Module 2: Task 5b

After completing Task 5a (expressing my current knowledge of the ethical practices within my work settings) I found the relevant ethical considerations policies at the school where I work, researched the ISTD's code of conduct for professional teachers and found other government legislation policies and guidelines in regards to certain challenges I face daily within my roles.  Although ethics is a huge area I will attempt to explain below what I have learnt from this exercise.

School Policy:
This for me was interesting as they have two ethical policies; 'CODE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS FOR ALL STAFF' and an 'EXPRESSIVE ARTS POLICY'.  Planning to look at Performing Arts and the curriculum for my inquiry, having a school policy dedicated to the teaching of expressive arts is of great interest to me.  However, for the purposes of this task, I will just look at the content of the main ethics policy implemented within this setting. 

School Ethics Policy - With permission of employer

Page 1

School Ethics Policy - With permission of employer

Page 2

The second point (page 1) raised in this policy is being respectful towards other teachers, something I did not mention in 5a, however for me this goes without saying.  

Point three, talks about being a role model.  Again being in a position of imparting knowledge and guidance as a teacher,  I would once again think this goes without saying. 

The first point that I was not aware of is point five, considering complaints procedure.  I had never really considered that there would be such a guideline in place mainly because I would associate complaints with a retail environment rather than a school setting.  I have also never (and hopefully never will) been involved with the process of a complaint so I have had no prior experience from which to draw upon.

With point six, although I did not raise this in task 5a, I am aware that discussing other teachers competency and conduct with pupils should never happen.  Teachers are a team and have to 'have each others backs' as it were.  This helps with behaviour management and respect.  Once again, a teacher is a role model and speaking negatively of another teacher in front of a pupil does not portray a positive image of oneself.  Point seven (page 2) also comes back to the ideal of being a good role model.  

The major point listed on page 2, is that of social media and school.  I am aware of social media and the problems it can cause, especially after undertaking module one of the BAPP, and that because of the potential implications, social media for teachers in particular, should be handled within extreme caution.  

ISTD Policy:

http://www.istd.org/documents/code-of-professional-conduct-practice-for-teachers-of-dance/

Reading the ISTD's 'CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND PRACTICE FOR TEACHERS OF DANCE', I think most of the points raised were ideas that I had also mentioned within my private dance teaching ethical considerations in task 5a, only more thoroughly explained.

Further Ideas:
I also blogged about additional ethical practices I try impose on myself when teaching such as never being alone with a child.  This is one that although I would like to always happen, as Sinead mentioned in her feedback comments on task 5a, this is not always possible, especially when working within an SEN school where a child may need help changing before swimming or P.E.  

...'i have found it almost impossible uncertain situations to not be alone with a certain student,especially one with severe learning difficulties requiring assistance in getting ready! That one always does make me question everything ethical!'

Another area which I have found a little grey when working within a SEN setting, is that of  using force to restrain a child from hurting themselves or the people around them.  I have recently looked up the official government guidelines on this area and still find I am struggling with how exactly it is monitored within schools, when often a child is restrained by only one person so there is nobody to act as witness to what is happening. 

Link to government guideline document including links to further sources of relevant information:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/355362/use_of_reasonable_force.pdf

This is an area of great interest to me from an ethical stand point and one I intend to look further into for my own awareness when teaching.

Conclusion:

I feel that my initial thinking within task 5a was along the right tracks and I did have a fairly solid prior knowledge of ethics relating to my professional practice.  This task has given me the opportunity to highlight where there are some gaps in my knowledge for future learning and has given me ideas on which areas I would like to learn more about for my own ethical peace of mind.

Module 2: Task 5a

Ethical Considerations:

Teaching Assistant within an SEN school:

• Know school's policies/procedures in regards to safeguarding and health and safety.
• Provide an current DBS (formerly CRB) annually.
• Provide accurate details of incidents as and when required (instanced involving restraining etc)
• Discuss children only when in appropriate situations such as meetings and reviews and only with the appropriate people (do not have a gossip about what child A did to child B during staff lunch break!)
• Do not take photographs of children on personal devices (cameras, phones, tablets etc). 

Within my role as a TA I am simply responsible for adhering to the ethical practices set out by the leadership team and reading/understanding then implementing updated policies as and when necessary.  

Dance Teacher:

Legal requirements (to the best of my knowledge) - 

• Holding a current DBS check (see above)
• Holding a current first aid certificate (when there are no other first aiders present)
• Safeguarding - writing (using government legislation) and implementing safeguarding policies.  Covers issues such as, but not limited to, child abuse and bullying.
• Understanding and adhering to legislation on data protection issues
• Implementing effective health & safety strategies on a daily basis (risk assessments etc)
• Carrying valid and adequate level public liability insurance
• Keeping up to date records of medical issues surrounding the children I teach and having the correct emergency medicine i.e. Epipen (kept securely locked away as per health and safety policy) and emergency contact details of parents/guardians.
• Having a working phone in case of emergency.
• Being aware of licensing/copyright laws for music in shows
• Being aware of child performer legislation and chaperoning laws for shows.
• Ensure I have permission slips BEFORE any trips/videography/photography signed by a parent/guardian.  This also includes using photographs/video material in marketing.
• Taking responsibility for my own business management (paying correct tax etc) as a self employed teacher. 

Other ethical practices I implement on top of the afore mentioned legal requirements:

• Never be alone with a child in a room (if only one child arrives for class, I always invite the parent in to watch)
• Avoid teaching in a door with no windows and if I do have to occasionally, I always open the door so parents can see in. 
• I always aim to know the religious background of a child so I am aware of their beliefs.
• Keep my syllabus knowledge up to date and uphold good standards of teaching practice.
• Be a good role model and mentor.  
• Advising children of all the options and not just the one I find to be the most suitable (career advice etc).
• Listening to the children's need and expectations and aiming to fulfil these where possible.
• Breed inspiration and a love of the arts, just as my teachers did for me.

Within my role as a dance teacher I am responsible for all of the ethical practices, which makes dance teaching a lot more than just teaching dance! 

Image Source:http://www.pinterest.com/pin/287948969899855913/

Module 2: Task 4a (Part B) - List of Questions

What is your inquiry question(s)?  What do you think you want to find out about a particular topic?

I have been wracking my brain since I learnt (way back whilst I was completing the RoL module) that during module 3, I will have to propose and then investigate a line of inquiry.  However the constant during this time has been knowing that there are two possible directions in which I want to take my career upon completion of this course, both of which result in me teaching.

Option 1 - Secondary Performing Arts Teacher

Option 2 - SEN Teacher

In order for me to follow either of these routes (and be able to work within the state school system, as opposed to the independent sector), I must not only have a degree qualification, but also then complete a teacher training course (PGCE/SCITT) in order to gain QTS (Qualified Teacher Status).  There are limited places available on these courses (the only two establishments offering PGCE dance for example are Brighton University and the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD)) and as such I must not only gain a degree level qualification, but it is also crucial that the award title is RELEVANT to performing arts.

I also want my line of inquiry to be current.  I follow the TES (Times Educational Supplement) google page and a question that re-occurs frequently, especially when governments change and new budgets are proposed, is whether to scrap Performing Arts subjects within the curriculum.  As a performing arts teacher, I feel that such a notion is absurd, however I am now questioning whether this is my head thinking of my heart leading me to draw such conclusions.

Drawing on this government issue and keeping in mind the path in which I wish follow upon completion of the BAPP my inquiry question is:

"Is there a core educational need for Performing Arts based subjects within the National Curriculum framework?"

From this title there are hundreds of avenues  to explore:

Questions:

Does performing arts impact/enrich a child's overall education?  If so, how?

Performing arts and behaviour management…

Performing arts and SEN…

Is performing arts irrelevant as it is not viewed as a fundamental academic skill (such as literacy/numeracy)?

What impact does performing arts have on future society and does this change when performing arts is not in the curriculum?

Performing Arts beginners vs. gifted and talented children.  Is the impact the same?  How does it differ?

Which, if any, transferable life skills/knowledge does performing arts educate young learners in?

Do children need to have a passion for performing arts in order to learn from it?

Does performing arts have a place within the curriculum?  

Using my professional network and places of work, I already have a varied research group in mind, ranging from fellow teachers/leaders, examiners, children's parents, head teachers, leaders of different key stages, peers, children, and friends who are not working within the performing arts.  I feel such a range of people will give me ethical and unbiased research and the ability to explore deeper avenues within my inquiry title before linking them together within my final essay.

Module 2: Task 4 (Part A)

Are there any ideas from work based or organisational knowledge theories of learning the could be used to understand your own professional inquiry?

Peter Senge's theories of learning helped me to consider how to begin thinking about this module and where to begin as before reading these ideas, I was completely stumped.  The line of inquiry that I am interested in (at this stage) is along the lines of 'How performing arts can enrich the curriculum' and looking back at module one, I feel I have good connections and prior knowledge in which to root research for this inquiry title.  

Considering how to explore this research using models of thinking as illustrated by Senge, I intend take his idea of 'team learning' (see quote 1. below), using my professional network as a source of information for research.  I am also aware that there are several others on the BAPP course interested in exploring other lines of inquiry related to teaching.  

1. Peter Senge on 'team learning' model:

The discipline of team learning starts with ‘dialogue’, the capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions and enter into a genuine ‘thinking together’. To the Greeks dia-logos meant a free-flowing if meaning through a group, allowing the group to discover insights not attainable individually…. [It] also involves learning how to recognize the patterns of interaction in teams that undermine learning. (Senge 1990: 10)

For my own research purposes the team learning model in action will hopefully open up new perspectives on my line of inquiry and help me further develop my initial thinking and exploration.

Other ideas from Senge that I intent to use in understanding my line of inquiry are the different types of leaders; Leader as designer, leader as steward and leader as teacher.  As already acknowledged, a lot of my learning will hopefully come from lecturers/teachers, professionals, and peers which correlates with the 'leader as teacher' model.  Relevant literature will also play a vital role as well as stories/shared experiences - 'leader as steward'.  I have also always found that the best way to learn is through teaching, so I will in part become my own 'leader as designer' as I will be designing/developing my own ideas and sharing (teaching) these within my professional network.   

Along with the reader information, I also 'google' searched 'Peter Senge' quotes as I often find trying to pluck the relevant ideas/theories from a huge chunk of text quite over whelming.   This led me to find this quote:

Image source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/405112928951114235/

I feel that throughout my upcoming inquiry research this will be a quote to live by, especially when I cannot seem to 'find' the 'right' answers.  

Double Loop Learning:

Image Source: http://www.afs.org/blog/icl/?p=2653

I found the 'double loop learning' concept (Argyris and Schon) interesting to read and it gave me some further ideas on how to develop my inquiry research.  I had initially thought of asking specific questions to individuals and recording their responses to these same questions.  Taking the double loop learning theory, if I find I am not achieving useful information through questioning, perhaps it would not necessarily be that I need to change the questions, but rather that I need to look to a different audience.  For example, if I were considering the use of performing arts in the SEN curriculum and my questions directed towards teachers, professionals and peers were leading me in circles, perhaps I would be able to arrange a performing arts workshop session with SEN leaners that either myself or another professional artiste leads and also take in some professionals to observe the class.  From this I could record first hand the results of performing arts within an SEN setting and compare this with the recorded first hand observations from the professionals of the same class. 

Do you work within a disciplinary context in the arts?  Or is your situation more transdisciplinary?

Looking at my current work situation (working in varying capacities for six different companies), I feel the answer depends on the day of the week!  

My role as an ISTD teacher is inter disciplinary as I work as a tap and modern dance teacher/choreographer/exam co-ordinator/director/parent liaison/head of department.  This skill set is amplified when I consider my own dance school, as not only am I responsible for the above, but also and not limited to, hall hire/marketing/accountancy/insurance/uniform orders/day to day running of the school.   

When working as a one to one teaching assistant within an SEN school, my role is more transdisciplinary as I rely heavily on my skills as a teacher whilst also taking responsibility for behaviour management and the individuals safety.  If there is an incident with behaviour, not only do I have to know the processes to deal with the individual 'in the moment', fill out relevant incident forms and inform those who are required to know, but also I then have to use this situation as a way of learning through reflection, how to try and avoid the same situation reoccurring in the future.  

What do you know?  How do you know it?

In some contexts I have a far greater knowledge than others and I think this is true of probably of the entire human population.  For example I know a great deal about performing and teaching including the theories, techniques and practices involved.  However, ask me anything about football and I am at a loss.  My boyfriend on the other hand is the complete opposite!

Reading through some other peers blogs, I do like the way in which Sinead approaches this question as a tool for where she learns from as opposed to considering what she already knows…

http://sineadtalks.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/task-4a-reader-questions-continued.html

…and I feel this list will help me with ideas of places to turn for research when planning my inquiry.  

What knowledge and skills do you think you will need for the future?

Knowing that I want to go into either mainstream secondary performing arts teaching or SEN teaching, means that I will need to have attained a higher level of maths (a GCSE grade C or above) than I currently have.  Although this is a specific qualification, it is my skill and knowledge in mathematics that needs to improve in order to attain this grade when I sit the examination in June this year.  

Other skills that I will need to develop are the techniques to create written lesson plans as opposed to just notes and mental lesson plans.  

Although I would say I have good time management skills, my work load will increase ten fold when I go into my new career and and such I will have to develop two skills that I have not perfected as yet - delegation, and work/life balance.  

Along with the work/life balance ideal, I feel I need to find a solution to this sooner rather than later as I do have trouble 'switching off' and often find it difficult to sleep knowing that there is work I could be doing.  I have some friends who swim often so I am hoping to join them for early morning/late night sessions in the coming weeks to see if this aids this problem, as I am aware that this could develop negatively causing fatigue amongst other problems, which I simply do not have time for! 

Image Source: http://www.work-life-flexibility.de

Submission time!!!

I am writing this blog after just moments after submitting my first marked piece of BAPP work, which was nerve wracking to say the least.  Whilst submitting I was definitely drawing on my personal support network as I actually had to ask my boyfriend to press the submit tab on the screen because I was simply too nervous! 

This also made me reflect on how much I now question and relate back to the theories and ideas proposed in the module during my every day life (for example the support networks as mentioned above) and actively seek out ways to use them.  For example, whilst writing my critical reflection, I realised that I reflect best and therefore learn the most when I am actively engaged with critique from peers and advisors (professional support network).  Knowing this, I suggested to a fellow student on my course (Sinead) that we email each other drafts as we prepare our critical reflection essays, which luckily, she also felt would be highly beneficial to us both.  Although we had different approaches to our essays, by reading and offering ideas for improvement on each others work, we often had moments of realisation about how to improve our own essays and were able to improve our content.

So, getting back to the point of this blog, having now submitted my work, I feel a sense of relief but also feel slightly nervous and I would really like to know my grade right now (I'm not a very patient person - note to self, maybe this could be a New Year's Resolution??)!

Anyway, for now I am keeping my fingers crossed and hope to start module two work in the next week or two, to hopefully get a head start on things this time!

Until next time…That's all folks! 

New Year, new diary, new challenges...LETS GO!!

As the New Year celebrations are beginnning, 2014's diary becomes obsolete and in its place sits a shiny new 2015 diary...How exciting I think to myself!  However, as I turn the pages and think of how 'long' this next year will be, I realise that in actual fact I can plot all the way through to this time next year just bouncing date to date...

January: Deadline for Module one

January - Mid February: Additional coaching for students each Sunday in preparation for ISTD Tap and Modern exam session.

February 14th:  ISTD Exam date

Mid February - May: Module two

June: GCSE Maths examinations

June - July: Additional coachiong for students each Sunday in preparation for ISTD Tap and Modern exam session.

End of July: ISTD Examination (date tbc)

Summer Holidays:  Planning and preparing for another school year.

September:  Module three

October - December: Applying to Universities/schools onto PGCE/SCITT courses.

Wow...so here is my year ahead and as scary as sitting here looking at it like this is right now, a New Year comes as a fresh start allowing room for development and improvement.  2015 will be a huge year overall, but taking baby steps I feel confident I can achieve all I plan to! 

                                     

Task 3c - Sources of Information

Reflecting on the diverse roles I am currently involved with, I concluded the most appropriate and productive way in which to approach this task would be to choose one of these roles; teaching, the role I intent to go into full-time upon completion of this course.

For inspiration I looked towards my peers blogs and found the use of a visual aid - in the form of a mind map used by Sinead McMenemy - to be the clearest route to explore my current sources of information for teaching and begin to arrange my thoughts and to be able to pinpoint the five I consider to be most useful within my work:

Sources of Information most relevant to my work (in no particular order):

Publications: Books & Other Published Articles - 

As a teacher I have a duty of care by law, to my students and their parents to be knowledgeable of and then apply to my daily practice guidelines to ensure child safety.  For example, having copies of current child protection policies and health and safety at work guidelines is vital to me as without having this information, I would be unable to uphold the relevant policies within my daily practice.

Although such policies are kept accurate and current by the government, they do not change every day and as such, I simply need to be aware of when new legislation is created or altered, in order to carry any changes through into my work, ensuring my practice is always kept within the realms of the law and therefore both professional and ethical.

Face-to-face Conversations - 

I find conversing with other professionals within the teaching world a vital source of information and something I place great value upon on a daily basis.  When I have a problem within my work - for example, managing the behaviour of a particular child in class - being able to converse with a fellow practitioner and talk through possible solutions or reasoning behind a situation is often extremely helpful; they may have knowledge of a certain issue leading to the child's behaviour or may have taught a child with similar difficulties and have found a way to overcome this issue.  They may not necessarily have the direct answer, but I often find that through reflecting in this conversational manner, an idea may spring to mind leading me to find a different approach to the situation.


Whilst undertaking the RoL module of this course, I found it particularly inspiring to have face-to-face conversations with my advisor for the same reason stated above.  Often, I do know the answer, but talking through reflection in an interactive real life situation has a very positive outcome for me.


Pinterest/Blogs - 

When reflecting on blog posts by other BAPP students, I often find new methodology for approaching tasks, helping me find various different lines of questioning in regards to my own work and practice.  For example, upon reading the information in the reader regarding the theory of 'social constructionism',   I was utterly confused, not seeing the way in which this could possibly link to my professional practice.  However, when reading through Dani Tougher's blog post relating to this theory, I was able to see a link to a practical use for these ideas.  From there, I was then able to find a situation within my own work to help me understand and then formulate blog ideas relating to this theory.  I always find it helpful to see something explained in a different format, from another perspective or, even better, using a relevant example.

Image source: www.bestadsontv.com

As I have discussed in several of my other blogs, Pinterest for me is a huge source of information.  There are many ideas on teaching strategies, lesson plans, managing behaviour and even cross curricular ideas (i.e. linking maths and dance) to read, comment on and save onto my network; food for thought at a later date if need be.  Reflecting on my first paragraph (Publications), I do restrict what I use Pinterest for as  I am fully aware that not everything on the internet can be classed a reliable information; for example, I would never search for child protection policies on this platform as vital information may be lacking, incorrect or simply out dated.

Radio - 

Due to my commuting times each day, I am almost guaranteed to listen to the radio at least six, often seven days per week, making this one of my most prominent sources of information.  I use the radio to find modern music to choreograph to that will keep the children engaged during classes.  For example, I recently choreographed an exam dance to a number one chart song, which the children absolutely loved as they new all the lyrics.

I also listen to the news on the radio, keeping me up to date on current affairs and - reflecting back on the 'Publications' paragraph above - abreast of many policy updates or changes regarding school, health and safety and child protection legislation.  I find that as a source of information, radio news bulletins are on point, mostly accurate and ideal for my busy schedule.


ISTD Website - 

Having trained through and currently being a teacher of the ISTD association, I find this website a very current and relevant source of information in regards to my current practice.  The website is kept regularly updated and the information has always been totally accurate in my personal experience.  I often refer back to the pages on exam procedures when organising sessions and regularly attend the courses that are promoted to keep my syllabus knowledge up to date.  Any changes to policies, procedures or syllabus examination expectations are clearly outlined and further sources in relation to such changes (where applicable) are also linked on their pages.

The only downside I find with this site is that as yet there are no forums or interactive zones where teachers can discuss problems and ideas or ask questions to specific members of the association.  I wonder whether this will happen any time in the near future or whether there is a reason behind not moving the website in this direction as yet.



Conclusion - 

Overall I feel that I do currently use a wide variety of sources and I feel this is because I have always enjoyed researching different opinions, allowing ideas to digest and then being able to form my own opinions based on culmination of view points.  For example, before investing in 'Kindle' e-reader recently, I read several reviews online comparing different e-readers, posted a status asking friends for their opinion on Facebook and also spoke to colleagues in the staff room about whether they were happy with the e-readers they had.  From the pros and cons list I created, I was then able to formulate a decision, which, so far I am happy with.

Although I am happy with the sources of information I currently use, I am aware that over time some of my current sources may become less prevalent or even obsolete; for example, when I go into mainstream teaching, I doubt I will have time to teach regular ISTD classes, therefore I am less likely to view the ISTD website as a main source of information.  In this situation however, I hope to discover new sources of information to replace the old, keeping my knowledge both current and relevant to the area in which I am predominately working at the time.