Module 3 Update

Great Skype session with Adesola, Rohanne and Pip last Thursday (9/04/15). It was good to hear how others are getting on with there inquires. I realise that my subject of attitudes towards males that dance is very big and my themes seem to be getting larger and larger. Some of the feedback from Adesola is to make sure its clear what I'm beginning to find out, like the way I have found different teaching strategies to inspire males to dance and use examples of the exercises I have developed throughout my inquiry. Also when exploring options for the artefact to make sure its clear what audience I am aiming it for and in what media I decide to display it in. 
 

Completed so far...

• Responded to feedback from Module 2

• Completed Literature review (Still more that could be added though if I have time)

•  Interviews completed with 3 males that dance

• Consent forms signed with employer permission

• Given out Questionnaires

• Written introduction/evaluation of Critical Reflection

• Looked at Ideas for Artefact

What I need to do next....

• Analyse interviews/ questionnaires 

• Complete Critical Reflection send draft to adviser

• Finalise ideas and complete Artefact. 

• Attend campus session if possible

I feel that my inquiry is getting there and I'm very focused to finish the final steps of module 3!
James :)

What a week!

Fantastic week catching up with Matthew Bourne and the cast of Lord of the Flies!
We took the boys to watch Edward Scissorhands at the Wales Millennium Centre and caught up over pizza beforehand! I'm so proud of the boys, some have been offered places at top dance schools across the country after taking part in LOTF including; The Hammond School, Elmhurst school of Ballet, Rambert and the Place. One of the youngest boys from the Manchester cast has been offered a place at the Royal Ballet who had never danced before taking part in LOTF! This project has really changed these boys lives! "From Lord of the Flies to The Royal Ballet School"

Originally in my inquiry plan I had planned to interview 3 of the unprofessional boys from the LOTF cast. I've decided to change this as some of my feedback from module 2 was to possibly interview Matthew Bourne. I didn't know if this would be possible but managed to organise this last week, we spoke for over an hour and I personally feel very inspired after interviewing him.
I also decided to interview 1 of the professional dancers from Matthew Bournes company Danny and one of the unprofessional cast members from LOTF Callum. I feel having the response from 3 different males that dance would be interesting to compare for my inquiry.

Keep in touch day

Now that the Lord of the Flies project is over I am keen to keep in contact with the local boys who were part of the cast. Me and my colleagues have arranged to meet with the boys for pizza and catch up next week, then take them to watch Matthew Bournes latest production of Edward Scissorhands at the Wales Millennium Centre. I cant wait to hear how everyones doing and this will be a good chance to do my interviews for my inquiry.

Feedback and applying it to Module 3

Adviser Paula's feedback from module 2 advised that I needed to include more literature for my critical review “Choose from the literature you have already gathered and identify areas where you could use more knowledge to ground your inquiry. I would suggest at least 10-20 sources including ones like Buckroyd, that represent expertise in your area”. 

To address this point I had a Skype session with fellow student Amy D’Arcy in which we discussed ways we could find relevant literature. She mentioned her difficulty finding conflicting viewpoints on her topic. We discussed current political debates regarding the arts. I think reviewing news articles and reports would be a good way to progress further for my inquiry.

Also from the group Skype session last week Paula discussed using "Sconul" to access local libraries. I am in the process of applying for student access to this facility.

Ethical issues: Paula also mentioned that as the Lord of the Flies project is now over, I need to make sure any data previously collected is approved by my employer for use in my inquiry. I will compile a letter for signature by my employer explaining the purpose of this request. 

A topic discussed during the Skype session was how to display data.  An earlier meeting with fellow student Lucy Jennings for coffee, we discussed ways in which to display data. She mentioned “Survey Monkey”, a free online website which can be used to compile my questionnaire and analyse the findings using graphs and charts, I will investigate this further.

I have decided to use 3 male case studies from the LOTF project.

Participant 1: Abergavenny (Welsh valleys) White British, aged 12,with very little dance experience.

Participant 2: Cardiff City, African heritage, aged 13, with street dance experience. 

Participant 3: Pontypridd (Welsh valleys) White British, aged 16, Sports background (Rugby), with no dance experience. 

I feel these 3 boys are all different and it should prove interesting to consider their responses. This will also help me with one of my goals “To gather evidence to further explore some aspects of the ‘Bourne’ work through an emphasis on how boys are experiencing dance and possible prejudice surrounding this art form for male performers”.

Professional Artefact: My initial idea is to create a video demonstrating learning and teaching styles I have developed throughout my inquiry. This will include my own learning experience.

In my own experience I sometimes find it difficult to remember the detailed contents of group Skype sessions.  I miss things as the conversations flow quite quickly. I feel recording the sessions may help and will ask permission to do this in future.  This will enable me to have time to listen and process the conversation and make sure I have fully understood advice given by my adviser. I would recommend this technique to anyone that might have difficulty note taking.

Critical Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry

Studying module 2 has enabled me to learn many new skills. My computing ability has improved by implementing web 2.0 skills. I have also found Facebook particularly useful for this module because it has provided valuable feedback useful to critically analyse my methods and procedures as well as it supporting my progress through this module. Appendix A

My professional Facebook page has in particular been a positive experience, allowing me to network with peers on the course as well as professional colleagues. However I did not find my blogger account as useful, mainly because of difficulties posting blogs. This may be due to being dyslexic causing lack of confidence in using lengthier, more formal writing skills for blogs, compared to the single sentence posts I feel is more acceptable on Facebook. Appendix B

The first section of this module required me to think about questions of interest to me within the workplace as my role as Dance Ambassador for Matthew Bourne’s Lord of the Flies (LOTF). This was a challenge because of the different age groups I was working with and the diverse backgrounds and experience of the students. I knew from that I wanted to target the questions towards male dancers views and attitudes towards dance.

Module 2 has helped me understand the importance of asking open-ended research questions in order to attract interest and obtain unbiased substantiated responses. My original inquiry question was: Can a professional dancer make a good teacher? It was posted on my blog and I was disappointed to find it attracted a nil response. This lack of response made me consider if my inquiry question needed to be more detailed but open ended. I therefore changed the question to:

       “What makes a good dance teacher and what qualities should they have?”   

It was posted on Facebook and resulted in responses both from my peers and others who were interested in sharing their views. I was pleased with this outcome but it did also make me question the research value and popularity of using different types of social media especially when asking people to share opinions publicly.   Appendix C

Module 2 involved a literature research. This was very important in providing credibility with regards to my own points of view, to support emerging theories and opinions. Reading and referring to both published and unpublished work and media files not only provided strong evidence to support my line of inquiry and take a more analytical approach. It also helped me understand how to reference materials using the Harvard method, required for this degree. Appendix D

My role as Dance Ambassador has highlighted the importance of ethics in the work place.Appendix E

As the LOTF project involved a cast under the age of 18 I had to create a photo and filming consent form for all participants. Which had to be translated into Welsh another factor to be considered

It also meant that all participants under the age of 18 would need a chaperone and council permission to have time off school something I was unaware of before investigating ethics for my professional practice in my workplace. Appendix F

After considering various research methods along with discussions with course peers. I carried out a pilot interview involving one of my students. The outcome of this interview lead to further questions and resulted in the reason behind the specific line of inquiry selected.

The tools used will involve: Reviewing interview footage, the use of pre/post questionnaires as a means of improving teaching techniques. Observation and evaluation of other dance practitioner’s classes.

To conclude studying module 2 has enabled me to:

Explore the use of asking appropriate questions, which will help contribute towards my professional development in the workplace.

Research literature on my chosen topic to support my views, opinions and help me produce proposals and business plans for future projects.

Highlighted the importance of having an ethics policy for the protection and safety of all staff and students and experiment with different tools for use in my enquiry.

The learning outcomes achieved in this module have helped me prepare and plan for my final line of enquiry in module 3.

Bibliography.

Books.

Buckroyd, J. (2000) The Student Dancer, London: Dance Books Ltd

Websites

Cook, V. (2004) Dancing Inside http://www.article19.co.uk/feature/dancing_inside_pt_one.php

Gaustad, S. (2015) in http://danceplus.uk.com/the-role-and-value-of-dance-in-education/

Ethic's on my enquiry

Throughout my enquiry I aim to follow the correct company policies and procedures as set out in the initial Lord of the Flies project, such as adhering too health and safety, having public liability insurance, data protection a current DBS check and ensure anybody else who works alongside me is also covered. Ensuring equal opportunities, following the conduct set out in the ‘safe touch’ practice and addressing any other procedures that I may come across in the correct way.  I will also need to use both Welsh and English language on any literature that I give out with the use of a translator at the Wales Millennium Centre.

In terms of resources required to carry out my inquiry successfully, I will…

Use a dance space to deliver my workshops adhering to Health and Safety regulations, such as identifying fire exits and evacuation points.

I will ensure that every space chosen for any physical activity will meet to the correct room temperature between 21C and 24C as recommended.

I will not exceed the maximum capacity specified for each individual room.

I will adapt all sessions and the movements planned based on the specific dimensions and flooring of each space.

 I will ensure that a first aid kit is fully stocked and available at all times and that a first aider is located within the building.

I will carry out a health and safety assessment at the beginning of each new venue

I will visit and provide a health and safety contract to each venue similar to the LOTF form used. 

I will carry out a thorough warm up and cool down process at the beginning and end of each physical workshop to avoid injury.

I will handout consent forms to agree or disagree to the use of any photography or filming for all participants and any participant under the age of 18 must have a parental consent.

All participants must be prepared for physical activity and dressed in suitable attire for movement.

As a professional dance practitioner I will arrive on site 20 minutes before any workshops commence as a means of setting up and organising the space to avoid any late starts or errors that may have an impact on the session.

I will provide any musical accompaniment for each session if required and that all electrical equipment has been PAT tested and stamped with a current date for evidence.

I will not allow any participants to leave the workshop without being met by parents and or guardians.

I will ensure that I have specific equipment to document my workshops such as camera, I phone as a means for reflection and evaluation.

Ethics in my workplace.

I have found my place of work (Wales Millennium Centre) code of conduct to be very general. http://www.wmc.org.uk/technical/123886/ I feel this is primarily due to it being a theatre venue and not a school where by it might be more detailed. I am employed as a freelance Dance Ambassador teaching and working with children so ensuring I follow correct ethical procedures is essential. 

For the Lord of the Flies project myself and colleague Sian Rowland created a ‘Codes and Conduct’ contract for all participants to sign. This allowed us as Dance Ambassadors to set the rules at the beginning of rehearsals and protect ourselves for any issues that may have occurred during the project.  Please see below:

After some further research into ethics I came across a resource pack identifying do’s and don’ts as a facilitator. I found this to be a very good guidance of how to deal with situations that might arise in a dance workshop. 

Artswork Training – Behaviour Management and Youth Arts resource pack (Page 3)