Okay so here we are, module 3! I can't believe it! I have been putting it off for a couple of weeks and it really is time to get the ball rolling!
Since reviewing my feedback from Paula I have made a few changes to my plan:
Inquiry Title:
How does my professional musical theatre training and knowledge benefit curriculum and extra curriculum classes within primary education?
Previously I was focusing on primary and secondary education but I have decided to focus only on primary now as it is more specific and makes it easier for me when I am looking for literature and comparing the data I will collect.
Observations:
I had originally decided to focus on 3 different classes over a 3 week period. I am still sticking with this time scale but instead of observing the class as a whole I have decided to focus on 3 people from each of my classes this way it is easier for me to get more specific information from each of them and more able to compare their different behaviour and attitude towards me.
These classes are all different from each other; one is a street funk class, one is a glee club and one is a dance class in a special needs school.
I also plan to observe my work colleague, we team teach together once a week and during this lesson I want to observe how the students react to her in comparison to me. This will also give me a different view point as it allows me to step out of the teaching role and watch the class from a different role.
All of my observations will be in the form of notes in my journal as I believe that if I record the children they will act differently, also for ethical reasons I would need permission from each of the parents therefore I have decided against this.
Interviews
The people I have decided to interview are:
The owner of CEPD, the company I work for, I want to ask her why she created the company and the benefits of using professionals over non professionals in primary education
Teachers from the schools I teach at, I want to ask them their opinion on CEPD, whether they believe it is advantageous for the children and if they see improvements within curriculum learning
Fellow dance teachers for CEPD, I want to find out why they think it is beneficial for the children and what important aspects they can offer to the children
Literature:
Since making changes to my inquiry title and the data that I plan on gathering I now also need to make changes to the type of literature I want to find.
At first I found it really hard to find any literature related to my chosen topic then I had a breakthrough moment and found Ofsted reports on sports/dance coaching within primary education. This really got the ball rolling for me and was a great starting point for my research. I am currently trying to apply through sconul to gain access to my local universities library and once I am able to go there I believe I will find plenty of literature related to my inquiry.
Thanks for the update Lucy - yes literature about teaching form other practitioners and or research can add to this policy aspect - but the Ofsted reports sound like they will ground some of your new knowledge. When talking to others teachers from CEPD - focus on your injury question to get the most out of the conversation - How does my professional musical theatre training and knowledge benefit curriculum and extra curriculum classes within primary education?" or How does ---professional musical theatre training and knowledge benefit - provision- within primary education? - messing a bit with the question here - but key words working well - so what can this 'background' add to provision in primary. Good - keep blogging as you go - interested in observations - and the organisations who are doing this type of work in primary schools. Have you tried out the analysis task yet?
ReplyDeleteLucy just talked to Nicola Newell - worth you 2 comparing notes and maybe literature?
ReplyDeleteHi Lucy, great post. Firstly I think you were wise to narrow down your search to just focus on primary schools. Although you may have interest invested in secondary school teaching as well, I am sure your data is a lot more detailed because of this decision. After a chat with my advisor Adesola just before starting to carry out my inquiry, I realised that my inquiry topic was too broad and as a result, ran the risk of having my fingers in too many pies and not actually looking at anything in enough detail.
ReplyDeleteI too have also used lesson observations as a means of gathering the data I need. I have looked at the class as a whole as one things I have been looking into is how the teacher can affect the environment of a classroom i.e. everyone in it. But your method of comparing the same three students sounds like you might have been able to analyse your data more accurately because of it. One question: how did you decide on those three students?
Finally, I have been going into Derby University library over the last few weeks, SCONUL has been a lifesaver!
Hope all is going well in the final stages,
Pip :)
thanks again Lucy
ReplyDelete