4A - Developing Thoughts from Reader 4

It took me a while to get my head around Reader 4 as there was so much to take in. As well as quite a few links and references to further reading. I knew realistically I wouldn't be able to get everything in detail so I tried to focus in on a few of the theories that I think will help me to begin my inquiry process.

I thought Peter Senge's idea of a 'learning organisation' (Senge, 1990) is particularly relevant to myself. The work that I do as a drama teacher for a children's theatre school is what will trigger my questions and research. Working within an environment where you are constantly passing information or experiences onto others it is easy for you to become comfortable as a teacher, keep doing the same old stuff. I want to be able to do what Senge talks about and give a 'meaningful' experience. I like the fact that he says that real learning is "what it is to be human". I think that is a great view to have. I know in myself that there's things I already know, many things I don't know and so many things I would love to know. We have to increase our capability to be able to learn new things. 

Before I could think about what I need to know going forward in my career I did what the reader suggested and made some notes on what I already know, please see the photo below.

I can see that I have gaps in my knowledge that I will need going forward. I would like to know more about how the arts is brought into schools, how it is funded and how important people think it is. I would like to become a fully qualified teacher - which if I worked in a primary school for example I would need to take on other subjects other than just drama. I would also like to know what opportunities would be available to me in an arts capacity, within primary or secondary. As sadly I know the funding isn't always available to support teachers in these areas. 

On Stephanie's blog she talked about Argyris and Schon's theories of' 'single-loop learning' (goals taken for granted) versus 'double-loop learning' (questioning learning systems) and how these could impact an inquiry (Argyris & Schon, 1974). They also outlined two models that show different qualities in how we work/learn. I mind a mind map of the two models and highlighted in them qualities that I have ever or could recognised within myself. 

The qualities that I highlighted in model 1 could be seen as negative or restrictive to what I am trying to achieve on BAPP. These are qualities that I became aware of last module. It's taken me time to realise them by reflecting in my BAPP journal. I have started to make changes now and can already see some positive effects. For example, I was guilty of the 'save face'. Sometimes I maybe did need help but didn't want to ask for fear of looking like I haven't got things under control or can't do my job. Whereas now if I admit the help that I need or things that didn't work so well things can improve next time - like our end of term shows. Things worked much smoother at the end of summer term because I was honest about what I thought didn't work at the end of spring term. I didn't just say 'oh yeh it was great, lets forget about it'. I learned from experience.




I tried to think about how the attributes I highlighted in model two might help my inquiry going forward. Like the consequences say I want to increase the chance of 'double-loop learning'. I have the commitment that I want to learn and be continually improving upon my practise. Although it's a challenge BAPP is something I have chosen to do and I think it's very worthwhile to my career. Even if I wasn't doing BAPP I have now recognised that developing within any field is important. I am getting better at sharing control - by trusting people with things I maybe wouldn't have before or I would have thought I HAVE to do it myself. I also take an active part in putting together action for change within the business. More so in this last year I communicate almost daily with the managing director and theatre school creative director discussing how classes are going. As I travel a few schools in one day it can be easy to forget about problems or questions that arise throughout the day. My BAPP journal helps me to log those so I can come back to them if need be. I have also got into the habit of writing a weekly report email for most classes to flag up problems or things that I could use help with. I have enjoyed taking trial lessons into new schools or nurseries - putting together the lesson on the advice of my boss and securing new weekly sessions. I plan to talk as much as possible with my boss throughout my research as she recently completely an MA in applied theatre in education so is a person that would be knowledgeable about points I may be looking into.

I think the blogs are great too as it makes me state my intentions and encourages me to follow things up.

 Some questions that have arisen from making notes on the reader and my BAPP journal:

• How much money in the UK is spent on arts education? 
• Are most arts teachers paid for by the school/parents/government?
• How does funding for arts compare to other countries. 
• How do you define what skills a good teacher of the arts has? - We are transdisciplinary, there is a lot to take into consideration when leading a class.
• How easy is it to work with other teachers within a creative capacity?
• Do you think parents understand what we do? Do they care about the arts?
• Do exams put a limit on a person's creativity? How can you assess something that's not a straight forward right or wrong answer?
• Should behaviour management differ in a creative environment? Can it stifle creativity?
• How do we deal with young peoples disappointments?

I would really like to hear anyone's views on any of these questions. I now need to refine them along with the original questions I had that came from 2d. Do what Hanstein says and figure out which of these are viable questions, not 'pseudo questions' (Hanstein, 1999). 

Thanks! 

References 

Fraleigh, Sondra Horton, and Penelope Hanstein. Researching Dance. Print.

infed.org,. 'Peter Senge And The Learning Organization'. N.p., 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

infed.org,. 'Peter Senge And The Learning Organization'. N.p., 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2015.

Middlesex University, BAPP Reader 4, 2015.

Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday/Currency, 1990. Print.