Tuesday, 24 June 2014

TASK 4A: Developing Lines Of Professional Inquiry

After reading the course reader I made a list of all the things I would like to achieve in the next few years with regards to work and my career. This has enabled me to plan out the next three years for which I have set myself yearly goals. My end goal after the 3 years is to have completed my NQT and first year as a performing arts teacher.  After spending the past year teaching dance and drama as a long term supply teacher I have been able to gain firsthand experience of what it will be like having my own class room, classes and all the responsibilities that come with it. This got me to thinking about the changes I would make and the relevance of the subject? I created a survey and asked fellow colleagues at work within the performing arts department to fill it out. I asked both secondary school teachers and the freelance teachers within my network as I have completely different experiences teaching the same subject both in school and outside. Here are the questions I asked:

What do you enjoy most about teaching?
What do you enjoy the least?
What inspires or motivates you in your job?
What would you change about your job if you could?
Do you think performing arts is important in school at KS3? If so why?
Make a list of pros and cons about teaching performing arts

Hana Greaves- Dance Teacher KS3 & KS4

What do you enjoy most about teaching?
Spending time with young people in practical lessons when they get inspired by choreography.

What do you enjoy the least?
Completing data

What inspires or motivates you in your job?
Working with students that are eager to do well and enjoy the subject. Also working with students that are challenging and they have a complete turnaround.

What would you change about your job if you could?
Spending more time with KS4

Do you think performing arts is important in school at KS3? If so why?
 My inspiration to become a teacher derived from volunteering in schemes such as a mentoring programme for SEN students, a dance rehabilitation programme for NHS mental health patients and spending time in a disability unit teaching dance to disabled students (see appendix one). During this time, I found that working with young people brings new challenges every day and that nothing is ever predictable. This inspired me to want to work with fresh minds, hungry for information.
I chose to be a subject specialist in Dance because I believe that Dance is an important subject within the National Curriculum as it coalesces both physical literacy with creativity and imagination, whilst also teaching life skills that are vital for a student’s future career and success. Dance as a subject, develops student’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) education; every school is obliged to educate students about SMSC as they are crucial skills needed after compulsory education. This is what makes Dance such a valued aspect in the National Curriculum as many academic subjects can find it difficult to address SMSC standards. The importance of SMSC education is backed up by The Education (Independent School Standards, 2012) as they have recently revised their standards and focuses to put higher importance on SMSC education, coming into effect from January 1st 2013 (Department for Education 2013, A). I find my strength and the most rewarding aspect of teaching Dance is when I work with the less able and more challenging students who have become disengaged with the rigour of more academic subjects.  These are the students that a Dance teacher can make a big impact upon and change the outcomes of that student’s life for the better. Dance teaches students that there are different skills to be learnt in order to gain success other than conventional academic skills

Natalie Mccool- Singing teacher 4-19yrs extra-curricular

What do you enjoy most about teaching?
Helping people to learn and also giving them help & support throughout the learning process. I also enjoy the satisfaction of seeing a student give a great performance after learning a song.

What do you enjoy the least?
The discipline side - I feel that as a teacher of performing arts, as it is extracurricular, students should really want to try hard and be very focussed in lessons - also I think that a teacher is there to teach and not to lecture students on behaviour. Therefore when a student loses focus or misbehaves I feel uncomfortable and unsure how to resolve the situation. I think every teacher needs someone to support them and also to discipline a student when this situation arises.

What inspires or motivates you in your job?
I love to perform and I love to see others perform too.   

What would you change about your job if you could?
Regards to point 2 - Not necessarily my own job but teaching in general - I think teachers should have a lot more support when it comes to actual behavior of their students. I think far too much pressure is put on teachers especially in state schools to teach their students to a very high standard but also to keep their behavior in check - I think that is too much to take on and a lot of teachers are spread very thinly in their jobs.

Do you think performing arts is important in school at KS3? If so why?
I think it is extremely important because it is one of the most popular forms of self expression and I think young people really need it. I think performing arts is as important as maths or science - in Britain performing arts culture & creative culture drives the economy, and it's a travesty that it isn't given equal status to core subjects such as english, maths & science in schools, this needs to change.

Make a list of pros and cons about teaching performing arts
     Pros                                                    
- get to teach something you love
- The training you have had is paying off (university degree / college qualifications) as you are working within your desired industry
- Students who want to learn performing arts are normally very focussed and passionate
     Cons
- The discipline issue I have mentioned above
- If you are a singer and teach singing, your voice gets worn out quickly when teaching a class of students as they can be loud and sometimes misbehaved. This damages the asset most important to your career (your voice).

Lisa Connor- Dance teacher- Extra-curricular

What do you enjoy most about teaching?
Seeing students achieve goals and helping them to learn. Making a difference in their lives in some-way or another.

What do you enjoy the least?
The hours of planning that go into lessons for such a short class time.

What inspires or motivates you in your job?
The fact that the students are mostly there because they want to be and being able to inspire and encourage them to have as much passion and love for dance as I do.

What would you change about your job if you could?
Nothing!

Do you think performing arts is important in school at KS3? If so why?
Yes because not all students are “academic” students, they all excel in different areas. It gives them a chance to express  themselves and learn through exploration as opposed to sitting in a classroom every lesson.

Make a list of pros and cons about teaching performing arts
Pros                                                                                                                                
Learning discipline
Improves memory and recall skills
Form of exercise
Let’s student explore

Cons
Not all students are willing to participate
Rehearsals take time, sometimes out of school and attendance can be low
Shy students don’t always want to share their work








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