Even with the benefit of a very useful campus session I have found it difficult to fully understand some of the concepts outlined in the reader and in the references mentioned in the reader on Professional Networks. At a basic level networking and learning are activities I have been engaged in all my life. But I had never appreciated that there is so much theory and thinking developing around them.
I take a simple view of the part played by new technologies which is similar to my general view that I have no real interest in knowing how new technologies work. But I do try to obtain the most benefit from them in the things that I do day to day. The fact that video, audio, communications and computing technology has converged through a learning process during the course of my lifetime is largely immaterial to me I simply use my phone and laptop which embody all this convergence as an integral part of my day to day working and social life. I am pleased that I can do this since it allows me to communicate, network and learn so much more readily than my parents and grandparents were able to do.
There are two distinct aspects to the theory, networking and learning. Although the theory separates the two things they are in my view part of the same process. Whilst we as individuals think mostly about our own part in a network and how our own learning is progressing we might with some benefit to others and to ourselves consider both aspects from other members of our networks point of view. They say it takes "two to tango" and in a network of say six to twelve members it needs everyone to play their part in putting in their ideas and responding to others ideas if maximum benefit is to be achieved by everyone in the network.
I was interested in "game theory" but thought that it suggested a very selfish approach to networking and not at all helpful in keeping a long term network alive. If we simply use other members ideas selfishly and then ditch them when it suits us I don't think we would keep our friends for very long. I like the idea of long term affiliations. In particular the idea of controlling your level of contact within the network to increase it or decrease it as time goes by and as circumstances change. There is an old saying that "you should respect your friends when you are going up because you might need them when you are coming down". I sometimes feel that both I and my friends are guilty of using facebook to reward and punish friends by limiting or increasing contact with them in order to influence their behaviour. I'm not sure how good that is as a way of managing contacts.
I appreciated the extract from Siemens, G. (2004) as a clear explanation of the three broad theories of learning. The current trends in learning show a helpful list which will provide a valuable basis for understanding how networking and learning are part of the same whole. Driscol (2000) provides a concise outline of the topics on which debate was and it seems to me still are centred. For me it also provides a useful set of definitions of the three traditions of learning, objectivism, pragmatism and interpretivism.
Coming now to the relevance to the work involved in the B.A. course I believe that the structure of the learning process involved is built around this theory of professional networking and that I will gain much from having studied the theory. It is also as a performer very important to understand affiliation theory, in particular homeostatis in order to control the level of contact I have with the networks which I have established. As performers we know implicitly the importance of contacts. Indeed neopotism is normal. But if you have no family contacts in performing arts you need to work even harder at your contacts to get back on terms with others who do have family contacts.
I feel I can most closely associate myself with the work of Karen Stevenson and can relate to the principles of connectivism in the current age. This facilitates a process where people and technology come together to create a powerful training/ learning/ information tool which will improve as experience and knowledge increase.
I am looking forward to using these techniques both through the remaining modules of the course and beyond in my professional career.
Wednesday 30 March 2011
Tuesday 29 March 2011
CAMPUS SESSION 3 17th MARCH 2011
This Campus session consisted of explaining and planning for the next module Part 3 The Networked Professional. We began the session by reading the course reader and the tasks involved. We were then given a section of the course reader "Concepts of The professional Network" and each had to analyse one the concepts given and make clear notes to describe to the others what was meant by it. Concepts of The Professional network involve Cooperation, Affiliation, Social Constructionism, Connectivism and Communities of Practice. I was given the topic Social Constructionism to explore. I made the following notes:
We were then given the task of mapping out out existing networks in small groups, I found this very beneficial as I had no idea of just how far my web stretched regarding networks. It became clear to me that networks are vital for succeeding in any part of your social and working life.
I started off mapping out my existing networks by branching off with questions such as What benefits me? What are the roles of technologies? Whats the hierarchy? What meanings do you get from Networks? Points of interaction that exist on the Network? Value to me? What needs do my networks meet? once we started to answer these questions it lead to further branches emerging such as social interaction, learning from experience, conventional ways of interacting, making own view, relationships formed, status, meeting people to open doors, stepping stones, affiliation, give and receive knowledge, these then develop to deeper understanding and potential job, different branches to widen network, connectivism and social constructionism before we knew it we had a whole page filled with mapping out our existing networks, this was just a small area we covered and could have delved deeper into each point. We just touched the tip of the iceberg!
From this session I took away some valuable information about The Networked Professional which enabled me to gain a clearer understanding of the next four tasks in part 3. I am excited to blog about these in the coming weeks and bring in other concepts and perspectives to explore that will help me understand my professional practice more deeply.
- Meanings of the world and experiences (they construct)
- It is constructed by human beings as they engage with the world.
- Tree example, human beings named that object as a tree so we don't dispute it or explore it as someone once did. If it still had the same meaning would it still be a tree?
- Social Constructionism happens through social interaction, humans "construct" meanings of the world based on their experiences of it.
- It is our own making these Social Constructions.It is relevant to us as Networks are large Social Constructions and it is our choice to which extent we are willing to selflessly contribute to the network.
We were then given the task of mapping out out existing networks in small groups, I found this very beneficial as I had no idea of just how far my web stretched regarding networks. It became clear to me that networks are vital for succeeding in any part of your social and working life.
From this session I took away some valuable information about The Networked Professional which enabled me to gain a clearer understanding of the next four tasks in part 3. I am excited to blog about these in the coming weeks and bring in other concepts and perspectives to explore that will help me understand my professional practice more deeply.
Task 3A The Networked Professional
I have seriously considered my professional contacts and grouped them into several groups as follows:
1. My own family members, who take an interest in my career
2. Ex Conti both students and teachers
3. My agency team
4. Casting Directors who have employed or auditioned me
5. Producers I have worked with
6. Employers I have worked for
7. Work colleagues at Conti Associates and Stagecoach
8. Middlesex University Network
As I do more work the list and members on each list will grow over time and I need to create a referencing system for my contacts in each group. This will form a data base to allow me to retrieve contact details for individuals and groups as the need arises. My first thoughts which I need to think further about are that my email address book could be the best way of creating such a data base.
Some groups or individuals in different groups are people I am in closer contact with than others. They are included in my Facebook contacts and are the ones I am in most regular contact with.
As time goes by and my career develops I will need to add to and subtract from my professional networks both groups and individuals. This means that my data base needs to be sufficiently flexible to facilitate these changes.
1. My own family members, who take an interest in my career
2. Ex Conti both students and teachers
3. My agency team
4. Casting Directors who have employed or auditioned me
5. Producers I have worked with
6. Employers I have worked for
7. Work colleagues at Conti Associates and Stagecoach
8. Middlesex University Network
As I do more work the list and members on each list will grow over time and I need to create a referencing system for my contacts in each group. This will form a data base to allow me to retrieve contact details for individuals and groups as the need arises. My first thoughts which I need to think further about are that my email address book could be the best way of creating such a data base.
Some groups or individuals in different groups are people I am in closer contact with than others. They are included in my Facebook contacts and are the ones I am in most regular contact with.
As time goes by and my career develops I will need to add to and subtract from my professional networks both groups and individuals. This means that my data base needs to be sufficiently flexible to facilitate these changes.
Wednesday 9 March 2011
Task 2D Inquiry
first of all I want to try and get my thoughts in some kind of order. A natural place for these to be are in my reflective journal. But I need to explain this background thinking before settling my inquiry task. Looking inward at myself I feel that this current program is helping me very much to sort out my priorities and focus on what I want to do for the future. When I left Conti I had several auditions each week mostly for Musical Theatre but the structure of the business and the way that Musical Theatre is marketed has made it extremely difficult to get that kind of work. It has been a problem for all my friends who left Conti at the same time. I have no decided that I want to teach performing arts and doing a limited amount of dance teaching which may build up over time. Whilst I am enthusiastic about teaching I trained as a performing artist and my first love is still performing. This leads to me being enthusiastic about ways of improving my chances to get work and to fulfil that performing ambition. Also out of the three skills (dance, singing and acting) I acquired at college to become an actor is my main objective. So bearing all this in mind I am enthusiastic about ways of improving my chances of being cast. Many parts are cast without auditions being held. This makes it difficult to break into the right network of contacts. I have no family contacts in the business and only have the contacts I have made through Conti and jobs I have done. I need to develop an appropriate network of contacts and to improve the use of that network. I feel impotent having already written to many Casting Directors, Agencies and Theatre Companies. It is also frustrating that having completed my training I either need to improve my skills through working or pay for further private tuition which is cost prohibitive. It seems to me that of the very large number of graduates from performing arts courses only a tiny proportion maybe as low as 1% actually maintain a career as a performer. There are many examples of people who have failed and a very small number of success stories. It makes me angry that the chances of a career are so small but someone I do admire is called Lisa Turner who did similar training to my own and has ultimately moved into teaching combined with Directing productions. She has successfully combined her work with having and bringing up a family and has achieved what seems to me a good life balance. I have loved performing the acting roles I have been fortunate enough to be cast in and admire the work of Judi Dench to the point of her being my hero. She exhibits such a range of talent being at home on t.v sitcoms, classical stage roles and iconic film parts. She commands the respect of the public and the profession in comedy, serious and musical performances and is now at the pinnacle of the profession having become one of our national treasures. I don't understand what it takes to be successful unless you have excellent contacts and connections with people who know your work and can influence the casting of parts. I do admire a former colleague from Italia Conti associate school who grappled with the same issues as I am. She tried very hard to start up her own theatre company had plans to take a group to Edinburgh fringe and venues around the UK. She raised a lot of money to allow this to happen but ultimately ran out of funds. She had no choice but to withdraw her theatre company she lost her home and other assets and ended up in a very distressed state. She has now come through that period and is looking positively to the future feeling that she has gained as a person from the experience she has had. She is embarking on a future by doing some overseas traveling. The event which has prompted questions I would like to peruse further is the experience I have had over the last few months where I have twice got down to the last two for particular parts. In each case I lost out to the other person. This is an experience I do not want to repeat. When I get into a smiler situation in the future I want to give myself the best possible opportunity to be the one selected rather than the one rejected. It is my intention to work up a reflective approach which systematically works through the planning, in action and after the event analysis framework to try and maximise my chances.
Task 2A Reflective Journal
I have been thinking about the different options for keeping a reflective journal and have decided a written diary would be the best way for me to record my day to day experiences and thoughts. The reason for this is that I can always have it with me, it can be readily used to jot down thoughts that occur to me and will remain private unless I actually show it to someone else. I did consider the various electronic options but decided that I was likely to be more honest with myself and my thoughts about other people in a written diary which I feel could be better protected than an electronic journal. I appreciate that the sections from the journal that I will want to transfer to a blog or another electronic document will still need typing up but for me I think the written diary is the best and most comfortable option. Also I can use it as a rough notebook and make any changers or give further thoughts after a period of reflection. This would be more difficult with an electronic diary. Finally a written diary is not so susceptible to theft as a laptop or mobile phone also it avoids the common occurrence of loss of data.
Monday 7 March 2011
Reflective Writing task 2B
Description; I have limited this example to one class out of a full days dance teaching at an Associate School of Italia Conti the class is a Grade 2 ISTD exam tap class and is comprised of eight to ten year old boys and girls. The session takes place the Clapham site and involves me travelling from Droitwich on a Saturday morning to reach the school by 8.30. The session took place on Saturday the 5th march 2011 from 8.30-10 am.
Plan; The previous week I had asked all exam candidates to come as if it was the actual exam. This involved them having immaculate hair, clean tights and leotards. In one particular case the child is autistic and needed special attention to avoid surprises. Ahead of the session I had to burn disks for the children to make sure they had a copy of the syllabus music to practice with during the week to enable them to be as prepared as possible for the exam date. This is vital as they only come to class for an hour a week so a lot of their progress is developed at home. I also had the task of lesson planning to ensure that all exercises that need to be covered were and any mistakes that needed to be ironed out were dealt with.
Initial Reflection; I was apprehensive because there was a lot of work to do and the exam date is fixed for the 12th March. I was trying to schedule the available time to make sure that all the details were correct. One girl came in with an injury which prevented her from working at 100% effort. I had to see one parent to inform him that is daughter was not going to be able to take the exam since she was not at an acceptable level of preparation. I found that quite a difficult thing to do and felt like it should have been dealt with at a higher level at the school.
List; I was tired as a result from leaving home at 6am, some children were take out of my class for an acting rehearsal for a show that was taking place at the end of the day, some children were late which disrupted the class and meant that we had to back track which wasted valuable time. I was pleased that everyone turned up dressed as requested the pervious week, the floor of the particular studio used for the exam was slippery which resulted in the children been more cautious then normal.
Evaluation; Everyone attended, the lesson plan worked well although a few minor changes were made on the day to accommodate a few problems I had not anticipated, I learnt that I must isolate my own stress from the children as it can affect their performance if the see me expressing concern. I discovered that it was worth while treating the lesson as a dress rehearsal so that they had the feel of what the exam will be like next week.
What If; I could have had injuries in the class, lack of attendance, parents who had not bothered to take the dress rehearsal seriously, I could have had children not in the the correct shoes, I could have missed my train or been delayed, tubes may not have been running due to engineering works or strikes!!!
Another view; from the perspective of the parent of the autistic child I teach, this particular parent has a lot of concerns when taking her child anywhere, with her son being autistic the day can be very unpredictable and unexpected problems can arise and are almost inevitable. The simplest thing like how his breakfast goes in the the morning can determine how the rest of the day will go. I encourage this particular parent to regularly pop in to view the class and her sons progress. As this week I had asked them to arrive dressed for the exam the autistic boy had to wear a leotard which he wasn't used to and felt quite alien to him, this created a few problems to begin with. His mother had to line the inside of the leotard in satin as he has a complex with seams on clothing, this meant extra preparation and time had to be spent on the mothers part to ensure it all ran as smoothly as possible for her son. I updated his mother throughout the day as she kept asking how he was in his leotard and if he had caused me any problems, I put her at ease when I stated he was a little apprehensive at first but seems confident and happy now and she needed not to be concerned. This was a success in the parents eyes as so much potentially could have gone wrong due to the disruption of the class and the extra 30 minutes I had added on to his morning.
Themes; I valued all the children's commitment and attitude to the class. They all worked extremely hard and their focus was impeccable. They all took on board notes and corrections and applied these to their work. I was enthusiastic watching them progress and develop new skills in the class. I am also enthusiastic about their tap exam next weekend and showing the examiner what they are capable of, I just hope that they all do as well as they can and that all the hard work on mine and their part pays off. If I was to do anything differently in the class I would have tried to spend more time individually and written each child out notes to take away with them with key points to work on in the week running up to their exam. I would have also liked to have used the studio they will be taking the exam in more regularly leading up to the exam to ensure they are more comfortable with the space and floor. This particular day fits into my week as I know that every Saturday I need to go to London and that I need to book a specific train to enable me to be on time for my 8.30 start. I have taken this example of a regular even which became more special due to the implications of the exam. Each week is different but I will use this frame work as a general reference for the future to try and help my own learning and my performance as a teacher.
Plan; The previous week I had asked all exam candidates to come as if it was the actual exam. This involved them having immaculate hair, clean tights and leotards. In one particular case the child is autistic and needed special attention to avoid surprises. Ahead of the session I had to burn disks for the children to make sure they had a copy of the syllabus music to practice with during the week to enable them to be as prepared as possible for the exam date. This is vital as they only come to class for an hour a week so a lot of their progress is developed at home. I also had the task of lesson planning to ensure that all exercises that need to be covered were and any mistakes that needed to be ironed out were dealt with.
Initial Reflection; I was apprehensive because there was a lot of work to do and the exam date is fixed for the 12th March. I was trying to schedule the available time to make sure that all the details were correct. One girl came in with an injury which prevented her from working at 100% effort. I had to see one parent to inform him that is daughter was not going to be able to take the exam since she was not at an acceptable level of preparation. I found that quite a difficult thing to do and felt like it should have been dealt with at a higher level at the school.
List; I was tired as a result from leaving home at 6am, some children were take out of my class for an acting rehearsal for a show that was taking place at the end of the day, some children were late which disrupted the class and meant that we had to back track which wasted valuable time. I was pleased that everyone turned up dressed as requested the pervious week, the floor of the particular studio used for the exam was slippery which resulted in the children been more cautious then normal.
Evaluation; Everyone attended, the lesson plan worked well although a few minor changes were made on the day to accommodate a few problems I had not anticipated, I learnt that I must isolate my own stress from the children as it can affect their performance if the see me expressing concern. I discovered that it was worth while treating the lesson as a dress rehearsal so that they had the feel of what the exam will be like next week.
What If; I could have had injuries in the class, lack of attendance, parents who had not bothered to take the dress rehearsal seriously, I could have had children not in the the correct shoes, I could have missed my train or been delayed, tubes may not have been running due to engineering works or strikes!!!
Another view; from the perspective of the parent of the autistic child I teach, this particular parent has a lot of concerns when taking her child anywhere, with her son being autistic the day can be very unpredictable and unexpected problems can arise and are almost inevitable. The simplest thing like how his breakfast goes in the the morning can determine how the rest of the day will go. I encourage this particular parent to regularly pop in to view the class and her sons progress. As this week I had asked them to arrive dressed for the exam the autistic boy had to wear a leotard which he wasn't used to and felt quite alien to him, this created a few problems to begin with. His mother had to line the inside of the leotard in satin as he has a complex with seams on clothing, this meant extra preparation and time had to be spent on the mothers part to ensure it all ran as smoothly as possible for her son. I updated his mother throughout the day as she kept asking how he was in his leotard and if he had caused me any problems, I put her at ease when I stated he was a little apprehensive at first but seems confident and happy now and she needed not to be concerned. This was a success in the parents eyes as so much potentially could have gone wrong due to the disruption of the class and the extra 30 minutes I had added on to his morning.
Themes; I valued all the children's commitment and attitude to the class. They all worked extremely hard and their focus was impeccable. They all took on board notes and corrections and applied these to their work. I was enthusiastic watching them progress and develop new skills in the class. I am also enthusiastic about their tap exam next weekend and showing the examiner what they are capable of, I just hope that they all do as well as they can and that all the hard work on mine and their part pays off. If I was to do anything differently in the class I would have tried to spend more time individually and written each child out notes to take away with them with key points to work on in the week running up to their exam. I would have also liked to have used the studio they will be taking the exam in more regularly leading up to the exam to ensure they are more comfortable with the space and floor. This particular day fits into my week as I know that every Saturday I need to go to London and that I need to book a specific train to enable me to be on time for my 8.30 start. I have taken this example of a regular even which became more special due to the implications of the exam. Each week is different but I will use this frame work as a general reference for the future to try and help my own learning and my performance as a teacher.
Friday 4 March 2011
Comments on the course reader on "Reflective Practise" 2C
Reflective practice has been defined simply as "consciously thinking about and analysing what one is to do, is doing, or has done". As I read through the reader and some of the references it became clear that this approach will provide me with a systematic way of doing what I already do in an unstructured fashion.
The approach will provide me with a frame work to think about future current and past events to help me plan what I am going to do, to react better on the day and to learn for the future.
For example a major issue in my life is to improve performance at auditions. I need to think about the key criteria which will be applied to casting Directors when casting any part. Assessing if I have got what they might want, and can I convey what I think they want during the audition. If during the audition my initial assumptions prove to be wrong I need to be able to take action and change my plan to try and convey what they want.
I have often thought that intelligences can show itself in different ways. So it was interesting to read the theory of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning. The theory supports my experience. In performance multiple intelligences are seen in artistic vision in learning lines or musical pieces or in dance movements.
Learning always needs to be supported by reflection before during and after an event. For instance a dance ensemble however well rehearsed can make mistakes. If a problem arrises reflection in action can help to correct it literally on the hoof.
I enjoyed understanding "the creative habit" as explained by Twyla Tharp. Tacit or unspoken knowledge is observable in all animals, and humans can readily be conditioned to repeat both good and bad behaviour. So I can fully understand how people can be conditioned or trained to be creative or to improve their creativity. The example quoted of muscle memory is one which all trained dancers can relate to as well as loss of muscular memory when a dancer stops training for any length of time.
Journal writing is a key component of continuing professional development. But I think that a journal will be most useful if you are brutally honest about yourself, your perceptions of yourself and the likely perceptions of others. I agree with the view that private journals need to remain private. But they can be usefully used as a basis for publishing work, even of critical thinking. Journals should be where we can set out our goals, asses our progress and continuously review and evaluate ourselves as people as well as performance professionals.
I like the idea of writing down what I think is wanted at key events and having to write down the evidence for my conclusions. I am more likely to come to rational decisions if I write things down and weigh them up. Also to write down a "what if" scenario should help me to prepare for specific auditions. That will show me what I need to rehearse and what I might do if my assumptions are wrong. I found it difficult to understand the "Reid and moon" framework comprises so I looked at the work of Indra Jones who has documented a reflective framework. I also looked at "the Reflective Practise journal"which sets out the key points of the Reid and moon framework. It seems to comprise six steps of description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan. There are several variants on this structure, but I will use this simple approach for task 2B of my part 2 module.
I will try to be honest but also to respect myself, and try to concentrate on what has confused me where I have doubts show hesitation or feel uncomfortable or disorientated.
Intend to start with a straight forward example of teaching a particular dance class which will cover preparation in advance thoughts on the day and reflection after the class.
The approach will provide me with a frame work to think about future current and past events to help me plan what I am going to do, to react better on the day and to learn for the future.
For example a major issue in my life is to improve performance at auditions. I need to think about the key criteria which will be applied to casting Directors when casting any part. Assessing if I have got what they might want, and can I convey what I think they want during the audition. If during the audition my initial assumptions prove to be wrong I need to be able to take action and change my plan to try and convey what they want.
I have often thought that intelligences can show itself in different ways. So it was interesting to read the theory of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning. The theory supports my experience. In performance multiple intelligences are seen in artistic vision in learning lines or musical pieces or in dance movements.
Learning always needs to be supported by reflection before during and after an event. For instance a dance ensemble however well rehearsed can make mistakes. If a problem arrises reflection in action can help to correct it literally on the hoof.
I enjoyed understanding "the creative habit" as explained by Twyla Tharp. Tacit or unspoken knowledge is observable in all animals, and humans can readily be conditioned to repeat both good and bad behaviour. So I can fully understand how people can be conditioned or trained to be creative or to improve their creativity. The example quoted of muscle memory is one which all trained dancers can relate to as well as loss of muscular memory when a dancer stops training for any length of time.
Journal writing is a key component of continuing professional development. But I think that a journal will be most useful if you are brutally honest about yourself, your perceptions of yourself and the likely perceptions of others. I agree with the view that private journals need to remain private. But they can be usefully used as a basis for publishing work, even of critical thinking. Journals should be where we can set out our goals, asses our progress and continuously review and evaluate ourselves as people as well as performance professionals.
I like the idea of writing down what I think is wanted at key events and having to write down the evidence for my conclusions. I am more likely to come to rational decisions if I write things down and weigh them up. Also to write down a "what if" scenario should help me to prepare for specific auditions. That will show me what I need to rehearse and what I might do if my assumptions are wrong. I found it difficult to understand the "Reid and moon" framework comprises so I looked at the work of Indra Jones who has documented a reflective framework. I also looked at "the Reflective Practise journal"which sets out the key points of the Reid and moon framework. It seems to comprise six steps of description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and action plan. There are several variants on this structure, but I will use this simple approach for task 2B of my part 2 module.
I will try to be honest but also to respect myself, and try to concentrate on what has confused me where I have doubts show hesitation or feel uncomfortable or disorientated.
Intend to start with a straight forward example of teaching a particular dance class which will cover preparation in advance thoughts on the day and reflection after the class.
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