Monday 13 May 2013

CRITICAL REFLECTION ON PROFESSIONAL INQUIRY

Working through the three parts of this module has provided me with a holistic approach to my inquiry.
  
Developing lines of Professional Inquiry
I started by reflecting on my own working practice to identify questions that could become the basis of my inquiry. I chose to research education, as I intend this course to be a transition into a teaching career.

Adopting a questioning approach, I began by brainstorming ideas (Appendix A).  By reflecting back on the answers I had blogged in task 2d (Appendix B), I was able to re-affirm my desire to use my inquiry to develop my teaching skills.

I joined the SIG’s of other dance teachers on the BAPP course (
Appendix C ) and was immediately introduced to a plethora of knowledge and information from experienced teachers, who offered advice and support. Although, I initially found the experience of transferring ideas and questions onto paper difficult, the support and advice from my SIG community ensured I soon felt confident in systematically organising my thoughts and putting them onto paper. I began to share and discuss relevant articles via Google docs (Appendix D). 

Having been introduced to an academy where pupils had not encountered dance classes before, I quickly decided that I wanted to inspire and motivate pupils to dance. I struggled with the broad scope of this inquiry at first, but luckily a solution soon made itself apparent. After reflecting on a particularly challenging lesson, I identified a group of disruptive boys as the "primary" barrier to success in my lesson. I began to wonder how best to get them fully engaged with the learning. Having discussed this with my SIG community, ideas began to flow and my inquiry began to take shape.


Professional Ethics
Considering ethics for my inquiry, I first analysed my own personal ethical codes to which I adhere  (Appendix E). Having then looked at the Reader, I was made aware of regulations and codes which affected my practice (Appendix F). I began to explore ethical theories and question my own ethical decisions (Appendix G.) Armed with my new found knowledge, I structured a plan outlining how I would ensure my inquiry was conducted ethically. I shared and discussed this with my SIG community (Appendix H).

Tools of Professional Inquiry
The final stage was a trialling exercise designed to pilot tools for data collection (Appendix I).  I piloted a survey (Appendix J), an observation (Appendix K) and a questionnaire (Appendix L). I evaluated the effectiveness of each and decided that interviewing and questioning would be the most appropriate to my inquiry.
I explored the literature related to my inquiry and found a wealth of techniques and approaches that I could apply to my inquiry (Appendix M , Appendix N and Appendix O).  Setting up a ‘Delicious’ account allowed me to bookmark articles of interest for later reference.(Appendix P).

Summary
I have systematically worked through the tasks, critically analysed research articles, explored ethics and data collection tools and arrived at a proposal for my inquiry.
Personally, the module has taken my academic learning to a new level, heightened my problem-solving skills and developed me into a more autonomous practitioner.

Appendices

Friday 10 May 2013

Literature Review 3 - Encouraging Boys to Dance

http://www.danceadvantage.net/2008/04/26/encouraging-boys-to-dance/

The focus of this article is what can be done to encourage boys to take up dance. 

It discusses briefly the gender issues around dance and sets out suggestions to make dance more appealing to the male psyche:          .
  • De-feminisation of the surroundings
  • Advertising targeting boys i.e. pictures showing males
  • Specifically gearing learning to suit the male genre classes i.e. hip hop etc.
  • Adapting teaching styles to suit a male genre
  • Use of partnering elements to classes
  • Re-iterating athletic activity involved


Interstingly, it notes the positive effect having classes targeting boys learning styles have on the girls, preventing them from becoming one-dimensional dancers.

"young women are sometimes surprised when, as college students they are expected to be fierce powerful dancers.  In many dance studios I've found that, starting at a very young age, the physicality of movement is limited to what is considered feminine, pretty, or sexy"

In my opinion the article, whilst addressing the need to encourage boys into the dance class, lacked depth and research to back up the theories it outlined. 

It is interesting to compare the article written by Doug Risner (see literature review 2), who refutes, the notion that boys respond to a dance class associated with sport and athleticism and that actually boys wanted the same from a dance class as girls, performance, self-expression and creativity.


Tuesday 7 May 2013

Literature Review 2: Motivational Climates: What They Are, and Why They Matter

http://www.iadms.org/associations/2991/files/info/Bulletin_for_Teachers_3-2_pp5-7_Miulli.pdf

This article promotes the use of a task-involving climate in the dance class.

It cites as evidence four credible research studies comparing ego-involving and task-involving climates. 

The evidence was overwhelmingly in favour of a task-involving climate.  I did find this surprising, I could see task-involving being beneficial in an everyday general dance class, but I  felt that the more serious the student, the more an ego-involving climate might work for them. These students strive for perfection, comparing and competing with peers for coveted scholarship places, basically preparing them for life as a professional dancer. 

The article gave the reader a general view of the subject with the use of a table outlining the differences in task and ego involving climates:

Task–involving climates focus on the students self-improvement, learning, co-operation and individual effort.

Ego-involving climate focuses on objective success and competition, accompanied by punishment for mistakes, rivalry, social comparison and favoritism.

Research proved that where students felt they were in an ego-involving climate they were more likely to worry about their performance, had a harder time concentrating on their dancing, dwelt on their mistakes, felt less competent in the dance setting and were less creative than when taught in a task-involving climate.

It therefore, challenged teachers to promote task-involving climates in the dance classes by giving:

·         Equal attention, support and recognition to all dancers, not just the star students;
·         Setting students individual milestones;
·         Developing a passion in the student for the entire learning process not just the end result;
·         Encouraging self-improvement in the student rather than simply being the best;
·         Rewarding effort, not success.

The rewards are the development of a calm dance class where students feel in control, and dancers who are more autonomous, healthy and creative.

Betty xx

PILOT INTERVIEW

PLOT INTERVIEW

For my interviewees, I selected a dance teacher and a primary school teacher.  Because this course is a transition for me, and the focus of my inquiry relates to teaching in general, I felt it would be a useful exercise to interview teachers from differing disciplines.

I prepared for the interviews by reading the Reader’s advice on interviewing, and also the chapter on interviewing and conducting interviews in Judith Bells' "Doing your Research Project".

As this was only a pilot, I decided to make it informal and relaxed. I adapted the questions I used on my survey.

Do you set class rules?
D.T. Absolutely, I believe it is important that students know the boundaries right from the start.
P.T. First lesson – I set out the rules and the consequences of rule breaking.  It is important to me that pupils know the boundaries.

Do you involve students in setting class rules?
D.T. Yes, I make a point of sitting down with the students and together we draw up a list of rules for our dance class.
P.T.  Before the start of the lesson, I ask the pupils what they want to get from the lesson and how we can create an environment to make this happen. I like to get them thinking and creating the rules that we will apply.

Do you explain the importance of rules to your students and let them know the consequences of breaking them?
D.T. Yes, we set out our rules and the impact of rule breaking on each other, for example talking when others are trying to listen. How would that make you feel if you were the teacher? And how would that feel if you couldn't hear what the teacher was trying to say? We outline the consequences of our actions, for example if you run about and don’t listen you get a warning and then the next time, you have to sit on your own for 5 minutes.
P.T.  I explain that the rules are set in place to create the best possible working atmosphere meaning we get more covered in lesson. If they break the rules they are fully aware that there will be consequences, from not being allowed to take part in the activity to an after school detention.

Do you encourage your students to get to know each other?
D.T.  The first few lessons, we have team building games.  I think this is really important as students need to feel secure, valued and accepted in the class.
P.T. Yes, it is important and I usually start the lesson with a inclusive activity to encourage pupil interaction.

Do you think it is important to set students tasks that are achievable or tasks that challenge?
D.T. Both. Students need to be challenged, but equally they need to feel that they are achieving goals and feel comfortable with their learning.  I try to look at every student as an individual and set tasks that challenge them at a level I think they can cope with.  It is all about experimenting and getting to know your students.
P.T. Both. When I do a lesson plan I have my main aim that all the pupils will hopefully achieve from the lesson, but then I have an extension that will challenge the students. It then falls down to the students on how much they push themselves. The opportunity for them to develop the skills further is there but the ground work for the basic level is covered.

Do you reward students when they succeed?
D.T. I reward students with praise for good behaviour. I feel it is important to establish a positive learning environment.
P.T.  Yes, we have a merit system in school. I think it is important to reward pupils, it gives them a sense of achievement

Do you give immediate feedback to your students?
D.T. Yes, I believe that students need to be constantly reassured that they are doing the right thing.  I aim to always keep it positive.
P.T. Yes I try as I walk around to talk to pupils and give encouragement and support.  I like to praise good work immediately to keep them motivated and on task.

Question specifically aimed at the boys in your class:

What do you believe motivates boys?
D.T. Being interested in the topic, also having friends who are interested in the topic.  Lots and lots of praise
P.T. An interest in the subject.  The trick is finding a way to spark the interest.  Having a teacher who is excited about the topic is one of the most important aspects of a successful lesson.

What do you believe are the barriers to teaching boys?
D.T. Boys can be easily distracted and it is difficult when you have others in the class, boys only want to do what they want to do, the boys in my class find it difficult to concentrate for long periods of time, they want to be playing, moving around.
P.T. Boys are so easily distracted, they succumb to peer pressure from others, fidget, can’t still still for long and have short attention spans.

What strategies do you use to use to inspire boys to learn?
D.T.  Allow them the freedom to move around.  I always have a good warm-up session.  I use competition, i.e. ‘who can jump the highest’.  I use pictures and videos to encourage them.
P.T. I try to show my passion for the topic. I plan beforehand.  I use pictures and videos, demonstrations and hands on activities as I know that boys are kinesthetic learners.  I try to use short engaging activities. I praise and reward good behaviour.

What do you think is the best learning environment for boys?
D.T. Somewhere that they can move, explore and play.  Boys work well with guidelines and boundaries, so somewhere that they know the rules.
P.T. An environment where they feel valued, where they feel they are able to contribute to the lesson. Lots of different learning activities.  A classroom that is visual, displays, pictures etc.

On reflection, I found the experience of interviewing very rewarding.  I gained such a lot from both interviewees about teaching and creating the right atmosphere for learning.  I do think it would be useful to video the interviews, as it would enable me to concentrate on the respondents answers and also observe body language etc. I intend to trial this.  I can see that it will be difficult to analyse data from interviews, but will research strategies for coding and blog.