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
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