4b - I've got my SIG :)

Well this week has been enjoyable. I've spend a lot of time reading fellow students blogs. Developing my relationships with other professionals and getting my thoughts into shape.

I've whittled my head full of ideas down a fair bit thanks to fellow students and colleagues and really want to spend my time now looking at respect and enjoyment within teacher/student relationships.

This theme is relevant to my current practice and will also help set me up well for where I hope my future practice will lead me.

I've found a small group of Bapp students that share my interests and through the wonderful world of Facebook we have managed to get together to form our SIG. I'm sure we will continue to thrash out ideas, question and encourage each other as we progress through this module.

It's funny but I've really found that hearing my own ideas spoken in other people's words has made me able to access that bit of clarity that seems to constantly be on the tip of my Tongue!!!

So thank you all and I look forward to continue to develop our inquiry's together.

Just to add. This weekend I will be throwing all my thoughts and ideas at a few of my teaching contacts. I'll blog next week there ideas and responses with you all and specifically my fellow SIG's.

4a - Initial questions.

A set of question relevant to my practice???

What is my practice? That is a question in itself! I feel a little in limbo. Right now I teach musical theatre as an extra-curricular activity. The reason I'm doing this course is so I can go on to gain Qualified Teacher Status and work within a school setting as a dance and drama teacher.

The two careers are very similar but yet worlds apart. I feel that I should be looking into the questions I have arising about my up and coming career. But this is not yet strictly classed as my practice.

So I've thought long and hard about the transition between the two and have come up with a few themes that interest me and are relevant to my current and future practices :)

1. Student / Teacher relationships.

2. The importance of understanding that every student is different with individual needs.

3. What skills do I need as a teacher to enable the successful teaching of many different students.

4. How do students of different ages need to differently interact with their teachers.

5. Does a successful student teacher relationship have any baring on how successful a teacher is?

6. As a teacher are students ever to young to learn the benefits of self teaching. At what age/stage do you introduce this?

7. Do the relationships teachers have with their students vary depending on what subject they teach?

8. What form of teaching to students best respond to?

Moving my career in a new direction is taking me out of my comfort zone. I have a great relationship with my current students but they are all of a similar age, back ground and status. I fear I may be like a fish out of water in a big state secondary school.

Once you have there attention the rest can be worked on. So if I can master the art of good teacher/student relations hopefully I'll become the successful teacher that I aspire to be.

Module 2 Campus session 1.

Great session with Rosemary yesterday. Was good to hear other people's thoughts on their inquiry's and lack of thoughts was also reassuring as I'm still to finalise my subject area!!!

We discussed a better way to stay in touch and share ideas and form sig groups. As promised I've started a Facebook group for all to join.

Middlesex Uni Bapp SIG forum.

Look forward to hearing from you all on there :)