Task 2d: Inquiry

I  haven't thought much about where I would go with my inquiry as I was hoping that something would just emerge!  I would like to focus on something in which I have experience in and use the idea of reflection to really immerse myself into a pool of ideas.  So I have asked myself the following given questions in hope that a great idea will present itself... 

* 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?

Generally when I teach I maintain a great deal of my enthusiasm.  What really drives me is the determination from the students that I teach and the improvement seen as they develop their own understanding of what they are trying to achieve.  This is generally something more achievable in a more mature student but what always fascinates me is when one student has the ability to immediately pick up a step and when another doesn't.  In this case, both students would be of the same age and level, but what prevents one from understanding the step at a slower rate.  My enthusiasm of teaching allows me to devise multiple ways to ensure that everyone is able to achieve a movement when I am teaching it.  

I have a general admiration for all teachers who have the capability to teach what they love.  Whether it be Sport, Dance or English.  I have worked with many different people; other performers, teachers, choreographers and coaches.  And all of these have one thing in common, they are all doing what they love to do!

Possible lines of inquiry:

• Which factors affect the learning process of dance? 
• Is there a preferred age to introduce dance to a child to improve chances of a performing career?
• What effects do teaching methods have on the effects of learning?              

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

A problem I have encountered on numerous occasions is the negative comments from some of the students I teach.  This is more common again in the older students I teach, where the thoughts of giving up seem to be the predominant ones.  This is one of the most frustrating situations I can find myself in as a teacher, and I struggle to understand it.  Although as a child I would frustrate myself learning to do a new step I couldn't seem to master, I don't think I ever vocally announced it and would certainly not give up easily.  But this makes it difficult for me to teach and also affects other students in the class.  

A colleague that I worked with had a case of negativity in her class and to resolve this she sat the whole class down and stated that she did not want to hear any such negativity when in a class together.  This made all students aware of what she expected and meant that the other students backed her up if ever a case like this was to arise again.  I worked as a team effort to maintain the positive energy and keep morale up when finding an exercise or movement hard to grasp.

Unfortunately there is still a stigma attached to the way you need to look to be a dancer.  Luckily where I am now out of this type of industry I don't have to experience it but I am fully aware of its existence.  Although it has never directly affected me, when I was at college it was distressing to see how it would affect some of my friends.  That's not to say that they were ever directly told that they needed to change their bodies in order to be a successful dancer, but with the expectations of how we should look made them question whether they needed to lose weight in order to be the right size to dance.  The fact that some of the costumes we would be expected to wear would be similar to 'showgirl' style leotards, would bring on a worrying flurry of weight loss.  Fortunately a friend of mine never let this phase her and I saw a great determination, despite being told that she needed to lose weight at an audition.  She did make it as a professional dancer and proved that it doesn't always matter what size you are.     
   

Possible lines of inquiry:

• How can negative thoughts and feelings affect an individual when learning?
• What are the expectations of dancers with regards to appearance?            

* What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who also seems to love this or is an example of what you love?

As a teacher my most memorable experiences are always those in which I see a student achieve something they couldn't before.  That moment when they understand a movement and can perform it accurately without hesitation.  I love passing on my knowledge to others to enrich their learning and understanding.  Recently I have seen a shift in confidence in one of my younger students, and after teacher her for two years, she has completely come out of her shell.  This progression in my students makes me appreciate the role I have and the difference I can make.  

Possible lines of inquiry:

• How can dance develop life skills?
• What difference can you make as a teacher? 

*  What do you feel you don’t understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?

I always wonder how possible it would be to make a career as a self-employed dancer?  I fulfilled my career as a dancer and although it was maybe not as long as I would have liked, I did have the option to continue.  My main reason for this was because I wanted the security for the future and whilst dancing gave me so much enjoyment, it was not giving me the guarantee that I would be secure in years to come.  The advantage I did have on this was that I had already achieved some of my teaching qualifications at college and this was always a second career that was still related to my training.

For many years I have been self-employed taking on multiple jobs at one time to be working six days a week and only to earn an average salary.  So what I don't understand is, how is it possible to maintain such an unpredictable and unsteady career and create a future? 

I admire anyone who has the type of business mind which has allowed them to explore the world of teaching and set up their own dance school.  Last year I taught for an expanding theatre school which was set up in 2010.  Since then, they have continued their success and now have five academies running in Kent.  The drive I have witnessed from all the teachers involved in this successful business has overwhelmed me and I could not imagine running such a large business.  And so this proves that you can be successful certainly as a self-employed performing arts teacher.  But I can imagine how much work needs to be done to achieve such a respected goal!      

Possible lines of inquiry:

• Is it possible to build a long-lasting career from dance?
• How much knowledge do you need in order to be successful in a dance career?

 

*  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? For example, what level of physical contact would you deem appropriate (and not) from another professional that you would find unacceptable more generally? Why?

Over time the question of ethics have indeed become more apparent.  More care and thought is needed especially within the teaching environment.  This has been an essential part of my learning as I have progressed with my teaching practise and especially more noticeable since teaching within education.  From a young age the 'hand on' approach used when I was being taught was never something I thought about.  In fact the use of correction from my previous teachers I found essential to my learning of dance.  As I was not lucky enough to have to use of mirrors when in dance classes as a child, my teacher would use subtle adjustments of my body to manoeuvre me into correct positions.  This brings in the idea of muscle memory as so once you have the right position, you feel the position and come to realise where the body needs to be.  And so next time you go to that position your body feels the familiarity of the correct placement.  With the high awareness of physical contact in schools, I have found this a particularly hard concept to master. 

Whilst recently taking my gymnastics coaching qualification, we were required to look into the teaching styles that can be used.  This helped me to overcome the levels of physical contact that are deemed appropriate within dance in education.  We explored the use of questioning:  Using questions to check the understanding of the student.  For example, "Where do you think your leg needs to be?"  With open-ended questions like this you allow time for the student to think and respond.  Their time for thinking means that they can aim to correct themselves and with a response means that the teacher/coach can check their understanding.  This was one area which I developed throughout my training towards my coaching which gave me another way to teach.  The use of actions and demonstration is more than likely the most common way for teachers to show students what it is they are wanting them to achieve.  Whilst looking at the teaching method it was quite obvious that there is a negative aspect of this in that you are then not able to view the students to check their accuracy.  The final method we looked at was to tell the student what to do with just the use of words.  Obviously this method leaves you very open to explain and describe exactly what you want, but without the use of demonstration you would not necessarily achieve the correct movement.  I now find that a combination of all these methods make a better teacher and help to control the level of physical contact.  

Physical contact within dance is certainly needed to a certain degree but I do wonder if this can make a student more reliant on the teacher.  Would the learning become more concrete to the individual if there was no physical contact involved?  Once I got to Dance College and the choreography became more challenging, there was one situation in which physical contact was essential for the sake of safety.  And this was in the use of partner work when attempting challenging lifts.  Without the aid of a teacher using physical contact to help both students to try a new lift, it can prove to be dangerous. 

When I am coaching gymnastics, I have had to intervene with physical contact to support the gymnast to ensure their safety.  As a professionally trained teacher and gymnastics coach I have the knowledge to know when and where it is appropriate to use contact in situations such as these.  A lot of the time, teachers in schools taking on PE lessons may not understand the same approach.  Indeed they may worry on the grounds of ethical practice within lessons that may be more specialised in terms of the skill needed.  I have recently taken on team teaching within my practice whereby the aim is that I am passing on my skills and knowledge of teaching gymnastics and dance.  This however made it clear to myself and to those observing that this would never be fully achieved due to the intense amount of training I have received.   

Possible lines of inquiry:

• How can the use of physical contact aid or hinder a dancers learning?
• How much physical contact is socially acceptable within the dance profession?

    

 

Task 2c: Reflective Theory

I can safely say that I have never used a journal as a form of reflection for my dancing or teaching profession.  One tool I have used which I have previously mentioned is the use of planning.  Although this does not directly link to reflection, once the first lesson has been planned, I will very often refer back to this when onward planning and inwardly reflect on that lesson in order to create the next.  Similarly if I plan a whole term of lessons I will make notes and adjust these depending on the events of previous lessons.  

When working alongside education in my teaching profession, it is vital that I provide an evaluation for each class to allow an insight into which skills have been learnt, what went well, areas for improvement and possible progressions into the new term.  This form of reflection not only helps me to look back and evaluate the sessions which have passed but also allows other staff members to have an insight into my lessons.

John Dewey conveys the idea of 'experience' and considered that there can be different levels of experience.  This idea makes me think of the saying: 'what you put in, you get out'.  I can relate this to both performing and teaching.  When training at college this was a very important aspect, particularly in the respect of training your body for particular movements.  I unfortunately was not blessed with flexibility which is an integral part of being a dancer.  And so I had to put in the work to ensure that my body was 'performance ready'.  Now if I had not tried to hard then my experience in the performing world would have been much more limited.  But the amount of training and persistence I injected into my training made me understand how hard it is in this business to be successful.  The level of experience I had with my performing was dictated by the work I put in to get there.

With regards to teaching the level of experience I have endured seems to be a constant progression.  The more experiences I have the more I learn.  Certainly not a surprise but each experience I have is different and I  

I agree with this thought from Dewey that "he felt that the interaction with the Arts led to a unique and valuable experience". (Dewey, 1934)(1).  Although I feel like this is true for myself, I believe that this may not be true for every individual.  Again, this comes down to the amount of effort you put in and in Dewey's case, the amount of interaction you experienced.  My main focus of learning when I was at college was in terms of movement, performance and the industry.  But there was so much more that came with that, such as social interaction, determination and the ability to present yourself in different situations.  Although I have decided to not continue with the performing side of Dance, everything that I experienced through this industry has been extremely valuable in other career options I have explored.


Kolb's Learning Cycle

I understand there any different ways of learning and believe that personally I learn in multiples of ways depending on the situation.  I considered Kolb's learning cycle, as featured below. (Kolb, 1984)(2).

This cycle is a useful tool to use when wanting to reflect on an experience, therefore the use of this was interesting when reflecting back on how I created my blog.  I had never created a blog before and I tend to not use instructions and enjoy working things out for myself.  So I would say that I began with active experimentation, I went back and forth several times making adjustments until I had a basic structure of what I wanted.  I expanded on this using 'concrete knowledge' with my experiences in social media.  Profiles are very common for the likes of the typical Web 2.0 tools, especially when I relate back to creating CVs for dance auditions, so I found this a familiar way to work.  I used other peoples blog to check that what I was doing was along the right lines, although now looking back I suppose this would have been a good place to start by using 'reflective observation' which is why reflection can be so important.  I do use You Tube frequently to check how to do something but I didn't use any visual aids on this occasion to help me with my blog but I suppose I thought about other alternatives of how I could present the information.  

In terms of learning within my professional practice of teaching this would start from a different point within Kolb's cycle.  Majority of the time I learn from doing something, from a concrete experience.  I suppose it's the development in confidence as I teach that I feel I am gaining a positive experience from.  When I began teaching in schools, it was part of my training to shadow others before continuing on my own.  This was a significant part of my learning as it was a different way of teaching compared to my previous experiences in dance schools.  I made sure I observed a variety of teachers and coaches to learn new teaching styles and methods which would help develop my own.  So the use of reflective observation was certainly a key point within my learning of teaching.  The use of abstract conceptualisation comes when I reflect back on a teaching session and consider what worked and what didn't.  This is a really important for me to progress as a teacher and learn from the positives and negatives from every session I teach.  I am currently using active experimentation in one of my dance classes to try and work out which movements my students are capable of doing.  This is a learning style I use especially when creating a group dance to prepare for a performance.  This helps me learn what level my students are at and identify each individuals capabilities are. 

This learning cycle is a very useful tool to help me understand my development of learning.  As I continue through this course I believe that I can refer back to this cycle and use it as a structure for my progression.  


Multiple Intelligences

I suppose when the question of intelligence is asked to you, generally most people would respond with, "yes I am intelligent".  Howard Gardner had the view that there are a multiple of intelligences and therefore you can be intelligent in a number of ways.  I considered the diagram below which demonstrates Gardner's ideas of learning in terms of intelligence. (Gardner, 1983)(3).

From a dance background I would immediately associate myself with 'musical intelligence'.  But again I would relate my intelligence to these specific sectors differently depending on my experience at the time.  In a dance class my musical intelligence would come into play and I would use this experience to pass on my knowledge to others.

Another obvious sector to me is 'bodily-kinaesthetic'.  I have very much learnt how to move and train my body in a particular way in order to achieve a correct position or movement.  

From the vast range of employment I have had and the situations of being placed on a dance contract with a group of people I have never met before it has been important to use 'interpersonal' skills to create new friendships.  I have learnt to understand how people work differently, react differently and how to apply myself to those in different situations.  

I am sure that other forms of intelligence will make an appearance as I take my journey through this course.  And I hope these will aid me in my learning process.


Reflection In/On Action

Now that I am starting to be more aware of the ways in which I reflect on my professional practice, I am able to think about how this is helping me learn.  I looked into Donald Schon's idea of reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. (Schon,1987) (4).  Both of these ways of learning have been apparent in my practise of teaching and performing.


Performing...

Reflection-in-action would be a less common form of learning I have used but was useful when performing.  In cases where I may have performed on stage with already planned choreography, if something went wrong and was out of your control, then the idea of using improvisation may be the solution.  For instance, if the choreography required a partner and that particular partner was not able to make it on stage at that time, then it may be necessary to improvise (make up) new steps as an alternative.  Therefore, you would be reflecting on the moment as it happens and responding to it in the way you think best.  If I relate this back to a time when I may have attended an audition, then I would consider what I learnt from reflecting-in-action.  Occasionally in auditions you are required to improvise to their choice of music and in this case I would very often begin with familiar moves but upon reflection of my movements as they happen, I may vary this.  From this I learn which moves are effective and which movements are creating the best impression and showing me off as a performer. 

Reflection-on-action would be appropriate to use when analysing a performance.  In the past this would be in form of video where we would film performances to then watch back and reflect on how the performance went.  We would individually note down any corrections we need to address and then re-work a rehearsal to apply these before then doing the next performance.  This was an extremely useful tool and really helped me to view what changes I needed to make in order to improve the next performance.

Teaching...

Reflection-in-action is limited when teaching.  Especially as for the majority of my practise I tend to use planning to prepare for my sessions.  On occasions, and more so with rehearsals for shows, I may have previously choreographed a section of a dance to teach but upon trying this out I may have realised that the choreography is not achievable.  In this case I simplify the steps with use of improvisation to create new movements.  When doing this I am learning which level of movement is appropriate to the students and therefore creating a basis for the next lesson. 

Planning for lessons is very much dictated by the previous lessons.  I am constantly making changes and adjustments to my plans and this is the effect of reflection-on-action.  I immediately learn a better way to conduct a new session by looking at what did and didn't work previously.

From reflection on the above, I can agree with Robert Kottcamp who put forward that reflection-on-action 'is more difficult to achieve because the actor must simultaneously attend to performing the action and observe and analyse his or her action, as if from an external perspective'.(Kottcamp 1983)(5).  To be able to multitask in such a fast-paced environment is  a skill in itself.  But in saying that, those within the performing world are used to this idea of doing more than one thing at once. 


Reflection

Now that I am aware of the idea of reflection, I am starting to grasp an understanding of how this has unconsciously been used in my previous practises.  This is similar to the idea that Graham Mcfee described.  "One must understand what is being defined in order that one judge for oneself the accuracy."  (Mcfee, 1992: 18). (6)  In this way now that I am actively reflecting on my professional practice, I now have the knowledge to accurately understand what the use of reflection is. 

What I have found interesting is how useful journal writing can be.  Although I have not fully experienced such effects that David Boud discusses such as 'enhancing your own learning', this is something which I am now aware of and so will be able to reflect on how this may be the case. 

Boud looks into reflection as to how it "has been described as a process of turning experience into learning, that is, a way of exploring experience in order to learn new things from it." (Boud, 2001) (7).  'Exploring' is the key word for me here.  The use of my journal is enabling me to actively explore my experiences once they have happened.  Without this my reflection would not be so apparent, and so now, this process allows me to hopefully learn from my experiences.

In order for me to now develop my learning, I believe it is necessary to realise my previous perceptions on what already exists within my capacity of knowledge.  "All learning builds on existing perceptions and frameworks of understanding; therefore, links must be made between what is new and what already exists if learners are to make sense of what is happening to them." (Boud, 2001) (8).  I agree with what Boud describes here, in that if I can identify what I already know, I can reflect on what I am learning now.

Boud believes that that 'it is useful' to focus on reflection by considering three different times at when this could occur.  He balances the idea of reflection only happening after an event.  "...consider three occasions of reflection: in anticipation of events, during the, and afterward". (Boud, 2001) (9)  The stage of during and after an event mirrors what Schon depicted as 'reflection-in-action' and 'reflection-on-action'.  I have previously shared my thoughts on the latter but how would you 'reflect in anticipation of events'?  From looking at Boud's ideas on this, I can relate to the way in which I use lesson plans to structure a session or a block of sessions for a specific class.  Recently I took my Level 1 Gymnastics Coaching Assessment , where it was necessary to devise a session plan for possible movements I may be asked to demonstrate the teaching of.  

Example of how I may devise a session plan.



 Such plans as these I predominantly use within schools as opposed to the dance schools I teach in.  These plans allow me to create goals and expectations, plan important coaching points and devise appropriate changes to adjust the lesson dependant on capabilities.  This type of tool allows me to reflect on what may happen during a lesson.  This then gives me even more information to reflect on by the time I have considered the 'during' and 'after'.



After thought...              

After considering a range of ways to reflect and ways in which reflection can be used, I think this has given me an insight as to how this effective tool can broaden my learning throughout the course.  There may be instances where I feel reflection is not necessary by it will certainly make me think about every experience I encounter on my new journey! 

 



REFERENCES:

1. Dewey,J (1934)'Experience, reflection and learning' WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, Middlesex University 2014: Reader 2

2. Kolb,D (1984)'Kolb's Learning Cycle' WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, Middlesex University 2014: Reader 2

3. Gardner,H (1983) 'The Power of Context', Available from: http://sessionville.com/articles/on-the-intelligence-of-musicians  (accessed 18th November 2014)

4. Schon,D (1987) 'The Professional Practitioner', WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, Middlesex University 2014: Reader 2

5. Kottcamp,R (1983) 'Reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action', WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, Middlesex University 2014, Reader 2

6. Mcfee,G (1992) 'What is reflection and why?' WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, Middlesex University 2014, Reader 2

7. Boud,D (2001) 'Using Journal Writing to Enhance Reflective Practice', Learning and Reflection, WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, Middlesex University 2014, Reader 2

8. Boud,D (2001) 'Using Journal Writing to Enhance Reflective Practice', Models of Reflection, WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, Middlesex University 2014, Reader 2

9. Boud,D (2001) 'Using Journal Writing to Enhance Reflective Practice', Occasions of Reflection, WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, Middlesex University 2014, Reader 2

** Interesting article on the impact of creative industries... **

I came across the following article which gives statistics of the increasing value that the creative industries have on the economy.  It is refreshing to see how much of an effect our industry boosts the UK economy and therefore still thriving.  How great to know that we are a part of this!

 

 

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/creative-industries-worth-8million-an-hour-to-uk-economy

 

 

 

            

Task 2b: Journal Writing Experience

I found this task really quite a challenge and didn't really feel it becoming any easier.  What I did find hard was the fact that my practice of the Arts is limited at the moment and therefore I feel like there is only limited information I can use to reflect on.  Whilst I am still able to reflect on all of my days, I find that only when I am taking part in my professional practice I am able to gain new experiences to develop myself throughout this course.  It is the practical side of teaching which I learn from and the ability to be able to apply myself in order to see where change and improvement can be made.

I tried a variety of writing styles for my journal to try and develop one to take me through this course.

I began using the 'description' method which I seemed to fall into quite easily.  I do tend to describe and go into detail when reflecting back on my day.  Although I did find it easy to write in this way my worries were that if I was to look back on the information then I may find it hard to conclude and analyse from week to week.  I found that to use the 'initial reflection' alongside the description method gave me a more in depth analysis of how my day had gone.  This also allowed me to input my thoughts and feelings which I find extremely useful to reflect on.

I enjoyed the concept of using a 'list' but I found it really hard to reflect on my day in this way.  I would say that a list would be more appropriate for myself to use in the instance of preparation for a class.  For example, I may use a list to firstly jot down what exercises or movements I would like to work on and as a sub-list I would possibly include points to help aid the students in their learning.  

I use 'evaluation' for all my lessons, so to write this down in my journal has been particularly useful when planning the next lesson.  It allowed me to note down things that worked well or things to avoid in the future and therefore creating a more successful lesson for next time.

I didn't use the 'graphs or charts' as I found it hard to dissect my day into portions.  Although I looked at a couple blogs where people had shown evidence of how they used this within their practice I just didn't feel able to analyse my day in this way.

The other two methods of 'what if' and 'another view' I didn't find helpful.  I instead found myself writing about the day and not about how the day went, and how I could learn from it.  I find a lack of imagination in this form of writing and to view my day from another point of view just made me write about what I thought of my day rather than from someone else's view.

I have now been writing using a combination of description, initial reflection and evaluation but highlighting points which may help me later on.  I will be interested to see how this journal develops and whether I will find this beneficial at another point in this course.

Value-based Knowledge

An exert from Doing Practitioner Research from Fox Martin and Green got me thinking about how my knowledge within dance teaching may appear the ethical option from my point of view, but maybe not from others who do not hold the same knowledge.  I have a very mixed bag of classes that I teach and one of my hardest and most challenging classes consists of a variety of ages.  This will never be the ideal situation to teach in due to the vast range of capabilities from these students but my aim is to make it work and ensure maximum learning.  In the case that an older student may not quite complete a movement effectively, I may give two or three points for which they can work on to improve it.  For a younger student, it may seem from an outside view that an attempt made for a movement was poor.  In this case, I may give one correction but praise that child at the same time.  Although this may seem like I am contradicting myself, I may have seen some improvement or strong attempt not previously made and I would have to knowledge to know that one correction is enough for them to concentrate on for now.  The important thing about teaching for me, is to understand each students' capability and nurture that in order to gain maximum potential for the individual.  Every student is different, and every student has their own strengths and weaknesses and this is something that I enjoy identifying in all the students I teach.

References:

Fox, Martin and Green (2007) Doing Practitioner Research, electronic resource

A Reflective Thought...

'Have you ever known something before you realise what it means to you?'

After looking back through Reader 2 I pondered about the question above.  When I first read this I couldn't really comprehend the concept of not actually knowing something until you actually experience it.  I read through Graham McFees' description of this to explain this concept using an example and thought I would try and relate it to myself.

To be able to answer this question I have drawn back on past experiences and how they have developed my learning and understanding.  

I looked back at my time at College when everything was about performing.  Up until my 2nd Year in Dance College I thought I had understood how to 'perform'.  What I had actually done was to plaster on my cheesiest grin and hold it there until I was off stage.

I'm not sure how it clicked but I remember being in a Musical Theatre class and we were working on a particular performance that seemed to give me a rush of adrenaline every time the music played. We finished the lesson with our final performance and at the end my teacher announced that I had finally 'popped'.  I did feel a change in my performance and it was like I had suddenly learnt to enjoy the experience rather than worrying about everything else that came with it.  This also came from an increased ability to recall steps and to adjust the technique of how my body moves.

After that my ability to perform became second-nature and I realised why I was always prompted to perform more in the past.  When I started performing professionally we would often watch back performances and it became easier to spot those who had not quite got the grasp of performing yet as a dancer they would be amazing.Part of the idea of performing as a dancer is to complete the package!

Now as a teacher, I watch some of the students and they perform without any hesitation.  Others need that extra push but I know from experience that this is a skill they will learn to understand in their own time.  All I can do is to help them realise when they have finally got it.

References:

Middlesex University, 2014, Reader 2, Module 1, p.3

Task 1c: Audio-Visual

I have finally completed this task after taking some time to consider how I would like to complete it.  I took ideas from my experience of creating a showreel and used a variety of images, music and effects to create a clip of what I think will be useful to refer back to, to remind myself of my aspirations.

This is something that I enjoyed doing and actually completed this in a few hours in the early hours of this morning.  I found myself lured into the adjustments to get it just how I wanted.  No doubt I will look back on this and make adjustments!

Task 2a: Reflective Practise

My secret diary was a part of my life all through my childhood.  I remember having two: One was a much smaller compact one but this was the one where i would write regular entries on what I was thinking and feeling.  The other was a lot larger, harder to hide in fact, and in there I kept lists of secrets which only my closest friends were likely to know.  I have always found it easier to write down my thoughts and feelings rather than talking about then so at the moment this task for me feels like a breeze.  I suppose the era of the text hasn't helped this and probably made me even more so likely to write down thoughts as opposed to talking about them.  I am hoping that this course will help develop my ability to transform my thoughts into words and essentially improve my skills of communication.

When deciding how to go about this journal I had to take in consideration the easiest way to document my entries with never having a repetitive routine every week.  I thought about handwriting my journal but thought this would be harder to capture for future tasks.  So decided to go with a word processed version and look into Apps which might help me do this.  I found one App on my phone which I downloaded but it didn't give me the option to add pictures which is something I wanted to have the option for.

I looked at several other blogs to see if anyone else had other programs they may have used for this task and found one called Evernote.  I have seen this before and maybe even downloaded it before, not really knowing what I could use it for.  So this seemed like a good option especially as it meant I could use it as an App on my phone or on my laptop through the website.

What I decided to do was to begin my entries before looking through Reader 2 and then to explore the text in this resource and use it to see how I can adapt my writing from the previous entries.  I think this will be an interesting way to document my thoughts and ideas about this module and look forward to seeing the development in my learning.