Critical Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry
Having finished Module one with a sense of achievement, I was ready and raring to undertake Module 2. I felt I was embarking module 2 as a more rounded professional due to the skills I brought with me from the previous task. (Appendix 1)
Due to the nature of this task it required us to rely on others, not only for input and ideas but also for support. I found this notion daunting as time management is a big part of the task so when you have to rely on others this could perhaps become an issue as it’s out of your hands. (Appendix 2)
Principles of professional Inquiry
Reader 4 acted as food for thought enabling us to understand the theories behind Inquiry and encouraging us to focus on areas of interest. By forming “SIGS” (Significant Interest Groups) with fellow BAPP members we could engage conversation and allow our questions and Ideas develop, finding a clear concise open question seemed vital. (Appendix 3) During the process of my Inquiry I had an important shift in thinking, I was able to take a step back and realise that instead of trying to prove something I needed to find out something new. I developed that thought and decided the new direction of my Inquiry. (Appendix 4)
Ethics
Reader 5 brought ethics to the forefront of my mind. Although I applied them in my daily life, after reading reader 5 my viewpoint has shifted and I am now fully aware of the code of ethics within my professional practice.(Appendix 5) Being more aware and understanding of ethics it had allowed me to explore my Inquiry in a more safe manner. It is vital when undertaking my Inquiry I apply ethics in order to produce and ethically sound Inquiry. Not only to protect myself as a professional but also to protect those participating. (Appendix 6 - Highlighted section under Research Ethics)
Tools
To fully understand which Inquiry tools would work best for me, I undertook several pilots then reflected on the way each of them worked along with the pro’s and con’s. By engaging this activity with my SIG it allowed me to explore ideas with their support and input. (Appendix 7)
By doing this I came to the conclusion that I would use several methods in order to obtain a mixture of both qualitative and quantitative data as I feel both types of data lend themselves to my Inquiry.
Conclusion
Throughout this module I have constantly been asking questions. I feel as though I am developing not only as a professional but as a person too. This module has allowed me to expand my thoughts, opinions and skills onto another level.
The purpose of our Inquiry is to find out something more, explore things we don’t know and ultimately to grow as a professional, which is what I intend to do.
Module 1 acted as a stepping stone to achieve module 2, therefore in order to give myself the best tools and knowledge I wanted to take all I could from this current module as I know this is my stepping stone to the final and most challenging task yet.
Appendices
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I feel as though module 1 has allowed us to grow as professionals and has given us the skills in order to undertake this vast task in front of us. I am starting this module with a very positive attitude as I feel we have everything in place to get started. I am also excited to see what I can take from completing this module as I know from the last module there will be a lot of learning along the way, both professionally and personally.
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Although another thing which I think will play a big role within our Inquiry is relying on others.
Time management is going to be important but when trying to arrange things with other people and waiting for the likes of feedback it always proves a challenge. I think its vital we all understand this and try our best to keep on top of everything especially when not only yours but others Inquiry's will be relying on it.
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I have been thinking about suitable questions that link with my professional practice. Also ones that would interest me as we have to stick with our line of enquiry for a long time.
I was getting stuck in a rut but the campus session helped open my eyes to what I could look into.
Having also spoken to members of my SIG I have come to the conclusion that we must find a question which is very clear and concise. We want open questions that give themselves to plenty of answers and paths you can go down, you do not want a pseudo question which leads to a dead end!
Skype with Adesola
This morning I had a Skype session with Adesola which has opened my eyes into my Inquiry. The session stemmed from me sending her a small drafted part of my inquiry proposal, and the Skype session was to discuss questions and feedback.
Adesola opened my eyes and by discussing the draft with her I was able to reflect on what I had written and look to see what I can improve on.
First and foremost I have decided to take a different approach to my inquiry looking into something I actually don't know anything about rather than looking for evidence to prove something. Not only will it mean I can now find out something new and exciting, I will also be engaged with the project, as reflecting on my previous inquiry subject which I knew a lot about this new subject will be completely new territory so anything I discover will be very interesting. I want to gather information that I don't know is out there, Adesola gave a great example of the fact If you want to find out that the sky is orange there's always someone out there who will tell you it is. So it's better to go into this Inquiry with my eyes and ears open to see what is there to be discovered.
We also discussed the fact that there is no such thing as an un biased question no matter how hard you try. You can't rely on the idea you can ask something pure and get an honest reply. First of all I will be asking the questions, also I have made them up. You have to consider how you will appear when asking questions, for example I would get a different response to that of a Middle Aged man asking the same question. Also the behaviour that I conduct with in the interview will have an impact on the responses I gain.
I found a piece of literature which sparked an interest with me. I have already analysed it as one of my literature reviews. It is a theory by Malcolm Gladwell who suggests that to become a successful professional in your chosen field you need to have practiced for 10,000 hours or more! I feel this could be a good basis for an interesting inquiry. As I don't know whether this is the case with dancers or not? It also brings to light the relationship between success and being a professional which is becoming more muddy in this day and age.
I would be really interested to hear your thoughts and comments.
References -
Gladwell, M. Outliers
Gladwell, M. (2008) Outliers. New York: Little, Brown and Co..
These are what I originally came up with. I then started a discussion with Mel and we continued to talk about a lot of them linking them in to professionalism and how you should conduct yourself within our industry. Many of the points are common sense and not only do they apply to our industry they also apply across the bored. Before engaging with the reader I would have said although I apply ethics in my everyday life I wasn't fully aware of them. However know they are in the forefront of my mind and I am actively thinking about them. I am excited to look into task 5B and too see what is brought up!
Extract from task 5c ethics ;
Research Ethics
Due to the nature of my inquiry I felt it was a very vital part of the reader. Considering I have never undertaken a professional inquiry in the manner I am planning to do so I should pay close attention to the ethos that I should adhere to.
First of all the reader brought to light that its a good idea to look at the motivation behind the idea and also if its going to bring benefits to the greater good. As a researcher we will carry a mountain of responsibilities from participants to truthfully analysing the data. We are solely responsible for making sure that this inquiry is carried out with an ethically sound method. In order to reduce the risk or harm to both the participants and you the researcher. The reader points us towards BERA which highlights the main tasks and precautions we should undertake.I found these extremely helpful guidelines, you can find these either on page 18 of the reader or on their website.
From indulging in this reader I have become more aware of several ethical issues and now realise how important it is to adhere to ethics while undertaking my inquiry. There is one main point and responsibility from BERA that has really stuck with me and whenever I need reminding of how to conduct my research and evaluate my date I am going to remind myself of it. It is;
“To provide accurate, truthful and complete reports, and disseminate the research outcomes through authorised and agreed channels, and ensuring that the work is available for critical review.”
BERA M.u., Reader 5, p.18,2012
References -
Bera.ac.uk, Home | British Educational Research Association
Bera.ac.uk (2013) Home | British Educational Research Association. [online] Available at: http://www.bera.ac.uk/ [Accessed: 29 Apr 2013]
Extract from blog ;
I have got two evenings this week set aside to meet up with a few members of my SIG Mel Brown and Chelsie Johnson, in order for us all do our pilots. I am currently in the process of designing them and finding it harder than I thought. I am hoping that by engaging in this activity with my SIG members we can compare and contrast results, as well as discuss our findings. By doing this we can support each other and also explore which tools we plan on using within our Inquiry.
References
M, U. Middlesex University. Reader 4 Developing Lines of Professional Inquiry 2012-13
M, U. Middlesex University. Reader 5 Professional Ethics. 2012- 2013.
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