When you have a thought but not a name for the thought...

That's been me this module. It's been an odd process realizing that I have pretty developed processes of thinking, but not having names for them. Here's a snippet of my reflection paper draft dealing with it.

When I began this module several months ago, I looked at the module’s research and assignments in two different wings. The first wing was that of philosophical research. What theories underpin my teaching practice? The second wing was that of academic investigation to find and subsequently develop my research topic. Since the whole idea of identifying my methodological outlook intimidated me, I instead eagerly leapt into researching my broad original topic, teaching ballet and modern dancers how to think.

The unfortunate irony was that despite procrastinating thinking about philosophy, my entire topic was philosophically based, in the sense I assumed dancers understanding how to think and create was a skill both important to their careers and valuable in its own right, the latter a potentially debatable topic. I soon found this pedagogical style had a name—feminist pedagogy. Horton Fraleigh writes (1999: 8), ‘Meaning depends on the contextualized whole. Context is the weaving or joining together of elements to produce a whole.’ By giving myself a broader scholarly context for my framework, I was able to make greater meaning of it, not only in the immediate sense of more fully understanding my own thoughts, but also of understanding them in relation to other scholars’ work.

A similar process occurred while reading Suzanne Sullivan’s Living Across and Through Skins, which crafts a concept of feminist pragmatism. Sullivan (2001: 5) elaborates as follows: ‘Pragmatism emphasizes praxis and the value of theory for praxis… It sees knowledge as a tool for enriching experience.’ I have been a pragmatist for some time, but again without realizing its name. Both in my general practice and this project specifically, I do emphasize the pursuit of knowledge as a helpful tool for enhancing dancers’ experiences rather than (usually) a pursuit in and of itself.

Helen recommended the Sullivan book in a skype call a while back, and I immediately ordered it. It's been great. When I was in college, I used to feel really stupid for not wanting to go down all the bunny trails of theory, theory, loads of abstract theory. My question was all, "Sure, but what's the point?" Now I look back and realize I just have a different theoretical framework, is all, and it's a perfectly valid one. Always nice to realize those sorts of things!

Phew! The nail-biting wait for feedback begins...

Well, I just turned in my draft proposal and lit review; it's still a draft of course but I hope I'm on the right track. We'll see. I'm having especial difficulty with the proposal appendices. I don't see anything in the handbook about them other than that they exist. Does anyone see anything I missed? I tried googling the employer support form and ethics rationale and form but I didn't find anything that seemed relevant. There's a ton of sample participant consent forms out there but I'd like to see some university guidelines before I craft it, if there are any.

Despite the whirlwind of the last few days getting this proposal together, it wasn't as bad as I thought. I kept thinking how little research I'd done, but I had way, way more sources than I thought when I finally put together a complete bibliography. It took me an hour and a half just to do the bibliography! So that was really encouraging.

This coming week I've got to get that reflective essay draft nailed down and turned in by Friday's deadline. How are everyone's projects going?

The Brain and Learning

This week in our skype call I brought up how dancers seem to come back from breaks better than before they left, which started all sorts of interesting conversations on the plasticity of the brain, augmented rest, and the importance of rest overall. The general consensus is that rest is crucial for things to gel and for muscles to relax, which helps explain the uptick in coordination after a break.

The brain is really a fascinating thing, and it's something I'd like to investigate at some point, especially as it relates to learning and teaching. I know there's been a ton of research done on how the brain correlates to learning. Right now I need to keep focusing on my research topic, but I'm filing it away mentally for future research. Has anyone found any interesting tidbits or articles about the brain's role in learning or anything related that might be a good entry point for this sort of study?

Coffee Break

Well, not a coffee break exactly, but spring break! This week has been spring break for a few of my normal commitments, including two of my classes, and it's been so nice to have time to breathe (and research, ahem).

I was just talking to someone recently about how breaks seem to allow ideas and technique to "gel" in some odd way. It was really great to talk to someone else who understood that; as a kid I was always so confused when my teachers would talk about how we shouldn't take breaks, ever, because we'd lose our technique. I always felt--and still feel--like I actually get better when I take a break, like I come back stronger and better in different ways. My leg might be a bit lower, if the break is long enough, but coordination gets better.

I might have felt like the lone one out as a kid, but now I think I was right. Not just for myself, but for people in general, because I'm now noticing that my students come back more coordinated after breaks. It's like things seem to click for them technically. For my modern class, we had classes cancelled two weeks in a row (once for snow and once pre-planned), and this past week I noticed some real differences in how they were dancing. Things like parallel position were suddenly more settled and not as much of a struggle.

Has anyone else noticed this in themselves or their students? Do you know what the science is behind it?