Update on progress

Just a quick blog entry regards to my progress for module 3.

I have now received a few of my question forms back all answered and filled out with consent forms signed. I'm now onto one last push to get them back from everyone else I havnt received them from yet, I can't chase them any more than I already have! Proving abit of a nightmare!

However, I have started writting down my comparison points between education and community teaching that I have been able to recognise from the forms I've been sent back.

I'm looking for patterns, differences and similarities in the answers from the teachers I have contacted which I can then explore further. Hoping to use the information to benefit my own teaching career through their knowledge and experiences.

Fingers crossed I get the rest back!

Module 3.

Here we are about to start the last chapter!


So over the summer I started with contacting people to arrange interviews regards to my enquiry as stated in my plan. However, this proved a nightmare as people where away on holiday or had very little time to meet me face to face. This left me re thinking my options. In my enquiry plan I had am option B... questionnaire still forms to email and give out.
I decided to gove this a go and got a better response from people but still not great. I then thought back to the start of the course when we explored the use of social media which I used to boost the response of my enquiry...

I reached out to my dance teachers who I have on my Facebook page and also on a separate private group where industry professionals advertise jobs.

This has given me a wider audience to target and had a much more positive response than to one to one interviews. I am now just waiting on receiving the forms back so I can get started. 

Not had time to my self!

So over the last few months my blogging has taking a serious back seat due to working 3 jobs and obviously doing the preparation work for module 2. With module 2 submitted and grades received its time to get organised for the final module.

I have contacted the people i would like to take part in my enquiry and have sent out a few information emails to those who will be potentially involved. All being well this will get the ball rolling to be able to set dates for interviews and other various things over the next couple of months.

I can not believe we are about to start our final module! Where has time gone!

Over the duration of module 3 i will try and keep up with my blogging and keep have a look at everyone else's progression!

Well done for getting this far everyone, we are on the home straight! :)

Enquiry tools.

Whilst I wait for a response to my informal trial tool from other people on the BAPP course, I thought I would move on to 6b. I have looked over reader 6 and it has explained the different methods of collecting data for my enquiry.

I have looked into the pros and cons of each tool and listed the bullet points to help me decide which method would be most suitable for my enquiry.


Interview:

Pros-

• Face to face (in person, Skype, telephone)
• Monitor reactions.
• On the spot questions so more likely to be genuine answers.
• They can respond in more detail.
• Allows me as the researcher to probe a response.
• Can record with permission.
• Can be structured questions or relaxed open interview. 

 Cons-

• May think of responses afterwards.
• Difficult to arrange.
• Be more aware of self conduct.

Survey:

Pros-

• Easy way to ask condensed information.
• Gathering larger quantity of information. quicker.
• Direct questions. 
• They have time to think how they'd like to answer.
• Black and white evidence.
• Easily sent now using technology. 
• Not as much pressure as face to face.

Cons-

• Getting people to actually fill them out.
• Are they honest answers hiding behind pen and paper. 
• Ordering the data collection afterwards.

Documents:

Pros-

• Solid evidence
• Easily comparable.

Cons-

• Gaining permission or access to important documents.
• Need to consider data protection. 

Observation:

Pros-

• Experience first hand.
• Alows you to reflect and compare.

Cons-

• Harder to arrange.
• Time consuming.
• Picking out relevant points could be harder to spot as it's not on paper.
• Not actually speaking to anyone for an opinion.
• Based on your own opinion/thoughts. 

After reflecting on each enquiry tool I feel that interviews and documents would be perfect for my line of enquiry. I have also considered observation and survey as they would both be relevant and easily done for my enquiry however this will become more clear once I start my enquiry plan. As reader 6 says, don't use too many enquiry tools due to work load so I will narrow this down.

I have a list of sources I would like to interview and a couple of documents which are also great evidence so I have a good starting point.

Review of literature

First book - Teachers under pressure by Cheryl Travers and Cary Coop

Very helpful and relevant as it was about teacher stress in the school enviroment. There were details of what may cause stress right through to ways of preventing it. A data collection enquiry was carried out gathering information from 5000 teachers nation wide across the UK with help from a leading educational company allowing access to other evidence. There were examples of questionnaires that were used to carry out the research and also showed the outcome. For me this was great as I can use this as evidence when writting about my enquiry even though this was on a much bigger scale. The examples of data collection with in the book helps as this is apart of the module later on so it may help me with ideas on perhaps questions to ask or even how to lay out my questionaire.

Book 2. Dance and age inclusive practice by Ruth Pethybridge

This book was helpful but not as much as the first one. They concentrated a lot on adults taking community dance classes where as my enquiry is based on the younger generation. Although, I took away things I havnt considered before related to teaching in the community and the importance it can have with the outcomes and the affect it can have on the kids. Again useful for my enquiry because these are things that I can compare to a school setting as they may have different points of intergrated importance compared to community teaching. Reflection on your own teaching becomes easier when you consider the these points that relate to teaching in different enviroments.

This book is also apart of a series of books part of 'a foundation for community dance' it would be interesting to read more books in the cluster.

Exciting news!

I have been offered a new teaching job with a dance school that teaches children in the community! This couldn't of come at a better time as this will support my ideas for my line of enquiry regards to teaching in different settings. I now have a teaching job with in primary schools (term time) and also community teaching position... this is going to allow me to compare the two with lots of support and evidence.

Feeling fabulous!!

5b continued.

So after looking online at school policy's and ethics and finding the government guideline document, I decided to contact my manager for a copy of my company's policy's and code of conduct documents etc.

One thing he did send me that wasn't mentioned on the government document I found was the social media policy. I'm presuming all schools must follow this however it was not stated on my previous findings.

So as an employee of a company who works within the school enviroment, this is what we must follow:

When working with in a community setting I'm sure some of these apply but maybe not all of them due to not been as strict?... Something I could explore further.