Supporting Thinking...

How do you know what you know? (yes I come back to it!)

You know something because you have experienced it, felt it, sensed it, touched it, been moved by it, moved in it.  Huge amounts of learning as dancers taking place within and through our bodies.  Though through an understanding of embodiment we know that the body is not (for those that follow this theory) a separate entity from the mind.  How do we know about theories such as embodiment and dualism?  Because we have read about them, understood them through applying them (in practice) and been able to integrate our learning within both body and mind.  

The same process needs to happen in academic writing, integrating theory with practice.  What have you read during this module?  What have you related to in terms of your practice;  doing, teaching, observing?  What/who has influenced you along your journey through this module?  Who/what has inspired, challenged, provoked you?  Students, writers, practitioners, colleagues, philosophers, artists, all sources of research, which from reading your blogs I know you are identifying with and feeding from, so make sure you acknowledge them in your writing.

Adesola has already posted on her MAPP blog offering guidance as to academic writing, citations, references to research for the...use this.  Writing at this level must be supported, ie: backed up by research, underpinned by theory, acknowledged in context.  Whilst the RoL essays are your reflection on your journey through this module, they need to move beyond personal narratives and find greater substance within a pedagogical, artistic, philosophical and academic framework.

Go back to your notes from whatever you have been reading in relation to this module/time, to the tasks suggested in your Introduction to Module One handbook, how did you approach them, what did you take from them, where did they or your reading lead you?  Try to follow this learning journey, which has you very much at the heart of it, but which also contextualises you and your experiential learning within a broader framework of knowledge.

See how you sit there...in the glory of YOUR knowledge of dance pedagogy.