This blog is created to support conversation generated from and about the learning process for MA Professional Practice (MAPP) in the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries (ACI) at Middlesex University.

Sunday 18 December 2016

As we move further into December!!

Happy Holidays

Rest: My computer needs a healing !!  so it will be out of action for a couple of days.

Feedback: if you are waiting for me to respond to an email - write to me again, because I don't realize you are waiting. I feel like I have double checked everyone and have answered everyone. So I may have missed the email.

Talk: if you have quick question or want to have a quick de-freak-out feel free to skype me.

Adesola

Wednesday 14 December 2016

Quick up-date

The University has let us know UniHub will be down for a couple of days. Students who are due to submit on 6 January (that's us) will be unable to access UniHub on Mon 19 and Tues 20 December 2016.

:)

Sunday 4 December 2016

Talking with friends...

We had two great chats today – am and pm

AM:
In the morning chat we talked about the process of learning. We were thinking about the process of ‘doing’ the modules and how things had changed in Professional Practice as a result of reflection on the modules and Self. The tracking of this ‘change’ or ‘noticing’ is what all the Reflective essays in each of the Modules is asking for you to talk about. In Module One it is the first time you are writing a Review of Learning and it can feel like it is all mixed up in the Areas of Learning. But the Review of Learning is a review of what has happen this term (now). Looking at how the learned-You has manifested to you. How you have notice yourself in terms of the idea of learning.  In the other module we also ask for some reflection of learning this carries this idea on through the whole course. At the end of each module you reflect on the learned-You particularly in terms of your practice. We also talked about how reading other people’s ideas, such as some of the texts in the Reading list can be inspiring. As you read a book the author articulates things you have been thinking or feeling –it is like finding a friend in the text. Nighat said she found Moon’s book very useful when thinking about reflection.  We also talked about how our practice of dance touches so many aspects of life – both dance and the act of education have political, cultural, religious, academic elements. Our practices touch all these things and they organise how we carve our practice into being.

For further thinking about the AM conversations have a look at these posts.
Maite http://maitemappdtp.blogspot.com  will talk more about the process of personal change.
Barbara https://barbarabesque.blogspot.com   will post on culture, religion and politics particularly in terms of dance practice.
Nighat http://sacredsufi.blogspot.com  will post on coming into the AOLs
Parimala https://parimalamapp.blogspot.com  will talk about learning while writing and learning through writing.
Rachel https://racheleoliver.blogspot.com  will post on learning styles and how they change in response to situations.

PM:
In the afternoon chat we talked about a range of things that seemed to settle on ideas about labelling: labelling ourselves, what learning is or should look like etc… Within this we discussed the personal, political, professional and how all these aspects of ourselves affect our art practices.
Within the conversation some Module 3’s talked about their findings – which seemed to also resonate with the idea of the imagined, expected, and mediated Selves that we inhabit within our daily practices. We talked about ways to communicate ideas differents way of writing, making etc… This linked to the Module 3 hand-in. There are three forms of handing in the same thing in Module 3. The thing is the inquiry – telling us about the inquiry. The three forms are
An academic artefact – a written essay
A Professional artefact - ?? (everyone’s profession is different so you know the form it should take better than the university (a dance, a workshop, an installation etc…)
A verbal artefact – presentation (given this year on January 17th 201).
By having more than one way to explain the same thing (the inquiry) we are acknowledging there are some things that you can explain in movement that you cannot explain in words, and some in words you cannot explain in writing etc… We are working in somatic practices and explaining the experience of the inquiry will take a felt, three-dimensional approach.

Other things we talked about are discussed in the following post:
Sam http://samanthakettle.blogspot.com   will post on the personal, professional and building community
Tamzin http://tamzinhoward.blogspot.com  will talk about how different we all are (we were talking from USA, Canada, Barbados, UK, and Qatar) yet all sharing the similar experience of dance and teaching dance.
Lisa http://lisanorris76.blogspot.co.uk  will post on labels and  not fitting into boxes
Davis http://kensdancer.blogspot.com   will post on de-compartmentalising
Alanna http://sustainablerisktaking.blogspot.com  will talk about the positive side of boxes
Tara  http://dancetara.blogspot.com  will post on the links between modules
Alice http://elysiandance.blogspot.com/2016/12/direction-and-inspiration.html  will post on direction and inspiration from talking to each other

Helen is going to post about process and change, yet how YOU are still at the heart of your own learning journey, your practice, your experiences –  you at the heart of what you are doing.

In both conversations, we talked about the importance of the blogs and commenting as a way to keep in touch over the coming weeks. It is nice to have a network of friends around the world, people thinking about the thinks you are thinking about and bothering to comment on your ideas. Building our community of learners is often just about listening to each other and sharing your own thoughts back.

Up-coming dates to remember
Hand-in is January 6th
Get together to hear Module 3 presentations January 17th
Next First  Sunday group chat is on the Second Sunday of February 11th 2017 !!!

What do you feel?
Please comment.
Adesola