Learning, Skills and Knowledge for Success?

I've been thinking a lot this week about how and why we want to acquire knowledge and what it gives us in return. If we engage with a stimulus we naturally want to know more about it and yet sometimes we just scratch the surface and learn enough to get by. I attended a professional development course in the nineties to upgrade my ISTD dance qualifications. The course lecturer had a sports background. He was comparing different methods of teaching and learning. This was the first time that I heard of different theories of teaching and learning. I found the lecture extremely interesting and thought how I could change some of my professional practice. It made me realise that each learner learns in a different way and one size does not fit all. Sadly, there were several teachers on the course who resented having to take the course and did not see why attending a lecture such as this could improve and change their teaching methods.  The thought was that they had been working successfully like this for years  so why the need to think in another way?  On reflection I wonder now how they measured success? Was it through examinations, how many pupils that had taught that went into West End productions or dance companies? The Oxford English Dictionary’s meaning of success is - The accomplishment of an aim or purpose. Looking back over my teaching career I would gauge hardly any of my teaching successes on successful entry into the professional world of the theatre (as the majority of the teachers on the course did) For instance, one of the first children that I taught with a severe disability was Thomas. He had Arthrogryposis. When we first met, he was in a wheelchair due to post surgery on his limbs. Due to space and safety restraints he was unable to join in. He watched the dance class wide eyed in wonder. After several months of physio, he could attend with the aid of a walking aid. He went on to take part in a U dance production in a large theatre. He managed to do this without the aid of his walking aid. Seeing his excited and proud face was one of the most successful and rewarding moments of my teaching career. 

Comments

  1. Jade Nunn15 February 2019 at 13:22

    Hi Debbie, What a great achievement as a teacher to have a student like Thomas and for him to have a teacher like you to help him gain his goals and passions. Making a difference is such a huge success as a teacher.

    I agree with you when going on ISTD courses say for Inter Mod then the next year having a different tutor gaining their knowledge and picking the bits out that you had never even thought of. I had one tutor who was highly into the technique (I think it was Miss Wilson) and Miss Ballard's take on performance over technique in certain exercises. Both brilliant days!

    Great post and a nice reflection for me also :)

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  2. Debbie16 February 2019 at 09:12

    Thanks Jade. Glad you enjoyed it

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  3. Christopher.MAPP17 February 2019 at 15:04

    Hi Debbie, I really enjoyed your post and can relate to your feelings towards the other teachers, it’s the sense of continouse evolution that we must maintain. How rewarding your experience with Thomas must have been. I really feel if a student leaves you more enriched and becomes a better dancer/person from it than that is the success isn’t it... after all west end shows close all the time and the dancers are (unfortunately) only what the director needed for that show at that time, casting is often a lottery as much as talent...

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  4. CatIngebrigtsen17 February 2019 at 23:54

    Hi Debbie, A thought provoking blogg and a wonderful story, you. I often think I should use students who have gone on to work in the dance industry as a measure of my success as it seems to be the convention, when actually my greatest successes are the students who stopped dancing to pursue other careers but whose lives have been enriched by the confidence they have gained through performing with their friends, the discipline that they have acquired through years of juggling dance classes and school work and the joy they show every time they meet you. Thank you for reminding me of that.

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  5. Fiona J Drew6 March 2019 at 06:49

    Hi Debbie, I have also taught students with disabilities and it can be incredibly rewarding. I feel as a teacher it's about individuals all being given the opportunities to perform and do examinations if they wish to. Sadly I hear of many schools where only the 'best' candidates are given those opportunities. I recently attended the ISTD's Spring Board convention - 'Accessing Pathways to Training for Disabled Young Dancers' at Bedfordshire University and the whole day was incredibly thought provoking and inspiring. Some very valuable research has been done in this field and I was certainly surprised and delighted to find that it was in the ISTD genres of Imperial Ballet, Modern Theatre and Ballroom.

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