As the end of the Bapp course is approaching, for a while I have been thinking about what I would like to do next. I undertook the course with no clear thoughts on where my professional practice was headed just with the intention of broadening my mind and increasing my knowledge.
Alongside the Bapp course I have been working as a dance teacher in a variety of settings including private theatre schools, primary and secondary schools and community projects. With the Bapp work focused around my professional practice I feel I have grown in my role as a dance teacher and opened myself to new possibilities and new learning areas.
My inquiry, based on differentiation, came directly from issues I was facing when teaching mixed ability dance classes. Through my research I have discovered a real interest in understanding how we learn: learning and teaching styles and the differences in us all as individuals.
As part of my research I have studied many educational theories around this area and been able to adapt them to fit a dance class context. I feel further study and teacher training would benefit my role as a teacher and further expand my knowledge in this area. It also became apparent through my research that there is no set required training to become a dance teacher and it seems for this reason not all dance teachers are aware of strategies such as differentiation and different learning and teaching styles.
Ken Robinsons talks on Ted about educational reforms and creativity have been very inspiring, he talks of education and how “it’s about customising to your circumstances and personalising education to the people you’re actually teaching”
After much consideration I have applied for a primary school Pgce for September. I choose to go down the primary route as this is the age range that I work with and enjoy the most and with the primary Pgce it still offers the option to teach at a higher level in a subject you are specialised in (for me this would be dance), but if you do just the ordinary Pgce it does not give you the option to teach at primary school level.
This is a big decision as the Pgce would be a full time course and so would mean focusing all my efforts on that, having to give up most if not all my dance teaching work whilst doing it. It could also be seen as a step away from my specialised dance area, however even though it is not a specific dance Pgce I feel this type of teacher training would only benefit me in any area of teaching, it will provide me with more work opportunities in the future, it is something that I have a real interest in and I hope that I will be able to bring my dance experiences to date into my teaching within primary schools to encourage learning through dance and movement.
In order to make sure I am making the right choice I have been undertaking work experience in a number of local primary schools. Whilst I enjoy teaching, my experiences are limited to a dance class environment and I have wanted to make sure I some classroom experience in order to make an informed decision. This will also help when it comes to the interview process which consists of a number of short tests, a teaching exercise and an individual interview.
Fingers crossed!
