 'knit and natter', keep fit and book clubs. This is something I am really excited about, a good working relationship creates a better atmosphere not just for the staff but for the children. Plus, who doesn't want to feel apart of something!

I can't wait for the next few days and to meet the children on Wednesday!

Positivity, Well-being, Happiness

As I approach my first day of my new job, I have been reflecting on past experiences - wanting to make the most out of this new opportunity. I figure that I need to have a balance in all aspects of my life. I am a list maker, I feel it brings clarity to situations and tasks. Also, when it is written down there's no escaping it! 

Exercise and Dancing - Dance your way to fun, fitness and friendship.

Since changing careers I haven't been to any dance classes, I greatly miss dancing as it has always been my passion. I have researched different classes and am going to start attending various ones, then choose the ones I feel I will get the most out of. 

I hope to challenge myself and try a few different styles, I have even looked into self-defence classes! The ongoing battle to keep fit can be tedious, by doing dance classes I can keep fit whilst enjoying myself and meeting people with similar interests. 

I find exercise videos useful, a quick intense 30 mins really makes me feel energised and set up for the day. My favourites at the moment are: Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred; Jillian Michaels' Shred with Weights. Jillian is one of the fitness instructors on the Biggest Loser USA. She uses a variety of exercises, always accompanied by a simplified version.

Food - so long as you have food in your mouth you have solved all questions for the time being.

As we all know, what we put into our bodies reflects on how we feel, how much energy we have and even how we look. However, I am a big foody, I believe you should eat what you want and just be sensible about it. I don't believe that you should cut things out entirely, just be intelligent in the way you balance it.

Saying this, I try to reserve my naughty treats for weekends (not strictly, I ate a bowl of cookie dough last night!). However, starting my new job, I am aiming to have one carb free day and one vegan day within the week. Much research has led me to believe that both of these are good choices towards clean-eating. So, why am I not taking these choices on full time? Food takes up the majority of our life, I want to enjoy life, therefore I want to enjoy my food!!!! Luckily for me, I enjoy healthy foods, I am just as likely to pick up a tangerine as I am to pick up a chocolate bar. I would pick a salad off a menu because it sounds delicious, not because it is the healthy option.

Mindfulness

I have talked about looking after my body inside and out, but what about my mind? I am an over thinker, sometimes I spend my time thinking about all the things I need to do, instead of getting off my bum and doing them! 

Recently, I have started listening/watching Tony Robbins. He is so inspiring and some of the exercises he gets you to join in with during his videos really work. They're quite funny and make you feel a bit silly, but I guess that is the point, laughing brings happiness.

Morning Ritual

To bring all of these aspects together, I have decided to create a morning ritual. So, many times I wake up in time to get ready and get out of the door - very often eating breakfast en route to work.

Here it is: 

                20-30 mins - exercise

                10 mins - getting ready

                20 mins - eating whilst listening to Tony Robbins or someone similar

Any thoughts, advice, recipes, exercises, videos....anything this sparks in your minds, I would love to hear!

New module; New job; New challenge

Since submitting Module One's assignment, waiting patiently (or not so) for the results, I experienced some tough situations at work, which resulted in me finding a new job. If you can remember from my previous posts, I was going through an emotional rollercoaster. For a time, I thought it was my inability to cope with the job, however, after seeking advice I was told I was being put in situations I hadn't been trained to deal with. After reflecting on my time in the job, I decided that if I wanted to further my progression in my career I needed to leave. Life is too short to come home miserable everyday.

So, this time next week I will be in a new job, in a new role! As you can imagine I am overcome with a mixture of excitement and nerves, which can only be expected. On my interview day, when I first walked in, I immediately felt at ease and all of the staff seemed to be in high spirits with good working relationships. This was what made me really want a change, as I realised what a toxic environment I was currently in. Due to this, I feel positive about this new start and am going to make the most out of every opportunity I have to develop and grow.

Useful website for Critical Reflection

If you are like me and always use the same sentence starters this website could help mix things up a bit. I find it helps tow rite the essay then go back through and look where you can change them.

http://www2.eit.ac.nz/library/ls_guides_sentencestarters.html

My current state

I have plans upon plans of what I want to include in my Critical Reflection but I can't seem to get going!!!! Wish me luck....

Essay Writing

I know there are a few people feeling anxious about writing an essay simply because it has been a long time since we had to write one. I found this website just as little helper for some tips on how to structure it.

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/essay-writing.html

Critical Reflection - Initial Plan

After the initial panic of starting an essay passed, I knew I just needed to get some ideas down in front of me then figure out the formality afterwards. One thing I have learnt, from this course, is I waste a lot of time wondering how to start the tasks instead of just getting on with them. So, here it is, my initial brain explosion of ideas to include in my critical reflection.

As if we are nearing the end of Module 1!!!!!!! Madness!!!

Really would like to see more peoples ideas on how to go about the Critical Reflection, learning through observation really is my go to way to spark ideas.
Please also leave comments on any advice!

Task 3c

Thinking about the most important sources of information I use in my professional practice, I have found I use a variety of Web 2.0 and face to face interaction.

Twinkl, as a teaching assistant I am very lucky in my school that we have a twinkl account. To those not in the education sector this is a most wondrous website with an endless stash of resources to use. You simply click on the year group you require and there are level appropriate worksheets, lesson plans, fun activities and much more. There are a lot of time saving resources as well such as: display headings; visual timetables; lined paper with borders - this may sound trivial but cast your mind back to school and remember receiving the special paper to do an important piece of work on. For children with Special Educational Needs there is a whole section on developing the understanding of emotions and social interactions.

I use this source day to day mainly for back up exercises for those children who have completed the set tasks and need a challenge or for those children who are struggling I can give them an easier format to master first.

Pintrest, I use this source for many aspects in my life not just for my professional practice. This is a network that relies heavily on cooperation as there needs to be many people supplying information to keep it running. As I run the Breakfast Club at school I am always looking for interesting ways to start the day, there are lot of unique ideas on this Web 2.0 site to spark inspiration. The easy format of the mobile app helps me to increase my resource stash and idea bank whilst on the move.

Working in a school, the main way of interacting is face to face, I very rarely receive emails unless it is something important and official that needs to be kept in writing. I value this source of information tremendously as I feel I can delve as deep as I need to with requiring further explanations to gain a full understanding. I can also get feedback to see if I am utilising their advice effectively, which is something I would not get from any Web 2.0 source. I could ask for further advice via forums and comments but I would not got the feedback I need to develop my practice.

Youtube has been a valuable source for me for many years: I have learnt to cook; learnt the piano; listened to talks; watched trailers; been inspired for choreography; used it as a self-promoting tool. My most recent jobs as a performer were achieved by my showreel being posted on youtube, the ability to send a link to employers around the world is fantastic. Now, in my new practice as an educator, I use it to find educational clips to support their learning and for useful exercises in mindfulness and children's yoga and meditation.

One person I feel has helped me immensely, not only on this course but in helping me develop my practice is Lauren Harper. After every skype session, we have had our own skype session to help each other understand anything we weren't brave enough to query and to share our sparks of inspiration derived from the group chat. Reading through Lauren's blog I have had many a lightbulb moment where a concept has clicked and I have then been able to go and look for more information and inspiration elsewhere. As you can see, I have stolen her format of this task by adding icons to indicate each different source! Even though TED is new to Lauren from this course she is the one who enlightened me to its uses, from which I have then noticed when other people have posted links for videos which I have then gone on to watch and develop further. Thank you, lovely!

Task 3b

As I was reading through Reader 3 it became very clear that there were certain concepts that I felt more connected to and understood. When I saw that networking was part of the module I really thought I would struggle as I have always been uncomfortable in situations where I have actively tried to gain contacts and make professional connections. However, as I have gone through the tasks, it has become apparent that I automatically network through my communities of practice in a more sub-conscious way. Which I prefer as nothing is forced or fake, if somebody requires information or advice from me, I can offer it. Additionally, if I require help then I can simply ask for it (Cooperation).

Everyone has a choice to or not to cooperate (game theory) in every aspect of life. I believe in terms of networking, if you get this right, can be really beneficial to your network development. On the same note, if you get this wrong it could have a negative impact on your network. The question is, how long do you cooperate for? When is the right time to take advantage of the connection for your own benefit? Can you not make sure there is a benefit for both parties so no one is 'taken advantage of'?

In my practice cooperation isn't entirely necessary but it is most definitely helpful. The phrase 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' springs to mind. People are always more willing to help if they know that at some point it will be reciprocated, the exchange does not necessarily have to be at the same time, there just needs to be an understanding that one party isn't always taking from the other.

The need for affiliation will be affected by 'psychological determinants and individual and cultural differences between individuals' (Reader 3). As affiliation is defined as a social process that provides us 'with a network of support that will help us when we are in need' (Crisp & Turner 2007 p. 266) and the definition for networking is: a deliberate activity to build, reinforce and maintain relationships of trust with other people to further your goals. It isn't surprising that Affiliation is a key concept for professional networking as without an affiliation there is no network to develop.

'Through social interaction, humans construct meanings of the world and their experience of it.' (Reader 3)

How do we 'know' anything? A lot of things we claim to know are from someone telling us it. How do we know that piece of information to be correct? Where did they find that piece of information? Do we trust the source?

Pupils gain knowledge by listening to their teacher and simply accepting that knowledge to be true. We have been taught to respect figures of authority and we go to school, partake in courses to learn new things. No one goes to school and questions what the teacher tells us in class. Should we accept what we are told to be correct? This is where propaganda can leak in, whether it be a teacher a politician or news reader. They could choose to tell us whatever they want us to believe and if said convincingly enough we will believe it and take on those thoughts and beliefs ourselves. So many catastrophes have happened through our interactions constructing meanings of the world and the people in it.

If there are two conflicting pieces of information, which do you believe to be true? Both parties (blog, individual...) believe themselves to be correct because they 'know' their information to be accurate. They have both chosen to trust the source they received it from. I always ask people 'How do you know that?' not from any suspicions but from my need for verification and clarity. If I am researching on the internet, my first port of call is usually Google, but I won't except the answer I receive from the first website I will check a few until I satisfied with the validity.

Having entered a new professional practice switching from performer to educator. I am constantly interacting and constructing my own ideas through various channels interaction. As a lot of the information I am given is advice, I have tried to gather this from multiple sources whether that be fellow teaching assistants, teachers, senior staff or Web 2.0. From this I can evaluate and reflect on all of the material, piecing together the parts I would like to help in developing my practice and in my internal filing cabinet, store the information accordingly.

Connectivism is highly used due to the expanse of Web 2.0 and how accessible it is. Learning is no longer restricted to the teacher student format. For example, blogs, the reader can feedback thoughts through comments. This may involve an exchange of knowledge or simply provide an opinion on the matter.

In conclusion, I feel all of these concepts are valuable and that they compliment each other. One isn't successful without an element of the other. A network cannot begin without affiliation, without some form of compromise the network cannot develop, without social constructionism we cannot form meanings and without connectivism there will be no knowledge to gain.

I have found an interesting post including tips on how to grow your network.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-long/8-tips-to-help-grow-your-_b_7562332.html





https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-definition-of-professional-networking

Task 3a

After mapping out my communities of practice, like others who have done this task (Eleanor Byrne, Lauren Harper and Megan Louch), I was surprised to see the amount of branches. Some of these are purely professional but others are more personal. In my day to day life I do not think of these people and channels being linked to my practice they are simply linked to me. Then came the realisation, I am my practice. There is no separation between the me at work and the me at home, just different choices and different aspects of practice.

As Eleanor Byrne said in her blog 'it's not what you know, it's who you know'. This phrase is so true, sometimes hard work just isn't enough, the connections we make can open the door enough to get your foot in, to then be able to let all that hard work shine.

But how do these 'who you know' connections start? It could be as easy as sitting next to a complete stranger on a train and having a conversation; it could be a friend of a friend; it could be an email address passed from someone; it could be a previous or current employer. So why are some people completely different in a work setting? If we can make a new connection anywhere at any time, that could be beneficial to our practice, surely we went to make the right impression from the outset? Of course, in work we put our best foot forward and are maybe a little bit more sensible, but shouldn't we want to be our best self in every part of our lives? Don't get me wrong, I am the first to want to have fun and be a bit silly but our employers or potential employers aren't looking for robots they are looking for humans.

I chose to include 'internet' as a community of practice as if I am ever looking for advice, new ideas or resources my first port of call is usually the internet. There are so many forums linked to websites that you can get an idea of whether what you are looking at has been successful before without having to try it for yourself first. For example, I work 1-1 with a child at school who struggles making connections and understanding her emotions, I have spent a lot of time researching different ways to help her understand how she is feeling in a child friendly manner. I have found games, craft exercises and many more methods to help her with this. I do not simply find a resource and use it, I check the comments underneath and the reviews to see if it has been tried and tested and what parts worked and didn't. This way I can modify the activity accordingly to get the best results for her. At the end of the day, my practice involves enhancing other peoples lives, I want to give her the best chance I can at developing in every aspect of her life.

Looking at the internet to develop and enhance my practice. As my friends list is mainly comprised of performers, my news feed is an endless scroll of fitness videos and healthy eating ideas. I watch and save these regularly, I like to have a bank full of resources to help me develop my body's strength and flexibility and general well being, this enables me to use my time effectively and get the most value out of the time.

I have been asked to start a dance club after school, this will require planning and organising. This one event will benefit from me utilising my communities of practice: I can ask friends who I already know run after school clubs for advice; my Mum's friend is a governor of a primary school, I can ask what she would expect to see in after school clubs of this nature; As with everything, I need a helping hand to get going with choreography, the internet is a labyrinth of ideas: youtube; Facebook; Vimeo. Never mind, my shelves at home filled with past dance show recordings and my hard drive filled with my more recent professional work. By looking at these resources, I will be able to jot down dance moves I would like to use and ideas for possible themes (particular for the younger ones). Watching these resources will also stimulate my own ideas. Even now writing this blog, while thinking about videos I have seen on the internet or thinking about past experiences, I have managed to jot down ideas that I can put forward to the choir leader.

Some communities within your practice could be from years and years ago. my childhood dance teacher will never cease to inspire me even though it has been years since she passed. She planted a seed inside of me and nurtured it until it bloomed. She inspired my passion, my ability and my discipline. I always feel proud when I am commended on my professionalism in the workplace as I know I would not be that way without her guidance.

Networking is very often misused, I think Eleanor Byrne hits the nail on the head, I have copied and pasted two sections of her blog:

Capitalise' sounds harsh, impersonal and it has a slight economic sound to it. It makes it sound as if each actor has a game plan in order to succeed, and it is as straightforward as doing anything we can to accomplish this.

There are too many people who 'use and abuse' for their personal gain. I like to imagine that I can maintain dignity whilst still building on my professional network pool. 

'Maintain dignity' is such a key part of a professional practices and networking. I have always struggled with networking as I do not wish to appear to 'suck up to' or abuse my connection. I used to hate it at auditions when attendees would run forward to someone they knew, I have always wanted to achieve my goals through my talent, hard work and professionalism. This leads us straight back to the start 'its not what you know, its who you know'. Maybe, if I was less proud more opportunities might have opened for me? Saying that, in my dance career I have been incredibly fortunate and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunities I have been given.

Task 2d Inquiry

What makes me enthusiastic in my daily practice? What do I love about what I do?

The endless possibilities of what could happen (this is also a worry sometimes), with children you just never know how they will react, even if you have already  done a similar activity in the past that was hit, does not mean it will be a hit second time around. The rollercoaster that is childhood, with there many traumatic tales; excitability and fussing, is a never ending source of mystery.
I get excited for that light bulb moment when what I have said has struck a chord and clicked into place whether that be for an academic purpose or emotional. I believe that the emotional state of a child is key to their academic development to be successful. Therefore, I believe it is important to educate children on the effects of their emotions and being aware of how they feel and being able to communicate that emotion is vital for their all round development. This is why I am really interested in mindfulness as it increases there awareness of what is happening to them when a shift in emotion takes place. Here is a link to a website about the effects of mindfulness in schools:

http://www.mindfulschools.org/about-mindfulness/research/

Considering who inspires me, it has to be the children, who better to learn how to educate from than the very individuals you wish to help. I feel this should be mutual, how can I hope to teach effectively if I don't inspire them to want to learn and improve.

What gets me angry?

When a child lets themselves down, in our school we have a few children who have behaviour problems stemming from emotional issues. It is heartbreaking to see them so worked up about a piece of work, when I know their hearts and minds are tormented by something from outside of school. One particular child really battles with their emotions to make the right choices, they strive to do the right thing but once one bad decision has been made they find it really hard to pull it back as they feel angry at themselves for letting their emotions take over. Now, I may not be able to fix their problems from outside of school but I can do my upmost to make them feel valued and important during school hours. However, sometimes they are so lost in their own head it has hard to reach them, this makes me angry and sad as I feel I have failed them in not making them feel supported.

Another thing that is increasingly bothering me, the endless changes that are being made around school to try and fix issues. Instead of stripping back systems before a new one is implemented, more and more are being layered on top. This is leading myself and other staff members to feel confused when trying to implement rules, this in turn leads the children to have less and less respect for authority as nothing is consistent.

What do I feel I don't understand?

Having changed careers, I am very new to the academic surroundings of a school in the role of educator. Consequently there are many things I don't understand. I was hoping to undertake more training when starting the job, but it seems I have been left to learn as I go. This can be a good thing, in the way that I am figuring out what techniques work for me, instead of following someone else's method. I do observe other teachers and assistants around the school to develop my practice and adopt ways to enhance it. I also observe to take note of methods I do not wish to adopt into my practice. On the other hand, I would appreciate some concrete guidance on what is expected of me: am I doing enough? could I be more effective in my teaching and use of time?

A major thing that I am questioning is whether this job is right for me to develop my practice around or are my current skills and methods of practice better suited elsewhere. The main reason for these recurring thoughts are that I am leaving work more and more often with a frantic or stressed emotional state. Now, don't get me wrong, I am all for the pressures of the job and being challenged but I should feel drained because I have worked hard to achieve something and not emotionally drained. Sometimes, I get to lunch and feel as if I have done an entire day. I do feel this is partially down to the location of my school and the types of students who attend but also due to the way the school is ran. I have decided not to renew my contract at the end of the year if this feeling continues as life is too short to dread going to work everyday. I will however, try another school in a different catchment area before I decided whether it is or is not meant for me.

How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation?

This is a battle I have numerous times in a day. Working with children there are many circumstances that make my brain go into quick think, risk assessment mode. There are children with emotional issues in my class who ask for a hug multiple times in a day. The policy is that I can give them a hug if they initiate it. It is usually the same children that come every day to receive a hug after most sessions, there have been times where I will have opened my arms ready, knowing what they are sneaking over to me for, I then realise this appears that I have initiated it, so make some remark about them always coming over for a hug!  On other occasions my brain goes into immediate spy mode. Spy mode? In a school? YES! Children are very clever and know a lot more these days than they should. For instance, one child  scratched herself and told the head teacher that I did it to her. Luckily for me the head teacher knows my character and the child in questions character and hasn't even acknowledged the accusation.

In conclusion, whilst developing my practice and more importantly, learning about my practice I am on a rollercoaster where at the peaks I feel I have made a difference and take a mental note of all the things that were successfull and all of the things that didn't work. Then at the depths, I am questioning my abilities and feeling pretty useless. I guess this is how it will be until I have gained more experience, I will not quit anything until i have exhausted the possibilities. Let's face it every challenge makes us stronger, every sad moment leads us to joy.

Mindfulness

I previously stated that in school we have started looking at mindfulness as 'brain break' for the children - and teachers. This website is free and follows short exercises from: yoga; meditation; breathing; reflection; movement. Check it out the children love it and I have found it beneficial my self to regroup my thoughts and bring me back to the here and now.

www.gonoodle.com

Enjoy!

mountain...MOLEHILL

After worrying about section 2 tasks for over a week and not knowing how to start, leading me not to start, leading to panic about feeling behind. I finally started typing, what a fuss I made out of nothing. At the end of the day, this course is all about our own views and our own experiences and way of reflecting on our practices. I can only try, if it isn't quite right, next time I can tweak it. Self belief is a wondrous thing, sometimes I need reminding that what will be will be all we can do is try our best.

Don't make a mountain out of a molehill!!!

Task 2b - Journal Writing Experience

Reflecting on reflecting...

I have found that while writing my journal, it was impossible to stick to one method, for various reasons: time restraints; mood; pace of the day; other key events.

When I say 'other key events', I am referring to the classroom situation where there are 30 children 6 of which have behavioural problems. This means, that when I have managed to reflect on an event another one has started before I have even had the chance to digest what has happened or even managed to acknowledge how I felt about it. This has frequently been the case, so when it comes to 'reflecting on action' (Schon 1987) I have struggled to separate the events to fully reflect.

During the school day, we have started practising mindfulness with the children and doing short yoga videos to calm them down and give them a 'brain break'. This is something I was looking into at the start of the year. I am really bad at allowing my mind to worry about past events and what is to come in the future. I do this knowing I should be enjoying every moment as it comes. I have noticed, that when I am in the present moment, my professional practice is alot stronger. This should not come as a surprise to me really, it has, however, opened my eyes to the importance of being mindful. Whilst practising mindfulness it was interesting to watch the children reflect on how they felt afterwards or during the lesson. Some were shocked at how calm it made them feel, others couldn't understand the importance of it. As with everything it was a learning curve and one both me and the class teacher thought was successful and should be something we try to develop.

Looking through my diary, I have used: description; initial reflection; lists; evaluation and aspects of another view. However, these were not separated onto different days as originally planned. Looking back on my journal it became apparent that different event throughout the day warranted different methods, depending on how I felt and reacted to them. In other words, how important and how much reflection I felt was necessary to help me develop my practice.

Certain events would spark ideas of how to improve or activities that would be good for future lessons. In these events I would simply list ideas on whatever I could get my hands on. At the start of the journal writing process I found gaps, where I hadn't managed to put down on paper the events and my opinions. To try and fix this, I have now started carrying post it notes in my pocket so I can jot things down and then stick them where appropriate when I have time.

I chose more descriptive techniques for larger events that effected parts or some of my day, that way, when reflecting, I could really delve into what my thoughts were and therefore reflect more effectively.

Something quite random I noticed was how my handwriting seemed to be affected due to the nature of the event. High stress levels showed more erratic writing and random thoughts rolling out, then contradicting that entirely were events I was happy with my practice were a lot neater.

Diagrams/ graphs and charts did not appeal to me for reflective use on past or current events but have helped me alot with planning for future events. This is something I will endeavour to develop into my practice.

Journal writing had helped my professional practice immensely but it is still something  I need to work on. Mainly, finding the time, we all have the same 24 hours in the day. I just need to find that 10 minutes even if it is to simply summarise an event or the day into positives and negatives. The days I do the journal writing I am so much calmer and it is easier to leave work problems at work and home problems at home as I have reflected on them, therefore associating each feeling with an event and the opportunity to plan to rectify any mistakes and solidify any achievements.

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

In January, as I was idly scrolling through Facebook, I came across a link to a charity run to support the Stroke Association. This charity is very close to my heart as both my Grandfathers passed away from strokes. I have never been a runner and no matter how fit I am through dancing I have never been able to run for longer than 15minutes. Being the start of the year and all, I figured why not, so I signed up for the 10k! New year new me....

I had the best intentions of training hard and had images of myself looking really toned and flying across the finish line. However, a few illnesses and a car crash later, plus a few excuses it was the day before the run and I had only just managed to get to 5k in training!! I couldn't back out as I had raised quite a lot of money from family and friends. Not only that, I am not a quitter and my main aim in life is to make my family proud, which even if I had walked the whole way round they would be.

On the morning of the run I opened my blinds to, yes you guessed it rain. Relentless rain, that added to my nerves was not a good start to the day. At the location of the run - Heaton Park - there were all kinds of people of different shapes and sizes, someone even dressed as a gingerbread man! They held a group warm up for all the runners which I joined in with, all the while panicking about what was to come. The only thing keeping me going was the smiling, encouraging faces of my family and friends.



As the race started, all I could think about was the rain and how much harder I felt it was going to be in those conditions, in fact once I was wet I didn't care because I thought that it couldn't get any worse. This was until the track started filling with puddles, as we came round one corner, a poor lady had one of those Vicar of Dibley moments, where the puddle is actually a hole, she disappeared up to her knees!

Coming up to the halfway point, I was quite impressed that I had only had to walk twice and one of those times was to walk around a massive puddle and muddy patch. I did start to worry that I couldn't do the second half when at the side of the track I saw my very own cheerleaders, I hate to admit it but as I ran past them a few tears escaped as I realised once again how lucky I am to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

After that, the second half didn't seem as bad but as I got to the finish line I could feel my legs turning to jelly and had to give myself a talking to, to make sure I didn't cry with relief!

I have never been so proud of myself as I have that day. Not only did I make myself proud but I made my family and my friends proud not just because I ran 10k but I did it to support an amazing charity. I am very quick to judge myself and find fault in what I do, there is nothing that can take away what I achieved that day and that feeling of pride and happiness is still pulsing through me 3 days later.

Task 1c - Audio Visual

This is the dreaded task. How is it that as a performer the thought of filming myself talking seems so terrifying?!

Youtube is such an amazing tool to be used for many purposes; Not only can you promote yourself on there but you can learn how to do almost anything (whether it is a useful skill to learn or not). After graduating from college I created a showreel out of various clips I filmed in my dance studio, showing different styles of dance. Throughout the years of sending the link of my showreel to a multitude of potential employers, I have adapted the content to make it more suitable and help to promote myself in the best way I could.

A few colleagues and I sat down one day to discuss how we could make our showreels as effective as possible. We came up with a list of must have moves: kicks; turns; leaps; walks; varying styles. We also realised from watching other performers showreels that the backing track was just as important to keep the viewers attention.

When I was at the start of my career I thought I had to fit as much material in as possible, as with most areas in life I learnt quality is more valuable than quantity. Here is the link to my most up to date showreel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZhQyTfz3Zg&t=2s