Sheahan's MA Professional Practice Blog

My interpretation and key points/moments for reflection... Reflection on how we as teachers are transactional with our lessons made me reflect on Kolb's cycle (Moon, pg 114). That idea that learning is cyclical in a sense: My dance pedagogical practice embraces methodologies of learning passed on from my own mentors. Through our interpretation and embodiment of the information becomes knowledge, which we then, as teachers, observing our current situation and the bodies in front of us in the classroom, adapt these methodologies using our gained experiences along with new research and developed teaching modalities and attempt to pass this on to our students in a way that is usable and relatable to them.  Depending on the student's frame of mind and emotional state, they will take, receive, or discard what we pass on. Depending on their lens, the same way we as learning bodies did, perhaps continue the cycle? Somehow all interconnected. Each of our experiences shape the way we use...

Chidi Anagonye is a philosophizing character on the American Netflix series The Good Place.   As he is explaining some of the philosophical concepts to Elenor she gets lost in the information and language. I have to say, after spending my life in the dance studio communicating with children, I feel a bit like Elenor right now reading about ethics, aesthetics, Aristotle, Plato, Kant, and Hegel.  I do sense, as I mull all this over and find out how it relates to theories in my own professional practice,  that clarity in some sense is just on the horizon. Yet, as I converse with my husband and children about the topics we are discovering and delving into, I had a giggle at the analogy of my situation and Eleanor's.  Back to investigating. :)

So many valuable points, that I wish our conservation could have continued in person, yet appreciate this form of discussion works better for all our lives and time zones.  Thank you for your vulnerability Adam. Your story resonates with so many right now. Brené Brown's Rising Strong is helping me understand its ok to fail and fall, and character is built in those slow motion moments as we try to pick ourselves back up. You are not alone. The ideas of identification and streotyping are things I have been thinking of reflecting on as it also influenced my path, leading me to understand teaching is a true passion and somewhere where I can make a positive change. Thank you for your honesty and that piece of conversation, Maria and Susan. I was a curvy dancer and not an esthetic fit for dance.  Having been told I would never fit into company costumes, would have to be twice as lean as anyone else in order to balance the stage, have a breast reduction, or that my weight on the sca...

What a great way to start off my Friday morning!  Thank you, everyone, for turning on your cameras. To see so many fellow artists from around the world encouraged me for the months ahead, and how I may be able to learn from you all. I am missing personal interactions, so it was wonderful to glimpse my new colleagues' real-time animated faces.  I just figured out how to get the Follow button on my sidebar . After more research I believe I have fixed the problem. To follow, click Subscribe and then it should give the follow option. I hope it works this time. Now I am going to explore, read more, and learn about what is to come from those who have foraged ahead and blogged about it. I am looking forward to getting to know everyone. Enjoy your weekends :)

Combing through myUniHub page, I discovered the 'LET' program: Learning Enhancement Team. You can chat or sign up for tutorials and workshops in the Academic Writing and Langauge Support area. They run daily from 3-4pm GMT. I rose early to begin learning, and it was worth it. I have signed up for two courses to help myself feel confident with the writing requirements for the MAPP. Understanding Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism Workshop Essay Writing The online workshops come with a printable handout/worksheet. The gentleman who took us through the referencing and citation course spoke about the "CiteThemRight" website as a great location to ensure the accuracy of our references.  By contacting the Library, I was also able to get the PowerPoint presentation slides to refer back to after completing the Understanding Referencing workshop. Before we submit essays, we can also submit them to the LET teams for assistance to ensure our citations and references are correct...