Communication

Following our Skype session on the 7th April I am feeding back on my perception of the session and incorporating my current thoughts for one of my AOLs on communication.  What crossed my mind is how many aspects of communication are open to interpretation. 

Some of the conversation centered around translation in relation to language.  One teacher taught Japanese students and was asking advice as to ideas as to how communicate with students who understood a language that she did not speak.  Another commented that she had been taught by non English speaking teachers and that she had still learnt as they had expressed themselves through dance, speaking in their own language and non verbal communication.  However when the word translation was mentioned this made me think of the ISTD Springboard Conference for inclusive dance that I was at recently.  Translation is also the word that is used to convert able bodied dance movements into those for wheelchair users, or those with disabilities and vice versa. 

Language is obviously a key communicative tool when we teach, but within that we adapt the type of language used so that it is age appropriate.  For example with young children we may use more imagery, but what happens when we have a child on the autistic spectrum within our class?  Imagery to them is an alien concept, so we adapt again.  Language is just one form of communication and through dance movement and gestures is it possible that non verbal communication plays just as an important role if not more in dance training?   

The old expression of 'one picture paints a thousand words' could also be applicable to teaching dance.  Verbal correction isn't always understood, but by physically correcting a pupil that correction can be understood instantly.  Others respond to visual stimulation such as watching a dvd of the syllabus that they are studying and others to different methods, which links in with theories of learning. 

Communication is far more diverse and complex than it initially appears on the surface.  What is important is that the recipients of our communication understand it and in relation to teaching dance can incorporate that information to enhance the way in which they develop as a dancer. 

Theories and Frameworks

Following on from the discussion on Sunday morning (3rd March) I was asked to reflect upon how I perceive theories and frameworks.

As part of the discussion we focused upon Classical Ballet Technique as one example of a framework - by doing that we were not suggesting by any means that there are not many more aspects to teaching classical ballet but it was simply used as an example.  In this example when teaching particular vocabulary such as a glissade there are many teaching theories as to how to approach the step, particular build up exercises, ways of remembering the type of glissade etc, etc.  It was therefore posed that could theories evolve from frameworks?

This could also be attributed to specific graded examinations regardless of genre.  The syllabus forms a framework that is required to be examined, but there are many different ways (theories) of approaching how it is taught.  What those theories are can be very individual and can be learnt through initial teacher training, CPD courses and experience to name but a few. 

Therefore if a framework was visualized as sponge cake, are theories the icing and confectionery on top or are they the ingredients making up the sponge cake as others have suggested?  Or is it dependent upon the individual frameworks and or theories?   

Why Reflect?

I was first introduced to Reflective Practice as part of my physiotherapy degree in the late 1990's.  Our first ever essay was to carry out a SWOT analysis and discuss our strengths and weaknesses that we brought with us to the course.  It filled me with horror, which is why I can still remember it more than 20 years later.  I'd trained as a dancer, decided that I wanted to teach and had been teaching for 7 years before I began my physiotherapy training, what experience could I possibly have which was relevant to physiotherapy?

The acceptance of Dance within education has come a long way in the last 20 years.  For example I didn't think that it was relevant to add to my UCAS form that I had a Dance Teaching Diploma, it never crossed my mind that it had any educational value at all!  However the dance related anatomy that I had studied meant that I knew more in relation to anatomy than most of my peers, but in those days it was unheard of to get UCAS points for dance examinations and in my experience dance wasn't considered an academic subject not until much more recently.

Until recently my two careers ran very separately.  I was a dance teacher and a physiotherapist.  Then I was made redundant from the NHS, my 'proper job', my 'job for life', the job with the regular income, which made me re-evaluate my life and I began reflecting upon what physiotherapy career pathway to take, as unless I relocated I was no longer able to practice as a physiotherapist in my chosen specialty of adults with learning disabilities.

Eventually and I have no idea why it took me so long I reflected upon why I went into physiotherapy initially and it came as no surprise to many that it was to work with dancers.  From a physiotherapy view point I just had to re-specialize in musculo-skeletal physiotherapy, but from a dance perspective what qualifications did I have that would be considered academic?  One dance society had an APEL system and I was able to do some courses and submit some written work to enable my previous qualifications to be updated to that of Level 4, another just stated that my diploma was prior to any educational frameworks being developed so could not be equated to any current educational level!  So following extensive research, lots of thought and some procrastination, as well as a period of ill health, I finally enrolled on this course to hopefully obtain a recognized educational qualification in dance, which was not available when I trained in the late 1980s/ early 1990s.

As part of my role as a physiotherapist reflective practice is important and is done in a more formal way, but prior to this course had I ever applied it to my role as a dance teacher?  I would say 'yes' informally.  I am the type of person who 'over thinks' things, 'over analyses' things when sometimes things 'just are' and in all honesty most of this thought process would occur whilst driving home or late at night when I can't sleep. 

Reflective diaries are old territory for me, but writing a Blog is an alien experience, which is why it has taken me so long to actually write my first Blog.  We discussed during the Skype session on 12/02/19 that a Blog was just another method of expressing the reflective process, which is shared with others to develop our thought processes by working 'collaboratively', so why does it feel so exposing?  For me I think that it is in part owing to the fact that my previous academic experience has developed a belief system within me that there must be a right, wrong, correct, incorrect, intelligent, clever way of writing one, especially as I have like many others a perfectionist personality trait.  But surely if it is our thoughts and ideas that we are expressing, this is not the case? 

I feel that reflection is a natural process by which we evaluate all aspects of our lives.  There are specific tools and theories that can be applied, but whether reflective practice is informal or formal it can enhance our knowledge and enable us to develop professionally.  Do others feel the same?