Hi everyone! Here is my TED Talk for science:
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In-Depth Presentation
Hi everyone! I’m Brianna and welcome to my in-depth presentation! Although my final presentation isn’t quite what I thought it would turn out to be, I’m still proud of how far I’ve come since I started this project in January 🙂
For those of you who are new here, let me give you a quick recap. For my first in-depth project with the TALONS program, I’ve chosen to learn aerial hoop, a dance apparatus similar to trapeze. When I chose my project, I’d done other kinds of circus in the past but I never tried aerial hoop as it was never offered with the class that I was previously taking. Aerial hoop is also a more difficult apparatus than trapeze or aerial silks, so I was always a little scared of trying it. Now that I’ve done aerial hoop, it’s become one of my favourite apparatuses!
I met with my mentor Kimmie weekly to learn different poses on the aerial hoop, in order to complete my final goal of mastering 10-15 different poses that I would then use to choreograph a routine. Unfortunately, due to restrictions that came with social distancing, my meetings with Kimmie were cut short and I couldn’t film my final routine. However, I was able to learn quite a few poses during the time that I had access to an aerial hoop through my mentorship meetings.
A description of all the poses I learned:
- Pike Through / Pop Onto Sit: This pose is used to mount the hoop. You grab onto the hoop with your hands, then swing your legs up and in between your arms into a pike position. When you are ready to mount the hoop, you hook onto the base of the hoop with your knees and sit up onto the hoop.
- Mermaid: This is the first pose I learned on the aerial hoop. This pose is also featured in a lot of my progress videos. During this pose, you hold onto the hoop with one arm, then lean out until you are in a horizontal position with your legs together and your other arm reaching in the opposite direction.
- Man in the Moon: Another basic pose, Man in the Moon involves sitting sideways on the hoop with your legs pressing against the opposite end of the hoop and your arms helping you balance on either side.
- Arm Chair: Facing the hoop, you hold onto the top of the hoop with your arms and hold your legs in a pike position at the base of the hoop. Then, you have to push your feet against the hoop until your legs are straight.
- Split Step: From arm chair, let go of one leg to form a split.
- Tree Branch: You lean onto one side of the hoop, holding on by one arm and letting your legs dangle.
- Amazon: This pose is similar to Tree Branch, except you face the other side of the hoop when you hang instead of the front.
- Front Balance: You balance on the hoop with your waist, spreading your arms out and keeping your legs together to hold your balance.
- Reverse Angel: This pose is like Mermaid, with the only difference being that you face downwards rather than sideways.
- Running Man: I wasn’t able to master this pose completely, but it involves wrapping each leg around the two sides of the hoop and holding on with your hands as well. You face sideways with this pose.
- Birds Nest: For this pose, you hook each leg around their corresponding spots on the hoop (as in Running Man), except you face forwards, hold onto the hoop with your hands apart from each other, stick out your chest, and look out so you are bending your back.
- Back Balance: We only just started working on this pose before we were forced to stop meeting in person, but my understanding is that you lay back onto the hoop so you are looking at the ceiling, push one leg against the hoop, and balance on the small of your back.
Progress Videos:
To document my learning, I regularly recorded progress videos of myself on the hoop. Here is a small collection of them:
January 26 (the first progress video I recorded)
February 16
March 15
A brief presentation about aerial hoop and taking aerial hoop classes:
In-Depth Post #6
Hi everyone! Since my last post, I had my interview with Kimmie, and will post it below. Besides the interview, I’ve continued to attend aerial conditioning and flexibility classes and have started to prepare for my final presentation! The online classes I’ve been taking are a great help for me, as they allow me to exercise the same muscles that I use for aerial hoop, and some of the flexibility classes have focused on areas where my flexibility could’ve been improved such as my back and feet (I have naturally flat feet so it’s hard for me to point them). The classes also require very little equipment, and the equipment that we do use (yoga blocks, yoga strap, etc) I already have at home. The only problem that I encountered with the online classes was that I had to do them in my brother’s bedroom as my own bedroom is quite small and narrow (when we had to do a straddle split, for example, I couldn’t open my legs all the way).
For In-Depth night on May 25th, I plan to present 3-5 of my progress videos to see how my skills have advanced over the past few months of my in-depth project, and also make a poster/presentation about circus and talk about taking circus lessons or pursuing a career in performing or teaching.
Interview Q & A
Why did you choose circus? What’s your favourite circus apparatus?
I wanted to find a fun activity to do that was fitness related, and I thought that circus was more creative, fun, and interesting than other forms of exercise class. When I started out with circus, aerial hoop was my favourite apparatus, but presently my favourite apparatus would be either aerial silks or contortion.
Do you prefer teaching or performing?
I honestly love both! With teaching circus classes, you’re more involved and it’s cool to share your knowledge with other people and watch their skills grow. With performing, the fun is in the moment and the adrenaline rush that comes with sharing your talents in front of an audience.
What are the best parts about a career in circus?
The flexibility of a career in circus is the best part for me. You could choose to be a performer, teacher, or both, and you can take your career into almost any direction you want to. Your career could focus more on the artistic, musical, performance aspects of circus, or you could take your career into a more athletic direction that focuses on training and teaching other people.
What are the more challenging parts about a career in circus?
The main challenge I encountered when I was starting out is that circus isn’t very mainstream. While it is very cool to be part of something unique, it’s not very easy to find a job as there aren’t too many circus schools in the lower mainland and there aren’t really any official certifications you can get for circus like in similar sports like gymnastics.
How do you usually go about teaching group lessons?
When I’m teaching group lessons, I normally start up with a quick warmup and then conditioning since everyone is usually more able to do conditioning at the beginning of class. After conditioning, I teach everyone a few new tricks and at the end of class we work on sequencing (routine-building).
Did you have any prior volunteering or teaching experience before you started circus?
I did a lot of horseback riding when I grew up, so I volunteered at the stables a lot.
What is your advice for when someone isn’t getting a particular trick? What do you do to encourage a student that’s struggling to learn something?
Practice, practice, practice! The repetition is very good for your body to get it to understand the position required for a certain trick – you can’t just try to do the trick once and then give up because you didn’t get it right away! However, it’s still important not to push yourself too hard if you’re tired and take breaks in between trying to learn those tricks. Something else to try would be filming yourself doing the trick so you can see where you’re going wrong. When a student is struggling, I remind them that circus isn’t easy, and then break the trick down into little steps so they won’t feel discouraged that they didn’t get the whole trick all in one go. If flexibility or a lack of strength are preventing the student from getting the trick, I’ll take them aside and work on conditioning or stretching again for a while or allow them to have a break to regain some strength.
What do you do when someone is scared of a certain trick or apparatus?
I usually bring the apparatus lower to the ground for the student to practice until they’re comfortable with that height, then slowly raise the height as they grow more comfortable. To let the student know that they’re safe, I spot them and be encouraging and supportive.
How do you deal with stage fright when performing?
When I just started performing, I was always very scared and nervous and would practice my routine repeatedly before the performance until I felt comfortable. I would be so nervous that sometimes I wouldn’t even remember what happened during the performance! Nowadays, I still practice a lot but work more on building stamina, so I won’t look exhausted while performing.
When performing, can you create your own routine or do people create routines for you?
Both! When I can pick my routine, I think about the theme for the performance if there is one, then decide on my music and formulate my routine around that. If my song is more fast-paced, I’ll usually involve a lot of spinning in my routine, and if it’s slower, I’ll use threading a bit more and make sure all the tricks I show transition together seamlessly. I usually tend to pick tricks that I’m more comfortable with but are still impressive enough for an audience and avoid new tricks that I haven’t completely mastered yet. I do enjoy the creativity that comes with choreographing my own routine, but it’s also nice to see what other people come up for me.
What do you do if you mess up during a routine?
The main idea is to stay calm. If you couldn’t grab onto your apparatus at one point, for example, add an extra hand flourish to make it seem like you did that on purpose. Try your best not to look shocked, and if you forget part of your routine, the best that you can do is to continue through the rest of your routine rather than try to start again from the top.
Ecological Footprint Assignment
As an introduction to our environmental science unit, we were tasked with calculating our ecological footprint, then identifying which actions contributed to our footprint the most, changing 5 aspects of our daily life, and re-calculating our ecological footprint after two weeks to see how much of a difference our changes made. Below you can find the link to an infographic I made to organize the data I collected from this project:
Reflection
What changes were easy for you to make and why?
I found my dietary-related changes easiest to make, since I had already cut red meat from my diet and was familiar with a wide variety of protein alternatives. In addition, it was an easy switch from cow’s milk to almond milk for me since my mom prefers almond milk over cow’s milk, so we already had quite a bit of almond milk in our fridge. Finally, controlling the portion sizes for my meals was quite easy, as after doing so it was much easier for me to finish all the food on my plate without stuffing myself.
What changes were difficult for you to make and why?
The most difficult change for me to make was controlling the amount of time I spent in the shower. I enjoyed taking my time in the shower and at first it was quite hard for me to fit the 6-minute time limit I’d set for myself. This was because I liked to shower after I got out of bed early in the morning to wake myself up, so it was more difficult to move quickly when I was still sleepy. I did get used to a shorter shower time eventually, and managed to fit my showers within 6 minutes.
Describe some of the obstacles you encountered.
The main obstacle I encountered was remembering to turn the lights off after I left a room. I’m not quite sure why, but I was very forgetful when it came to this aspect of the project. Much like the difficulty I encountered when shortening my shower time, I eventually overcame this challenge simply through repetition and growing a habit. I also put a sticky note on my door that reminded me to turn off the lights in my room before I left it for a long period of time.
Describe the steps you plan to take in the future.
In the future, I plan to keep the habits I picked up in the past two weeks to maintain a lower ecological footprint. I am also thinking of transitioning into a vegetarian diet, and once the pandemic is over I will shop at thrift stores when I need new clothes instead of shopping first hand.
In-Depth Post #5
From my last blog post, I’ve tried to maximize the continuation of my learning at home. I have been continuing to stretch and exercise daily, and have signed myself up for some additional aerial conditioning and flexibility classes. Also, Kimmie and I have scheduled an upcoming online meeting where I can ask her questions about her career and why she chose to focus on aerial hoop. I still don’t have too much that I can talk about, but I will probably provide an additional update to this post once I’ve had my online meeting.
For my at-home exercises, I’ve been focusing on building up flexibility in my back and splits, and have been working on strengthening my back muscles, abs, and hamstrings.
Here are the final two parts of the video I uploaded for my fourth blog post:
Post #5 Questions
- What kinds of learning opportunities does the mentor provide to expose you to new learning?
When we were still having lessons, Kimmie made sure to move towards my goal of learning 15 different poses at a reasonable pace, while also giving me time to expand on skills surrounding pre-existing poses. During some of our meetings, we would advance onto new poses, but during others we would work on my style, flexibility, and ability to form a routine from some poses that I knew.
- What kinds of learning opportunities exist to reinforce new learning?
As of now, Kimmie and I haven’t been in contact with each other as much due to quarantine. However, we have scheduled an online meeting for this Sunday (April 19), where I can update Kimmie on how I’ve been working around not having access to a circus gym. Our meeting will also serve as a time for me to ask Kimmie more questions on how she discovered aerial hoop and why she chose to teach circus classes.
- What kinds of opportunities exist that might accelerate learning?
Separate from my meetings with Kimmie, I’ve also signed myself up for an online aerial conditioning class and a flexibility/stretching class. This will help me stay limber and exercise the muscles that I would normally use for aerial hoop. In addition to keeping up my skills, these classes are also a fun way to exercise during quarantine and have taught me many new stretches and exercises that I can use to build an at-home workout.
- When you get together what do you talk about?
There are a handful of topics Kimmie and I discuss when we have a meeting. We discuss ways to improve on existing skills, and techniques, stretches, and exercises that can be done both on and off the hoop that would allow me to do so. We also discuss routine-building, and how to fluidly transition between two drastically different poses. During my online meeting with Kimmie, I plan to ask her more about professional jobs that involve circus (performers, instructors).
- What is going particularly well in your mentoring relationship right now?
Prior to this blog entry, I was feeling a little lost with how to continue working on in-depth without Kimmie. But I will now have a chance to speak with her, so I feel that I can continue a slightly adapted version of my in-depth project. Additionally, as I’ve mentioned before, Kimmie and I have maintained a good, friendly relationship and she has been very kind and patient towards me throughout this project.
- What are you learning about one another?
I have learned a lot about Kimmie throughout the mentoring process. For one, I’ve noticed that she seems to have a good eye for detail and has the ability to perfect a pose that I’m doing by pointing out minor mistakes in my form. I’ve also learned that Kimmie is quite a dog person, as she owns two dogs that she brings to the gym (the dogs are familiar with the other instructors, and seem to enjoy watching everyone or playing tug-of-war with people training at the gym).
TALONS DL #4: PTI Presentations
PTI Presentations
Here is a link to our PowerPoint.
As part of a novel study we did on The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, we were put in groups and had to research a topic related to Indigenous rights. For my group, our topic was residential schools. In addition to providing research, we had to find two news articles relating to our topic and touch base upon those. Finally, we were required to put our research into the form of a PowerPoint presentation.
Digital Literacy Criteria Met:
- I respond to the work or ideas of my peers in a way that is compassionate and productive (Communication and Collaboration 3)
This project required a significant amount of collaboration between my peers and I. My group had nice group chemistry, and we gave each other positive feedback and constructive criticism in a friendly manner. For example, we discussed the subtopics that we wanted to cover (abuse, loss of language, etc) as a group and brainstormed who would be in charge of which portion of the presentation. We also collaborated to find the news articles we would use for our presentation. To do this, we looked up “Residential Schools” in CBC News and picked two that seemed to represent the topic the best.
- I identify and discuss bias in research sources (Research and Information Literacy 10)
While researching our presentations, we kept a critical opinion on articles we found due to the fact that much of the Indigenous’ history and voices were washed away and suppressed by the government. To do this, we identified whether or not our articles came from a primary source, as well as who wrote the article (was it someone who went to a residential school, someone who had a family member that experienced residential schools, or someone with no background on the topic?) Finally, we also checked the articles for the style of writing the author(s) used (persuasive, informative, etc).
- I look at controversial issues or topics from opposed perspectives and gain a more complete understanding (Research and Information Literacy 12)
In addition to looking for bias in our research, we also took care to refrain from sharing our own opinions or biases during the presentation. We understood that in order to deliver the proper information to our audience, we needed to come forward with a neutral view on our topic, despite any personal opinions we might have. We also made sure to stay unbiased, as at the end of the presentation we were required to ask the audience a question relating to our topic, which they were then supposed to discuss in groups and share their answers with the class.
- I ethically use content that is not created by me by using Creative-Commons licensed audio, video, or images and by properly citing these resources within my work (Digital Citizenship 14)
To make our presentation resonate with our classmates, we used a variety of images to further embellish our research. These images ranged from illustrations to historical photographs and even pictures drawn from the news articles we’d chosen. At the bottom of each image, we made sure to include the proper citation to respect the creator of the photograph or artwork. In addition, we credited articles by using a Works Cited as the final slide for our presentation.
- My work demonstrates a positive, productive, and empathetic worldview (Digital Citizenship 15)
This project was quite important for the history of our country, especially some darker aspects that may not have been touched on for a very long time. To move forward and reconcile for any wrongdoings from the past, we must educate ourselves on what those wrongdoings happened to be. For this reason, our presentation was the perfect opportunity to discuss the horrible events that many Indigenous people experienced. By using news articles and quotes from people who’d gone to residential schools in our presentation, we created room for empathy in regards to the trauma and horrors that they went through.
TALONS DL#1: Eminent
Eminent
Here are links to my speech and bibliography.
As the first major project of TALONS 9, we were tasked with researching a famous person considered eminent. Once we had chosen our Eminent person, we then had to create a blog post summarizing their achievements and comparing their experiences to ours. Then, we had to perform a 4-5 minute speech from the point of view of someone or something who knew our Eminent person. My Eminent person was the Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, and I performed my speech from the point of view of Prince Edward Island, which is where Montgomery grew up. As our final portion of the project, we had to create a “learning centre” and present it during Night of the Notables, where our families would have a chance to visit everyone’s learning centre. After Night of the Notables, we all completed an annotated bibliography for all of the research we conducted.
Digital Literacy Criteria Met:
- I tailor my work to appeal to my intended audience, and use language and visual design elements appropriate for them (Communication and Collaboration 2)
Both the speech and learning centre for Eminent had to be presented to an audience. In the case of the speech, I knew that it would be slightly more formal, but would also require acting as I would be speaking from the point of view of someone who was very proud of my Eminent person. For that reason, I made sure to refrain from slang, but at the same time add emotion and put on a believable performance. For my learning centre, I kept a strong visual theme and tried to design it so it would be welcoming to my audience.
- I critically assess research sources for Currency, Reliability, Authority and Purpose (Research and Information Literacy 9)
Research was a huge part of Eminent. You had to have at least 10-12 reliable sources, and be able to answer detailed questions about your Eminent person during Night of the Notables. For this reason, I did my best to use sources from official websites that were free of bias. For example, a lot of my sources came from Canadian history websites such as Historica Canada. Although the date of my articles didn’t really matter since my Eminent person existed a long time ago, I still tried to look for sites that had been uploaded recently or were regularly updated.
- I attribute credit to ideas that are not my own by preparing a Bibliography/Works Cited and by using in-text citations (Digital Citizenship 13)
As the final piece of work we had to submit for Eminent, we had to create an annotated bibliography with at least 10 of our best and most used sources. For my bibliography, I used the proper format that my teacher requested us to use and made sure to specify how each source aided my research for Eminent. I used formal language in my research annotations, and checked each link I provided to make sure they worked properly.
TALONS DL#3: Parts of a Cell PowerPoint Slide
Parts of a Cell PowerPoint Slide
Unfortunately, the PowerPoint was deleted, but I have included a drawing of an animal cell that I created for my slides.
As an introduction to our biology unit, our class collaborated together and created a PowerPoint. Each of us were responsible for researching a different part of the cell, and presenting our slide of the presentation with a one-minute speech. The cell organelle I was assigned to was peroxisomes.
Digital Literacy Criteria Met:
- I use digital spaces to plan and execute collaborative projects with my peers (Communication and Collaboration 1)
Because the whole class was collaborating to make a PowerPoint presentation, it was important that we had some communication since some of the cell parts we were discussing were connected to each other. We all communicated properly, and there wasn’t too much repeated information. In addition, we had to make sure to tell each other if we were changing the theme of our presentation, as if one person changed their slide’s theme, it would change everyone else’s slides. Although we had some mishaps with theme changes at the beginning of the assignment, we ended up fixing any problems that arose.
- I enhance the impact of my research or presentation through creative use of technology (Creativity, Innovation, Technology Operations and Concepts 5)
For the slides I was responsible for, I added my own flair and style as much as I could without changing the PowerPoint’s theme. I did this by using the “Designer” feature on PowerPoint, since this would alter my slide without changing anyone else’s slides as well. In addition, I picked fonts that I liked and arranged any diagrams I included to provide emphasis on key ideas I would cover. In addition, I used Paint 3D on my computer to draw a diagram of an animal cell for my presentation as I couldn’t find one online that included my organelle.
TALONS DL #2: Short Story Mind Map
Short Story Mind Map
Here is the link to the write-up for my mind map.
To wrap up our short story unit in English, we had to create a mind map illustrating the core components of a story (plot, setting, protagonist, conflict, mood, irony, etc) that we chose to read. The short story I picked was called The Ghost.
Digital Literacy Criteria Met:
- I determine and use the most effective medium to present my work (Creativity, Innovation, Technology Operations and Concepts 6)
When it comes to mind maps, I had the option of creating mine digitally or on paper. For the artwork and titles, I opted for the latter as I knew that I was more used to completing assignments on paper and I had more of an opportunity to add my flair to the project. However, I completed the written portion on the computer, since typing is more efficient than writing, and typing the written portion would also give me more time to focus on the hand-drawn portions of my mind map. I completed my colouring using markers and pencil crayons.
- I design my work with consideration given to aesthetics and design, such as consistent colour schemes, symmetry, or organization of visual elements, and overall layout (Creativity, Innovation, Technology Operations and Concepts 7)
A large component of the criteria for the mind map was to have definite separations between different topics (conflict, plot, etc). To make sure the separations were as clear as possible, I drew borders around the text for each section of my mind map and coded each section by lightly colouring each section of text a different, distinct colour (I chose red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple). For our mind map, we also had to include a central image that represented the story. For my central image, I chose to draw a rocking chair with vines wrapped around it.
In-Depth Post #4
Unfortunately, I don’t have too much to update everyone on because of recent events. I haven’t been able to directly practice aerial hoop, or be in contact with my mentor, since March 15. However, I have been able to learn quite a few new poses and variations of poses since my last blog post. For our latest few meetings, Kimmie and I have been working on improving my grace and form for pre-existing poses, as well as a few new poses such as Running Man (hanging from the hoop in an upside down V shape and hooking your ankles around the sides) and Half Angel (a variation form Mermaid where you hold onto the hoop with one arm and let one leg down to cross in front of the leg holding onto the hoop).
In my last meeting with Kimmie, we worked more on routine building. At the beginning of the lesson, we established a mini-routine of 5-6 different poses and Kimmie had me go through the routine without any pointers, which we did film at the beginning of class. Then, we refined my movements throughout the routine by making transitions more graceful, filming another version of the routine in the middle of the lesson and a final one at the end. Although the last two versions of the routine do look a bit sloppier, this was because I got a bit tired by the end. Despite this, I did finish the meeting with better form and grace than I had at the start. After working on the mini-routine, Kimmie showed me additional ways to stretch my back, which would be important for some of the poses I’ve been learning.
Presently, I’ve been continuing to work on the exercises and stretches I’ve learned, and reviewing my previous progress videos to see what I should work on once I can get back to the circus gym.
For this post, I’ll upload the first part of the three progress videos I filmed on March 15, but add the next two with my fifth blog post since I won’t be able to film any more as of now.
Post #4 Questions:
- What has been my most difficult mentoring challenge so far? Why?
As of now, my meetings with Kimmie had been going very well. Our communication was good, and I was progressing towards my goal of learning 15 poses fairly quickly. The most recent mentoring challenge that has arisen has been keeping in contact with my mentor through social isolation due to COVID-19. Because of the recent pandemic, we haven’t been able to meet in person, and we’ve had to postpone our private lessons. Due to the nature of aerial hoop, there is currently no way for me to officially practice what we were working on at home.
- What is working well? Why?
As mentioned in previous blog posts, Kimmie and I have maintained a very nice relationship, and get along well together. Kimmie is very good at coming up with ways to demonstrate or explain poses or tricks that I might be having trouble understanding (to help perfect my mount onto the hoop, for example, Kimmie piled up mats behind me and taught me to lean back onto the mats before mounting the hoop, which helped me understand the proper motion to climb onto the hoop). In addition, Kimmie has been very religious with showing me exercises and stretches that I can do at home, which has helped me find some kind of way to work on in-depth without our meetings.
- What could be working better? How can you make sure this happens?
The only aspect to my mentorship that could be working better as of now would probably be maintaining communication through quarantine. As of now, I have been working on some of the stretches and exercises that Kimmie has taught me, but there’s obviously still no way for me to directly practice what I’ve been learning on aerial hoop. To make sure that our communication is maintained, I could contact my mentor and ask her if there is anything else that I could work on at home.