4d. Reviewing Literature for your Inquiry Planning. Literature 1.

Have you identified any literature that is important to understanding your inquiry?

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I have found an excellent book Teaching Dance as Art in Education by Brenda Pugh McCutchen.

What are the main points that alerted you to its importance?

The title grabbed my attention straight away. It has been a fascinating read. She not only looks into professional performers who are now teaching, but those who obtained a degree and PGCE like most teachers do. What I found fascinating is how Brenda explores the use of reflection. She states reflection does not always call for response.

 

She discusses three types of reflection from a teachers perspective

In class (integrated reflection)

At the end of class (Culminating reflection)

In the long term (Broad reflection).

 

She goes on to ask sample culminating reflection questions, such as

"What did you learn about negative and positive space today?"

What ways did you solve the movement problem of turning negative spaces into positive in your exploration today?"

What difficulties did you have today and how did you solve them?"

"How might you use negative and positive space consciously in daily living"

 

Straight away I was revisiting Module 1 and my research in to Schon and his clock like reflective practice going through states of appreciation, action, and re-appreciation

In module one I was exploring this from a choreographers point of view, and it's interesting intertwining it into the view of a teachers.

Have you looked at the References or Bibliography? / Can the literature signpost you to other important sources of information?

From reading Teaching Dance as Art in Education by Brenda Pugh McCutchen it was interesting to see what came up under "related items" online. The Art of Dance in Education by Jacqueline M. Smith came up, as well as Knowing Dance: A Guide to Creative Teaching by Marion Gough.

I intend to read these to see if any new points are raised which can aid my inquiry.

I want to read the indivative bibliogrpahy provided in the Module 2 Handbook, especially those focused around work based research.

 

4b - SIGs

How does your SIG compare to other groups or communities that you are a part of in the workplace?
How will you use your SIG?
How will you evidence the shared practice within your own professional inquiry process?

I've been fortunate enough to join Special Interest Group "Performing Arts in Education" which Emma Corboz has set up. There is a few of us in the group posting different links and sites of interest around the arts in education which is really helpful.

I think this SIG will really help towards my Inquiry as people are posting links I have not seen, and posting things I would not have thought would be beneficial, but when looking into them further they really are.

I have been reading through Teaching Dance as Art in Education by Brenda Pugh McCutchen and it is very helpful aiding my line of inquiry.

Something that really interested me when reading this was How ED (Educational dance) differs from a Physical Education Model.

She states "Aspects of dance are easily adapted to physical education. Indeed physical educators historically brough dance into the curriculum and make a place  for it longer before there were dance specialists in K-12. Dabce training for certified physical educators is usually activity based. Rarely do physical educators study dance performance. Choreography, criticism and dance history. Their dance goals relate to fitness, skill development and recreation, rhythmic activity, locomotor skills and sequences.
Dance can be taught in both ED and physical education with the highest integrity. Both the physical educator and dance specialist bring specific skills and backgrounds to dance, and both ably teach dance to achieve their goals and standards."

My inquiry is forever adapting, which is great as it shows my research is progressing.

Originally I had quite a one sided view.
I was unhappy that the arts were being taught as part of the PE Curriculum for Dance or English Curriculum for Drama and didn't understand why.
Now, because of skyping with Adesola, through to reading this book, along with conversations with a good friend who is a Drama teacher, I am now not exploring why the Arts is being taught by teachers from those academic areas, because like the above states, these teachers still have their own standards and achievements, but, why is the arts is not more specialised in schools?
The arts seems to have a stigma attached to it. For example, people do Dance or Drama if they are not succeeding in other subjects. Like it is an easier grade to achieve.

What I have found interesting when talking to my friend Jessica, who is a head of Drama at a secondary school is that she is very much agreeing that the arts are deemed less valuable yet she signposted me to a link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/creative-industries-worth-8million-an-hour-to-uk-economy which shows the arts industry make such a large revenue. She is now interested in my inquiry as well. What is beneficial is that she is that whilst she is a drama teacher with no "professional" performing experience, she went to university, obtained a degree, then PGCE and from there now teaches. She is valuable to my discussion as she is educated in a different way to me and everyone in the SIG I am within.

Because of this article and reading other peoples opinions in SIG "Performing Arts in Education" I have changed my inquiry to:
"How can the arts become more a more reputable subject in schools"

With my award title sticking at  "BA Hons Professional Practice in Performing Arts and Education"





Reference:

B Pugh McCutchen (2006) Teaching Dance as Art in Education: How ED (Educational dance) differs from a Physical Education Model.

MARCH 3rd AM SKYPE CHAT

On Tuesday morning a group of us had a Skype session with Adesola.

We had a couple of people from Module 1 and a few from Module 2. It was a really beneficial session and it certainly helped me with what I was querying.

At the start of the chat, after introducing ourselves etc, we all one by one stated what we would like to talk about.

My topic of discussion was about my line of Professional Inquiry.

I went to explain how what I was thinking for my Professional Inquiry was down the route of why we as performers can't obtain a PGCE until we have a degree, despite the majority of professional performers having a National Diploma.

This was a great discussion as most people in the Skype chat we're really vocalising and saying they completely agreed.
We discussed what a PGCE is and why the diploma isn't deemed a good enough qualification to have to get on to a PGCE course.

We were all quite passionate which was great. Everyone had the same beliefs that we should be able to do so, so I'm definitely going to explore in to why it is this way.

We were talking about GCSE Dance teachers, and how they are the PE teachers just also teaching dance and how it wasn't fair, us trained dancers couldn't have that teaching status until we also had the degree.

Adesola raised a good point that whilst it is beneficial to research this, a lot of answers found would all be the same; that PE is just part of the dance curriculum so that's why PE teachers teach it, or Drama is in the English curriculum so that's why the English teachers teach Drama. And the curriculum isn't changing!

We then started asking questions like, why is Dance just on the PE Curriculum, or why is Drama just in the English curriculum?
Why is it that the Arts is deemed a lesser subject?
Why is the Arts something schools suggest pupils do if they can't do anything else?
Why is it deemed more intelligent to use your mind, as opposed to working with your body?

My professional inquiry has changed because of this Skype session.

I am now really interested why the arts don't have a more specialist curriculum.

Music has it's own. Now, it is extensive, involving many things from playing instruments, learning about sheet music, and sight reading through to what everything means on a musical score, and then also the history of music! But there wasn't when I was in school, a specialised section for performing music through vocals.

I aim to explore now the stigma's around being a dancer/singer. Why is it that people think performers are not "clever"..?

I aim to explore performing arts in the secondary curriculum, why it is not as specialised, or compulsory, but also research the battles performers face. 

I assume for a male of a young age it must take a fair amount of courage for them to come out and say they would like to do ballet, or musicals or something in the arts.
Does this impact males in the government when they are looking at the arts in secondary education? (I secretly hope Michael Gove is a closet ballerina).

I also want to explore why the strength performers have, whether it is dancers, vocalists, musical theatre, are deemed less intelligible.

I challenge the Department for Education to be able to do 2 hours of ballet, a 1 hour choral class including sight reading and harmonies, then a 2 minute monologue, followed by an hour and a half jazz, then a solo vocal performance...
Because that's what I had to do as a teenager, in one day, for my audition just to get in to theatre school.

I may be a bit uneducated currently on the above, but aim to change that, however I fear dfe will never know the strength, education or knowledge performers have.