RLTPA: STUDY AREA 8

Welcome to the Reflection Room

Evaluation and Enhancement of Professional Practice

Reflection Prompt:

How Do We Write About Professional Practice?

RLTPA: Study Area 8

Evaluation and Enhancement of Professional Practice

Reading Room

Text-based resources and suggestions for further reading.

Visual Resources

Video clips of teaching, classroom and studio activities.

Case Studies

A variety of examples of practice to match your subject area.

RLTPA: STUDY AREA 2

Welcome to the Reflection Room

Reflecting on Pedagogic Practice

Reflection Prompt:

How effective are games in rehearsal practice?

Clive Barker – Arts Archives Exeter 2005

Reflection Prompt:

Is there a difference between a university and a conservatoire?

Consider the way in which the tutor critiques this practical performance work.

Reflection Prompt:

Consider the Pedagogic Value of Shakespeare Advice

RSC: Playing Shakespeare – John Barton

To access the Reflection Prompts here, simply click on a title to open and close the content.

Reflection Prompts (6 prompts from which to select )

1. Using the links on Practical Aesthetics as a prompt, what other approaches to teaching a particular aspect of Performing Arts do you (or might you in the future) adopt. Explain briefly your approach and why you have selected it. You might need to do some research to find relevant approaches for your specific area of Learning and Teaching.

2. Share your ideas on any systems of apprenticeship and mastery you have used or would like to use in the future.

3. Share one or two pedagogic theories underpinning your studio or workshop practice.

4. If you believe that collaboration is an important part of creative activity in your teaching context, research and share one or two ideas of how technology might enhance the collaboration of your students (and make them less reliant on you!)

5. Share your views on the benefits and drawbacks of utilising the Alexander technique in your teaching context.

6.…One of the key features of twenty-first century performance is its boundlessness and its capacity to cross borders. Henry Bial

What do you understand by the idea of boundlessness and crossing borders in your subject area? You might want to look at Unit 8 resources on Threshold Concepts (2003) Mayer and Land PDF document if this is a totally new concept for you. How might you teach such ideas to your students?

Reflection Prompt Using Jazz tutorials; Ute Hagen master class; or Stage Movement Class

Select one or more of the following resources

* Ute Hagen masterclass or
* Jazz piano tutorial clips or
* Elena Kanaki Stage Movement Class

consider the questions below

* What approaches to teaching and learning are being taken? (Think about Conceptions of Learning and Teaching)
* How effective do you think these sorts of approaches are?
* Are the three approaches similar or very different (give your reasons)?
* Where, if anywhere, might such approaches be effective in your teaching context? (Consider also as augmenting other approaches and/or as revision or support for any specific group of students).
* What are the main limitations of a pre-determined ‘tutorial’ approach in your opinion?

Devise a specific TASK for a group of your students utilising your chosen resource. Remember to

* keep it simple;
* define your anticipated learning outcomes; and
* give precise directions for the task you have devised (including word count or time-limit for audio response).

Reflection Prompt: Considering Creativity and Pedagogy

Creativity is often considered synonymous with the Arts. Have a look at the resources on Creativity and research around your specific teaching area.

Note your findings in your Reflective Portfolio paying particular attention to your teaching practice and how you might further enhance the creativity of your students. This task is requiring you to be pedagogically creative!

Reflection Prompt for Ron Barnett's Clarinet piece 'Bad Disk' Resource

Watch how in this clip the processes and emotions of the user of a ‘Bad Disc’ are expressed over the performance and consider

* Does this eluminate the music for you, the listener?
* Is it a helpful tool you might employ in a performance situation?
* How might the use of written words to explain a performance enhance your repertoir as a performing arts teacher?

Make a few notes in your Reflective Journal as prompts for how you might use this technique in the future.

Reflection Prompt for David Lynch’s talk

How useful do you think the approach that Lynch advocates is in your specific performing arts context?

How might his way of tapping into our creativity be applied to pedagogy within your teaching context?

Do you have an example of how you have, either knowingly or not, tapped into your subconscious and found a creative solution to a particular teaching ‘problem’? Note down the example and how you experienced the process.