Wednesday 23 April 2014

'BOYS WILL BE BOYS'

Please check out my website on motivating boys in the dance class.  It is full of lots of tips and ideas on how to keep the boys in your dance class engaged and on task.
I am constantly adding new ideas and working on improving the webpage, so bookmark my site and keep checking back.
I am hoping to add comment boxes and contact information so we can keep in touch and share experiences.

www.bettywells.weebly.com

Thanks
Betty x


Tuesday 22 April 2014

The final steps of the BAPP journey:) Eeeek!!

As the end of the course looms ever closer, it is a good time to reflect on how this course has changed me as a person professionally and personally.

18 months ago I was singing on a cruise ship, struggling to get internet and feeling desperately homesick.
Today I am choreographing  musicals for two local Secondary school, teaching dance at a Musical Theatre academy,working as a SEN teaching assistant and living on land:).  Quite a change!

In one of my old blogs I likened myself to Rita in the film Educating Rita and apart from not changing my name to Susan, this analogy still applies. She too entered the alien world of academic learning and embarked on a journey of self-discovery which culminated in the changing of her aspirations and ambitions.
 This course has enabled me to do the very same supporting me in my transition from performer to dance teacher.

My aim was always to be the best dance teacher I could be, but now I have an understanding of how to do this, ethically and professionally. The course has taught me the importance of questioning my practice and finding answers to those questions, taking my academic learning to a new level and heightening my problem solving skills. I can now read a piece of research, analyse it's usefulness for purpose, extract from it relevant data and apply it to my practice. It has given me a new appreciation and understanding of the works of the theorists and  provided me with teaching and learning strategies I can apply to my own practice.

The course has given me the confidence to carry out my own research project, by following a carefully designed and structured pathway, guided by tutor and peer support from online SIG groups and blogs. At each step of the journey the course asks us to reflect not only on our practice but on our strengths and weaknesses. It is as much as about self-discovery as it is about academia.

Work based learning suited my lifestyle, during the course I've worked on cruise ships, pantomimes and several touring shows:) there has been comfort in knowing that wherever you are in the world (excluding rubbish ship internet), the course and a whole support network  is only a click away. (It is amazing how close you can become to people whom you have never met). I have developed strong friendships and a valuable professional network for the future.

As I end this course I am proud of myself  and of what I have achieved.
Finally, my transition is complete!!!!!!!!





Saturday 12 April 2014

Weebly????? Should I change my plan AGAIN!!!

Having started my artefact booklet, I realised that it would need to be a book to get in all that I want.  So have decided to change my original plan AGAIN!!! I am designing a web page on Weebly.  It's in the early stages and has a long way to go, but I already feel more comfortable with my decision.
I can keep adding to it long after the course has finished and it will be a quick online tool for other professional dance teachers. Have a look and see what you think.  It is in the early stages so feedback would be great.
Betty x