Debbie Marper-Gibson

I've been thinking this week about the whole process of acquiring knowledge. When I told a friend that I was doing a long distance dance MA she jokingly said 'Do you need long arms and legs for that?!' Oh well, it made me laugh!   However, I've never been very good at understanding jokes. I have to think them through and then eventually I realise the punch line. I'm wondering if this is the way that I learn? I have to think about the information, process it. make a decision about it and finally believe in it or discard it. This is probably the way we all learn, except some, like me, need to take more time than others. (Don't get me started on the ridiculous idea of SATs tests!!!) I was reading the blog that I wrote earlier in the year to do with the fear of connectivism. I have certainly conquered several of my fears to do with this learning process when completing Module One. Although sifting through the realms of information on the internet does tak...

Watching the TED talk from Professor Giovanni Corazza from the University of Bologna t hat Helen posted on her blog this week, made me think about this image that I have used in creating dance work shops. Pandora's box. As Professor Giovani explained, most of us sit in our safe little boxes, scared to venture into the unknown. We are frightened that we might be tested and found wanting or in other words 'get it wrong' As John Green suggested in a video that Adesola posted, we tend to think everything in our lives are a test! I am now embarking on module two of the MA course in Somatic Studies. I believe  I spent most of the first module worrying that everything I wrote or blogged about might be wrong. I needed the reassurance of a traditional 'wrong or right' marking system. It wasn't until I had finished the module and reviewed my professional practice that I realised that I had been effectively working on my own and exploring possibilities for years. I had...

As a Module Two long distance student, I have been trying to 'get ahead of the game' this summer by undertaking some study time during the summer break. That's in-between making scones and tea for a cycle café that my husband and I run from home at the weekends.  www.woodsidewelcome.co.uk,  if you are interested! Actually I find that some of my best 'thinking time' comes when I'm baking. Take note module one students! The idea of research made me think of how curious we are as human beings? Crosswords, puzzles, word search games are a huge industry. Even as far back as the Greeks with their labyrinths? Having watched the lecture posted on Adesola's blog it made me think about our need for knowledge. The how and why, and even where? T he great lengths that Cindy Foley's husband went to create a piece of art.  As dance/drama/singers/actors we have all undergone research. Whether it be because of a piece of choreography in dance, or a character anal...

I had been discussing my course tonight with my husband. I commented that my MAPP colleagues and I all came from different backgrounds of the Performing Arts and didn't always agree on aspects of whether a dance work had merits or not. He, not coming from a dance background, said, that he hadn't enjoyed the album Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield to start with but on listening to it several times he had discovered the different layers within it. It made me think of the different layers that exist when we look at choreographers, their dance pieces, genres and how we build on them. When I first went to collage and started teaching I thought, I hated contemporary dance. Why is someone dancing in a tea bag I thought? Why on earth would you just walk about the stage and occasionally do a 'gymnastic' movement with your fellow dancer? How can it be 'dance' when all you are doing is gesturing, not pointing your toes and pushing, shoving and rolling on the floor wit...

I found the film of Itay Yatuv and his daughter which Helen posted on her blog this week, absolutely mesmerising with its graceful energy and flow. The raw innocence and trust that a daughter gives to her father was so tender. Sadly, I have had little experience with contact improvisation and when I have been lucky enough to have been involved in a workshop, I have spent much of the time trying to relax and turn off the voices in my head that say ‘ I don ’ t know this person. How can I touch them, we ’ ve only just met? Etc, etc ’ Finally at the end of the session I have built up enough respect and trust to enjoy myself. It made me think that when teaching our pupils, we need to build up the respect and trust that our pupils need from us and not just expect it as a given. When I moved to Carlisle in 1984 I set up dance classes. I expected (in my ignorance) that people would choose to come to my classes, as I was the better qualified to teach dance out of the schools on ...

I was listening to the radio on Friday. It was St David's day and Iwan Jones was teaching Jeremy Vine how to speak Welsh. Jeremy apologised every time he made a mistake. Iwan told him not to apologise as Mistakes are the Life blood of Learning. It seemed to be a thought provoking statement. On Sunday I attempted to join in the 9am skype session. I must have made a mistake somewhere as my microphone was not working. This meant I could only listen. This was prophetic as this week when looking at my AOL's, one of the soft skills I felt I had learned was listening! This promoted me to research listening theories. Rogers and Farson (1979) describe active listening as 'an important way to bring about changes in people.' They recommend three activities: Listen for total meaning : Listen both for content and also for the underlying emotions. Respond to feelings : Sometimes the real message is in the emotion rather than the surface content.  Note all the cues...