Sheahan's MA Professional Practice Blog

There are many highs created by participating in something you are passionate about. Especially when you share that passion with those around you. In this case, it is in dance, learning, and exploration. I have just completed the second of my field research interviews. Narrative Inquiry in all its splendour.  As I attempt to remain an observer and listen as the interview participants tell the stories of their lived experiences, it is clear we have shared passions and it has brought up many feelings within myself as well as in those participating. I am grateful for the requirement to triangulate the data as I reflect on the interviewee's experiences and my own. Witnessing connections, the interpretative phenomenological analysis pieces are unveiling themselves already. I am reflecting further on the ways in which I want to analyze my gathered qualitative data.  I see how much our non-verbal and subtle/extravagant forms of expressions are part of the data gathering in this case....

 Hello MDX Team, As many of you know, as I prepared my inquiry for Module 2, I was asking about setting up a ZOOM account with MDX for my interviews in Module 3. I asked in our What's App group and received some great ideas. I did follow advice and created my own account using my MDX email, however, I then realized the free personal account has its limitations. Limitations that would not work for group interviews. Now I have made a discovery I want to share in hopes of helping others find and use the MDX ZOOM account more easily.  Here is how I set up my ZOOM under the MDX licence using my MDX email. There are settings already chosen and locked by the University but there are lots you can personalize.  When logged in to your MDX student account, click on My Learning Essentials.   On the right-hand side in a column is the list of Online learning - useful resources . Yes, they are useful resources!  In that list, you will see Zoom and newrow guides . Click that....

This may seem a ridiculous thing to post about but the parallels in my worlds are revealing themselves everywhere and I wanted to share.  As we approach exciting deadlines for MDX, ISTD ballet exams, marking for end of term papers for my students, competition beginning, and workshop presentations for Healthy Dancer Canada, my need to be almost obsessively prepared overtakes me and I see the parallels in all areas of my life. Ensuring we have edited and proofed our essays and included all the required appendicies for our inquiry submission is not only equivalent to dotting the Is and crossing the Ts, but akin to the preparation for performances.  I enter into my first year as a competition choreographer since Covid occurred I see the parallels in the studio and in my home office space regarding preparedness.  The addition of sequins, altering, gathering or ruching costumes is just like downloading, filling, double-checking Award forms, Employer support forms, making Table ...

As I tried to jump in the zoom conversation today, my wifi kept interrupting my participation, so I turn here to share my thoughts. I was excited about what was happening. I felt everything I read in Moon's book, our Module one text, was reflected in our conversation. Our own limiting beliefs and frameworks colour or taint what we connect with, what we take in as information, who we learn from and how or if we embody the materials. Our own experiences either assist in opening us to new information or ask us to dismiss it.  I feel our job in this MA is to hear all the voices we can, know how our own experience influences our learning, and then with that awareness be open to what else is out there. Have a look. Break out of the single-story narrative. Seek other perspectives. I feel the work explored by Descartes, Spinoza and Kant took one perspective and built upon it or shaped it into their own idea. Inspired by one another. Look at the contribution they made by having the courage ...

Hello Fellow MAPP-ers,  I am looking for feedback and discussion regarding my ideas, my process, to find my "Question" for Module two.  I want to do something with Dance for Life. I feel very passionate about the fact dance, and the arts, give us so many tools to use no matter where our life journey takes us. I see the education curriculum being steered away from the arts, especially here in Alberta, and feel compelled to investigate and understand the benefits of the transferable skills learned in the dance studio. To understand how our years of dancing benefit us throughout our lifetime, even after some leave it behind to pursue other interests.  There is a desire within me to explore what is learned in arts education, and perhaps share the findings to assist future generations to be able to experience the arts, specifically dance, in school. I perceive this curriculum change as limiting children's participation in the arts and perhaps limiting it to the privileged few ...

Fellow MAPP students, As I ponder ways in which to engage with others in the field of dance pedagogy in module two, I am struck by and have been toiling with the idea to look deeper into if and how pedagogical practices can be transferable over the arts and outside of the studio. Part of Dewey's theory that states 'all material must be relatable'. This catapulted the idea for me. What are we teaching the students during dance class that they can take with them into daily life, relate to their daily activities, skills that may assist in the development of their 'sovereign toolbox'? (just made that up!) Sovereignty in the sense of self-actualization and connection with self. Making autonomous decisions with awareness and the ability for self-care. I realize this may be a loose interpretation of what Dewy meant, but one can never know where a brainstorming session will take one.  How do the skills the teachers and students learn become embodied in a way that accompanie...

I am so grateful for technology. Even though I could not be present for the conversation, I can still partake in the rich ideas discussed via the video recording.  Although life circumstances have dictated that I will defer my studies for a term, seeing my colleagues online was inspiring and motivating. Thank you for your willingness to put forth your ideas - honest and curious. It helped bring courage for my own investigation as I keep my toe in the door of academia during this shift in my life.  The discussion has brought forth great ideas, more to consider, and an opportunity for reflection.  Brainstorming whom I can potentially talk to in my interview process, what research I may look into as I dive into dreaming about how art influences life, and more specifically, how dance influences and shapes our choices in life, keeps my own curiosity and creativity alive.   Even the vocabulary - shapes - speaks to how a dancer might explore with their physical ...

Hello Fellow MAPP Module Ones, I am at the point where I am going to submit my AOL Essay and am formulating my Portfolio...yet, I have a few remaining questions and am reaching out to you my colleagues for advice. I believe I have overthought and confused myself. I will try to be as clear as possible, and would really appreciate your comments. Formatting our submissions:  I note in the handbook it states to hand in the document in .doc or .docx.  email supervisor for draft work to be .doc or .docx However, I also have some written notes to submit the final documents to Turnitin in .pdf. to preserve formatting.  Can someone please clarify for me? Where to submit exactly?: On our MA Professional Practice in Dance Technique Pedagogy UniHub page I see two folders:  submissions RPL November 16th, 2020: RPL overview and AOL submissions December 11, 2020: Module One Are we to submit our AOL Final essay (in whichever format) to this RPL November folder through Turnitin for ...

Reflection is a central theme within our first module, and I must express my deepest gratitude for this process. Reflecting on my life's work, how it shaped me, my resilience as an artist (especially in these times of uncertainty for our industry), and recognizing my experiential learnings has been a fulfilling task. Definitely daunting at times, and a few tears shed when I felt lost and did not know which way to go, but now that the drafts are in, I have time to appreciate the journey thus far. I must send gratitude to the people who provide for us on this journey. Thank you to the amazing LET and AWL teams for their guidance and helpful online materials. If you have not already done so, book a tutorial for your essay with the creative arts team. I know I have far to go before my academic writing and referencing become proficient, yet I have a sense of relief knowing help is there when I need it from many sources. Helen, our always pleasant and insightful leader, has a way of fram...

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...

🌎 My First Blog Post As I prepare to embark on this journey of attaining my Masters through Middlesex University, I am reminded of how little I know about the tech world.  Oh, I use tech. I don't live in the dark ages. I have a laptop, smartphone (yes, upgraded from my Nokia flip phone), and we even have a wireless home security system that talks directly to that smartphone. I also use tech in dance class. I have my set playlists, and use my iPod, or laptop for music, my phone for slow-mo videos, and have even ventured to try Spotify. I do not consider myself to be very tech-savvy. I feel like as soon as I know how to use and manage an app or device, something updates and changes! And then the pandemic. Offering us ways to grow. We pivot and shift. It has challenged us in many ways and opened a new cyber door for a lot of us to walk through - Zoom.  Zooming. Is it a verb? It does feel like that some days. Zooming between music windows, monitoring and admitting students throug...