Ok so over the last couple of weeks I've been reading and researching to try and find my question for my proposal.
I still don't have a definitive question but I do feel like I'm heading in the right direction!
So here is some of what I've been up to!
First of all I set up my SIG group, now in theory this seemed like a great idea! I added lots of different dance professionals that I have either worked or trained with and posed a few different questions to them in the hope that their responses and answers would help me narrow down which direction my question might evolve. However only 1 person actually responded which was a little disappointing!

Has anyone else had problems getting responses and conversation going with their SIG?

I thought I would write the same questions on here and would really love to hear your responses!

1. What effect does reality T.V such as dance moms have on students and how does this impact on the demand of the dance teacher and school?

2. How relevant is acrobatic dance and gymnastics in the dance world and training today?

3. Does acrobatic dance and gymnastics have any impact or advantage when it comes to dance employment?

4. Does acrobatic dance and gymnastics have a positive or negative effect on a dancers technique?

5. What impact are unqualified dance teachers having on students and how does this affect teachers who are qualified?

6. Should the private dance sector be regulated?

The more I look at and read these questions the more I feel that these can all be connected In my question when I eventually figure out what that is!

I also decided to help me try and make things a little clearer I would look at key words I had used in my questions and brainstormed ideas that went around those words such as:

Acro dance

Qualified teachers

Quality

Progression

Regulated.

I also made up a list of pros and cons about gymnastics and Acro dance as well as trying to find some literature to gain some clarity on the subjects I had been looking at. I'll be posting some of my findings in my next Blog.

I've also discovered after reading reader 4 that I work within an inter disciplinary context, that I need to do qualitative research and I'm also going down the route of participant observation to gain more accurate subject knowledge.

I'm interested to see if others of you are trying these avenues of research and how you have found it helps you. Or is there another avenue of research others can recommend for me to try?

Module 2 The Question!

Hi Everyone,

Well aftera nice long break for the summer i am back and ready to begin Module 2 of my BAPP.
Throughout this Module we have to begin to find our question that we will use for our professional inquiry.
Now for a while over and over the summer and towards the the start of the new academic year i have begun to notice a particular demand for Acrobatic dance and gymnastics skills.
As i am not qualified in this genre i have found this has posed a particular quandry for me as a teacher in two ways really.

1. other dance schools in my area seem to offer these classes and so many of pupils are branching out to other schools therefore potentialy threatening loss of buisness.

2.the increased risk of injury to pupils as they experiment at home without proper training or supervision.


This has led me to lots of different avenues of thinking.

• how can dance schools possibly keep up with the demand of the latest fads and trends?
• do i do the course to become qualified to join the trend and please the masses, even thogh ethicly it might not be something i agree with?
• why is traditional dance no longer good enough for parents and students 

After having all these thoughts and being unsure as to how to move forward as a teacher in this area i have begun to write out and explore possible questions for my propsal for my professional inquiry whihc have now been posed to my SIG group.

I already have professionals from outside the course on my SIG but it would be nice to see how others feel about this on the course.

I wondered if anyone else has ever felt the same way as me and if so maybe you might like to join my SIG group?!

I look forward to hearing peoples feedback and am intrigued to see other peoples interests as we move forward in Module 2.

Relective thinking and how this enhances my learning experiences

So for this part of module 1 we have been asked to keep a reflective journal and see how this enhances our learning.

I know a lot of people find this tricky but for me reflection is part of who I am and something I do pretty much everyday so starting a reflective journal was a satisfying task!

Now I would describe myself as an over thinker who probably reflects too much ( although how do we know when we are over reflecting?)

I often find myself reflecting in the car or first thing in the morning when I'm brushing my teeth and not just about recent events it could be reflecting back over a number of weeks, months or even years! I find this really useful to improving not only my skills as a dance teacher but also in reflecting on myself and the kind of person I am and want to be.

The only negative side to this is that I find it hard to switch off.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Take for example writing this blog or setting up my you tube account I just decided to give it a go , throw myself in at the deep end and use my previous experiences of using social media such as Facebook to aid me in finding a way to get started! And only after seeing people's reactions to my posts and having time to reflect afterwards do I feel I've truly learned what I need to to move forward and improve on my blogging skills. 

This is much the same for many areas of my professional practice . So I have come to the conclusion that I reflect off action - after the fact! Time to digest, reflect and then act!

Does anyone else find this is the way they reflect?

However when it comes down to teaching my dance classes I do use in action- online reflection. Teach, observe, correct, see the improvement and this has been part of my teacher training. 

Does anyone else use both online and off line reflection to enhance their teaching and choreographic skills?

So back to the reflective diary , as my brain reflects so quickly and frequently I have found it easier to record my reflective thoughts on my dictaphone.

This is due to the fact that when I'm writing my brain throws out thoughts quicker than I can write them down and I often forget and miss out vital parts of my reflection. 

Also I know I am a huge culprit of waffling on a bit! ( although sometimes I think it helps to waffle on a bit to hit that eureka moment, anyone else experience the same thing?)

By recording my reflective thoughts vocally it's less time consuming , quick to get those vital thoughts down without missing anything out and when listening back to the recording I'm able to pick out key points that are more influential to my learning process.

By doing this it also makes recording these thoughts in writing much easier by either keeping a much neater journal that makes sense or putting the most vital learning points into a spider diagram.

I'd be interested to hear how other people feel about reflective journals?

 Do you find it easy like me or is it something people find tricky?

Do you find being reflective enables and enhances your learning as a professional?

I know for me reflection is a big part of my everyday life and is what encourages me to grow and improve as a professional.

My first you tube clip!

Hey everyone,

So I decided to brave it and set up my very own you tube channel.

Check out my very first video an introduction to BAPP and myself!

Please like and share! I'll be uploading more clips in the weeks to come!

https://youtu.be/1-nKNEFG6Ak

New technologie!

Following my last blog post and discussion with my tutor i had a go at looking for myself on google and it turned up a few things but nothing that exciting or informative about myself or my skills. 

So I decided to sign up to a few more applications that would help promote myself and my skills as a dancer and dance teacher.

So just recently I've signed up to tumbler and I have created a you tube channel.

Now the you tube channel I'm not too worried about I just need to upload some videos the first being my introduction to BAPP video which I intend to do this weekend ( a little scary I don't want to look like a total dork! But I'm going to give it a go!) so keep your eyes open for that and let me know what you think?

If anyone out there is a regular you tuber and tips or hints would be great fully received!

However the whole tumbler thing is a little daunting I'm not quite sure how this works. I know I can create another blog on there which is where I may start but again if any one is a regular user on this site I'd be really great full of some helpful hints and pointers, do's and don't ! 

At least I've attempted to sign up though that's a big step for me!

I am also thinking of sorting out a proper website for my dance school but this may take some time but I think it's high time I sorted that too!

Isn't it amazing how something like doing a top up degree can push you to do things you never thought you would!

My latest thoughts on BAPP and using new technologies!

So after the recent Module 1 catch up with my fellow peers and Module tutor over Skype we were asked to share one thought about our BAPP journey so far.

So here goes.....

A lot of people have expressed that using all this new technologie is daunting and a bit scary. I agree with this but I'm really excited to embrace the challenge and pushing myself and my limits.

I am also enjoying the freedom of my own study, knowing there is no right or wrong.

I'm enjoying writing my ideas down and sharing them with other people.

I am also amazed and excited at how just by writing this blog is opening up a dialogue with other professionals all over the world. Opening me up to their ideas and experiences to enhance my own thought process about my own professional practice!

How has Communication technologie and social media helped you in your continuing professional development? Dancer or no dancer has it played a part in your success?

Writing a C.V

So as we all know a C.V is an important and instrumental factor for promoting ourselves and gaining access to job interviews and possible employment.

As a professional dancer and a freelance dance teacher a lot of my employment has been gained through practical dance auditions. This meant that although a C.V was important it was mainly a reminder of who the audition panel had seen that day and a means of contact. 

Now I don't know about you? But due to the nature of my work I have never really had to have what I would call a "normal everyday C.V" nor have I been shown how to put one together.

Over the last few years I have been enhancing my training and gaining higher qualifications I have been looking at the different career options I have and have realised that as I and my job opportunities change so must my C.V and the way I market myself and my skills.

So below are two examples of my C.V my professional dancers C.V and my newly updated C.V.

I still feel there are improvements I can make so any feedback on what I have done so far would be greatly appreciated. 

I also look forward to looking at other BAPP students C.Vs for inspiration.😊

Social media

Hi Everyone,

So since my last blog I have been busy trying to get my teeth stuck into the tasks for module 1 of my degree.

Now so far I'm quite impressed with myself, I already have a Facebook account which I use for social and buisness uses. As well as being good for advertising, promoting and communicating about my dance school and it's activities . It's great for keeping up with friends and collegues in the professional performance industry. It's also a great way for networking with professionals as a way to keep up to date with what's going on in the industry to ensure that my knowledge is up to date to pass on to my students.

I have also just signed up to Instagram  and snap chat, however I am slightly more unsure of how this can help me improve my teaching or advertise my buisness. 

Does anyone have experience using these technologies and how I can use these to the best of my advantage? I'd love to hear some ideas and suggestions.

I'm also unsure how safe these networks are to use such as sharing photos and videos. How safe are these applications?

If anyone has any other suggestions of applications that might be good for me to use I'm always willing to try something new! So please any feedback is more than welcome.

Do we really need all these apps ? is 1 not enough to get the job done? Or can we truly not live and work without these networks ?

The journey begins!

So today I had my first ever Skype group chat! An experience I have to say!

I'm used to meeting people face to face, so to meet people and introduce myself without being able to put faces and voices to names was slightly disconcerting but exciting at the same time!

During my first Module on this top up degree we have the option through tasks to experiment with communication through various different portals. Now I don't know about any of you ? but I have never been one for technologie. I,m just about comfortable with Facebook and email so am terrified but excited to broaden my skill set and see how this helps me progress on a professional level.

Now I just need to organise my time so I can juggle being a mum , finishing my degree , run my own dance school and finish studying for my licentiate with the ISTD!

It's going to be a busy year! But just from starting this blog and taking a step into Skype I am already feeling more confident that these new challenges are more achievable than I think!

Anyone else got a schedule like this?  and how are you thinking of managing the workload?

Refining the detail

Over the past few years gaining a full degree has been something that I hoped to achieve with a desire to not only challenge my mind but improve my dance teaching skills. Refining the details and opening myself up to new methods of nurturing, engaging and inspiring young dance talent to enable any student that may come under my instruction to be taught to the highest possible standard. 

However embarking on this top up to gain my full BAhons is not my only aspiration . I have a great desire to not only teach children to dance but to train full time students to become professional dancers  and teachers ,i also hope in time to become an examiner with ISTD.

In order for me to achieve this I will need to gain my licentiate and fellowship teaching qualifications. 

These qualifications require extensive knowledge and detail of the syllabi in the relevant genre. 

I have already begun training for my tap and modern licentiate and am enthralled in the detail and extensive knowledge that I have already gained. Through learning  to deliver these genres at such a high level I have already seen an improvement in my teaching. My pupils are more engaged and class and exam results are improved and higher.

So as I continue to improve my skills I think it's true to say that if we continue to refine the details our passions will evolve, grow and continue to enthrall generations to come. An exciting prospect indeed!

From student to teacher and then back again!

So I thought as this was my first time blogging that I would introduce myself and tell you a little bit about my career as a Dance Teacher.

My name is Charlotte I am fully qualified DDE modern and Tap teacher and also a fully qualified RAD Ballet teacher and I have been teaching dance for 11 years. I originally trained at Stella Mann College of dance 15 years ago and after graduating embarked on a career as a professional dancer before settling down into my now roll of Dance Teacher.

I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity of taking over and becoming principle of my childhood Dance school and also taught dance in primary schools.

However 2 years ago I had my first child and whilst on maternity leave decided I wanted more out of my career as a dance teacher and felt I wasn't reaching my full potential. 

I embarked on re-Training  and enhancing all my teaching qualifications by taking a place at preston dance academy and graduated with a first class foundation degree teaching dance in the private sector.

Since graduating from Preston college I have been lucky enough to have gained a teaching position at the college mainly in tap which is an amazing opportunity but not without it's challenges.

I am hoping whilst I undertake this exciting new journey on the BAPP to explore my continuing professional development and seeing how this helps me progress as a teacher.