Inquiry
Today was the beginning of what I’m sure will be a long but
exciting road ahead. I conducted my first observation and explained my inquiry
to the students.
I put together a pack for students involved and handed it
out at the end of the session. The pack included: a letter explaining my
inquiry and what it is for, the MDX recording and consent form and a questionnaire. I hope to have all consent forms back by next week.
Putting together a letter for parents was a first for me. I
made a draft and sent it to the head of the school to review before I put on
the school letter head and distributed to students. He got back to me the same
day which was great with a few changes. It felt a little like being back in school,
having my work marked by the teacher. As nerve racking as this experience was,
it was a great learning opportunity for me. It felt great knowing he understands
my proposal and I have his full support.
The students were a little nervous in front of the camera at
first. They were worried about missing steps and discuss errors in front of the
camera. I sat them all down and explained the purpose of the inquiry is to look
at how they create, the issues that arise when creating and how they overcome. Once I explained this I notice a drastic
difference and felt I captured some insightful evidence I can draw upon at a
later date. I hope to use this footage along with the recordings of
interviews for my professional artifact. Capturing their progression from start
to finish will be a great way to showcase how this unit works. This may even be
a useful resource that I can use later on in my career.
I decided to keep a learning journal to document my thoughts
on the session observed and work collected. I think this will be a great tool
to use when coming to analysing my data.
Hi Claire, sounds like you've made a really good start and look forward to hearing more about your research and experience. I too am writing up a summative sheet for my participants and also considering constructing a letter on headed paper from my workplace to make my questionnaire look professional and instil confidence in the participants that the inquiry is supported by their dance school. I was just wondering... I know you are keeping the participants confidential but are we supposed to keep the workplace/school in which we conduct our inquiry un-named/anonymous also? Obviously you have shared with us your letter from 'The Heath' so I am intrigued to know if you needed permission to share this? Still learning so much about this course! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteClare - can you explain your permissions with the school?
ReplyDeleteI have had several conversations with the head of Dance, The head of Performing Arts and the Head of the school. All have agreed to be a part of my inquiry for interview purposes etc. I have been given permission by the head to contact the students involved. I have consent forms from students involved as well as a signed permission slip from parents to record and use footage for the purposes of this inquiry, The head said as it relates to my future career here and is based on the scheme of work we use that it is part of my professional development and the school fully supports this. The school does not need to remain anonymous as I work here but the students do. Any data or footage collected can only be viewed by the school and Middlesex Uni in conjunction with this inquiry.
ReplyDeleteI have the Middlesex consent form for recording and collecting data as well as one I have written for the school. Both have been looked over by the head and given the go ahead to distribute to parents.
Do i need anything more Paula? Am i not allowed to have the school named? should I remove the name from anything I post?
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