What I wish I knew last year....

I can't believe how much has changed in a year. I remember my first Skype call this time last year, and I was sat there thinking 'What have I got myself into?' I had already read through the module handbook and was totally clueless.

I can honestly say, I had no need to worry. Through discussion, reflection and a trust that it will all become clear as you start to work through the Module Handbook, I am looking forward to starting Module 3.

Today's Skype call was more about the administration of the course. Where to find information on Uni Hub and how to best utilize the learning community. Here are a few of the things I have found helpful through my last 2 Modules.

Blogs - Reading List
To ensure I stay up to date with the newest blogs in our learning community I made a Reading List on Blogger. This then appears like a news feed, enabling me to leave comments and engage more.

Don't be afraid to just say Hello - 
As Adesola said on today's call even if you are still processing your thoughts on a blogs content, its nice to just comment. Hi, Great Blog or I enjoyed reading this. It's nice to know that there are people reading your work.

Labels

I have found labels helpful to reference my work enabling to look back at specific subjects that I have blogged about or to find key words or themes that have carried across the different modules.

I have also found them invaluable when I have felt a bit lost or stuck. I have often used the labels on a supervisors blog to get a better idea of a subject. For example - Literature Reviews, Adesola has 16 blog posts on Literature Reviews, so I will have a look through and its likely that there will be information that will give me more insight or comments from past students sharing there ideas.

Blogs can be short and sweet, and don't always have to be written. Think about alternate ways to share your thoughts or ideas. Images, Videos, and Photos of your brainstorming sessions. Your blog will become another form of diary in which you can reflect on throughout the modules.




Long Distance Library 
Today we discussed taking time to navigate Unihub and see whats available. I regret fully doing this early on. There were books on the reading list that are not available online and I feel I didn't take full advantage of the resources available to me as a long distance student.

There is a guide on the Librarians Introduction on Unihub on how to register to order books to your home address. (Please note - Email removed for security) 

Dear Diary....

Start keeping a diary of your practice from today. It took me a while to pick apart my practice in order to see it in new ways and keeping a diary definitely helped. At first I just wrote what I had done that day and then started breaking it down into lens as I moved through the course. 

I hope these tips have been helpful. I look forward to hearing what your tips may be, after all we are always learning. 

Back To School

Wow! Where did the summer go? It feels like only a few weeks ago I nervously hit send on Turn It In to officially send off my Module 2 Inquiry Plan and in just a few short weeks I will be embarking on that plan.

After over 4 months off uni, its time to mentally and physically prepare myself for the intense 12 week period ahead. One thing that I have learnt so far from the previous 2 modules is to bring the task at hand back to my practice. Yes, I may be a bit rusty to start, like taking a dance class after some time off, my muscles will be tight, my movements not as fluid and natural. Certain terminology may elude me, but with practice, my muscle memory will kick in and by reflecting on my journey so far I will begin to reimagine my plan and hopefully after some time off be able to bring new thought to it.

I plan to re-read my blogs and those of my fellow students to remind myself of the journey I have taken so far. I will look through my plan with fresh eyes and look forward to discussing my feedback. 

This term discipline is key, I have pre-arranged childcare and have set times and days to ensure that my work stays consistent and on plan. As much as I am nervous about the module ahead, I am also very excited to get started knowing that with hard work and commitment I will have a degree.

It will be great to network with our BAPP community again and listen to new voices starting the course. Please feel free to comment if anyone has any questions, I would love to receive a few words to sum up how you are all feeling right now.

Let the journey recommence.........

Image credits

getty images/iStockphoto (2019). Back to school. [image] Available at: https://www.istockphoto.com/gb/photos/back-to-school?assettype=image&sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=back%20to%20school [Accessed 28 Aug. 2019].

Keeping it simple

I plan to create a visual map for my literature review, I have been collecting literature throughout my inquiry planning that I will use for examples of different perspectives and discourses but I wanted to make it more visual and wanted to include images of the key scholars and theorist I have been researching. One of these is Howard Gardner, I have read through some (not all he has over 30 books) of his key books, articles on google scholar and watched interviews on youtube.

It was only when I realised I needed an image of him that I simply googled 'Howard Gardner' this is when I had a total OMG moment and slapped my own forehead, why hadn't I done this before???? 

Image - Pinterest  - https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/769482286304388853/

Howard Gardner has 2 dedicated websites, with questions and answer pages, I can even follow him on twitter and he has over 5000 hashtags on Instagram! I had been so wrapped up in finding literature through 'reputable sources' that I hadn't done a basic google search. 
This realisation has helped me find new literature to add to my research and reminded me to sometimes Keep It Simple. 

The Practicalities of Practice Based Inquiry

As we are nearing the end of Module 2  it was really helpful to have a Skype Discussion with the focus on the Practicalities of doing an inquiry. 

I had already drafted my inquiry plan and sent it for feedback, but the call reminded me that discussion can help you see things from different angles. As we were discussing how we are going to consider Data Protection of our Data Collection we discussed password protecting computer documents this helped me re-consider how I am going to keep my notes for my observations. Instead of a notebook to store my thoughts and observations, I can keep them securely on my laptop. 

We also discussed, how we are planning to note take and how this can affect our interviewee or participant. I plan to observe my fellow dance teachers at my place of employment over the course of a few weeks and plan to make my observations as unobtrusive as possible. For this reason, I feel typing will be off-putting in a lesson setting plus I will find it difficult to type and observe at the same time, so I have planned to take notes on paper, which I will be able to shred once I have typed them into a word document that I can then password protect. It was also suggested that we consider back-ups of our information, such as an external hard drive or pen drive, that can also be password protected. 

It did take a while for us all to get in the right mindset of thinking of practicalities, Adesola suggested we start thinking like we have hired an assistant to help carry out our Inquiry Plan, this is to remind us that we have to consider how we are planning to carry out each step and how we are going to explain the reasoning behind these steps.

We also briefly discussed analysis and how we can be prepared for many different outcomes, it was thought-provoking to consider that sometimes if there are gaps in literature or you do not get the co-operation from participants that you were hoping for that this is all information for analysis. For example, if you are contacting someone to interview about Support in the Arts or Guidance in Career choices and they do not get back to you, Could this be considered as a lack of support or guidance??

I will be applying these thoughts and discussions to my final draft, I have also received my feedback and I am pleased that I have made many good points, and only need to re-word a few paragraphs.
I do however have a lot of work to do putting together my Literature Review, I am planning to create a Map similar to my Module 1 Diagram. 

Good Luck to everyone finalising your drafts, if anyone wants to share how you are getting on or any thoughts you have had after recent Skype Calls it will be great to hear from you.  

Trans-Adams, M. (2013). Research Paradigm - Interpretivist. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbLbEexQrwI [Accessed 16 Mar. 2019].

AS I am currently exploring the realms of Howard Gardners Multiple Intelligences, I found this musical example of an Interpretive Paradigm very interesting. 

I find that I can only read so much literature before it stops sinking in, and have been struggling to resonate with the ideas of paradigms and make the understanding my own. Yet this 2-minute video with no words or literature helped me clarify how I am going to explain my current thoughts within my inquiry plan.

I could say it spoke to my Musical-Rhythmic Intelligence!!

 In Qualitative research, you are in a position to hear, read, watch information and existing research in your chosen field, it is then your role to find a new meaning for that information while staying within the realms of its original meaning.

The pianist used the same melody and timing, yet gave the music more texture and depth. I hope this makes sense to someone.

 Please share your thoughts on any findings you have that are not purely literature based. 

Striving For Perfection

On our last Skype call, there were a few fellow Module 2 Students who were discussing, body image, mental health and general well being in dance. I came across this blog, which has a nice narrative.

http://ambrymehr.com/2018/10/25/dancers-the-mirror-the-ugly-truth-behind-striving-for-perfection/

I hope everyone is doing well with thier drafts, I am literally having a cram it all in a day kind of day. And questioning my whole inquiry question.

I'm hoping its just all part of the process....... 

Module 2 Skype Call - 7th March

On Thursday 7th March we had a Skype call with a Module 2 focus entitled - What if you can't interview someone?

However, I feel that the call was more about the value of an interview to a qualitative research project. The bottom line is, What new information can an interview bring to your inquiry if you are asking questions that you have devised from purely your own thought processes? Will you be asking questions that inform you or are you encouraging your interviewee to say yes or no in order to agree with your existing thoughts?

The Skype call helped me and most of us on the call to realise that there may be a more fitting form of data collection to suit our inquiry that doesn't include an interview.

I had initially thought that I would use Observations of classes/internet tutorials and focus groups to discuss what my fellow teachers understanding of multiple intelligences were and if they felt they applied this knowledge to teaching. But the call introduced more appropriate data collection forms.

Reflective Observations - A reflective essay can be used as a form of data collection, in a narrative inquiry your personal experiences count as knowledge within your practice. It was a reflection on a past teaching experience that first piqued my interest in my inquiry topic, so I now plan you include my own experiences past and present into my inquiry plan. 

Existing Literature/Reviewing Documents  - When I first started looking into my inquiry topic, I knew that there was lots of available literature from many different perspectives, and while I was aware I had to do a literature review I hadn't realised that I could source existing literature to directly apply as data collection. On the call, Adesola implied that I could probably complete my whole inquiry based on existing literature. While I have found some great pieces of information I feel I would add more depth to my inquiry if I looked outside the literature and made it real to me. 

We also discussed what our current inquiry ideas were and how we are making them non-biased and not focusing on what we already think the answer is. This led me to look more into Ethnography and I found a few useful explanations.

'The true skills of the ethnographer are learning to observe, ask the right questions and at the right time to cause minimal influence on the actions of your subjects' (The Interaction Design Foundation, 2016)

'You go in search of truth rather than taking truths with you' (The Interaction Design Foundation, 2016)

I am hoping a combination of my inside view and theory of others found in my literature review will make my inquiry balanced while ensuring I have reflexivity in my own data capture and a range of thoughts from notable scholars in my literature.

  
I have now tasked myself with rewriting my inquiry topic question/heading so that it isn't a right or wrong I am trying to prove but instead an open query that will add knowledge to my own current practice and the professional transitions in my future. 



Bibliography 

The Interaction Design Foundation. (2016). What Does an Ethnographer Do?. [online] Available at: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/what-does-an-ethnographer-do [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019].