Connectivism. Fear of it? and Impro and Framework
Sometimes my MA journey feels like I'm in a gigantic game of Join the Dots or Word Search. At other times like I'm stuck in an episode of Vera or Silent Witness. Reading Adesola's blog this week on Frameworks and Emergence was one of these times. I found myself bumping into words I had never heard and had to do some smart detective work to find out what I was reading about and trying to understand! However having watched the two video's and digging about on the internet I'm beginning to find an understanding.
Connectivism and the Fear of it
One of the questions asked in the interview with Steven Downes was Why are parents and teachers so afraid of connectivism? As a mature learner that grew up with my learning being achieved either through books or in practical dance lessons I found it difficult to trust the internet and the networks on it. How did I know the person writing the blog or page on a network site could be trusted? How did I know the biog on their page was their actual one and not an improvised title? A lot of the information seemed to be just their opinion and not necessary the truth or the meaning? Was this really a good way of seeking out information? Surely books were a better means of finding out the truth of the matter. My theory was that if it had been written and published in a book, it must be the truth. However, over time my theory has been proved wrong. Books as well as networks can still be just one persons opinion and, like every good library, you can dip in and out of different thoughts and ideas.
George Siemens idea of Connectivism was that our thoughts and ideas are projected into society, discussed and then they will return to ourselves. As teachers, we often put our idea's or thoughts out there into our classroom or choreography. They are then chewed over by the students or dancers and then brought back to me, the tutor or choreographer for discussion. It's interesting to me now that when I give my dancers and students ideas for choreography or even technical correction, they can leave the class and research on the internet or chat on social media and return to the following lesson with ideas for discussion. Thirty years ago when I started teaching and there was no internet or networks to access, this process was not as immediate. I would have to have recommended a book, the student would then have to find a place to purchase said book and then spend several days/weeks reading it. There is much to thankful for with as Siemens said learning through External Social Spaces.
Improvisation and Framework
I think guidelines in everything we do are important, whether it be dance and improvisation or shopping! How many times do I go shopping without a shopping list and then come back with everything but the very pieces I went for?! It is very easy to be distracted or go off on a tangent that leads down a different route to the one that you wanted to express in the first place. My experience with students is, that often they are given a stimulus, they are excited by it and come up with a million ideas on how they could work on it. Unfortunately with so many ideas often the original brief
becomes lost. I encourage them to only work with, in the case of young Primary school students, their favourite idea, and with older GCSE dance students, an idea that they relate to the most and which they are absorbed by.
Helen talked about trust and the sharing of ideas in her blog. I find it interesting that young children are often very keen to show or share their improvisation/choreography with me or the class, even the shy ones. However often the GCSE students are very reluctant. Although this can be down to nerves or fear that it might be in some way wrong or that they have misinterpreted the stimulus. I think that often its because they have put so much of their own feelings and emotions into the choreography that its hard to show it to others. Its not until they find that trust in their fellow class mates and realise that they can help each other that they can let go and work from within.
Connectivism and the Fear of it
One of the questions asked in the interview with Steven Downes was Why are parents and teachers so afraid of connectivism? As a mature learner that grew up with my learning being achieved either through books or in practical dance lessons I found it difficult to trust the internet and the networks on it. How did I know the person writing the blog or page on a network site could be trusted? How did I know the biog on their page was their actual one and not an improvised title? A lot of the information seemed to be just their opinion and not necessary the truth or the meaning? Was this really a good way of seeking out information? Surely books were a better means of finding out the truth of the matter. My theory was that if it had been written and published in a book, it must be the truth. However, over time my theory has been proved wrong. Books as well as networks can still be just one persons opinion and, like every good library, you can dip in and out of different thoughts and ideas.
George Siemens idea of Connectivism was that our thoughts and ideas are projected into society, discussed and then they will return to ourselves. As teachers, we often put our idea's or thoughts out there into our classroom or choreography. They are then chewed over by the students or dancers and then brought back to me, the tutor or choreographer for discussion. It's interesting to me now that when I give my dancers and students ideas for choreography or even technical correction, they can leave the class and research on the internet or chat on social media and return to the following lesson with ideas for discussion. Thirty years ago when I started teaching and there was no internet or networks to access, this process was not as immediate. I would have to have recommended a book, the student would then have to find a place to purchase said book and then spend several days/weeks reading it. There is much to thankful for with as Siemens said learning through External Social Spaces.
Improvisation and Framework
I think guidelines in everything we do are important, whether it be dance and improvisation or shopping! How many times do I go shopping without a shopping list and then come back with everything but the very pieces I went for?! It is very easy to be distracted or go off on a tangent that leads down a different route to the one that you wanted to express in the first place. My experience with students is, that often they are given a stimulus, they are excited by it and come up with a million ideas on how they could work on it. Unfortunately with so many ideas often the original brief
becomes lost. I encourage them to only work with, in the case of young Primary school students, their favourite idea, and with older GCSE dance students, an idea that they relate to the most and which they are absorbed by.
Helen talked about trust and the sharing of ideas in her blog. I find it interesting that young children are often very keen to show or share their improvisation/choreography with me or the class, even the shy ones. However often the GCSE students are very reluctant. Although this can be down to nerves or fear that it might be in some way wrong or that they have misinterpreted the stimulus. I think that often its because they have put so much of their own feelings and emotions into the choreography that its hard to show it to others. Its not until they find that trust in their fellow class mates and realise that they can help each other that they can let go and work from within.
Dear Debbie, a really interesting post! I can relate to many of the things you describe. Especially working with GCSE students (I believe this are older kids? Here in Switzerland we have a different system, so some times I am not sure about UK terminology). Developing trust in each other, creating a "safe" dancing space, where they don't feel judged by their peers and feel free to share is really a key element when working with this age group. And each class has a different group dynamic, its great if you can observe, how this group dynamics can change in a creative process together, how students (and teachers) can see their peers in a different light (of course that does not always happen).
ReplyDeleteThanks Agata. Yes your right, GCSE's are for students from 15 years old upwards. Can I ask you about your dance/drama/performing arts system in Switzerland? Is it regularly taught in schools? Here in the UK they seem to be pushing it one side, especially in secondary education. (This is the older students)
DeleteHi Debbie, dance and drama are not regularly taught in schools (only music, fine arts, crafts and sports), we don't have a set system, as how to integrate performing arts in public schools (and each region handles it differently). Where I live, artists or companies, can develop their own project ideas (this could be anything from a one day workshop, to working with the same class regularly for an entire school year), these projects are then published on the education web site and schools can apply for the project, they would like to participate. Usually its government funded. I think there are positive and negative sides to this "non-system", positive being, that there is a lot of artistic freedom in the work and many great innovative projects emerging, negative being, that it will strongly depend on the school and teachers, if they are interested to bring performing arts into their schools. So not all kids get the opportunity to have this experience and the older they get, the less time there seems to be for arts in their schedules... How does it work in the UK? Do they teach performing arts in schools?
DeleteThat's very interesting Agata. When I started the MA course I did not realise I would be having discussions with someone in Switzerland. Amazing! Schools do teach performing arts in schools here in Britain. We have GCSE/A level Dance, Drama and Music and also an exam called BTEC which is an equivalent of GCSE and A levels depending on the level. Unfortunately some of the arts subjects are being either side lined or dropped as the concentration goes to more academic subjects. At Primary school dance comes under the PE umbrella.
DeleteWe also have government funded projects which take dance into schools. Again this will often depend on who is running the project as to the quality of the education. Some projects use teachers who hold a Performing Arts degree but do not hold a teaching certificate so often have no idea how to teach children. This worries me, especially if they are teaching young children.
Really enjoyed your Blog Debbie, and also the conversation between yourself and Agata.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tanith.
DeleteWould love to hear your experiences of the British system
DeleteWhat an interesting discussion. I work in Norway where we have a different approach to the arts generally and dance in particular.
ReplyDeleteAt GCSE level dance is not included in mainstream education but every town has a state subsidised school of culture and their mandate is to offer dance, drama, music and fine art at a reasonable price to every child from primary school and up to the age of 19. It is not always practical and the logistics of providing qualified teachers in remote areas is challenging so the level of teaching varies enormously but the results are noticeable. Over the past 20 years the number of norwegian dancers in the national ballet company has increased by about 20% and the number of touring freelance dance groups has increased dramatically and it is not just the number it is also the quality of the productions the tour.
I work as head of dance for a private dance school run by a state subsidised Opera company. The company employs 15 qualified dance teachers most of whom work in schools of culture in the surrounding small towns and villages. Some members of staff work in 3 different towns each week, travelling up to two hours a day to teach 3 or 4 dance classes. We are fortunate in that we can meet once a week to discuss our experiences and problems. This is not always the case and I know many schools for culture rely on someone who can come once a month to hold a dance class. Not ideal but as more norwegian students train to become dance teachers this situation will improve.
Hi CatIngebrigtsen. Thank you for joining the discussion. It is really interesting to hear about the Norwegian system and its lovely to hear that Norwegian dancers and productions.
DeleteAs well as the schools system we have many private dance, drama, singing and theatre schools that young people can attend. Again these vary in standard, but over the last few years some of the examination boards for these arts have got together to increase the standard of their examinations so that they are in line with GCSE and A level. This means that students who take their examinations receive 'credits' that they can put towards University education. However all this comes at a price, and it will depend on parents finances, as to whether the child can attend the classes or not.
Hi Debbie, great blog! I love your teaching experiences of how you learnt without the internet and networking. I suppose most of us are guilty of overuse and realibilty on our phones. I don’t teach GCSE Dance but have assisted students in this. I’d love to hear more about this. Is there a difference between a school teacher over a dance teacher? X
ReplyDeleteThanks Jade. I enjoyed teaching GCSE dance and it certainly broadened my horizons and knowledge base. I've learnt much more about choreography for instance since teaching GCSE and now appreciate dance pieces that I may have been a bit snooty about!! Its probably a broad statement but I think probably that a lot of school teachers tend to be better at contact work and the energetic feel of the work, where as dance school teachers tend to be better on the technique and performance aspect. But as I say that's speaking broadly. x
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