Obviously I'm a few days late on this last blog post. One reason being that as soon as the workshop was over and I'd said my goodbyes, I got in my car and drove home--this time it only took me the 2 hours it should to drive from Brattleboro to Somerville. The other reason is that, as I mentioned in my last post, I've run out of new and/or interesting things to say about the workshop.
I'll try to summarize a few thoughts I have regardless.
1. It was a lot of information. I think my learning curve was much higher than most of the people at the workshop, having never taught aerials before. I had to learn about spotting (where to put my hands, how to move around and with the student, when to spot, etc). Thankfully I didn't have to learn any new moves (there might have been 1 or 2 on the trapeze I'd never done before, but they were easy-peasy), although I still had to figure out how to break them down and explain how to perform them. Plus, there were additional info sessions after lunch about injury prevention, learning styles, and rigging, and I was trying to make notes of the different warm-up routines.
By Thursday, my brain was pretty saturated. I don't know how people stuck around for the foundations training workshops in both fabric and trapeze.
2. There was a lot of trapeze. Although the time spent on each apparatus was equal (or close to), I think it's fairly obvious that this session started out as a "How to teach trapeze" workshop. The spotting explanations were the most specific for trapeze, and there were few times where we were told to "take a few minutes and just figure this out for yourselves." The latter statement was more common for the fabrics portion of the day, and then we often didn't have to try to explain to a partner how to perform the move. I'm not saying that it's bad that there was a heavier focus on trapeze, I'm just pointing it out, because that's the way it seemed to me (possibly because I'm a verticals person).
3. Spotting, spotting, spotting. In my opinion, I'd say too much spotting was encouraged. Maybe that's just me, maybe that's my Canadianism coming through (i.e. Canadian's don't automatically jump to threats of lawsuits if something goes wrong--more likely a student would apologize for having a fall), or maybe that's because when I started I was in a class with several other fairly athletic adults (and so heavy spotting wasn't necessary). I'm also weary of the idea of doing too much for a student rather than letting them fail. Sure, it's not fun to not be able to do a move, but I feel it's better than being over confident in the belief that I can do something, only to discover that when I don't have a spot I either hurt myself, or I can't lift my feet off the ground.
4. I managed to keep my Darcy-pants off. I was extremely nervous about having to be social without Andrew or another friend around for 5 straight days. I tend to be socially awkward at best, or come off as a Darcy-pants at worst, but I think I managed the workshop not too badly. I did bounce a little between groups, partially because I was trying to work with different people, but also because I didn't want to appear like a lost little kid, desperately following around attendees like a shadow. I was extremely grateful to those who let me join their groups, and helped walk me through how to do things. I was amazed how many people gave me pointers in a friendly, non-threatening fashion, when they could have easily put me down and made me feel bad. Circus people are awesome.
That's all I've got for now. I'm hoping to take more of the fabric instruction workshops, (possibly expanding to the rope workshop after I've taken the foundations session) in the future--and of course, I'll blog about it.
Ciao,
Andrea
Showing posts with label workshop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label workshop. Show all posts
Monday, February 24, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
To NECCA I go; Teach training workshop, Part 4
Since I blogged after the first 3 days, I feel like I really ought to blog for the remaining 2, except I also feel like I'm starting to run out of new things to say about the workshop. (Note how I used the word 'feel' twice in that sentence...it's probably a good indicator that I'm a kinetic learner.)
So, Day 3: I got up, I worked a little before I went over to NECCA, we did trapeze work in the morning, there was a rigging workshop after lunch, and fabric work in the afternoon. We talked more about giving appropriate spots, how to think about and explain moves, and troubleshot (or is it still shoot? It seems kind of weird) why students may or may not be able to perform certain skills.
I still feel awkward and tongue-tied in at times, but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day, right?
A very fun thing we did first thing, was a Kids Warm-Up. I'm probably never going to teach kids, but that doesn't mean warming up like them isn't enjoyable. It meant games. Running around, yelling, and making funny noises and shapes with your body. I spent 10 minutes of my phone conversation with Andrew telling him how to play Ships and Sailors (a kind of very involved tag-like game with a nautical theme), and how to do a Clown-style warm up.
The biggest thing for me on Day 4 was that I got a private session on fabrics. It was awesome, and I was completely exhausted after an hour (it's a lot of work when you're the only student). I've got videos with explanations to take back with me so I won't forget anything...and damn it, I need to remember to point both of my feet when I perform skills (my right toes are often pointed...my left foot seems to like to flex a lot). I was so excited with the new moves that I learned that I spent another 10 minutes of my phone conversation trying to explain them to Andrew.
I will refrain from explaining them here...as aerials moves written down aren't nearly as exciting compared to watching them being performed (although, I have written a new manuscript, which is an aerial romance!).
That's it for now. I've got one more day of the workshop, then home, where I'll hopefully soon be able to put my new skills into action.
Ciao,
Andrea
So, Day 3: I got up, I worked a little before I went over to NECCA, we did trapeze work in the morning, there was a rigging workshop after lunch, and fabric work in the afternoon. We talked more about giving appropriate spots, how to think about and explain moves, and troubleshot (or is it still shoot? It seems kind of weird) why students may or may not be able to perform certain skills.
I still feel awkward and tongue-tied in at times, but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day, right?
A very fun thing we did first thing, was a Kids Warm-Up. I'm probably never going to teach kids, but that doesn't mean warming up like them isn't enjoyable. It meant games. Running around, yelling, and making funny noises and shapes with your body. I spent 10 minutes of my phone conversation with Andrew telling him how to play Ships and Sailors (a kind of very involved tag-like game with a nautical theme), and how to do a Clown-style warm up.
The biggest thing for me on Day 4 was that I got a private session on fabrics. It was awesome, and I was completely exhausted after an hour (it's a lot of work when you're the only student). I've got videos with explanations to take back with me so I won't forget anything...and damn it, I need to remember to point both of my feet when I perform skills (my right toes are often pointed...my left foot seems to like to flex a lot). I was so excited with the new moves that I learned that I spent another 10 minutes of my phone conversation trying to explain them to Andrew.
I will refrain from explaining them here...as aerials moves written down aren't nearly as exciting compared to watching them being performed (although, I have written a new manuscript, which is an aerial romance!).
That's it for now. I've got one more day of the workshop, then home, where I'll hopefully soon be able to put my new skills into action.
Ciao,
Andrea
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
To NECCA I go: Teacher training workshop, part 3
Day three was the big Sample Class day. For a lot of people it was probably no big deal. As I've said before there are a lot of people at the workshop who already teach, but I'll admit I was kind of nervous. Or, maybe not so much nervous as worried I wouldn't do well. Does that make sense? Is there a difference? I think so.
When I'm nervous I get all gittery, I feel like I need to pee constantly, and my mouth goes dry. Last night I was reasonably calm, but I was worried about how I would do. Would I be able to speak clearly? Would I be able to demonstrate effectively what the students were to do? Could I successfully put those two together? Would I spot appropriately?
For the sample class we were placed into groups of three. Two people were to actively teach and support a 25 minute session on the fabrics, and two people were to actively teach and support a 25 minute session on the trapeze. The person left out would sit and observe (not to be the same person both times). Since I was the only one who had experience on both apparatus, I ended up participating in both, which was probably best for me since I have zero teaching experience.
I think our session went fairly well. We had three guys (one teen, and two in their early twenties) and they seemed to enjoy the whole thing. They thought it was cool to hang upside down and make poses, and they seem impressed with the few skills we demonstrated. Interestingly none of them seems to think twice about using my knee as a stepping tool up to both the silks and the trapeze. I got through my explanations reasonably smoothly, although I probably talked more than necessary, and faster too, but I think I made sense. So, go me? But I still need more practice, practice, practice.
Homework:
We were asked to think about our teaching habits. Words and phrases we use repetitively, gestures, etc. One brief session isn't enough for me to pin-point these behaviours yet, but as I wrote above, I suspect I issued more words from my mouth than necessary, and at-a-faster-than-optimal-for- comprehension (see what I did there?). Words come out of my mouth quicker than I can make sense of sometime, and it's probably the same for others. If I continue onto the certification program (which I hope to) I'll have to video tape myself teaching, then critique it. It's painful to watch myself in these types of situations (I had to do it for a class in my Masters), but I'm sure it will do wonders for identifying areas of my teaching that require improvement.
Ciao
When I'm nervous I get all gittery, I feel like I need to pee constantly, and my mouth goes dry. Last night I was reasonably calm, but I was worried about how I would do. Would I be able to speak clearly? Would I be able to demonstrate effectively what the students were to do? Could I successfully put those two together? Would I spot appropriately?
For the sample class we were placed into groups of three. Two people were to actively teach and support a 25 minute session on the fabrics, and two people were to actively teach and support a 25 minute session on the trapeze. The person left out would sit and observe (not to be the same person both times). Since I was the only one who had experience on both apparatus, I ended up participating in both, which was probably best for me since I have zero teaching experience.
I think our session went fairly well. We had three guys (one teen, and two in their early twenties) and they seemed to enjoy the whole thing. They thought it was cool to hang upside down and make poses, and they seem impressed with the few skills we demonstrated. Interestingly none of them seems to think twice about using my knee as a stepping tool up to both the silks and the trapeze. I got through my explanations reasonably smoothly, although I probably talked more than necessary, and faster too, but I think I made sense. So, go me? But I still need more practice, practice, practice.
Homework:
We were asked to think about our teaching habits. Words and phrases we use repetitively, gestures, etc. One brief session isn't enough for me to pin-point these behaviours yet, but as I wrote above, I suspect I issued more words from my mouth than necessary, and at-a-faster-than-optimal-for- comprehension (see what I did there?). Words come out of my mouth quicker than I can make sense of sometime, and it's probably the same for others. If I continue onto the certification program (which I hope to) I'll have to video tape myself teaching, then critique it. It's painful to watch myself in these types of situations (I had to do it for a class in my Masters), but I'm sure it will do wonders for identifying areas of my teaching that require improvement.
Ciao
Monday, February 17, 2014
To NECCA I go: Teaching training workshop, part 1
After the first day of the teacher training workshop I would say I’m a hesitant spotter. I hope this is just because I haven’t ever taught something that required spotting before, and that I’ll overcome this with practice. Yesterday we went through what might be a typical first class on fabrics, and a typical first class on trapeze.
It’s hard to remember what those first classes were like. I know both Andrew and I enjoyed it enough that by the end of our first hour and a half on the equipment we asked when we could enroll in our next session. I also remember that I couldn’t manoeuver my knees up to the trapeze bar without a small jump, and then desperately tring to hook my toe onto the bar so I could push myself through to an inverted pike.
Almost 3 years later, I don’t give much thought to getting up onto a trapeze (when I do venture onto a bar), I just do it.
So, spotting. It’s important. You need to keep your students safe at all times, the priority being, as Serenity Smith-Forchin said, your student’s computer (aka brain) and to do that, you need to put your hands on them—but in the right way. Not creepily, not with too much force so that you’re practically doing the move for them, not too little so that they can’t perform the move either. It’s something of a Goldie Locks situation, where you need just the right amount of support and guidance. I don’t have the golden touch, yet.
I hope by the end of class I’ll be on my way to getting there.
Our homework from yesterday:
Postural Analysis (a part of injury prevention): While standing, and thinking about it, I can maintain a reasonably neutral spine/pelvis position, although when simply standing around I tend to jut my pelvis slightly forward. I also think I’m reasonably good at keep my shoulders engaged when I lift them. But this might just because I was thinking carefully about what I was doing. I know when I work at my computer I have a tendency to allow my shoulders to slouch forward (who doesn’t?). I frequently remind myself to sit up straight (and sometimes Tweet it too).
Goals for the first year of teaching: Given what I wrote above, I’d like to grow my confidence as a spotter. Along with that, I feel I also need to build confidence in giving step-by-step instructions as I spot (We didn’t exactly do this as we practiced in class, but many people seemed to do it naturally. Some people were very good at it, others, not so much. It doesn’t help that everyone in the workshop knows very well what to do without help).
It’s hard to remember what those first classes were like. I know both Andrew and I enjoyed it enough that by the end of our first hour and a half on the equipment we asked when we could enroll in our next session. I also remember that I couldn’t manoeuver my knees up to the trapeze bar without a small jump, and then desperately tring to hook my toe onto the bar so I could push myself through to an inverted pike.
Almost 3 years later, I don’t give much thought to getting up onto a trapeze (when I do venture onto a bar), I just do it.
So, spotting. It’s important. You need to keep your students safe at all times, the priority being, as Serenity Smith-Forchin said, your student’s computer (aka brain) and to do that, you need to put your hands on them—but in the right way. Not creepily, not with too much force so that you’re practically doing the move for them, not too little so that they can’t perform the move either. It’s something of a Goldie Locks situation, where you need just the right amount of support and guidance. I don’t have the golden touch, yet.
I hope by the end of class I’ll be on my way to getting there.
Our homework from yesterday:
Postural Analysis (a part of injury prevention): While standing, and thinking about it, I can maintain a reasonably neutral spine/pelvis position, although when simply standing around I tend to jut my pelvis slightly forward. I also think I’m reasonably good at keep my shoulders engaged when I lift them. But this might just because I was thinking carefully about what I was doing. I know when I work at my computer I have a tendency to allow my shoulders to slouch forward (who doesn’t?). I frequently remind myself to sit up straight (and sometimes Tweet it too).
Goals for the first year of teaching: Given what I wrote above, I’d like to grow my confidence as a spotter. Along with that, I feel I also need to build confidence in giving step-by-step instructions as I spot (We didn’t exactly do this as we practiced in class, but many people seemed to do it naturally. Some people were very good at it, others, not so much. It doesn’t help that everyone in the workshop knows very well what to do without help).
Ciao,
Andrea
Saturday, August 6, 2011
A trip to Pittsburgh: improving my skills as a librarian
I'm behind, I apologize. Thankfully, Andrew and I have been too busy to be up to much, so I haven't missed any, yet.
I don't blog often about work or librarianship, and I'll try to keep things succinct, since what I do as a 'non-traditional librarian' is anything but glamorous. However, I was quite pleased to be given the opportunity to attend a special health librarian session and thought it a suitable opportunity to talk a little bit about what I do. Two weeks ago I attended a workshop at the University of Pittsburgh titled: The Nuts and Bolts of Systematic Reviews for Librarians, a two and a half day course on systematic reviews.
Before I go any further I probably need to clarify what a systematic review is. This is something I've been doing for the past five years, since I began my job. The explanation I normally give is this: A systematic review is generally a large report where we collect all the possible literature for a given question, synthesize the evidence to answer it, and make recommendations for future practice in medicine. Wikipedia describes it as follows: A systematic review is a literature review focused on a research question that tries to identify, appraise, select and synthesize all high quality research evidence relevant to that question. Right, clear as mud? Yeah, I thought so.
The librarian's roll in this process is crucial, and so it's important that they do it right. It's their job to make sure all the possible information, be it journal articles, conference proceedings, government reports, association websites, etc., are located. If they don't do a good job, then it limits the conclusions and recommendations that the review is able to make. This is the reason why I wanted to go to this workshop, to improve my skills as a librarian and to build confidence in my ability to locate evidence for my co-workers. Also, if you recall, one of my birthday resolutions was to become a better librarian.
Okay, the workshop. First of all, I can't say enough about the instructors. They were all excellent presenters, obviously knowledgeable in the content, experienced in the actual practice of searching for reviews, at ease at presenting to a class (there were about 20 of us), over all friendly, and open to questions and comments throughout their sessions. The course was held in the health library at University of Pittsburgh, in a conference room, unfortunately with no windows (probably better as I'd be inclined to watch what was going on outside). We were seated in small groups, each with our own laptop to work on which were equipped with Internet connectivity, and a thumb drive with all the slides from all of the sessions.
The first day was pretty much review for me as I've been completely immersed in the world of systematic reviews for the last five years as a research assistant, and more recently as a librarian and project coordinator. However, not all the librarians there had actually done systematic review searching, and probably fewer were familiar with the entire review process, so it was a necessary discussion. On the plus side, I was able to provide comments/discussion from my own experiences, and hopefully I didn't annoy people by talking too much. Throughout the workshop they discussed the new Institute of Medicine Standards for Systematic Reviews of Comparative Effectiveness, which I appreciated both because it shows they're keeping their content up-to-date (the Standards were released this spring) and because we've been discussing them at work.
The remaining day and a half focused on the librarian's role in the systematic review, which as I noted above is extremely important. We covered topics like how to harvest search terms, which can be a lengthy and difficult process. In systematic review searching you have to undercover all the different 'official' index terms used by the databases, then you have to think of every possible synonym for your topic, and how it might be combined in phrases, etc. The second half of the day was primarily spent in a discussion of grey literature, a topic that I was particularly keen to learn more about. Grey literature is the hard to find, non-traditional literature that's generally not indexed in databases, and can include: conference proceedings, FDA reports, independent reports from specialized associations, etc. It was a long afternoon and a bit tiring. I need to go back over my notes from the entire day to refresh my memory of the topics and resources discussed.
The last morning was quite honestly something of a blur. My brain was tired (amazing what two days straight in a classroom can do to you, how did I manage as a child?), and I was looking forward to getting home and seeing Andrew. However, we still covered important topics including hand searching (reading line-by-line the indexes of particular journals of interest), and writing up the search for the methods section of the review.
All-in-all, it was completely worth it. I learned new methods, met new people, ate great food and visited a new place. I'll leave you with a few pictures of the University and surrounding area.
Ciao,
Andrea
I don't blog often about work or librarianship, and I'll try to keep things succinct, since what I do as a 'non-traditional librarian' is anything but glamorous. However, I was quite pleased to be given the opportunity to attend a special health librarian session and thought it a suitable opportunity to talk a little bit about what I do. Two weeks ago I attended a workshop at the University of Pittsburgh titled: The Nuts and Bolts of Systematic Reviews for Librarians, a two and a half day course on systematic reviews.
Before I go any further I probably need to clarify what a systematic review is. This is something I've been doing for the past five years, since I began my job. The explanation I normally give is this: A systematic review is generally a large report where we collect all the possible literature for a given question, synthesize the evidence to answer it, and make recommendations for future practice in medicine. Wikipedia describes it as follows: A systematic review is a literature review focused on a research question that tries to identify, appraise, select and synthesize all high quality research evidence relevant to that question. Right, clear as mud? Yeah, I thought so.
The librarian's roll in this process is crucial, and so it's important that they do it right. It's their job to make sure all the possible information, be it journal articles, conference proceedings, government reports, association websites, etc., are located. If they don't do a good job, then it limits the conclusions and recommendations that the review is able to make. This is the reason why I wanted to go to this workshop, to improve my skills as a librarian and to build confidence in my ability to locate evidence for my co-workers. Also, if you recall, one of my birthday resolutions was to become a better librarian.
Okay, the workshop. First of all, I can't say enough about the instructors. They were all excellent presenters, obviously knowledgeable in the content, experienced in the actual practice of searching for reviews, at ease at presenting to a class (there were about 20 of us), over all friendly, and open to questions and comments throughout their sessions. The course was held in the health library at University of Pittsburgh, in a conference room, unfortunately with no windows (probably better as I'd be inclined to watch what was going on outside). We were seated in small groups, each with our own laptop to work on which were equipped with Internet connectivity, and a thumb drive with all the slides from all of the sessions.
The first day was pretty much review for me as I've been completely immersed in the world of systematic reviews for the last five years as a research assistant, and more recently as a librarian and project coordinator. However, not all the librarians there had actually done systematic review searching, and probably fewer were familiar with the entire review process, so it was a necessary discussion. On the plus side, I was able to provide comments/discussion from my own experiences, and hopefully I didn't annoy people by talking too much. Throughout the workshop they discussed the new Institute of Medicine Standards for Systematic Reviews of Comparative Effectiveness, which I appreciated both because it shows they're keeping their content up-to-date (the Standards were released this spring) and because we've been discussing them at work.
The remaining day and a half focused on the librarian's role in the systematic review, which as I noted above is extremely important. We covered topics like how to harvest search terms, which can be a lengthy and difficult process. In systematic review searching you have to undercover all the different 'official' index terms used by the databases, then you have to think of every possible synonym for your topic, and how it might be combined in phrases, etc. The second half of the day was primarily spent in a discussion of grey literature, a topic that I was particularly keen to learn more about. Grey literature is the hard to find, non-traditional literature that's generally not indexed in databases, and can include: conference proceedings, FDA reports, independent reports from specialized associations, etc. It was a long afternoon and a bit tiring. I need to go back over my notes from the entire day to refresh my memory of the topics and resources discussed.
The last morning was quite honestly something of a blur. My brain was tired (amazing what two days straight in a classroom can do to you, how did I manage as a child?), and I was looking forward to getting home and seeing Andrew. However, we still covered important topics including hand searching (reading line-by-line the indexes of particular journals of interest), and writing up the search for the methods section of the review.
All-in-all, it was completely worth it. I learned new methods, met new people, ate great food and visited a new place. I'll leave you with a few pictures of the University and surrounding area.
Ciao,
Andrea
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| The Cathedral of Learning, a beautiful, towering landmark at the University of Pittsburgh. |
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| There were a couple of Carnegie museums around the University, unfornately they all closed at 5:00 pm, so I was unable to visit any of them. |
 |
| A school for the blind. |
 |
| Houses in the surrounding area. |
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| A pretty gateway to someone's home. |
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