Task 3b; Theories relating to my network

Task 3b; Theories relating to networking

In task 3a I spoke about my current circle of networks within my practice and how I connect with them for further work. In this piece I will be exploring ideas and critically challenging different theories on how they help me to expand my network base.
'Networking is a system of trying to meet and talk to other people who may be useful to you in your work' (Oxford Learners Dictionary-definition)
Keeping with the idea from Oxford learners definition of networking I start to think about the different approaches there are when connecting with people. Cooperation is the main action when thinking about connecting and working together with others to achieve the same or similar outcome In mind, It's about working with people that understand your ideas and want to develop them further.

Game Theory looks at the models between conflict and cooperation when making decisions, this theory is mainly used for economical, political, science and psychology as well as in computer science and biology. It looks at the mathematical ways which a player can win or lose based on the balance of losses or gains of the utility of other participants and is related to 'Tit for Tat' expression when an action is given in return. Game Theory is used as an umbrella term and related to logical decisions made by people today. In business 'Tit for Tat' is related to people who compete with a competitor and are seen as 'weak' as those who consistently compete are viewed as 'unfair'. This strategy is used for research, relevance and applied in social science.
Robert Axelord who's background is in political science wrote in 1984 'The Evolution of Cooperation' which looks at cooperation theory how it can emerge and persist, which can been seen in 'Game Theory'. It looks at the role of individuals and the benefits of cooperating with others. Game Theory and cooperation is used in Axelord's 'Prisoners Dilemma'
'The prisoner's dilemma is a standard example of a game analysed in game theory that shows why two completely "rational" individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interests to do so.'                (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma)
Axelord talks about the way the game works using experts from different fields and the approach they take to the game. The outcome surprises Axelord when the winner is 'Tit for Tat'.
'To my considerable surprise, the winner was the simplest of all the programs submitted, TIT FOR TAT. TIT FOR TAT is merely the strategy of starting with cooperation, and thereafter doing what the other player did on the previous move'. (Preface, Robert Axelord (1984) p. Viiii)
Prisoners Dilemma is related to my professional network as it decides whether to cooperate or not and looks at the benefits, disadvantages an patterns when connecting with others that may be influenced by my workplace or theories. We can then consider how patterns and behaviour within our networks occur and how we can take advantage of them for our own benefit, and apply this when networking on a larger scale or in a different environment.

Affiliation is interesting when looking at cooperation between each other as it explores social psychology and how they benefit from people connecting. We affiliate which each other everyday and share a connection whether it be positive, beneficial or not. Affiliation looks at how each persons brain works and why we 'form close relationships' (Crisp and Turner, 2007). It is a social process that supplies 'a network of support that will help us when we are in need' (Crisp and Turner, 2007 p.266). This is something I hadn't thought about before that people's brains processes differently and that people have a level of privacy. (O'connor and Rosenblood, 1996) looks at the need for affiliation and a persons sense to feel involved in a social group and how everyone's needs are different but we seek to interact with one another on a balanced level.
'Having a strong bond with others make a person feel as if they are a part of something important that creates a powerful impact.'    (Wikipedia - O'connor and Rosenblood, Need for affiliation)
When we connect with others we often look for a common interest of feeling and build upon this to create a strong connection. Things to consider when looking for a common interest and networking altogether is what the person is like, their cultural background, age and job role are aspects to look at and will determine how a persons behaviour will be when connecting with them. (Hofstede 1980) looks at 'culture' as ''the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others.'' (Geert Hofstede - Cultural Dimensions)


Social Constructionism looks at how we make meanings about the world, whereby people 'construct' meanings of the world using their experiences. Social Constructionism looks at the way we use knowledge in social and communication theory's through our interactions in a large social process.
'What constructionism claims is that meanings are constructed by human beings as they engage with the world they are interpreting. Before there were consciousnesses on earth capable of interpreting the world, the world held no meaning at all.' (Crotty,M (2005) p. 43)
Constructionism is the knowledge humans have made and passed down over the generations so everything has a understandable meaning. When the meaning is hard to process by some audiences we allow it to be broken down or vied in a different way to help the message across.
After researching some theories related with social constructionism I came across an article from an English teacher who has trouble teaching her students Shakespeare are they found it difficult to understand the language and to process the information without getting distracted, Mrs Smith decided to take a social constructivist approach to help her students understand and make their own interpretation of the work.
'Instead of reading the play aloud in class, allowing the students to remain passive and uninvolved with the text, Mrs. Smith divided the class into five cooperative groups and assigned each group one act of the play. She then explained that each group was to turn their assigned act into a modern-day puppet show. The groups were to read, interpret, and translate their act into modern language (they were even encouraged to use common slang when appropriate.) They were also required to create puppets to represent the characters and ultimately perform their act for the rest of the class.                   (http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Social_Constructivism)
Since researching Iv noticed its something I was taught when going through my education and training with more of a creative influence to help breakdown higher education information and  for a teacher or someone higher up than me help to get a better understanding of students knowledge and creativity.
'When people interact they do so with the understanding that their respective perception of reality are related'... 'As they act upon this understanding their common knowledge of reality becomes reinforced' (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/social-constructionism.)


Connectivism is learning influenced by ideas about the organisation of learning and information regularly referenced by the Internet,
'Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism are the three broad learning theories most often utilized in the creation of instructional environments. These theories, however, were developed in a time when learning was not impacted through technology. Over the last twenty years, technology has reorganized how we live, how we communicate, and how we learn'         (Siemens, G (2004)
'Connectivism is a hypothesis of learning which emphasises the role of social and cultural context. In this sense, Connectivism proposes to see knowledge's structure as a network and learning as a process of pattern recognition.' (Wikipedia - Connectivism)
Network Theory = Computer Science
Professional Networks -----> Connectivism -----> Networks provide learning -----> People connect and learn.
Connectivism also looks at the use of more traditional learning when information is transferred from  teachers to students and how this needs to be modified or, rejected. A resourceful website I came across in relation to Connectivism in the classroom is a PowerPoint by Prezi which highlights information on knowledge, process and connection.

https://prezi.com/m/_ee3amswngex/connectivism-in-the-classroom/

Each slide provides a different way teachers can connect students to information through the Internet how the learning community expands into a group of people who interact and learn together so they experience a more meaningful outcome while creating dynamic relationships.

Relating to Connectivism is Communities of Practice which looks into social science and social relationships that are created through learning.
'It is through the process of sharing information and experiences with the group that members learn from each other, and have an opportunity to develop personally and professionally.'     (Lave & Wenger 1991).
Lave and Wenger's book 'Situated Learning' (1991) looks at communities of practice and how they emerge, it looks at the engagement in different communities of learning and how this produces social learning within learning. They look at how students for example will develop shared vision, artefacts and specialist vocabulary and the way this approaches to their work.
'A community of prac- tice is a set of relations among persons, activity, and world, over time and in relation with other tangential and overlapping communities of practice.' (Wenger - Situated Learning p. 98)
Wenger identified a community of practice as existing on three dimensions:

• What it is about – its joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members;
• How it functions - mutual engagement that bind members together into a social entity;
What capability it has produced – the shared repertoire of communal resources.

"Rather than defining [learning] as the acquisition of propositional knowledge, Lave and Wenger situated learning in certain forms of social co-participation. Rather than asking what kinds of cognitive processes and conceptual structures are involved, they ask what kinds of social engagements provide the proper context for learning to take place".(Wikipedia - Situated Learning)

This is related to my own work when talking previously about my role as Dance Captain and as a freelance dancer, being in a lot of different environments with different jobs I have separate communities of colleagues that I work differently with. As a dancer I learn through movement someone's in a large group of people who all process the movement in a different way.


Ethical Consideration;

With the points I've shared above and when speaking previously in other tasks I've used a lot of related attachments and examples to teaching. Being a teacher to students at different age and learning levels has to be considered with the information that you share, the language you use and the actions to describe learning to your audience. Always having to be mindful especially when using the Internet for learning. I also spoke about being mindful to your audiences background, culture, age and job before networking with them to get the most beneficial outcome.


Task 3b; References

http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/network_1

http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/networking?q=Networking

https://www.fpb.org/business-support/top-networking-tips-small-businesses

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need_for_affiliation

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm

Task 3a; The Networking Professional - Current Networks

Part 3; The Networked Professional

Task 3a; Current Networks

Looking back since graduating almost three years ago the hardest thing for a performer to do is to get their first job, in preparation for this I was attending auditions and castings throughout my last year and a half of training whilst getting my first set of headshots and completing my study. At the time this is a bit overwhelming and scary but I come to realise that the training I received in the past was setting me up for for my future in the industry.
As I write down my current pool of networks I notice how many different people and applications I would connect with for work, I even end up networking with friends in a social environment, nevertheless since moving to London two years ago I today have a strong network base that I work with or have connections with.

In Task 1 I spoke about my use of Professional Communication Technologies an how they are relevant in my practice. When making notes on my networks half of them I source and connect with through social media. Using applications like Facebook and Instagram so an employer gets a feel of what I'm like it's easy to connect to each other. Many times I've been contacted through Facebook regard in a job or audition or to send further material onto an employer/companies email. It also allows you to see how established a company is and information about the work they do, it will include a link to previous work on Youtube or contact details for further information. A prolife called 'The Hustle' on Facebook regularly posts different performance and modelling based work where I can have quick contact with someone about a job that could be that day or in the future.
 I use applications alongside my social pages that work as an agent and can connect you with employers. 'Dancer Pro, The Stage, Talent Cast' ect,  are applications that allows me to create a professional profile stating my information, CV, and what I'm interested in, I can then apply for different jobs posted on the sites that include the job role, relevant information pay and contract info that is relevant to my work. Employers can then view my profile and choose to contact me. I have received a lot of work through these applications and like the professional manner that's kept with using it. Some employers prefer not to converse through these sites and immediately send an their email over to have further contact with me through.

https://www.dancerspro.com/uk/

Email is what I use most to professionally connect with work so keeping in touch with my email is important. I start by sending all my material over to companies/agencies I'm interested in working for and they reply either stating what they are looking for and if they can offer me an audition or work. As a freelance artist I usually have to send a lot of emails out including my photos, CV and link to showreel on YouTube expressing my interest to get different employers attention, this can be time wasting at time as some people will not read or reply to your emails but can also be rewarding when they do.


Attending auditions are always a good way to network even if the job I'm auditioning for isn't a job I'm very passionate about, I always meet so many people at auditions and there's always waiting time where I connect with other performers or people that are more involved with a section of the industry. Auditions spaces are usually at dance studios and the more popular one 'Pineapple', 'Danceworks' normally will have a board with auditions coming up to keep in the known or contact beforehand which is always really helpful. When graduating I signed with an agency to help me connect with employers and get my image into the industry. This was something that really helped my career early on as it allowed you to concentrate on auditioning while my agent searched for future auditions and work and contracted with them in a professional way. The industry is a small circle of people and at times its who you know so anyone who can help you with contacts or work is a relationship to look after.

https://www.pineapple.uk.com/studio/index/filter/
I also network with current and past employers, keeping a professional relationship with directors, choreographers and other performers in the industry is really important as they can recommend you for work whether it be in London or overseas. Over the last two years I have been in contact with a lot of mutual friends from previous work which shows how small the industry is. Artists that are higher up than me in the industry have an even smaller circle of people to network with so keeping in the know of what's going on is also important. Since taking my role as Dance Captain I've noticed how my network of people has slightly changed and some people have contacted me for from the industry for information on my job

Summary of Task 2

Summary of Task 2;

Task 2 has been really interesting as I am now in the swing of presenting new work on my blog and the use of the Readers booklet. I got to look in depth at my own practice and see the causes of my feelings and action and the other people involved in my work. It has taught me how to deal with certain situations good and bad, and different stages of each individual's learning.

The hardest thing I have struggled with through the Task 2 has been time management, over the past month I have had more work commitments which have overseen some days I noted in my diary as study days. Loosing out on time working from home and not being free to attend the campus and skype sessions has meant not having my own interpretation of the information my tutors have give out. It has made me learn in a slightly different way as I've had to look more at what other students have said about the tasks and do more of my own research, which is part of the module anyway but I did a lot more without my own take on information.

Overall I have really related these tasks to my practice and I do feel it has inspired and changed my look on my practice and input towards others in a positive way. Readers 2 was really helpful along with the Reflective Practice book that arrived a few weeks ago, which I plan to finish by the end of the module. I'm looking forward to seeing what Task 3 involves and tying the three tasks together in Critical Reflection at the end of the month.

Http;//www.csp.org.uk/faqs/cpd/what-reflective-practice-how-do-I-do-it

Task 2d; Inquiry

Task 2D; Inquiry


- What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? Who do you admire who also works with what makes your enthusiastic?

A mixture of a things are important to me in the creative process of putting on a show and when performing. What makes me most enthusiastic about my job is the use of the music, lighting and costume, and how they compliment the numbers. Each section is picked according to the mood and style of the number and when done correctly it's really inspiring to watch and perform among. One show that inspires my work today is the Moulin Rouge in Paris, the use of costumes/feathers and headdresses are amazing and is so impressive to watch.
                                            https://youtu.be/V66X7EIAnoY
This is a short clip showing different numbers at the Moulin's show Feerie published on YouTube February 2015, it shows the use of costumes, music and lights so you get an idea of how many different changes the dancers must do according to the style of the scene.


- What gets your angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the anger or sadness?

Since working as a dance captain I have learnt how different my behaviour needs to be from everyone else. From reflecting over the last two months before and after my practice I have picked up new ideas that can help my colleagues with my job, before the show I have started sending a group message out telling everyone the changes for that nights show so they can think about it before hand so they have a clear idea before they arrive and take in a load of new information each week. I have had feedback that this is working well especially as some people arrive later than other. Sometimes some colleagues don't read all the information and can quickly take the blame off themselves for not knowing what's going on. This can be difficult as I need to remain professional but make them understand that it's their responsibility that they know all the changes before we start, whilst I help with the lighting, costume and sometimes admin. I have close friends within the industry that can also relate to what frustrates me so getting advice on how to deal with it in a professional manner is really helpful. Also some colleagues who I've worked with previously know how I work so they know how to address me and me them.


- What do you love about what you do? Who do you admire who seems to love this or is an example of what you love?

Performing has always been a passion of mine and since graduating I have been so lucky to have had such an array of different jobs. I look back over the jobs which makes me think how there is so much opportunity in this industry. Performing can take you to amazing destinations where you will basically get a holiday whilst performing. The costumes can be so creative and beautiful and the stage or theatre you perform in is always different and has so much character behind it. I get to share the stage with some of my closest friends that Iv met through auditions and jobs, some that Iv met for the first time on jobs and by the end of our contract Iv made a friend for life, so to share the same passion and the stage with them is something to be thankful for.

What do you feel you don’t understand? Who do you admire who does seem to understand it or who has found a way of making not understanding it interesting or beautiful, or has asked the same questions as you?

I don't always understand the actions of other colleagues and their response to instructions which can be frustrating and leave me thinking what caused their actions. My director has also noticed at times the action of people after watching from afar. This is reassuring to know I'm not the only one who is noticing people's behaviour and also makes me more aware of how to be at all times inside and outside of my practice as everything is noted.

- How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation? To what extent are disciplinary responses different to that you might expect more generally in society? For example, what level of physical contact would you deem appropriate (and not) from another professional that you would find unacceptable more generally? Why?

As I'm currently working with colleagues my age group and with most of them being my friends from previous jobs it can be difficult to decide what ethical response to give. Depending on the situation I always take a friendly manner when first dealing with a someone, I remain calm and get both sides of the situation before deciding the actions to take. I try and communicate with my cast as much as possible to see how they feel to know what I can do more of which really helps me get an idea of each person and how they treat people and vice versa. If appropriate I will have a  personal talk with someone to hear their feelings and remind them of the job role and what is expected of them, that being said I've never had to do this and remain talking to my cast as a group. In today's world I think disciplinary is an action you have to be mindful about beforehand, especially with dealing with an audience younger than you. School staff have to be more careful than ever not to put a foot wrong when disciplining their students which can be difficult for teachers to gain respect and confidence in a teaching environment.

http://www.teachervision.com/classroom-discipline/tips-achieving-maintaining-discipline

''The focus is not on the negative behaviour, but the importance of the lesson'' ('The complete idiot's guide to success as a teacher' Anthony D. Fredericksburg, Ed.D)

 A good article on discipline for teachers posted above talks about how the teachers behaviour reflects the students response. This is something interesting to think about and relate to my own practice and how I address a rehearsal.

Task 2c; Reflective Theories

Task 2c;  Reflective Theory

Looking back on my critical reflective writing for Task 2b and the theories I took from Readers 2 and my own research it allowed me to relate this to my own practice. Looking again at Readers 2 there is a lot more information to support the way of thinking, reading and writing, in this essay I will be talking more about these practitioners ad the effect they have on my work and the work of others.


John Dewey;
In Task 2b I spoke about the work of David Klob's learning cycle and explained how it related to my practice when dealing with other work colleagues. The cycle reminded me to be mindful about the stage of the cycle colleagues are at with the information I'd given them. The learning cycle was developed by Klob but influenced by John Dewey and Kurt Lewin.
John Dewey 'considered a philosopher' (Hildebrand, 2008) was interested in experience and saw education as an experimental action. While he defined the education process as 'continual reorganisation, reconstruction and transformation of experience' (Dewey, 1961) he also used an inspiring quote 'interaction with the arts led to a unique and valuable experience' (Dewey, 1934).
This is refreshing to read as it shows you can not only learn from the arts but have a creative experience to come away with. I relate this to my practice as I'm learning everyday whether it be educational based or creating a piece of movement, most of the live work I see today has an educational meaning behind it which is perceived through movement, accompanied by visuals, sound and the use of light.

 Since moving to London two years ago I go to see a lot of live dance performances at Sadlers Wells. I'm mainly interested in Contemporary dance choreographers even though I do not work in this field I enjoy watching this style the most. The mixture of work Iv seen over the months have been so interesting and have left me coming away feeling I've learnt about new culture, tradition, a particular emotion or a theme that is portrayed in an abstract way.
 Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan performed last May a memorable piece that I found so interesting. With the use of fire, branches and covering the stage in rice the piece portrays a Buddhist monk stood still while safron rice falls from the ceiling onto his head. The stage then fills with three tonnes of rice later to be raked in a continuous spiral filling the stage. This made me instantly research more on Buddism and what relation to the rice it had, it also taught me that there are no boundaries when performing and how important the props you use to portray a theme plays.

http://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2016/cloud-gate-theatre-of-taiwan-songs-of-the-wanders/

Dewey also spoke about if people had full engagement with their lives they would become more mindful about the world they live in,

'If people had full experience and therefore full engagement with their lives they would be better able to be a better part of society, fully engage with democracy and spend time solving worldly problems' (Readers 2, p.4)

This is something that has grown very important to me since moving to London and has a personal effect on my everyday life. Since moving to London I found myself young and in my own bubble, I didn't care for much or where things came from but since doing my research and finding the things that matter to me over the past 2 years I have made some important life choices that I would never go back on. Living a more sustainable lifestyle is something I can be creative with knowing I'm helping others and the world I live in.


Kurt Lewin;
Lewin focuses on the reflective thought process he uses to break down his experiences. He uses a cycle of idea, fact finding or research on the idea, action, evaluation, planning, action.
This cycle reminds me of Klob's cycle and how helpful this way of working is as I mentioned in Task 2b this is a really helpful to identify the different stages that people work.


Howard Gardner;
Howard Gardner developed the idea from Klob's learning cycle and said 'people are intelligence in a number of ways' and created multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1983). Gardner's theory was broken down into different section to help identify different intelligences,
Spiritually
Verbal - linguistic
Logical - mathematical
Bodily - Kinaesthetic
Musical
Interpersonal - understanding people and relationships
Interpersonal - relates to one's emotional life as a means to understand oneself and others.
(Naturalistic - relates to nature and natural world to find meaning)

These different sections are individual, they are personally effect an individual's life and the way they turn their experience into learning. Gardner later on introduces the 'multiple lenses' as way to see things (Gardner, 2005) this was used as a tool to identify how yourself and others work and give value to the different ways we engage with real world experiences.

Jennifer Moon's 1999 theory shows the five stages of learning which once researched I think is the most broken down easy to explain theory and would relate to teachers helping their students well.

''By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection which is the noblest; Second, by imitation, which is the easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.'' (Jennifer A. Moon, Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice (Sterling, Virginia: Kogan Page, 1999)