Riley Lathrop

Bridgewater State University, Department of Dance Dr. Dragon, Faculty Advisor

Advanced Individual Projects & Directed Study Final Critical Reflection

“In a society that worships love, freedom, and beauty, dance is sacred. It is a prayer for the future, a
remembrance of the past and a joyful exclamation of thanks for the present.”
(Amelia Atwater-
Rhodes)

Reflect back upon your process of doing this project, address the questions and provide clear
examples:
Write a statement (5-7 sentences) for each reflective question and sub questions. Provide clear
EXAMPLES. (Please double space.)

1. a. What skills and knowledge did you gain from doing this project?

b. How might you apply them in the future?

One skill I have learned from my undertaking of this individually directed project is

resourcefulness in seeking answers to problems or materials I may need. Within class projects, I have

typically been provided with the resources I need to complete a specific task. Because this path was

created for myself rather than a large group doing the same thing and the teacher guiding many

students, I needed to seek out resources from my advisor and beyond. For example, when I could not

find effective sources from the library online database regarding dance or education in Bali, I emailed

with the librarian and when I had questions on weebly formatting I reached out to my colleagues.

While resourcefulness is a skill that I have learned in previous dance education courses, my need to

independently seek answers was heightened and my abilities in taking the initiative in problem solving

and problem finding was elevated. While problems were presented, I also further engaged myself with

my work through finding problems. This required me to reflect and provide insight into what is missing

from my process. I found problems such as my own timeliness, the lack of research on volunteer

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teaching problems, a lack of teacher preparation from my teaching program, my own lack of reflection

through the process, my own hesitancy to ask for help, and many more. Finding problems helped in

engaging with my area of study in a way that is limitless. Problem finding provides me with endless

paths of inquiry from which I can discover more throughout each step of my process. I will apply this in

the future because after I am enrolled in courses and after I am a student at school, resourcefulness

and problem finding is crucial. When I become more of my own guide, my life will be based in

resourcefulness and initiative.

Another skill I learned was how to write a unit plan rather than a lesson plan. A unit plan was a

new endeavor for me, and holds many similarities and differences from a lesson plan. I was challenged

in gauging the learning outcomes for an entire week while creating outcomes for each day as well.

Writing unit plans helped me learn that learning holds much fluidity. While I have specific outcomes

and assessments, I have developed an awareness that the flow and pacing of the class needs to have

flexibility. If I begin to teach and realize I may have students and a class energy and cohesiveness that

only allows us to accomplish one of the three student learning outcomes for the week, that is still a

success. I have learned the power in strong outlines and how details are important however details

need to be able to change with the direction the actual class will take me. With this, the importance of

backwards design was reminded to me and I applied this skill I had learned to create unit plans rather

than focusing on the details of specific activities. Unit plans I will use throughout my career in dance

education. I hope to have long term jobs in dance education where I can teach classes over a long

period of time. Here, unit plans are necessary.

I have gained the ability to apply skills from other classes into my individual work. This is

important because often classes can be compartmentalized by skill and compartmentalized by time.

Some courses I have learned skills that I have not applied to anything else or any other time in my life,

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and I have left my skills in the past. My dance education courses have heavily prepared me to problem

solve and helped me within this course with writing educational plans, writing annotated

bibliographies, etc. I have gained the ability to also apply my general curriculum courses to my work.

For example, when learning about ethnocentrism and cultural relativism in my myth and culture class I

was inspired to explore my own research through these lenses. This applies to not only classes, but the

idea that every moment in life can serve as a lesson to help myself grow if it is based in curiosity and

inquiry. Experience will encourage my skills to cross into other experiences. I will from this project have

a higher awareness to how I can creatively organize skills into areas I may first assume would not need

these skills.

Through this process, I grew in my ability to apply feedback through my own self regulation and

not relying as heavily on feedback from my advisor. While I did receive feedback from my advisor, I was

able to provide myself feedback through reflection and revision. When writing my annotated

bibliographies, I felt ease in writing them and I felt I was able to edit my work through the lens of

feedback I have received from my annotated bibliographies in the past. I have grown independence in

enhancing my own writing and work without as much help. I was, throughout the process, applying

feedback to my work that was given to me as written feedback rather than numerical feedback. I

received feedback for my unit plans that was not based in a grade but based in suggestion and

development. This helped me stay motivated for goals beyond an extrinsic goal. As I transition into

doing more writing and eventually a future where feedback may be more difficult to obtain, I feel

immensely grateful for feedback. When given the opportunity to receive feedback, I know the value of

it. I also will approach future feedback I receive from all my courses in a way that I will reflect upon

even more deeply.

2. a. What project goals were met? And which were not?

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b. How much did you deviate from the project goals and why?

I believe a strength I have within my academic work, my work in NSO, and my personal life is

time management. I am able to meet due dates and produce work efficiently and with quality. This

project however was a time in which I did not utilize this strength to my greatest potential. I created a

timeline in the beginning of the semester and I did not follow the timeline. I tend to take a long while

on assignments for my classes, not necessarily due to procrastination but because I work slowly.

Because of this, I would spend time on my other classes and my project would be continuously pushed

further back. When working on my project, I also worked slowly through it. With this, I did work on this

project with an extremely heightened consciousness because I knew this would be directly applied to

an actual situation. When creating assessments or lesson elements in the past that would not be

applied to teaching, I always provided deep thought however I could leave some details rather loose

since everything was more theoretical. Through creating this project, I always had my mind focused on

the real situation that will occur this summer. This process was slow for me because I did want every

detail to be able to be applied. I do believe I have created outcomes with quality, yet I would have

been more strict with my own deadlines if I were to do this project again.

My project goals have adapted and shifted as the project has developed. I first began with

having the goal be the creation of a lesson plan for each day I would be teaching, which transformed

into a more realistic and effective use of my energy which was unit plans. I did create an annotated

bibliography for my contextual factors and create a set of contextual factors which was accomplished,

and I also created my annotated bibliography on the connection between movement and dance,

however I did not write a cohesive essay on the connection like I originally intended to. While I know I

am going to work on this project after school is over in May, I am adapting to the idea that my project

holds a sense of incompleteness since this semester was a piece of a larger puzzle.

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3. What got in the way of your progress toward achieving your goals, if anything?

I do not generally allow my mind to take the path of creating excuses, however this semester I

did have an immense amount of work for other classes and I also spent much time and energy working

and being on two executive boards this year. This semester I did not have ample free time in which I

decided to not work on this project. I was consistently working and often could only fit so much work

into my day that I would not have time for this project. I know I could have accomplished more in a

different semester. However, I do not want to view having many other things going on as a reason for

not getting things done in a timely manner. I need to work on spending my energy in multiple places at

once and being able to divide my energy into many areas.

4. a. Knowing what you know about the content of your project and the processes and if you were to

approach the same project again, what would you do differently?

b. Why?

The primary element to my research that I would do differently if I were to do this project again

would be my engagement with asking for help and asking questions. There were times I had questions

even on small details of the project that I could have benefitted from asking for help with but I felt the

need to let myself struggle because I often thought my question may not be the most important

question or the most intelligent question. I would have opened myself up more to ask questions

because there are so many areas I need help with and I should not fear judgement since asking

questions will help me grow as a researcher, a learner, and a person. I would send questions through

email, even if they were extremely specific to one part of my project, if I were to do this again and I will

work on this as my project develops. As a student, this is a time in life where I have a strong resource

to ask questions to who I will not always have.

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5.a. What are you most proud of accomplishing as a dance educator and/or advocate for dance in this

project?

b. Why?

c. How might you use this in personal and professional areas in the future? (Name at least 3 ways).

I am proud that I took the initiative to apply this project to real life. This could have easily been

a theoretical project however I am applying it to real teaching. This will place me into a position in

which I will learn the most about myself as a teacher, learner, and researcher. I have never taught for a

five week period every day of the week, and I have not taught movement beyond my experiences

through my dance education courses which were only one single day experiences. I am proud that I am

taking a risk and stepping out of my comfort zone to bring my dance education far beyond the walls of

Bridgewater. I believe the skills and knowledge I have received from my dance education at

Bridgewater deserve to be spread to every human, as my education at Bridgewater has provided me

with the foundation in how I want to build my career and teach people through dance. My application

of my work to real life scenarios and risk taking will help me in spreading my dance education to

populations beyond populations I feel comfortable teaching. I am also proud that I truly accomplished

this without the goal of doing it as something required to do for a class. This project was not about

receiving a grade or passing a course or working towards getting my degree because I had to. This

project was from a place of genuine desire. Because I am able to approach my life with a motivation

beyond somebody telling me to do something, I can take initiative to help myself grow and help build

opportunity to help others grow. I am proud that I explored research in areas I did not directly apply to

any product this semester. For example, I began collecting ideas for articles. I began to talk to many

people who have already volunteered through my company or are going to volunteer at the same time

as me, and I have asked them questions such as their motivations and intentions to gain insight on an

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article I want to write about the minds of volunteer English teachers. I read books about Balinese

culture that I did not directly relate to a contextual classroom factor however I took interest in learning

for the sake of learning. My desire to learn will help myself as a teacher because teachers need to

always be furthering their own selves as humans to then benefit students. I am proud that I began this

work while working on my ATP proposal, and I was able to create a proposal even though I had high

doubts in creating a proposal. I could write my proposal while beginning the project which helped me

build skills in directing my focus in multiple areas. The challenge of balancing various tasks at once is

something I will continue to grow upon in my career. I am proud that this set a strong foundation to

expand upon. I am proud that I was able to see how this would set a base that I will expand upon. I am

proud that I could work on things that would benefit me in the future such as writing annotated

bibliographies. These are something I will use when I write my thesis. Creating things today that will

help myself tomorrow and in the future is vital to success. Many humans need a direct rewarding

experience or outcome to have motivation to do anything. I can utilize this throughout my life and

know the importance of working towards a larger picture rather than maintaining a narrow focus.

6. a What would you do/create related to your project if you knew you would not fail and if you had all
the resources (time, money, facilities, support etc.) you needed to create/ do it? Really imagine
something BIG! Imagine that you are absolutely successful and you have no roadblocks or glitches.

I would create a study abroad program through the dance department at Bridgewater that

takes students abroad to teach English through movement after taking a course in teaching English

through dance. I would create collaboration between the dance department and the TESOL program at

Bridgewater to create programs for students to apply their teaching abroad through scholarships. I

would then like to spread this to other colleges as well as other ways to learn how to teach that are

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free in the community. I would also bring the teaching of other languages through movement into

schools in the U.S to build a more fluid interconnection between the U.S and other countries, as the

U.S is so often the dominant force. I would work through this to create education in the U.S that is

based in students learning how to view other cultures as valuable and equal through the means of

using the body as a way of learning. I would also direct and own my own volunteer tourism through

English teaching program that brings people from the U.S abroad to teach English in a more culturally

relevant way that has dance/movement pedagogy as the foundation and objective goal.

b. What are the first steps you can take today to manifest your vision?

I can educate volunteer organizations on movement as pedagogy and open communication

between myself and the companies on their rationales and goals and how they align with movement as

a pedagogy. To grow this into a possibly more studied field at BSU and beyond, I could conduct

research and present it to BSU surrounding the importance of an integration between the dance and

TESOL department. I could additionally write articles and submit them for publication both to BSU, to

dance sources, or to the greater community.

7. Include any additional insights regarding your learning that you would like to share.

I greatly appreciate your support through every step of this process!