Critical reflection- Module 2

I have found that I have been a lot more engaged in the tasks in module 2. I feel this is because I have been able to link them to my own professional life a lot better than I could in module 1 and again I found them more useful in my own professional work. I have also seen a big link through doing these tasks how they were going to help me carry out my Inquiry Proposal.

Developing lines Of professional inquiry

When thinking about my initial questions in task four I knew that my goal is to become a full time teacher so I knew my question should be focused in that area. It was great to get so many comments on my blog, they really helped me see that I was going in the right direction with my inquiry . I really wanted a question that was going to get me searching for answers which I believe I have now found. (Appendix A)

I found that creating our own "sig" has been a very useful tool for this course and I also believe that it will be for the future as well. I think it's a good reference to go to for information on my professional practice as I have a variety of dancers and dance teachers as part of my group, so it is a quick way of putting questions out to my professional network. I have also found that the "sig's" have been good for interaction between BAPP students in module 2. It has been a way of helping each other along with the tasks and asking each other questions on our inquiries. (Appendix B) (Appendix C)

Professional Ethics

Ethics was something that I have never really thought about in great detail until this module, when I attended the campus session on ethics we were asked " what is ethics?" We all struggled to come up with a simple definition without giving examples but by the end of the session I felt I came away with a good understanding of what Ethics is.

Bobbie Pingram's post on the Ethics campus session really captured everything we learnt from the session. (Appendix D )

During the first tasks in part 5, I found it interesting how big companies have so many ethical rules and regulations in place to make sure everything is run correctly. There are obviously things that everyone is aware of i.e. you can't come in to work under the influence of alcohol, however I didn't realise the there would be pages of rules and regulations about this one subject. (Appendix E)

In my professional inquiry I am now aware that there will be a lot of ethical concern as I will be involving children under the age of 16. However I am already planning on getting written consent from the child's parents.

Tools of professional inquiry

The last task in this module has guided me through the inquiry tools that I will be using in my professional inquiry. I have carried out some pilot inquiries which proved to be very useful in helping me decide what inquiry tools to use in my own inquiry and also the results helped me decide on my final question. (Appendix F)

The following quote was one from reader 6 that I really agreed with. It is talking about what you get from interviews, I believe this to be true as I feel you get a more honest answer from actually interviewing somebody and not just asking them to fill in a questionnaire.

“can follow up on ideas, probe responses and investigate motives and feelings” (Bell, 2005, p.157)

Summary

This module has made me learn knowledge that will help me throughout my career. Coming from a purely dance background I have never really sat down and thought about ethics, however this is a very important topic as no matter what job you are in there will always be ethics to consider and I am now trying to implement more rules in my dance classes. I also feel that this module has made me explore tools which I can already see are going to be very beneficial to me in my professional inquiry.

Bibliography

Bell, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project (4th ed), Milton Keynes: Open University Press.