Learning Diary Two 3/3/10

My initial mind-mapped thoughts

The 3rd March 2010

I've been deliberating what my project might be since the campus session last month. I started with two words in my head, which have been in my head since the start of September. These two words are areas which I currently work part-time in, but eventually would like to pursue towards the end of my career. Reflecting on my blog, I would say it's quite clear that I have an interest in teaching and choreographing.

In my opinion I don't think you can have one without the other in this industry. If you choreograph you're going to have to teach the choreography to someone, even if you're teaching yourself. Furthermore, teaching jobs tend to require a "dance for this show", or "something to show the parents". This means consequently choreography is a common denominator even if you didn't want it to be. But I do! I love it, and I have so many projects going on right now for different shows, competitions in different styles of dance and theatre and yet I still can't wait until I finish these and am able to begin some more. So in conclusion, my project will hopefully be about these fields.

Luckily, I have access to students, children, schools in which to work with and conduct research on. I have created a mind map around these two ideas and thus formulated numerous titles/hypotheses. After being left with around ten different titles, I narrowed them down by considering the literature and information out there to help me, plus if an idea already began to become boring I swiftly discarded it. I was subsequently left with an idea around short term memory in association with "picking up" choreography (note the blog previous to this!) and methods or processes in which to teach choreography.

Now, I hope tomorrow will bring light on these two proposals to be either utterly ridiculous in which case I shall have to rethink, or for them to be acceptable and need more insight.....we shall find out.

Distractions....

I was just researching some ideas for my project and got on to the subject of short-term memory in reference to dance. So I googled the idea and stumbled upon a really interesting and useful site.

I must say that unfortunately this site is not directly useful for my project, never-the-less I have just spent the best part of an hour playing on it.

So if you're looking to improve yourself in terms of memory, attention, speed and problem solving, this site has specific games to improve spacial awareness, peripheral vision and driving skills but to name a few.

http://www.lumosity.com/

it also has an app to sync with your iPhone and they're on Twitter apparently. Plus it's free. Love it!