Skye V Tupholme : April 2016

Saturday 30 April 2016

Task 3D - Critical Questions and issues that emerge

Having look in more detail at my networks I already feel I am heading in the right direction to organise and make to most out of my networking, both current and future.

The main source of help and information I have found throughout Module one is just the connection of BAPP's student blogs. Below are some of the comments and thoughts I have had when reading other students ideas...

I had noe even thought about using DVDs as a source of information but of course they are. Ian also quite a visual learner and find watch tutorials and videos on YouTube incredibly useful. However you only briefly touch on using YouTube in the Internet section of your blog. Would you say you find it more or less efficient than using DVDs for a source of information? Do you ever find any of the copy right laws stop you from using online video sites to there full potential?

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I also found it helpful to split my networks into categories, however I went for much more basic, a 'personal' and 'professional' section. I was having some difficulty as many of the people in my groups overlapped in different circumstances. I have found your 4 groups extremely helpful in being able to understand my own networks. Have you ever found that people can develop into different categories as you get to know them and as you change your relationship with them? I'm also interested to know if you feel you would address these different groups in different manners, for example, the language and format in which you speak to each group?

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I really enjoyed this post, I actually copied the link into mown blog as I feel you raise some really good points.
The main talking point for me was how you say you don't blog names and keep all social media separate from you blog. Have you ever had any trouble with students finding your online presence? Does the school you work at have any specific guidelines for having an online presence or its it just something you do for personal reasons?

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I also found it useful to split my networks into categories, personal and professional, but as I was writing the list I found lots of people fit into both and some people were in one or the other depending on the circumstances. Did you find anything similar to this? For example a fellow dancer who you would class as an equal may one day be choreographing a show you are in, would you speak to them in the same manner or would it become more formal because of the circumstance?

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I have also used The Hustle to help find work and information before, but I have found its usefulness can vary. Much like some sites like StarNow, I'm never 100% convinced that the job is going to be legit. I know the have recently been trying to create some guidelines to stop this from happening but I would be interested to know if you had any pointers to sussing out the useful information from the rest? Are you part of any other Facebook groups/websites that help promote similar information?

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I also use YouTube as a massive source of information. It can be a great visual aid for learning new things. In the past I have used YouTube for uploading videos so that students were able to watch choreography or something we had performed in class, but having recently become more aware of different networks and keeping my online profile private from pupils I wondered if this was an issue you had ever come across?Would you ever use YouTube in a way that pupils could access your videos or do you only use it for personal research?

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Monday 25 April 2016

Task 3B - Theories Relating to Networking

Having studied Reader 3 I'm finding it difficult to get my head around some of the concepts. In this blog post I'm going to look into a few of these ideas and see if I can expand and deepen my understanding.

The Prisoner's Dilema and Cooperation

As I have understood so far The Prisoner's Dilema game needs you to cooperate with the other player, abiding by the rules in ordered to reach the end success.

But this brings up the simple question of 'how many people are willing to cooperate with others?' and 'how many people are just playing the selfish game?'

Asking these questions Robert Axelrod learned that most people do things on a "tit for tat" bases. He also noted the importance of cooperation to achieve an end goal.

"Cooperating fully with others until you reach a point of maximum benefit and then to defect" 

(R. Axelrod, 1984 Pviii)

So the idea is that you cooperate and work with someone until they are no longer useful to you.

The most useful definition of Cooperation I found was this,

"An act or instance of working or acting together for common purpose or benefit;joint action" 

I thought about this for a while.

Really we reach out and try to connect with people for our own gain, however in doing so we are making ourselves able to be contacted by others.

I like to think I would try to help and cooperate with someone as much as possible, without necessarily expecting something immediate in exchange, however if said person were able to help me in the future I would hope that they would return the favour.

As professional in any field we all benefit from helping and being helped by others, by making connections and knowing the right people. After all it's not what you know but who you know.

"Cooperation based solely on reciprocity seemed possible." 

(Axelrod, 1984 Pviii)

In several previous blog posts I have stated that I'm not one for making full use of social media sites and have actually had my first experiences with some on this course.

I didn't understand why I should participate more than I needed or wanted to, as I was always doing it for my own use.

But now I can see that it's not just about what you are able to get out of networking as an individual but it what you can put in and share with others. It is beneficial to both parties.

Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene believes that this kind of cooperative behaviour isn't instinctive and that as children we are generally selfish.

He then develops to say as we grow cooperation is something we learn as it becomes beneficial to us.

This ties in to the fact that Axelrod believed that cooperating is "strategic rather than genetic" (Axelrod,1984 Pviii)

I found the idea that cooperation is 'learnt' not 'natural' very interesting as it is a behaviour you can really see doesn't exist with children.

Over time we have learned via networking and working in groups that helping yourself to also help others is a very logical thing to do.

I also found extracts of this paper Cooperative Strategy by Richard P. Nielson extremely interesting as an extension of the theories by Axelrod and Dawkins.

http://www.wiggo.com/mgmt8510/Readings/Readings12A/nielsen1988smj.pdf

Affiliation

Affiliation can best be described as,

"A network of support that will help us when we are in need."

(Crisp & Turner 27, pg 266)

This looks into the way all humans enjoy or even need to be linked to others in some way. It can be a social or business relationship.

Reader 3 mentions that psychologies believe looking to form close relationships is an "inherited trait that helps us to survive"

An American psychologist David McClellan created the term Need for Affiliation (N-Affil) which he describes as a person's need to feel a sense of involvement and 'belonging' within a group. This is part of his work on motivation called the Need Theory.

He describes affiliation as "a need for open and sociable interpersonal relationships. In other words, it is a desire for relationships based on co-operation and mutual understanding."

Understanding why people "need" to create this bond and chose to spend time in the company of others is something Crisp and Turner write about.

They found all people thrive and work better when in groups or with someone they can communicate and socialise with. Or as they describe it, people are "happier, more alert, and more excited when in the company of others than when alone." (Crisp & Turner, 2007. P266)

Of course I can relate to this, I am someone who very much enjoys working with a group and the company of other more than my own.

They also reveal that different people have different needs when it come to how much affiliation they feel in necessary for their individual survival.

This would begin to explain why some people use social media sites more often that others and why some people enjoy their own company from time to time.

People who use networking sites for social purposes more often than others could be seen to have a greater need for affiliation. But does that mean people who don't often use social media don't have the same need? From my personal point of view, as stated previously, I am someone who much prefers the company of others and working in a team, however I rarely use social media sites. I feel this may come for the need for different types of affiliation.

Another interesting point made by Crisp and Turner (2007) is the idea that there is also a negative side to seeking affiliation. The possibility of rejection can make people stressed or anxious and if the desired affiliation isn't received it can make you lonely and despondent.

When I do use social media sites, for example Facebook, it is always with positive intention to affiliate and socialise. But I am aware that there are people who use such sites for destructive purposes. I have been looking at a study done by the psychology department of the University of Michigan which looks into the detrimental destruction to our mental heath than can occur with over use of Facebook.

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0069841

The idea is that people only post things about their lives that they want others to see, they are able to create and mould an image of the "perfect" life they lead.
This video "What's on your mind?" really highlights how posting these false images can lead to negative emotions.

So, although social media and networking has opened many doors for us professionally and social there are also dangers to be aware of. I'm interested to find out more about how people have negatively reacted to this online affiliation.

The last thing that really struck me about the reader was this quote,

"Your effective engagement of your Professional Network may well impact on success, promotion and development, your sense of worth and fulfilment, and even enjoyment in your working life."

I had always been aware of the fact that good networking can help equal development and possibly success within my social and working life, but I had never thought of the possibility that it might aid my enjoyment!

References

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cooperation

WBS 3730 Module 1 Reader 3 BAPP Arts, Middlesex University, Page 5

http://s-f-walker.org.uk/pubsebooks/pdfs/Richard_Dawkins_The_Selfish_Gene.pdf

http://www.wiggo.com/mgmt8510/Readings/Readings12A/nielsen1988smj.pdf

WBS 3730 Module 1 Reader 3 BAPP Arts, Middlesex University, Page 6

http://www.whatishumanresource.com/mcclelland-needs-for-affiliation-power-and-achievement-theory-of-motivation

Crisp & Turner 2007

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0069841

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y

Wednesday 20 April 2016

Task 2D - Inquiry

What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes you enthusiastic?

I enjoy lots of things about my daily practice from organisation to team management but most of all I enjoy watching people grow as they learn from me as part of my team, this is why I want to teach full time.

I love nothing more than passing on skills and information that I am passionate about to someone who will in turn develop and use that skill in their own way.

I have always been passionate about teaching but someone who really inspired me to pursue it as a full time career is Sarah Benton, a professional singer, teacher, mentor and good friend of mine.
She developed, started and runs her own company Step Up and Sing with more joy and enthusiasm than I have ever seen from anyone!

Her company helps others learn, grow and better themselves via confidence building in singing, dancing and performance.
I have been lucky enough to work for her company, fresh out of college, as a Dance coach and mentor for kids Primary and Secondary school age.
Her passion always rubbed off on me and was a great help in shaping what I wan't do be with my own life.

Please check out the links below to see a fraction of the work she does for her community.

http://www.stepupandsing.com

http://www.sarah-benton.com

https://www.facebook.com/StepUpSing/

What do you love about what you do?

There are lots of things I love about what I do on a daily bases, what I have done as a teacher, what I have experienced as a performer and as a student, but one resounding thing that is a constant is my love of theatre.
It is the one place I have always felt at home, whether I am performing or watching a production there is nowhere else I love more.
The feeling I get from watching a performances is one that stuck with me from an extremely young age and is one of the things that first sparked my love of the arts.
There is no feeling in the world quite like it.

What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admin who shares you feelings or has found away to work around the sadness or anger?

Something that makes me extremely angry is how some people seem to believe children are less intelligent and not as capable as adults.

When a carefree child who still hasn't been made aware of "acceptable social behaviour" is talking aloud, running around or behaving in a way some people may find irritating they are often followed by an apologetic parent making out as though their child is misbehaving.

I believe this could be one of the reasons so many children can grow up to be under confident teens.
The idea that children should "be seen and not heard" may be one that could be said to be outdated but I have been surprised by how often I observe this kind of behaviour in parents not only only from my experience as a teacher but in the street, coffee shops and just general life.
In many situations I personally feel children can be a lot more observant and confident than most adults as they seem have a better understanding of things on a more primal level, without any of the "social niceties" that are drilled into us as we grow up.

I am also speaking from a personal level on this point. Having been an extremely confident child myself, never nervous and stating that my favourite thing was meeting new people, I now sometimes feel this is only a fraction of my personality and I can really struggle with things like confidence and meeting new people.
Now of course each person has different experiences in life and develops fears and emotional issues in different ways, but I do feel this is something that could be lessened by the way we are treated in the very early stages of our lives.

I really enjoyed reading Lois-May Hunt's blog on this question. She writes about how bad parenting angers her and I feel she really echoes some of the points I am trying to make.

http://lois-mayhunt.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/task-2d-inquiry.html

What do you feel you do understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has the same question as you?

I don't understand why being a teacher isn't considered a first choice career option by most performers.
I understand that most people go into performance arts because of their love or performing, but why should wanting to enable other people with this skill be considered less important or less worthy than say working in the West End or on a cruise ship. Most people within this industry use teaching as a 'fall back' or 'plan B' career option.

When I was in my final year at college we were all asked what we intended to do after we
had graduated and what are dream job would be.
No one in the whole year (apart from me!) said teaching. I found this a very interesting observation as many of my peers will have probably ended up doing teaching in some format at some point in their careers.

The idea that "those that can't do, teach" is totally absurd in my opinion. It takes a very special kind of person with very specific skills to be a good teacher and I feel it is strongly underestimated as a career choice.

I really enjoyed this article by Peter W. Klein "Those that can't do, teach? Think again"

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/those-who-can-learn-certainly-do-teach/article24818663/

I really love his closing statement as I feel it truly describes that point I was trying to make.

"Those who can’t teach, just do – and that’s a shame."

P. W. Klein

How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation? To what extent are disciplinary responses different to that you might expect more generally in society? What level of physical contact would you deem appropriate from another professional that would would find unacceptable more generally?

I find this a difficult question to answer as I feel each situation would require its own very specific "appropriate" ethical response.

For example, a teacher has very specific guide lines for how to discipline students in their class. These will be set out by a formal body, like the school board or government.

Things get more tricky when lines between pupil and teacher are more blurred like within a work force or colleges working in a team.

I am the manager where I work and I feel I would be within my rights to point out and discipline behaviour that I thought was inappropriate or destructive to my team.

Such as bullying or putting down co-workers, inappropriate clothing, rude language and attitude, that kind of thing. But there is no real code of conduct that states how to go about doing this, it is within each work force to create there own boundaries and guide lines.

Another way that this can become more difficult is through friendships within the work place, especially if, like me, you work with/teach people you're own age.

For instance something I may feel confident disciplining within the boundaries of work or school, where I hold more responsibility, could immediately vanish the second we are in a social "out of hours" environment.

I have done a little research into this and found some interesting reads, mapping out guidelines of "rules" to follow within the workplace and more interestingly how best to implement them.

http://www.hr.ubc.ca/administrators/employee-relations/discipline-in-the-workplace/

I also found this video very informative within the point I was discussing.

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So far my inquires have lead me to some interesting talking points,

Discipline within the work place and amongst peers

Why do some believe teaching is a less important career

Parenting vs teaching - how to treat young children

Influence of theatre on young children

Organisation of a company

How to get into teaching full time - PGCE vs other

I'll be exploring these ideas along with some reoccurring themes from my daily journal to further develop my professional practice learning.

Monday 18 April 2016

Task 3C - Sources of Information

My main 5 sources of information

1) Word of mouth

I am someone who strongly believes you should never underestimate the power of speaking to people! I know it may sound obvious but I'm usually surprised by how many people neglect this as a networking tool.

You never know who you may have the chance to interact with on a daily bases!

While I was getting my Degree at college I took a weekend job in a coffee shop to make some extra money. There was a lovely regular who I used to speak to about the weather or her day and one day she asked me about what I was studying at college. Well it turned out she was a singer, about to open her own school in the area and wanted someone to help bringing a dance and performance element to her company.

From there she invited me to interview for a position in her company. I started by running the dance classes for her school holiday workshops and when I graduated college took a position running weekly classes for all age groups.

This was the first full time dance teacher position I ever had and it's really what inspired me into doing this course so I can teach on a daily bases.

2) My smart phone

I use my phone on a daily bases for an infinite amount of useful things. Yesterday as part of my journal I decided to make a note of each application and for what purpose I used on my smart phone throughout the day just to see exactly how dependant on it I am.

This is the list,

Clock - I use the clock app on my phone as an alarm to wake up in the morning
Music - I listen to music on my way to work
Google - I Googled when the supermarket would shut
Maps - I used Maps to locate where an open super market would be
Facebook - I used Facebook messenger to send a message to a friend
Twitter + Instagram - I used both to post a photograph
Halifax app - I used to check my bank balance
Text - I sent a text to my Mum
Ebay - I used the Ebay app to search for a new watch
Gmail + Yahoo - I used both email apps to send and receive both professional and personal emails
WhatsApp - I communicated with at least 5 different people using this app
Calling - I called suppliers for my work

I think its fairly safe to say it's an extremely important device for collecting information, keeping me organised and on time and making me fully able to communicate with anyone any where.

3) Facebook

Facebook is an extremely useful source of information and networking for several different reasons.

I allows you to see and follow everyone you know from all different circles of your life.It also allows you to communicate freely and instantly with them.

You can also "like" pages and be part of select "groups" that can be great sources for specific information. For example there is a Facebook group called The Hustle where professionals from all over the country (sometimes even the world!) within the Performing Arts industry can post jobs, helpful tips, ask for information, post about auditions, basically anything performance related.

4) Books

I know it may seem old fashioned but books are a fantastic way of gaining information.
One of the very first things I did when moving into the city was to sign up to the library.
Since then it has been and endless hub of information not just for my professional work but also just in times of relaxation and down time.

5) Youtube

Youtube is a great platform for all kinds of information and entertainment.
I use Youtube for

Finding music for routines, classes and my own enjoyment.
Uploading videos so I can share them
Watching videos my friends have uploaded
Watching videos in order to visually learn how to do something

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One main networking tool and source of information I hadn't counted on before enrolling on this course was how much I can learn from other people's blogs. I have found it fascinating how so many like minded people can create ideas and share them so easily with one another, each helping the other to grow and develop new ideas.

One blog I found particularly interesting regarding this section was Task 3C: Sources of Information by Victoria Vickers. I particularly like the issues she brings up about confidentiality on social media as it is something I hadn't thought about before.

I'm keen to read more blogs and learn more about other peoples main sources of information.

Sunday 17 April 2016

Task 3A - Current Networks

Having never been one for keeping up with social media, apps or generally anything online the idea of online networking is still something I am just starting to get my head around.

I have always been aware of networking and that is holds some importance, but it not till I really began studying Reader 3 that I started to see its full potential.
The idea of networking is something that can be an endlessly valuable tool. It is the idea of creating circles or groups of people or contacts that fit into a certain aspect of your life.
On initial thought I believed I would be able to split my networks into 2 categories, both of which I feel I would correspond with in a different way.

Personal Network - informal communication such as text, instant messaging, Facebook messenger or twitter

Friends
Family
Some work colleagues

Professional Network - formal communication such as letter or email

My bosses
The owners of the business I work for
Some work colleagues
People who hold power within my profession

But on making this list it didn't take long for me to realise there are many smaller circles and people who may even overlap into several different circles within my networks.

This got me thinking about a few things...

If there is a "correct" way to talk to people in different networks what happens when people begin to fall into several circles?
What happens when you want to use an "informal" method of communication (such as instant messaging) to communicate with someone in your professional circle?
Is there a difference when you post an Instagram photo to your personal account and a business account?

With social media becoming such a huge part of life and businesses now these are becoming more apparent issues.

Personally I believe it is becoming irrelevant which method of networking you use. It all comes down to the manner and the language that is used. It' s about how you communicate.

For example I use instant messaging to speak with the owners of the business I work for. It enables us to send short messages and receive very quite responses throughout the day.

However I'm always sure to double check spelling, punctuation, the manner of how the message is worded and I always use full words (typing 'you' as opposed to 'u').

This is not something I would bother to do if I were sending a similar message in the same way to a close friend or family member.

Currently I use about 90% of my social media for personal networking only, I will almost always email for professional matters. However I'm starting to see that there could be more benefits to creating more of an online presents for my professional stuff too.

I currently have a professional or "business" Facebook page, as well as my own private personal account. I used to use this quite regularly when I was networking within the performing arts world, uploading videos, latest photo shoot, promotion what productions or classes I was doing, but since leaving that behind to focus on teaching I have found it doesn't do much for me.

Could this just be because of my progression down a different route that my current network is no longer relevant?

Will this create a shift into a different network or circle?

Has anyone else experienced anything like this in their profession?

This blog post has been full of questions! I'm hoping as I continue with Reader 3 I will begin to elaborate with some answers.

Thursday 14 April 2016

Task 2C: Reflective Theory

Critical Reflection

We all use reflective practice almost all the time, most of the time without even knowing it. Throughout the day each person experiences and reflects to create self improvement. But it is to what extent and how we do this that has been explored by Kolb, Dewey, Schon and many other practitioners. There is endless knowledge that can be learnt from your very own daily life, it just helps to have the tools to examine and process your thoughts.

I believe this is best and most simply explained in how David Kolb defines reflective practice.

"Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience"

(Kolb, 1984, pg 38)

Kolb states that when we learn something new we go through four stages of learning, a cycle that repeats itself.

1. Concrete Experience - (a new experience of situation is encountered, or a reinterpretation of existing experience).

2. Reflective Observation (of the new experience. Of particular importance are any inconsistencies between experience and understanding).

3. Abstract Conceptualization (Reflection gives rise to a new idea, or a modification of an existing abstract concept).

4. Active Experimentation (the learner applies them to the world around them to see what results)

I find Kolb's learning cycle very engaging, as someone who manages and teaches others on a daily base I am always interested in how different people learn things, but I had never thought about it as a cycle.

As someone who defiantly learns through the concrete experiment or "doing" stage of the learning cycle I was also very interested in Kurt Lewin's idea of action research.

His theory involves a spiral of steps as apposed to a circular cycle of which,

"each is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action"

I found this article on 'Action Research' very intriguing.

/http://infed.org/mobi/action-research/

But which of the cycles is more helpful? Do they create the same out come? Do different people fit into one cycle better that the other? Where does my own style of learning fit in?

To develop further into this I found the research of Peter Honey and Alan Mumford stimulating.

Honey and Mumford categories four distinct learning styles that are individual to each person. Each identified style is a preferred or most natural way for different people to maximise their own learning ability.

the Activist
the Theorist
the Pragmatist
the Reflector

This chart describes how Honey and Mumford convey different students 'characteristics of learning styles', thus placing them in a labeled 'learning style' and finally showing which 'stage' of the learning cycle each student would be on. It also fully describes what would be the most beneficial way for that student to learn.

Being able to look at the learning cycle in more detail like this has made me question my initial thought process. Having been sure I was a stage 1. experiencing learner I now feel what better describes my own preferred learning style is the stage 4. planning learner.

I benefit from seeing how things work, putting them into practice to see what happens and then assuming to solve any problems that may have occurred.

This now categories my own learning style on Kolb's cycle as an active experimentation learner, something I felt I had no connection with in my initial research.

While this is extremely helpful knowledge Honey also insists the best way to learn to to become an effective learner in all styles,

"Learning to learn is your most important capability since it provides the gateway to everything else you want to develop."
(quoting P. Honey:)

I have also found Donald Schon's idea of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action an interesting topic.

As I spoke about in more detail on my previous blog (Task 2A: Reflective Practice ), I was surprised by how often I use reflection-in-action in my daily professional practice. I am endlessly reflecting "online" throughout the day.
However through my journal I have only just tired to see the full potential of the "offline" reflection, or reflection-on-action.

"As we think and act, questions arise that cannot be answered in the present." (Smith 1994: 150)

I have found the work of all of the above practitioners to be fascinating and very eye opening in some cases. Learning to learn is not something I had ever thought about before but the results that I have seen with my own journal writing and within the research I have done so far have made me excited to see just how much more development and understanding I can encounter using reflection tools.

I feel this quote from John Dewey best sums up,

Learning is best conceived as a process, not in terms of outcomes. (Dewey 1897: 79)