Thinking about the Bromestone Project

Intrinsic motivation and mastery

Where does motivation come from? Internal satisfaction and goal setting or seeking external inspiration, praise and validation 

How much do I talk within a session, what do I say and when? 

- what kind of different circles could you make with this body part

- how big or small/ fast or slow could they be

- can you find the difference between sitting up tall and slouching

- when and what do I offer praise for - attitude, autonomy, process, investigation, enjoyment and commitment, not right and wrong or the aesthetic? 

Autonomy

How do I increase autonomy more quickly from the outset by removing depending on myself?

Incentivising children to be interested in their own bodies and their own researchers instead of always seeking praise and validation from the teacher.

How do I teach them skills but very quickly permit them to play with those skills with different suggestions and ideas. Vocabulary as a tool for them to then do more themselves not as an end in itself. 

Reflection

Encouraging them to be reflective - asking questions after activities like 

- What did you notice

- What was interesting

- What were you thinking about

Then using their responses as a way to then develop the activity instead of my own ideas.

Process over product

By using the reflections above. 

When going round to look at their rehearsals what shall I ask

- 'What have you done so far'

- 'What are you doing now/next'

- 'What is going well so far' 

- 'How are you supporting and helping each other' 

- 'What interesting things have you found in the movements'

Session structures

Starting and ending by talking together in a circle - we are all involved in this together on an equal level, not directed and dependent on the teacher

Starting in the classroom and ending in the classroom with them - being interested in their whole lives not just their dances. 

Creating our space not my space?

'How do we want to work together' board. What shall we do when someone does not work in this way? Agree together. 

Behaviour

Being aware of and working with the atmosphere in the room - talking to them about it. 

What to do with behaviour - talk to them about it, not interested in what has happened (placing blame) but what will we do not going forwards. 

When/should a child be told to sit out for two minutes? Agree this with the children (and teacher).

Teacher/TA

Make sure you and the teacher are on the same wave length in terms of them understanding and working with your teaching philosophy - talk to them as much as possible both before and after the session. Maybe you are teaching them about dance as much as the children? Asking their thoughts, opinions and questions. Telling them your future plans. Partnership thats fulfilling and interesting for them also.

Managing all of the above in terms of workload, time restrictions, changing schedules!

Developing a statement of teaching philosophy

Teaching philosophy

Approach to movement

The physical body is the primary way in which we experience, make sense of and interact with our world. We also use it as a means of communication between our own emotions, thoughts feelings and opinions, and those of others around us.

For these reasons, understanding, exploring, knowing and being comfortable in our physical body (as well as our mental capabilities) is of vital importance throughout all of life, having profound affects on mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing.

There is a ‘need to foster a greater awareness of both the richness of our surroundings and the wealth of our capacities as individuals within the world to interact with it’ (Whitehead, 1990).

Aims of the sessions

For each child to develop their ‘physical literacy’, exploring and increasing their own movement potential in a way unique to them. This includes building rhythm/musicality, locomotion, balance, co-ordination, control, dynamic possibilities and articulation. For children to feel ‘at home’, building a deeper knowledge of their own bodies, the things it is capable of and how they experience and interact with the world through it.

To be thoughtful, take risks and be curious about what our amazing bodies can do, embracing challenge and unfamiliarity with commitment, positivity and enthusiasm.

Becoming increasingly aware of movement as a means to express feelings and emotions, finding personal movement style and to find joy and pleasure in moving.

To work together with generosity and understanding, appreciating that each individual’s movements, styles and opinions are equally valuable and interesting.

To create an environment which is supportive and safe, where all children feel valued and comfortable to express themselves and explore their own movement potential.

Methods

The approach and aims above will be facilitated in numerous ways throughout the dance session including:

- Learning of movements, sequences and set dance vocabulary

- Structured and free improvisation

- Solo, partner and group work

- Creative tasks

- Sharing work, observation and discussion

My approach to teaching expands from a broad range of styles and influences including street dance, contemporary dance, ballet, contact work, somatic practices such as yoga and improvisation.

Where possible and agreed in advance I will take into account any specific requirements by Montbelle, for example with regards to topics, areas of focus and choreographing work for performance.

Year 5 project…reflections….

Overview of the project:
30 year 5 students, 6 hours over 6 weeks

Began with the question… what is our body for, why are we not just a floating brain?
Each week we discussed this questions, gradually pooling our answers to come up with the following:
1. Acting on ideas - action and activity
2. Expressing feelings, communicating with other people
3. Continuing our existence as a human race
4. Individuality - knowing who is who

From these questions I set a number of tasks:
- Create a solo based on your favourite physical things to do - cartwheels, football, playstation, certain qualities of movement
- From these solos we created a group unison sequence with different children volunteering
- Jigsaws - partner makes a shape, you fit into them somehow, they remove them self and fit back to you etc..
- 10 second freezes - group of 4-6, walking round each other, anyone (undecided) shouts freeze and all group members have to immediately form a physical connection with everyone, repeat
- Partner communication - provide your partner with an intention and see how they can listen and respond - moving a body part in a direction

The tasks were together into an improvisation score, around five minutes long, performed at More Dance! The Scoop, London Bridge on 26th March. We used pieces of paper to constantly move the tasks around and try different transitions until we were all happy.

Reflections on the process and questions:
Rushed. Engrossed. Excited. Thriving in open tasks. Feeling themselves.
Not labelling ourselves as working with a style or genre.

I still set the tasks - not really coming from them? What is the balance between us showing them what is possible and them originating the ideas themselves?

How do we get away from the obvious - what do you like to do with your body - play playstation?

Reflections on the outcome and questions:
Autonomy and ownership by the children on performance day.
Feeling they had something important and their own to say.
Enthusiam, pride and commitment - unprecedented 25/28 to performance.

What question would I ask next, how do I start with a stimulus that comes from them? Asking what is important to you in your life at the moment?

How do all of the aims of physical education relate together: skill building (technique), cultural diversity (different styles of movement - street, contemporary etc), physical fitness (cardio, strength, flexibility)? Should I try and tick all these boxes? How, throughout a year programme in primary school?
Goal of dance in education:
To create more physically able/literate and expressive (emotionally, socially) individuals, who increasingly know/enjoy/explore their bodies and themselves
Through: discussion, collaboration, exploring, learning, discussing, open minded, risk taking, sharing,

Year 5 project… starting points

Project with Year 5

'Belief that arts cannot be taught as a subject but is an approach. It is hard to access the whole power of the arts when they are done within a system (or curriculum) which is based on rejection of the fundamental principles much art is based on. Therefore art is useful in schools (beyond learning the skills of particular art forms) as an approach to inquiry, wonder, discovery and reflection changing the structure of the lesson itself not being the subject of the lesson (unless it is to teach formal technical skills in a given art form)' Akinleye (this blog, 11th Feb)

To create a piece for 20-30 year 5 children over 4 1 hour sessions, ready for performance to a public audience.
Challenges: short time frame, many children may be in the process but not performance but still to have them feel they are investing in the group, public audience, carving out this space for working in a very different way

Starting points…

Knowing from past experience that they are a boisterous group, very physical, determined and love sharing their ideas

Desire to have the dance come from them in its entirety, and I just work as a facilitator

If I begin with 'what issues are important to you at the moment' (identity, community etc..) then are we not still using the body to dance about something rather than it coming from the body?

So how to begin…

With questions, in no hurry to find answers, but with an aim to make more sense of them each time than the last?

What is our body for? What does it mean to us?
My own response
- communication with others
- enjoyment of the senses
- food, water, sleep is not what our body is for but what sustains it
- travelling places and doing things
- telling us what to feel - our body reacting is what tells our brain how we feel not vice versa

From their discussions
- various individual and group task work
- workshopping these over the first couple of weeks
- thinking not of 'material' but choreographic structures and shaping
- using a playlist to provide a work ethic and background? (Bonobo, soundscapes)

Questions arising…
If I begin with 'what issues are important to you at the moment' (identity, community etc..) then are we not still using the body to dance about something rather than it coming from the body?
I can not start every project with the above question??? Or can I???
The body as a the means by which we experience things not an expression of another issue (bullying etc..)
Or could it be the bodies in relation/response to the environment 
https://vimeo.com/10586620 

Recent reflections: dance as an approach to the lived experience!

I recently went to a teaching conference:

Session one Keynote: Stacey Bess author of 'Nobody Don't Love Nobody' about a school she taught at for 13 years in a homeless shelter.

When you invest in children you invest in their families.

Parents ask for their children two things: don't stomp on their spirit, please love them 

Children ask: "Don't expect me to trust you just be a good teacher"

To do this  - follow through say "I will stay" and mean it; keep promises

Tell children they are incredible

Good learning and teaching is to care deeply about the students you are teaching.

Listen more

Much domestic violence today is between older siblings (who have to care for younger ones and are still immature themselves) and younger siblings. 

It is not necessary to hide behind your credentials children remember our humanity

Children that no-one took time to reach become adults who still need to find the humanity in themselves and others (my interpretation of what was said)

Humanity is needed in our schools look at the children first then the rules! 

My reflection: Children teach us how to teach. We each have memories of particular children that have taught us a lesson. As teachers we keep these safe within us. But  sometimes (within the situation of being with at risk environments) these stories are heavy to carry and sharing them in a good way gives life to the memory and lifts the burden of caring the memory by holding it in a situation where there was also pain (at risk). By sharing our lesson we remember children in the spirit of their joy and as the teachers they are. That is what Stacey Bess was doing.

Art ain't fluff - Merryl Goldberg

Many Higher Edu. (HE) students who will be teachers soon do not have art experience themselves. It unlocks doors for them when they realise the worth and potential they have themselves through creating things. "I created this, I like the feeling of re-working, of self realisation..." HE student

It becomes a social justice point - who gets art and who doesn't 

"May students dreams are broken by disbelief ..." art can be used to re-ignite and deal with belief/doubt/dreams(my interpretation)

Various projects and ideas were shared.

My reflection: this session gave more power to my confirmed belief that arts cannot be taught as a subject but is an approach. It is hard to access the whole power of the arts when they are done within a system (or curriculum) which is based on rejection of the fundamental principles much art is based on. Therefore art is useful in schools (beyond learning the skills of particular art forms) as an approach to inquiry, wonder, discovery and reflection changing the structure of the lesson itself not being the subject of the lesson (unless it is to teach formal technical skills in a given art form)

Will you be my partner?: Collaboration within a classroom, a school and a community - Melissa Thomson, Andrea Faulkner, Rachel Kolb & Rosario Casiano

Memories of school we may not remember a specific fact but we remember the way it made us feel/ we remember what we felt.

Collaboration as a climate for inquiry and learning/teaching (my interpretation).

they shared different collaboration structures

they shared different programmes they have in their school particularly ones that address  English as a Second language and the 48 languages spoken in the school.

They moved from how teachers collaborate to how the staff then collaborates with parents (again looking at communication that is accessible even when it is across two languages

Inc. 'Coffee with the principle' once a month, international days, family book club on Saturdays, Donuts with Dad, library card sign-up day. In school reading workshops showing parents how to 'read' a book with their children even if they can't read the language of the text. (look at pictures, predict etc...) 

My Reflection: (reminded me of what we were trying to do at Pembury) Bridge the gap between home and school. Making sure that things introduced in school (such as a particular book) do not then carry with them a cultural context that means the child must let go of their cultural identity from home to pick-up a homogenous Western identity at school. Collaboration is about maintaining a sense of self while being able to be apart of a group - I felt the goals and achievements they shared reflected this in that it was about the child being a part of school without loosing who they were at home.

 Flip it Good! Creating an interactive Flipped experience in the at risk classroom - Llyod Goldburg & Sara Boucher

About blended and on-line classrooms.

Why flip? because it gets rid of worksheets!!! Testing is moving on-line, increase communication between school and home, individualised experience, it 2015...

It meets IT standards too!

They shared applications and strategies  Biggest point was FEEDBACK is really important.

All very useful as I like to teach in a flipped classroom which really is what a dance class is.

My reflection: The use of internet allows for communication across locations. For instance Grandparents, parents and identified people who are far away can comment and add to children's blogs, Students have time to think as they can return to on-line study at any point. Teachers can have long conversations that span thought - go away try something - comment - etc… then the classroom altogether is about discussion, sharing experience asking questions, looking at what they discovered/created.

First sessions

Children really enjoyed the freedom given in the ‘locomotor warm up’. They were eager to give suggestions for ways to travel around the room and loved the freedom of doing their own movements all around the space. I was conscious to keep emphasising that they could do whatever they felt. I intend to build on this coming weeks by talking to them more about the characteristics of each movement – what makes a ‘jump’ or a ‘slide’, this then unpicking what makes the movement unique and opening up more potential to explore that concept in other parts of the body.

The year 1 activity to run and ‘make a mark’ for each different type of weather on big pieces of paper was appealing and they enjoyed rushing around the room and leaving their own ideas in each place using their pencil. Many children were able to think independently and creatively about what that weather may look like on paper, as opposed to visually representing things that describe it such as drawing snowmen or sun, wind and rain were easiest. We began to discuss the typical qualities of each drawing in being short and sharp, long and smooth etc. I will repeat a similar session next week.

How far should we go in catagorising and defining particular movement qualities for each weather, is this me telling the idea to the children and restricting them or them developing a language to describe but still with enough movement freedom?

With Year 2, children were encouraged to describe something they find ‘in the wild’, written on a piece of paper which each child then laid in a space of their choice. Children lay on the floor with eyes closed and were transported away from the school and into a different imagined environment, a rainforest soundtrack assisting, making their way around the space and responding how they wanted to the words. After we tried this once, we discussed and I did some modeling of possibilities before trying again. All children were completely absorped, meeting their own level in terms of movement and imagination, giving them permission to play!

Resisting the temptation to model movement or verbalise ideas before children first try the activity, then modeling afterwards and discussing to increase their options – effective?

Leaving space open – for next weeks physical story, can children choose what will happen, I make a story by putting the ingredients together but still leaving space for children to decide how there character will react emotionally and physically, to make their own sections/endings?

Next week, how can these more open ended explorative tasks be gradually progressed to building specific skills and eventually setting individual/group movement material or sections.

Year 4 and 6 – Dance codes. After the locomotor warm up, I explained the concept of creating dance for everyone to enjoy doing dance week by making a movement code.  Children discussed and decided key movements and symbols to represent each. They all then enjoyed writing their own dance in pairs, using the code.  I emphasised from the start that we would do a test run and try things, adjust, suggest, improve, try again, see what worked etc… to give them a feeling of flexibility and us as a group giving input and changing it over the two weeks. A few children started to respond to this, and had the idea to combine movements such as a jump kick by writing them next to each other instead of in separate rows, also adding  then number of times and if it was a strong or light movement or on a certain level, using another symbol.

Could I have been more vague about the idea of creating a code and posing the question ‘during dance week we want all children to do other dances apart from just in the hall during the dance class, this could be by themselves, with friends and anytime but mainly playtime, how could we do this?’.

Lesson plan ideas - dance codes (year 4&6)

Dance codes (KS2) 2 weeks Laura_Erwin@rocketmail.com
Learning Objectives/key skills: 1.   Identifying key dance movements 2.   Notating dance and explaining this notation to other children 3.   Creating inventive movement within the
Activity	Learning Objectives	Resources
Warm up activities Sequence comprising of key movements as warm up/inspiration for codes. 3 swing wraps to stretch up to one side, tuck knee under and roll to floor legs out in pike, 4 brushes down legs, 2 back, 2 front 2 swing to either side, swish to turn on bottom, crouch lunge forward, little jump (handstand), crouch, roll up Balance holding one knee in to chest, put down to slide to side, repeat other side Can also repeat this sequence, using the key words but the children decide the movement.	Expand movement vocabulary Respond to key words to create own movement	Music: ‘I can see’ Funkhaus sessions by Jazzanova ‘Kiara’ by Bonobo
Lesson 1 Explain the concept – we want to make some dance codes to stick around the school during dance week. So all children can see a code, understand what it means and do it! If they are waiting in the lunch line, in the playground etc.. So we will make them, I will laminate and we can all stick them around together. A fun activity that everyone can do. Need to think of all children including reception and nursery. Year 4 and 6 children will be arranging it so can explain and help the younger ones. What movements could we include? To start off thinking of ideas, we need to agree what the codes will be: What different simple movements can all children do – talk with the person next to you – turn, jump, roll, stretch, bend, punch. What about children who might not be able to read very well – shapes. Explore These key movements through improvisation. 1.     All doing jumps, turns, stretches, balances. Teacher to challenge children around levels, locomotion, body parts etc.. 2.     Open improvisation, performing what they choose, where they choose and when Create code and write on board We all need to use the same one. 4 shapes Jump – triangle, turn – circle, arm/leg movement – square, rectangle – stretch up? How many shapes in each one. Could we give an extra written challenge for older children? Test it out as a group Lets write our own code on the board and then everyone can go off and try it. Watch in two halves what people have done. Do we think this code will work, shall we change some things? Partner codes In pairs – write a code for another group, swap with another pair. 2 minute to make and then show back. Feedback. Make sure its neat – at the end we will take and laminate them. Lesson 2 How shall we explain it to the school Might some children need help? We could have some code ambassadors…? What instructions do they need to give people. Can 2 children visit each class to explain and give them some?	-       identify key dance movements -       improvisation -       creating using a score -       notating dance -       translating the notation through words to other children	Teacher to prepare laminated codes from week 1 for week 2. Music tracks for improvising and making: Jazzonova Clear black and coloured pens/ felt tips, lots of paper