Natalie's BAPP Blog

Last week I attended an online discussion with Adesola, Jae, Matt D and Matt S. We all seem to be in a similar place; working on essay drafts and writing blog entries to support our essays. Adesola reminded us to make sure we are using our time in the best way - she reiterated that our blog entries are not assessed and so shouldn't take time away from our essays. If we haven't done the tasks, there is no point going back and doing them for the sake of it. Their benefit lies in the support they provide for our essays. We can/should use individual blog  entries as appendices to evidence our learning and what we write. Matt D (I think) wanted to clarify whether we should include other people's views/ideas/theories in our essays. Adesola's immediate response was "why wouldn't you?". We discussed how the purpose of our essay is to summarise our learning so far, which has involved looking at existing ideas on communication technologies, networking and reflecti

In an article for the Harvard Business Review, Linda Hill and Kent Lineback discuss the idea that we all need three networks to be successful - operational, developmental and strategic. I have applied this theory to myself to help me consider whether or not I am getting everything I need from my networks to be successful in my professional practice. Operational Network My operational network consists of the teachers I work alongside. I depend on another teacher to train the students well in the lower dance grades so that they have the foundations required to learn more complex movements when they reach the higher grades with myself. We mutually rely on one another to work towards deadlines, ensuring that we both prepare our classes for the same exam/show dates so that these events can happen. I also consider my students and their parents a part of my operational network in that I simply do not have a job without students to teach. Also much of what I do is due to their dem