Module 3 Journey

So, after a very busy few weeks at work, (why does everything seem to happen at the same time?!) I have managed to get some more ticks on my 'to do' list. I have written my introduction, analysis and evaluation of my inquiry (in a first draft kind of way) and I'm booked in for a Skype meeting with Adesola tomorrow so hoping to take things a step further with that soon.
My focus  (and worries) are now turning to the mysterious 'artefact'. Thought I had a few ideas about that however I am now doubting I have any idea what I should be doing - really hope my conversation tomorrow helps to generate some ideas that will lead onto being able to get it started!
I guess all this leads to a better critical reflection of the module 3 journey - although I'm hoping to feel more on top of things soon.
Hope you are all chugging along nicely! Will do another Skype group soon hopefully - maybe the Easter school holidays?

Inquiry progression

So I guess I need to tell myself off for not blogging enough! I have been getting a lot of work, research, analysis and general inquiry work done recently - wasn't feeling like it was hanging together in anyway but arranged a Skype conversation with Natalie and Kym which has really helped to talk things through - hopefully with a bit of refection time I will have a clearer idea of where I am heading with this stage of my work.
My recent thoughts towards approaching my inquiry of the impact of dance within primary education came from Adesola's comments on my inquiry basically being mapping children's learning of dance and how it impacts their general learning. This got me thinking about all the angles involved and my tools of research. I managed to put all information into 4 areas which, whilst being independent approaches, influence and impact upon each other. These are:
The children- how the children react to dance, how the children's grades compare to their dance ability.
The teachers- do they think dance is an important part of the curriculum? Do they think dance has any influence on the children's learning or school life?
The government- how do they class dance, how much emphasis is meant to be placed on dance? Who should teach dance?
Scientific research- What do we know about dance and it's impact on the brain and learning? Is it being researched? Do children need to enjoy dance?

I'm hoping to basically touch on all these areas and see how they link together within education.
Obviously this is brief and new and I hope to improve my ideas but I think so far this mapping approach seems to be helping me focus and avoid going off on a tangent!

Other than this, my data collection and research seems to be going to plan, observations and children's data has been collected, a few informal interviews have taken place and I have found some literature that seems to be fitting in well! Just got to get it down and analyse how it all fits together.

Hope I am on the right track!

Module 3!

Welcome back everyone! I hope you are all getting into the swing of things again and your inquiries are starting off nicely!
I have had an insane week at work and I'm off to Rome next week so it's pretty crazy getting things done but it's certainly teaching me to be organised with my time!
So far I have had a highlighter permanently attached to me as I've been going through the literature I found in more detail and writing up reviews, collecting quotes etc. I've also got started with a lot of observations of children dancing at school and seeing how it impacts their day and lessons. Quite interesting to step back and really look.
I'm going to get a couple of interviews done then I can really start analysing the results and seeing what comes up. So far my discoveries are that, as much as dance has been proven to improve many skills, I have found that the children have got to WANT  to access the dance in order for it to have an effect - and it's generally the children who need the skills most that don't engage with the lessons to improve them - it seems be a catch 22 situation that I can look into further!

I really hope I am on the right track, would love to hear from you with where you are all up to!

Task 6d: Delicious

I have set up a account with delicious and gathered literature from their library and my own findings. I think I will find it useful! I will use a selection of the literature I have found to review for task 6c.

Here is my profile link:
https://delicious.com/hannahshepherd

Critical Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry

Critical Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry

 

As term began and I embarked upon module 2, the next stage of my BAPP journey, I was feeling anxious but ready to get back into the routine of work and study. (Appendix 1) The idea of creating a plan for my professional inquiry in a matter of months seemed daunting however the module gave me the knowledge and information to be able to piece together what I hope to be a solid plan for my professional inquiry.

Principles of a Professional Inquiry

My key moment of this section was the creation of a SIG. Following many comments on my blog several of us managed to connect via Facebook and create a module 2 SIG in which we have communicated about all aspects of the course (Appendix 2). As a natural worrier, having the access to others on the course and the ability to help each other has been very useful.

Following Reader 4, I launched into creating questions for my inquiry proposal.(Appendix 3) Looking back, I created questions that are very specific and could possibly have restricted my inquiry. As the module has gone on I have managed to loosen the grip on these questions, creating a line of inquiry that encompasses all the areas of questioning within Task 4a and still gives me the freedom to explore and in an entire topic.

Ethics

This topic gave me the opportunity to ensure I will go about my inquiry in a safe, moral and ethical way. This set of tasks ensured that I knew the importance of ethics and reminded me that they should remain at the forefront of my inquiry. (Appendix 4) In Task 5a, I blogged that,

"Ethics isn’t about what work we do, more HOW we do it. How I, as a dance teacher, can ensure that my pupils are learning dance safely and enjoying the lessons that their parents have invested time and money in. " (Shepherd, H. 2013 Task 5a)

Following Reader 5, I can have the confidence in knowing that my inquiry will be carried out in a way that is morally and ethically correct.

Tools of my Professional Inquiry

After reading about all the different ways of gathering and analysing both quantitative  and qualitative data throughout Reader 5 I carried out a pilot of all the methods. The tools that came as the biggest lesson for me was the way my interview turned out. (Appendix 5). I now feel ready to gather evidence through focus groups, questionnaires and observations.

Module 2 has given me the time and space to explore what line of inquiry to pursue. It has helped me to structure what I will do and develop HOW I will go about it. My main lesson within this module has been learning to allow things to take their course, following all lines of interest, reflecting upon their results and ensuring I have an open mind to be able to listen to others and let them help within my study.

6b: Critical Reflection on Tools of Professional Inquiry

Critical Reflection

 

Questionnaire.

 

As part of my pilot survey, I created a questionnaire that was given to 26 children at the primary school in which I work.

 

These children were aged from 8 – 10 years old and all participate in whole school “Wake and Shake” dance routines every morning along with production dances and dance PE in line with the curriculum based upon the topic they are studying at the time. This questionnaire, I feel was a success as I managed to accurately collate what skills they thought dance developed as well as how they felt dance impacted their school life and education.

 

 I decided to ask the children many kinds of questions to see if they were able to respond with both quantitive and qualitive information. I included multiple choice questions, open questions (with lots of room for the children to explain and develop their reasonings) as well as declarative statements the children could chose according to their views. In order to ensure the questionnaire was filled in honestly and without bias, I made sure I didn’t tell the children why I was giving them the questionnaire, just asked them to think carefully and be honest, that way they didn’t feel as though they had to please me with answer I might want to hear. I am happy with the results and the ways I have used the data to help with creating my inquiry and will definitely be using this tool in my inquiry as I feel it gives a valuable insight into the thoughts of the children who are experiencing dance within their education. I am glad I picked this age group as they were able to articulate their feelings enough to be able to tell me their opinions. In order to improve this method, I will open up the survey to more children over a wider age range, this way I will be able to see if opinions differ as children pass through the school and mature. It will also help with compiling data as more views give a more accurate representation of opinions across the school.

 

Interview/ Focus Group

I planned and organised a structured interview with the Head of The Arts at the primary I work at. I had many questions written down in a hope of getting opinions on all aspects of my inquiry. We were scheduled to meet straight after school and sit down formally for the interview. Many members of staff often casually gather together at the end of each day to pass on information, reflect on the day’s events and plan for the following day; this was happening as I went for my meeting. I got telling a few people about an online lecture I had been watching the night before for my literature review this meant that several people including teachers, teaching assistants and a professional artist, who was visiting for the day, got to talking casually about the infusion of the arts into and throughout the curriculum. We discussed how creativity can help all aspects of the curriculum by encouraging an open mind, confidence in your ideas and the ability to espress yourself in many ways. It was interesting to hear opinions from the point of view of an artist, a teacher and those who work closely with the pastoral care of children. The conversation flowed naturally with people giving anecdotal evidence, pondering out loud and letting their thoughts and ideas formulate as the conversation went on. There were some great, honest views being expressed so I quickly realised that this was the best way to get professionals to discuss anything to do with my inquiry. I sat down after the conversation to ask the questions in the interview and instantly realised that the more formal the setting, the less honest and more structured, ‘professionally correct’ statements I was getting. This may be due to the fact that I work with most of these people very closely on a daily basis and so they feel awkward setting up a formal conversation or it may be due to the fact that they know I am on this course and want to give me the ‘correct answer’ without offending or deliberately promoting me and my work. By starting a conversation with a piece of evidence that I had found interesting and I thought they would be interested in hearing, in a casual, comfortable setting, I unwittingly managed to ‘lull’ the staff into an unstructured focus group to discuss aspects of my inquiry.

For my inquiry I will aim to create the same organic, casual discussion by bringing evidence or visual stimulus to the group at the end of the day. I will be honest about my views and will let the conversation flow. I will, of course, need to record any points made, hopefully getting some statements to be able to quote in my write up, and so I will take my note book and write any comments made. I will then ask to be able to use these views raised and hope they will allow me to at least anonymously. I think that if I ask at the beginning staff members will naturally try to create well planned statements including background knowledge and evidence to back up their point. I think this will hinder the honesty to their thoughts. If any person shows particular interest or a view that I would like to look into further I will try to extend the conversation with them as an informal interview.

I do not think that planning a formal interview will get the desired information and so I do not plan to use this method in my inquiry.

 

Observation

 

I have asked teachers to observe a child in their class before, during, after and an hour or so after their 15 minutes ‘wake up shake up’ dance session in a morning at school. I discussed the impact it had on the child, their alertness, their focus and any notable changes that occurred in their demeanour throughout the morning. The results were positive, with most teachers reporting great increase in the child’s energy levels in class for the rest of the morning. I found the results interesting although rather short term. I think I will improve this method in my inquiry by creating observations on more children over several weeks. This is obviously providing the teachers agree and ensuring the children are unaware they are being observed. The results will be compiled and recorded with the children remaining anonymous. I think this will provide much more useful data than a single observation.

Task 5c: Professional Ethics

 

Following my thoughts and research on the ethical code of conduct within my line of work, I have studied the course reader and reflected upon the issues raised.

So, what exactly is ‘ethics’? Why does it play such a large role in not only the way inquiries are gone about, but the way people live their lives?

The reader tells us that the word ‘ethics’ is believed to derive from the Greek word ‘ethos’ meaning character. This shows that they believed that the concept of ethics is imbedded in a person – part of their natural character. Philosophers were very interested in the notion of good and bad; what leads a person to carry out certain actions? What is within them that makes them act in different ways?

Ancient thinkers such as Aristotle were continuing to be interested in what makes up and persons character – what makes them good and what actions may that incur? He discussed the issue of people making moral decisions throughout their lives or simply when they feel it is necessary. As with a lot of things, religion has played a large part in helping people to make decisions. As people have been raised with very strong beliefs in a certain religion they may not be able to distinguish between the morals that have been taught through religious teachings and those that they would naturally believe to be wrong. This also introduces the law. When many laws were created Britain was a Christian country so many rules were created around the Bible. This may not have had any issues at the time but as time has passed things changed and religion and law began to stop fitting together so well. The cases of abortion and gay rights seem to be the most obvious – issues that seem to cause a lot of anger between many people. As Britain has become more culturally diverse, it has had to adjust to the views of many people from many different backgrounds and, I believe, that is gradually making the law become more associated with moral as opposed to religion. This, of course, depends on your views upon religion. Hobbes (1651) believed that ethics is a practical solution to social harmony. If that is the case then what is the law for? If an action is ethically and morally wrong then consequently it should be enough of a deterrent to prevent any wrong doing? Does this mean criminals have no moral conscience or do they know it is the case that their actions are immoral but would prefer to do it anyway?

How do ethics impact on life nowadays?

The first thought was that ethical actions and views can be split into 4 main categories, personal, professional, organisational and social. Whilst these can intertwine and work well together, they also can be 3 separate ways of steering ones actions.

Firstly, personal ethics. This is based upon a person’s family background, religious beliefs and natural conscience of right and wrong. This brings up the age old nature/nurture argument – is one born with a moral conscience or are they taught it from birth? Either way, this can dramatically effect a person’s attitude towards all aspects of life including how they deal with others, whether colleagues, clients, friends or family. Many can have many strong views with regards to decisions that they feel are ethical however these often oppose the ethical code of conduct of their organisation. This, I believe, is the issue in Case Study 2: The Ethics of Photography (BAPP Reader 5, Page 10). In this case, Kevin Carter, a photographer who took a photograph of a Sudanese girl struggling to crawl towards water. The stunning photo won a Pulitzer Prize however the controversy sounded the fact that Carter took the photo and left, leaving the girl still struggling for water. The girl died raising the issue of should he have tried to help. From a professional point of view, Carter and the other photographers he was travelling with were specifically asked to not touch, to prevent spreading diseases however, from a personal point of view people would have expected someone in that situation to try and help. This is a particularly strong example of the differentiation between personal and professional ethics. The case can be compared to those who film wildlife documentaries – the have to stand a watch the cruellest acts in nature but professionally cannot intervene. Personally I could not do this, I can’t even watch the wildlife programmes, but I guess it takes a special sort of person to be able to put their personal morals and ethics to one side to be able to do a job. They must have enough reasons to justify that what they are doing is for the good of the job to be able to be content with their actions. Unfortunately Kevin Carter wasn’t. I find that very sad.

Professional ethics are often hard to separate with organisational ethical conduct as they often have to link together in order to work well within a business.

The profession that links all aspects of ethical practise together is medicine. To want to become a doctor, for example, you must be personally a morally strong person. You must want to commit your life to helping others. Professionally you must be able to work hard and always think of the welfare of the patient, constantly keep up to date with the latest medical findings and treatments and always act in a manner that is professional and honest. Most doctors work for the NHS, a huge nationwide organisation that has the responsibility of looking after the health of the UK, this means that an individual must conform to the organisations procedures an ethics in order to give the best care for so many people, ensuring fairness and consistency across the board. Finally the role of the doctor has a major role in being socially ethical- they are dealing with people’s health and potentially can be saving lives. The general public trust the medical profession and they have a duty to act in their best interest. All doctors sign the Hippocratic Oath to promise this. The case of Harold Shipman proves the public lay all their trust in doctors and if they are let down it is a huge problem. Case Study 1 (BAPP Reader 5, page **) “Mid-Staffordshire inquiry: Unhealthy System” proves that when such an enormous mix of ethical views and actions are combined, often it can go wrong and be a very complicated job to unravel.

With regards my professional inquiry, I will need to ensure that I follow that code of conduct within my school and also maintain my personal and professional ethical beliefs. When conducting inquiries I must always maintain a professional attitude and consider the wellbeing of others involved.