This time
last year I asked the question,
·In order to sustain a successful
dance company, do I need to offer more than just dance?
In life
you continue to learn, (The reflective practioner, Dec 2010) and since asking
this question I’ve concluded that, No, I don’t need to offer more than just
dance, I need to discover a teaching method that engages my students,
understand how each individual absorbs information so they can take away the
best experience which in effect will keep them coming back.
http://aliciaandrewa3dance.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=9
Last
year, I stated that I found it hard to hold onto my older students and I asked
if it reflected my teaching methods or was it just the age group. I think both.
You need a different teaching approach for children of different ages once
again this leads back to what methods of teaching are best.
In my
close knit circle of friends I am lucky enough to have two who are now teachers
although both took different routes to get there and both work with different
ages, one in secondary education and one in primary.
I asked
friend “a” who started out as a teaching assistant, what she felt the best
methods of teaching were. She told me that because she had started out as a
teaching assistant, she had the opportunity to observe. She was able to look in
on many different lessons taught by a variety of different teachers with
different teaching methods. Friend “a” came to the conclusion that the best teaching
method was being able to manage behaviour.“The key to most effective teaching
is being able to manage behaviour and gain the respect of your students.”
·Do different age groups need
different methods of teaching?
·How do I make myself a better
teacher?
·What teaching methods are best?
·Does the way you teach determine
the longevity of a dance company?
·How do I discover my own unique
style of teaching?
Every
Thursday I teach a programme called Steps Together at Irie! Dance theatre,
before my class last week, I had the privilege of watching Connecting Vibes,
Irie's resident dance company rehearse for the upcoming Re-Generations
conference 2012.http://www.adad.org.uk/metadot/index.pl?id=24157&isa=Category&op=show I found myself unconsciously watching Beverley Glean, the
artistic Director. What stuck in my mind was the fact the she didn't have such
a "hands on "approach as it were, to her teaching technique. Don't
get me wrong, she moved but it was like she didn't need to. Her words carried through
the studio and her directions were so clear, the dancers didn't need her up
front going through every movement, the jumps the undulations and the leaps.
Her direction and the odd wave of the arm to clarify were enough.
Earlier this week I damaged my leg badly, after
days of agony I decided to take myself to a&e to get it sorted. The funniest
thing was, instead of worrying about what was wrong with my leg i was more
worried about how I was going to teach come the weekend. I panicked to the
point of tears, if my leg didn't get better, how would i teach and how would i
get the best out of my students?
I thought back to Beverley’s teaching method and
decided that maybe the “hands off” approach to teaching is a technique I could
try. I will be using this week’s class as a trial and I will blog my findings!
