exploring the in-betweens

We had a really interesting Skype discussion, with so many great topics and ideas to explore and reflect upon further!

Lately I feel I stumble very often across the topic of connections/connectivism/connecting....
So that was also what intrigued me the most today: the topic of connections and connecting, within the learning process; exploring the space in-between. Or using Helens Analogy of the rocks in the ocean: taking the focus to the connections between the rocks, how do the connect, underneath the ocean, how do they relate to each other, what do I learn from the process of becoming aware of the connections. I feel that it is in that space, in-between the rocks, where a big part of the learning process happens (apart from discovering new rocks, of course), where we weave our knowledge together in a way maybe...?

In this course I feel a lot of the learning for me happened, through the process of connecting theory and practice. Weaving bits together. I struggled a lot with that in the beginning (still now sometimes ;-). But found, there is this huge richness of things to discover, once you allow yourself to search for connections and look in between. But also in my teaching practice or movement research, I find myself more and more drawn to the in-betweens. I teach ballet and contemporary, and what I find really exciting is, what happens between the "positions", the organisation of dynamics, rather than the shaping of a form, but also in improv, the little moments that connect one movement to the next. The space in-between where anything can happen, where you allow yourself not to know.

I have participated in a course on fascia (connecting tissue) not so long ago and wanted to share an image from that course with you. This image for me illustrates the strength, but at the same time also the fragility of connections. It brings attention to the point that everything is basically made up of connections, not only are our neurones connected and wired together in our brain, but the whole of our body is connected through connective tissue. And through our actions, but also reflections we make connections with our environment.

I am curious to hear what your thoughts are on that topic and what role connections, or the process of connecting have played in your learning processes, your practice or the ones of your students!

fostering trust

I really liked the TEDx talk Helen posted today about creative thinking. What made me think was, the moment Dr. Corazza talked about how the situation or environment we're in can influence our thinking out of the box. He talked about the fear of punishment (i.e.for answering in the "wrong" way), being one reason, that could hold us back.

Fear seems to be quite a big inhibitor, for thinking, but also dancing/moving outside of the box. My daughter took up gymnastics recently, she absolutely loves it. But she is hypersensitive and transitions and entering a new situation is always an immense challenge for her. When we arrive at the gymnastics studio, her whole body would always tense up and she would cry for the first five minutes. You can literally observe, how fear freezes her body.
This is the fear of a six year old. But I think we all have our fears, that can inhibit us to think, or voice our thoughts outside the box, or to dance outside the box, or our comfort zone. Maybe less obvious, than in the example above, (but that can some times make it even more challenging to address, or even be aware of the fear).
"What will the others think of me?", "Is that the correct answer?", "I must look so silly doing that step", "I have the feeling my students can't connect at all, to what I'm saying" etc.

This leads me to think, what an important part trust plays in any kind of learning and what a great responsibility we have as teachers to facilitate an environment in our class and practice, where students can learn to trust themselves, but also others: make mistakes without being laughed at, or told off by peers and teachers, where asking questions is ok, where the practice is driven more by curiosity and research, rather than attaining one ideal or finding the correct answer.

Trust allows you freedom, to go further in your thinking and dancing. So how can we foster an atmosphere in teaching/learning situations that allows trust and the best possible growth of our students, but also us as teachers?

Curious to hear your thoughts and experiences around that topic!