Tuesday 2 December 2014

Inquiry

Hi everyone,

After watching the slideshow Paula put up from campus session number 2 has really helped me think about effective writing.

The slide that stuck in my head the most was: effective writing -  Try to edit with purpose to say what you mean in fewer words. The example shown on the slide proved how you can get across what you want to say by rewording it.

As I have been editing my critical review I noticed my sentences are sometimes so long and there would be better ways to get my point across. I referred back to this slide to try and help me with my writing. I have been playing around with my sentences and feel it has been beneficial to my work, as it seems to read a bit more clear now.

This whole process of writing the inquiry up has felt clear in my own head but when I read it back I realise other people may not make sense of it, I have been working on trying to make it as clear and structured as possible for another reader to understand it.

I ended up having four themes in my analysis which was taken from re-occurring things happening or said in my observations and interviews. I have discussed these themes throughout my inquiry, always referring to how they will benefit my practice. I have carefully selected what I choose to talk about based on the importance and relevance it has to my practice.

Has anybody started on their artefacts? I have a few ideas but keep changing my mind. What are other peoples ideas'?









Tuesday 28 October 2014

Literature update

I have been spending quite some time over the past few weeks  researching literature based on motivation. At the start of my researching process I wanted to find out about ''motivation'' in general to give me an idea of the subject before expanding my knowledge on it.

I found out that psychology has a lot to do with motivation, motivation is in us all but there are many factors in which affect a student's motivation. For example; it could be their previous achievement history or their attributions to success or failure what either motivates them or de-motivates them. This is just one minor example and I have looked deep into the factors affecting motivation. Why have I done this? I asked myself this question the other day as I read my inquiry title which is ''What are the different strategies dance teachers use to create motivation?'' Firstly, I realised why I had spent so much time looking at theories of motivation and what affects and enhances student motivation. It was because in order to move on and look for strategies used to stimulate motivation, I needed to know what affects it in first place, allowing me to find valid and reliable strategies to motivate students. Secondly,  create? can teacher's really create motivation? Paula commented on this and it made me think that, actually no one can create motivation. We can stimulate and sustain motivation in a student but I suppose create wasn't the best word to use

I found five theories that seemed compatible, but some theorists had expanded more on what they were proposing, whilst other's argued certain points. I didn't want my literature review to be based on just theories of motivation. It was a good starting point for me to thoroughly research these theories but after all I am looking for strategies.

I have now came up with a new idea for my literature which is based on all of the research I have done but not with the structure I had originally planned and had in mind. One theorist I spent some time researching was John Keller, he came up with the ARCS model. He suggests there are four categories teachers need to consider before trying to enhance motivation. These are: attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction. These four categories represent conditions required for a person to feel fully motivated. I am now working on condensing my research on the theories of motivation and relating it to these four categories.


Wednesday 1 October 2014

Where I am at - Module 3

Hey,

Hope you all had a lovely summer off and feeling refreshed ready to start again!

Over summer I spent a lot of time researching literature related to my inquiry which is on motivation and how to motivate students in a dance class.

I have found that there is an awful lot been said about motivation and although I am wanting to find out about motivating students in a DANCE class, I seem to have got deep into researching motivation in general which has been very helpful as I can relate these theories to my own teaching practice, which is allowing me to use what has been said and see if it does have an effect on the students in my own classes.

I have also carried out 4 observations and I am now at the point of analysing these observations and relating what I seen in the obs to the literature I have researched. I carried out my first interview last week with newly devised questions that I put together after I received feedback from module 2. This interview didn't seem to give me the information I was hoping for so now I am back to re-thinking my questions and reflecting on why the interview didn't work? For example my very first question was how do you motivate your students? Well the teachers answer was obvious to me, ''It depends on the type of person and character'' This is what has been said in most of my researched lit, that motivation is down to the personality and behavior of the student and it is the teachers responsibility to know which strategies are best suited for different behaviors. So how can I change that question? That's where my thinking is now...I need to make my questions more specific! If any one has any ideas for me I would really appreciate it as I aim to carry out my next interview in the next week or so!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Mel
x

Sunday 11 May 2014

Critical Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry


A Critical Reflection on Professional Inquiry
Working through the 3 parts of this module has provided me with sufficient knowledge and tools needed to conduct my inquiry.
Developing lines of professional inquiry
 ‘inquiry based learning requires students to learn for themselves bringing a real research-orientated approach to the subject’ (Dr Bill Hutchings, What is inquiry based learning? Centre for excellence in inquiry based learning).This quote inspired me to find a topic related to my practice that would excite, motivate and challenge me for present and future research. (Appendix A) shows my initial lines of inquiry. Connecting with my SIG’S enabled me to develop my lines of inquiry and understand my topic from another professional’s point of view which was valuable for my practice. To start I connected with three experienced dance teacher’s and asked them to answer some of my questions to allow me to delve deeper into my inquiry and hopefully find a main line of inquiry. (Appendix B) shows feedback from my initial questions.
Reviewing literature was valuable for me during this module as it gave me insight into research that had already been conducted which related to my inquiry interests. I decided to look deeper into the strategies and methods teachers have to help with the continuous improvement of students:
                        Discovering boundaries?
                 Motivational strategies?
                 Creating an enabling environment?
                 Creating positive relationships?
(Appendix C)  and (Appendix D) shows literature I reviewed and how it was important for not only my inquiry but also how I could link it to my professional practice.
After further research the scope of my inquiry then seemed too broad. I discussed this with my SIGS and the feedback provided allowed me to narrow my thoughts and ideas down which brought me to focus on motivational strategies teachers use in a dance class within education. In which I felt I could look more into depth with this proposed line of inquiry.
Ethical Considerations
I chose 4 ethical considerations based on my experience of working in a school and what I felt should be considered as ethics in my workplace (Appendix E). However I knew there were many more considerations in the workplace which I hadn’t researched and didn’t have much knowledge on. (Appendix F) is where I researched and engaged with my professional codes of practice in my workplace which I should always adhere to. Reader 5 provided me with the theoretical approaches to ethics which made me question my own ethical decisions (Appendix G).  I absorbed this new found knowledge on ethics and decided how I would plan my inquiry making sure I was ethical in the process. (Appendix H) shows my outlined plan.
Inquiry Tools
The final stage enabled me to decide on the most appropriate tools for data collection. (Appendix I). Piloting these tools allowed me to evaluate their merits and limits. This was necessary in order to find the most appropriate ways of research to conduct an effective inquiry.
(Appendix J) talks about my pilot Observation, interview and survey. I evaluated the effectiveness of each and came to the conclusion that interviewing and observations would be the most appropriate to my inquiry.
Module two has allowed me to explore ethics at a deeper level, research the most useful tools of inquiry and analyse literature relating to my inquiry interests. This has enabled me to connect all tasks to my practice preparing me to emerge at my final proposed line of inquiry.
Appendices

References
B.E.R.A. (2011) – Ethical guidelines for educational research

Carritt (1947), Foot (1966), McCloskey (1965) and Thomson (1976) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consequentialism/

C.D.E.T . (2008/2009) – Code of professional conduct and practice (Council for dance education training)

Dr Bill Hutchings, What is inquiry based learning? Centre for excellence in inquiry based learning) - http://www.ceebl.manchester.ac.uk/ebl/ (pg. 1)


Lynda M. Mainwaring and Donna H. Krasnow ’Teaching the dance class: strategies to enhance skill acquisition, mastery and positive self-image’’ (Journal of dance education, Volume 10, number 1, 2010)

Motor Learning and Teaching Dance – International Association for dance Medicine and Science - http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.iadms.org/resource/resmgr/imported/info/motor_learning.pdf (pg 1-6)


Professional Ethics Reader - Reader 5 – pg 7

RADRoyal Academy of Dance – Code of Professional Practice - www.rad.org.uk/.../code-of-prof-practice-for-teachers-en-web.pdf 

The BBC – Introduction to Ethics 2013 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/guide/






Tuesday 1 April 2014

6b - Pilot Observation, interview and survey


Pilot observation, Interview and Survey
Pilot Observation
I found that most dance teachers feel observation is crucial when trying to inquire about a particular topic. My pilot observation took place in a primary after school dance class which enabled me to take notes on trends and patterns I observed. I structured my notes into:
-          Structure of the class.
-          Teacher’s personality and strategies used to suit individual learning needs.
-           Student’s general behaviour.
-           Environment of the class.
The pilot observation was a very positive process although I feel I cannot compare findings yet as I have only observed one class and one teacher and every class and teacher will take a divergent approach. Carrying out observations for my inquiry will be a primary way I can asses and explore the use of applied motivational strategies in the dance class. However I learnt that observations are very time consuming and I will have to conduct a series of observations with a realistic time scale so I am not rushed.

Advantages of observations:

- It provided me with direct access to what I was aiming to find out.
- I was able to realise my focuses needed to be more structured, as I felt my results became too broad and vague.
- Observations enabled me to see how students responded to the applied strategies as part of the analysis.
- I feel it will effectively complement other approaches such as interviewing and enhance the quality of evidence.

Disadvantages of observations:

- Very time consuming
- Without specific focuses results become too broad and vague.
- Observations can result in being my own perception and therefore creating headings will help avoid this.
- Observations can result in changes in behaviour in both student and teacher. I need to be aware of this when undertaking the analysis.
- I need to be aware of the sensitivity of observing teachers personalities as this could be quite personal and needs to be avoided at all costs.
Pilot interview
I piloted an interview with my employer who has 25 years experience and teaches dance to a wide variety of ages in school’s and also owns her own dance school. This was a great opportunity to enable me to evaluate the ‘’merits’’ and ‘’limits’’ of the tool. The interview took an ‘’informal’’ ‘’semi structured’’ approach, which I believe worked in many ways as I came away with a lot of positive, useful notes. I found I didn’t ask all of the questions I wanted to ask as we ended up talking for a longer amount of time, in more depth on certain areas which I felt was positive as I got the detail and depth I was aiming for, however made me think of conducting less questions for my next interview so I can get all the answers I need. I also realised it would be a good idea to interview someone I don’t know who is in the industry and see how it changes the structure of the interview, as this was really relaxed and friendly because I knew her well. A positive point about this interview was we used examples of students who we both teach which gave me more insight and understanding as I could relate to what I already know, whereas interviewing a stranger I won’t be able to do this. I really struggled to keep up with taking notes as I was too busy absorbing and taking in the data which is why I have suggested recording my interviews when carrying them out in the next module which will allow me to quote accurately and provide a balanced view of the interview.

Advantages of Interviewing:

- It enabled me to directly ask the 'why' questions to teachers who have knowledge, experience and perceptions about my topic which I could use as evidence.
- Adaptability allowing me to uncover unexpected data.
- I was able to explore the initial answers.
- It was a more personal approach to research.

Disadvantages of Interviewing:

- I had far too many questions which resulted in all questions not being answered.
- I was unable to compare data as I only piloted one interview.
- The interview became really relaxed and friendly and I feel it maybe effected the responses.
- Struggled to take notes as I was too busy listening and absorbing the information.
Pilot Survey
I piloted a survey to My SIG group (BA Hons professional practice students)


 Although I didn’t feel fully certain I would use this tool as part of my research, down to the fact that I didn’t think a survey would give me the detail and depth I was looking for in my inquiry, I thought I would give it a go to see if I got any use from it. Laura Houghton told me my questions seemed to be a little vague, which leads into to much depth. 1 person from my SIG answered my survey and this to me suggested it would be the same when conducting my inquiry, whereas an interview and observation I can set up and prepare for and know it will happen but with a survey I can’t make people answer it. From reviewing surveys I found that the ones that were more to the point and simple where the ones that I didn’t actually mind completing. Some surveys asked far too many in-depth questions which I didn’t really have the time to answer. I then noticed mine was actually an in depth survey. This really did answer my question on including a survey as a tool of research and my answer was no based on the detail and depth I intend to gain whilst conducting my inquiry, I feel a survey would be a waste of mine and others time and not provide much use for me.

Wednesday 26 March 2014

6c - Award Title


BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Dance)
This award title relates to my most knowledge and experience on the subject. Gaining a BTEC triple distinction in dance and then a level 6 Trinity Diploma in dance and musical theatre shows that this is where my strengths lie. However within the last year I have made a transition into the teaching side of dance and my studies and inquiry plan is based on teaching dance. I plan on developing my career in dance teaching in the education sector. So I believe BA (Hons) Professional Practice (Dance teaching) would be more beneficial to me. I have a wide range of knowledge on dance and the different dance techniques and believe I am able to pass this knowledge on effectively to students. Although I only have 8 months experience of teaching the subject, I feel I have gained invaluable knowledge and experience by teaching GCSE dance and primary school level dance. This award title I believe would have more benefits on my future career development. It has the word ‘dance’ in, which is where my most knowledge and experience lies but also the word ‘teaching’ which is what I am studying and doing my professional practice in at the present moment, in which I hope to develop my skills and have a successful career in.

Tuesday 25 March 2014

6a - Researching Tools


Reader 6 has proved to me I am now at the stage of finding the most appropriate and effective research tools in order to carry out my inquiry. ‘The main focus of experimenting with the inquiry tools will be to enable you to design your own practitioner research and learn from the experience’ (Reader 6 page 5). I will use the most suitable tools to enable me to gather, analyse and present ‘good quality’ primary data.
I will need clear goals and aims in how I am going to carry out my research and also need to carefully consider how I am going to present my findings  and analysis so that it clearly shows the relevant and significant outcomes of my inquiry.
Using the ‘Purposive’ approach ‘choosing people who can answer the questions using defined criteria (qualitative) in order to look at particular or situated phenomena’ will be my most effective approach as I believe it would give me the insight I need to fully explore my inquiry.
Observations
As I said in a previous blog, observation is going to be vital for me when carrying out my research. My plan will be to observe a variety of dance classes of different standards, abilities, age and gender within the education sector. I will watch, record and analyse events of interest.
’What are the different strategies dance teachers use to create motivation?’’
I will be looking at these sub questions when I observe a variety of dance classes:
-          What do teachers do to motivate their students?
-          Where does the insight lay?
Teachers have the insight in what it is they do to motivate children
-          What other strategies do you use and to what extent do they work?
I     I will observe the learning strategies teachers use in order to create motivation for the students and how well the students respond to these strategies. I will listen to how the teacher explains a task to the students and how information and instruction is delivered. My observations will be recorded using written notes, taping or videoing. This will allow me to reflect back to the notes when needed. However I will need to be aware of circumstances and confidentiality agreements formalised with consent forms. I will observe whether the students are working independently or in a team and compare the different motivation levels based on team or independent work. Observing how well students engage with the tasks and the progress they have made during the class will give me insight to positive strategies and maybe strategies that don’t seem to work for a particular group.
        Preparation will be crucial for me before undertaking my pilot observation. How will I prepare my observation?
-          What will be the specific things I focus on?
-          How will I record the data in a particular class? And why?
-          Will I need to contact the gatekeeper or participants directly?
-          What ethical considerations will I have to think about?

My preparations and specific focuses for my observations will slightly change depending on the age group, gender and standard of the class and what I am planning to focus on in that particular observation. I will ensure I have a specific focus before an observation to allow me to gain relevant data and information.
I will also be a ‘participant observer’ whilst conducting my inquiry (Participant observation is a term that describes an activity (or tool) whereby the researcher participates over a long period of time in the community of practice or research setting within which they work). Whilst teaching dance I will be an insider-researcher which means having a dual role as both an employee and a practioner researcher. It states in the reader ‘these relative influences make it crucial that you are reflexive, reflecting back to your own role, in your inquiry’. As a worker researcher I will need to be aware of the issue of roles and gain consent for my inquiry through the consent form provided by the university. Having knowledge about the workplace and how it operates will be an advantage for me when carrying out my inquiry.

Interviews

I will be using the qualitative method ‘interview’ as a main tool whilst carrying out my inquiry. Interviews with a variety teachers will enable me to directly ask the ‘why questions’ to people who have knowledge, experience and perceptions about my topic. I will use it as evidence. As Bell states in reader 6 page 16 ‘’its advantage is that you can follow up on ideas, probe responses and investigate motives and feelings’’ I believe this will be a very useful method for me to find out about how motivation is created for students in dance classes.

How will I conduct my interview?

The way in which I will go about my interviews will depend on the time scale I have. I will use a structured list of open questions rather than leader questions, giving the participant the freedom to openly answer and offer their interpretation enabling a more in-depth understanding. However I will also use an informal method of interaction by having a general chat about the subject I am researching which will not be as structured as the formal interview. As it states in the reader ‘’semi structured interview which includes set questions or themes with the flexibility of following interesting or useful emerging issues is often most appropriate for the work-based researcher because of its inherent flexibility’’ I understand this will probably be the most suitable for the research I intend to undertake.
·         I will need to collect data based on dance teaching strategies in education, looking mainly at the motivational strategies teachers use.
·         I intend to interview a wide range of dance teachers.
·         The most appropriate place to hold the interview will be at the schools.
·         I believe interviewing would be best held at the early stages of my researching process.
·         The questions I will ask the participants will be:

-          What do you do to motivate your students?
-          What effect does this have on the students?
-          How do the students respond and react to this?
-          Where does the insight lay in you creating motivation?
-          Do motivational levels change when students are working independently or in group settings?
-          If so, how and why do you think the levels of motivation change?
-          How would you respond to the change in levels of motivation?
-          Do motivation levels progress as the class progresses? Or do you feel they drop?
-          Do you use any theoretical strategies in motivating students? If so what are they and what effect do they have?
-          Do you set class rules for the students? Do you involve the students in setting class rules?
-          Do you think it’s important to set tasks that are achievable or tasks that are challenging?
-          Do you give feedback to your students, positive and negative?
-          Do you reward students on their successes? If so how do you reward them?
-          Do you set specific learning aims and objectives for students? Do you encourage students to set aims and objectives for themselves?
-          How do you create support for students? Allowing them to take risks and not hold back?

I would say these interview questions are semi-structured with my rationale being it will give participants the flexibility to answer. I intend to use the same questions for all interviews although that may change depending on who I am interviewing and what their background knowledge and experience is. The best way to record the interview for me will be to use a voice recorder setting on my phone and transcribe the notes afterwards, however as it is being recorded I will try and write down brief notes as am listening. Considering the data protection act will be very important and I will have to ensure that I comply with ethical and confidentiality issues.

Surveys

 I don’t feel surveys will give me the detail and depth I am looking for in my inquiry. However a survey could make up for this in terms of the breadth or range of results achieved. Using closed, basic questions will be more suited for this type of method allowing me to find out basic information for comparison and correlation.

I want to find out answers to the questions above but don’t feel I can use them in a survey,  most people do not have the time to go into detail and would much prefer a yes/no survey.  Looking at Peter Bryant – preparing your survey http://peterbryant.smegradio.com/?p=42 gave me a clear understanding of how a survey should be structured:
-          - The first section of the survey generally introduces the study to the respondent’s.
-          - The middle section contains the items and scales to measure the survey topics in a logical sequence.
-          -  The final section usually has questions to measure the respondent’s demographic characteristics, like age, gender and income, so they can be grouped and compared.

I have put together a rehearsal survey of questions I would like my SIG group to test out. Here is the link to my survey:
Thoughts and feedback on the survey would be great in order for me to test that the questions make sense, are in the correct sequence, and are visually well presented. This will help me develop my survey for the final module.