Experimenting is where you gain your own experience from, and where you gain your knowledge is from the outcome/actions as a result of the experiments. Where Dewey quotes "the teacher has often to spend the larger part of the time in suppressing the bodily activities", in dance this is quite the opposite. The dance teacher encourages the student to move and thrives on the exploration and development of action and physical skills. Dance uses both left and right thinking so develops the brain in return. "For the pupil has a body and brings it to school along with his mind. And the body is of necessity a wellspring of energy it has to do something." (Dewey).
We presented our show 'Footloose' at school this week. The other teacher, director for Footloose was suffering from exhaustion so on Friday I taught a joint lesson during period five. I was very happy to combine our top year seven classes who were able dance students. However space was an issue due to the limited room in the dance studio. As P.E were outside the larger sports hall next door was free, so it seemed a good decision to allow some groups of students to work in there under the supervision of a Teaching Assistant. I choose a few groups of 'sensible' students who were fully engaged in the task and working well while rehearsing their dance battle choreographies. Suddenly they ran around the sports hall shouting and shoving their peer's and behaving like wild animals released from a cage. I blew my whistle, re-called them back into the dance studio and sat the class down for a lecture on the rule's, sanctions and expectations of behaviour in dance.
From this experiment I have learnt that the key must be to 'channel' the students energy in order to insure a positive outcome? A teacher will train students to behave in a particular way in familiar surroundings (such as the dance studio). In here my students understand the rules and have knowledge of boundaries. In my experience these particular students energy was suppressed in a smaller space and they were able to quickly engage in the group task and work well. As soon as I allowed some students to work in the sport hall I changed the area I sub-consciously made a decision to change the conditions in which they work. This in turn adapted the circumstances (the rules and boundaries) and altered the consequences to follow. This reflects on Dewey's theory of trial and error, cause and effect. I will endeavour to experiment again with another class. If I can reflect upon this experience to discover what the desired conditions are for a positive result then I believe that the outcome of using the sports hall as an additional rehearsal space will have a positive effect on learning in the lesson.
"The action which rest simply on the trial and error method is at mercy of circumstances, they may change so that the act performed does not operate in the way it was expected to, but if we know in detail upon what the result depends, we can look to see whether the required conditions are there." (Dewey)
Good 'thinking through' which is my terms of theorising our experience - this is the critical thinking that informs our practice. I am surprised how teachers can find the energy for theatrical productions in the time that is given. It is an aspect of perhaps emotional learning that fatique plays a part in our daily lives and managing energy levels amongst our work teams something we all have to think about. Energy levels - age- the space and place of activity - groups tasks - all interesting skills to thinks about. Can you tell us how other theorists besides Dewey - maybe ons you have come across influence you practice?
ReplyDeleteHi Paula. I do like your label 'thinking through'. I often reflect on and critical think about the effects of my own teaching. I suppose that I follow the theory of Kolb when panning my lessons, as I find myself planning changes for the next lesson as a result of my experiences (through evaluation conceptualisation).
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher of dance I use a variety of learning methods during lessons. These include visual learning (observing teacher/student demonstrations, professional dance works DVD clips, live performances and their own work in video feedback sessions), Musical (the music used for the dance, rhythms of steps, relationship between dancer and the music), Spatial and bodily kinaesthetic (learning through movement/doing/actions). These methods are included in Howard Gardner theory of "Multiple intelligence", which is also supported by Dewey's idea that a student brings both body and mind into the classroom. These ideas were more widely distributed after Ken Robinson published reports on 'The arts in schools'. He questioned our education system and influenced others to see the value of arts within our schools and colleges. Ken Robinson believed that using creativity in the classroom (such as drama) can bring a subject to life and enhance the acquirement of important skills students need for the workplace, like taking risks and using one's imagination. In dance kinaesthetic learning is a major factor within the lesson/rehearsals. And yes too much can deplete energy levels. Therefore it is vital for performers to follow a healthy nutritional diet (e.g Carbohydrates replace energy stores and proteins re-build body tissue) especially during show time. This however is another topic entirely. (see 2d inquiry to follow).