Staring back Skypes

This weekend we had our first Skype sessions back: Friday and Saturday. Skype sessions are an opportunity to discuss with other members of the MAPP Learning Community.

Shinny and new:  The MAPP course has just been revalidated. We have three routes now MAPP DTP, MAPP Dance and MAPP Somatic Studies. There is a new MAPP UniHub page (for those who are in Module Two and Three you will be ‘migrated’ over), read the most recent Handbooks. So this skype we had a mixed family group of MAPP DTP and MAPP Dance people.

What’s-what

-       Got questions about the course, dates, directions, word-counts etc… go to the Handbooks and UniHub folders

-       Got ideas to share, explore, practice writing, reflect…go to the blogs and post and comment on others

-       Practice talking about your work, your practice, what you are learning and doing …go to a Skype discussion.

-       Up-dates and current thinking across the MAPP learning community check Advisor’s blogs.

What are one to ones with Advisors for? These are to discuss feedback, ideas and developments in your work. So, having a one-to-one at the start of term before you get any feedback seems like you actually need Handbooks and UniHub. Likewise getting feedback and thinking about it but not communicating with your Advisor in Week 9 sounds like you should book a one-to-one!!

In the discussion groups, we talked about different aspects of starting, starting back, study, emotions. Here is an overview of some of the things that were talked about people attending are posting on the different points so have a look at what they say.

Notes from discussions:

• It is good to hear other people’s feelings and realise I am not alone…
• Time management is key – creating your own framework of deadlines is important. The Modules do not do this for you because they are designed for people with very different schedules and as professionals it is assume you are better at organising yourself and your work than someone else imposing on you would be!
• The blogs have been very useful for keeping in touch – thinking of ways to keep them active and being active on them is important.
• Work load balance…
• Use resources – engage with the handbooks (read them more than once and keep notes), on-line library, each other your practice…
• Be brave and share ideas - as professionals we are used to having to be ‘right’ all the time and not knowing seems scary
• Have courage to learning something new – if nothing new seems to be manifesting it is not because it is not there – it is more likely you need to be more open and brave about not knowing. Not knowing is the vacuum that knowledge will fill. If there is no vacuum then it is hard to fit more into what is already organises and fits together. If you don’t know something the response does not have to be to get angry or assume it is because someone has been remiss in telling you what to do.
• Recognise and own emotions: enthusiasm lifts the group – your confidence not to be down on yourself actually helps those around you. It is not their job to convince you, you are ok.
• Time management again!!
• Organise your equipment – book mark blogs, keep a pocket notebook etc…
• As professionals it might be the fear of starting into something you have less experience of, rather than the actual work that you feel strongest now. Now is the time to shelve that and just get on with things as best you can, knowing you are in a learning community and not alone and that you have a personal history of success that brought you to this moment.
• Think about how you want to contribute to the learning community.

Keep blog post to 400 words max so people have time to read and reply. Therefore, I am going to stop here…

Have a look at what people on the discussion said. If you were in the discussion and your blog address isn’t here or you are still making it please add it to the comments so people can click on it and visit you.

When you visit a blog post leave a comment even if it is just a word. But try to make it a critical reflective productive comment! Please note in the recently validated MAPP we have now put more emphasis on engaging with the blogs. Contribution to discussion and community is considered a post-Graduate skill. 

http://helenkindred.blogspot.co.uk

https://katherine-lucy.blogspot.co.uk

http://kensdancer.blogspot.co.uk

https://jvsyd.blogspot.co.uk

http://lisadentdancer.blogspot.co.uk

http://creativeacademydance.blogspot.co.uk

http://sunitabolton.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/

https://garrywclarke.blogspot.co.uk

http://marianikoldance.blogspot.co.uk

Also use the word tags at the side of my blog to look at other posts I have done about starting back.

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