Winter holidays

Hi People
Important note. I am not at my desk much over Xmas but I can talk to you about your work via skype if you have any questions or thoughts you want to discuss.

Please feel free to call me anytime you see me on-line. I keep skype on like a 'phone'. I do not look at it so do not write to ask if you can call. Just call if I can not talk I will say so or I will not answer!!!

Best wishes
Adesola

First Tuesday skype thoughts

AM & PM BAPP chats

Tuesday December 1^st we had our first Tuesday Skype chats.

We talked about a number of things and the people who joined in the chats are also posting about points they found interesting and/or helpful.

Here is a Review – like a literature Review (this is an overview of everything = review).

AM

We talked about referencing and bibliography – we said the bibliography on a book we read is often like a pathway. It helps us look up where the authors ideas came from and can also direct you to other printed texts about the subject you are reading about.

Your bibliography is for the same thing. It shows where your ideas have come from – and makes sure you give credit to those people whose ideas have influenced you or your work. It is vital to your work and should be built as you work Not something you add on at the end. Bethany and Peter will post thoughts on this

www.hucklebethany.blogspot.com

See comments below for peters blog address

The appendix is different for the bibliography. Ask yourself where else you know that word. If you have a problem with your appendix (appendicitis) you have an operation to have it cut out!!! That means you can survive without an appendix. It is something that could be there or could be missed out. It is not a way to get to say what you want to say but avoid the word count! Jess and Kayleigh will post thoughts on this

http://jessboswell.blogspot.com

www.kayleighbapp.blogspot.co.uk

 We talked about a Literature Review – how it is a review – an overview of all the aspects of the literature (which is hundreds of books, papers, essays etc…). So you can describe the different ways other people have looked at the subject. It is not about too detailed a report about just one book or paper!!! Lara will post thoughts on this

http://larafbapp.blogspot.co.uk/

 We talked about the ethics form. The’ tick box ethics form’ is to show you have thought about all the ethical implications of what you are doing. If you are not sure you can completely explain what you are doing by answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’ use the space for explanation to give a short explanation to answer the question. You can also choose n/a if the question does not seem to apply to your project and again give an explanation of why it is not applicable.

Tip: the bit that asks ‘Have you given consent forms to participants – really means ‘will you’ or ‘have you planned to’. We know you have not started yet so you can’t have done it but you are saying once you start you will have. Dani will post thoughts on this

www.danniausten.blogspot.com

PM

In the pm skype talk we covered the same types of things as above but we focused particularly on what a proposal should include. We talked about how much detail to include in the proposal. We imagined someone was asking us if they could do something in our house. What would we want to know? Things like

What makes you able to do it and why do you want to do it?

How is it going to affect other people in your house?

What are you going to do and who is going to be involved?

Why are you doing it?

Will you record my house?? Will my bedroom be on facebook!!

The proposal you are making in Module Two is the same kind of thing. You are asking the university if you can do something in the name of being a Middlesex student and the university wants to know the same kind of questions as above. So if someone was going to do something in your house there are some details you would want to know. like when and who with and what and other details that would make you question if you wanted them to do it or not. For instance:

 if they gave you lots of detail on what color socks they would where but just generally said they wanted to do it in the Summer you would be a bit reluctant.

If they said I want to come in the first week of May to look at your old fashioned chimney and I will respect your house by taking my shoes off. You would feel more happy about them coming.

So think about what detail are important to better understand what you are proposing to do and what details sound like you are just waffling on in your own world.!!! Lisa and Jessica will post thoughts on this

http://lisameiklejohn.blogspot.com/2015/12/skype-session-11215.html

http://jessicaplant.blogspot.com

December: OK so drafts should be flying in not to get our approval but to give you an opportunity to get feedback and consider your work with the comments of someone outside of yourself.

What do you think?

Please comment below

Adesola

Module Twos - ethics forms

Hi Module Twos
You need to send your draft ethics forms to your tutor by mid-December.  This is a really important part of Module Two.

Looking forward to them
Adesola

December group skype

December is rolling round: we have our group skype chats on first Tuesday of the month ...so December 1st - be there!!!

10am (time in London) = am chat
8pm (time in London) = pm chat

Comment below to let me know which one you will be joining.
Looking forward to hearing how things are going.

Best wishes
Adesola

Skype sessions next week November 16th & 18th

We have two on-line skype ‘campus’ sessions coming . These skype sessions are a chance to talk specifically about a module.

Module Two session is Wednesday 18^th November at 6pm (time in London).

(I want to talk about the ethics form and other forms you need to hand in for Module Two)

Module Three session is Monday 16^th November at 6pm (time in London)

I would like to talk about starting the think about emerging themes and ways to express ideas you have com across or that have emerged.

Please comment below to let me know which session you will attend.

Speak soon

Adesola

First Tuesday Skype chats... 'the' question, ethics and reflection

Yesterday we had our first Tuesday Skype chats.  Only a couple of people had signed up for the (am) chat and then had train issues so they joined the (pm) chat. It was strange that a couple of people who had sign-up in comments on my blog were not on-line. I was worried they had not yet connected with me on skype. Make sure when you plan to do a skype chat that we have connected before so you show-up on my skype when you are on-line. Also if you ever want to join a chat last minute or can’t join last minute you can send me an email I try to check them just before the chat starts.

Our conversation was really good. We talked about reflection, ethics and questions/inquiry.

We talked about how the reflective practice in Module one carries on through the modules. Most importantly the reflective practice is about having a conversation with yourself. Writing in your diary and other reflective activities are only seen by you don’t get caught up in the quality of your reflective notes. The more you do it (practice by doing) the better able you will be at capturing your inner thoughts and looking at them on the page (the better quality the reflections will be). Don’t worry about getting it ‘wrong’. Its your thoughts the only ‘wrong’ thing you can do is not to do it!!! Lily is going to post further on this. http://lilygrundy95.blogspot.co.uk/

We talked about the question in Module two –

We agreed to stop trying to get a perfect question and start planning an inquiry project. It is no good having a fantastic question but no plan for how to look into it. You can not pass the module with just a great question. Also consider that the ‘question’ as such will change as you look into it. Really all you need is a general area. Then it will be refined as you plan your inquiry. It will be refined by the planning you do:

Limits of time (it has to fit into one school term start to finish)

Limits of ethics how you can best consider the lives of the people around you and how you can avoid impacting on them unasked for.

Limited by the inquiry tools you decide to use and why you decide to use them.

Jodie is going to post further on ‘stop worrying about the question and make a plan’.!! http://Jodieholley.blogspot.co.uk

Continuing with thoughts about ethics Lisa http://lisameiklejohn.blogspot.co.uk is going to post on the part of the conversation where we talked about the affect our research could have on the people around us. We talked about working with our own students if we are teachers. We noted that the relationship you have with your students will have an impact on what they say. But even if you feel you have the kind of relationships with students where they will ‘say what they think’, the ethics in this situation is also about how by involving them you are drawing them into your BA, which is your stuff not theirs. Even if they said what they thought, they might still go home and think about the impact what they said had on your relationship with them, they might worry, or they might feel they now have a special relationship with you that was not their before. If they are a student that was not asked they might wonder why someone else was asked and they were not. (This might be just because they were not in the class when you spoke to students but those left-out might think it is something about them.) I advise that you do not interview or talk to people under 18 and also not to people who are your students. It is much better to look towards people in your professional practice who you admire or think have experience you have not had. The opportunity of having an excuse to talk to people in your profession by explaining your are doing a BA and you are interested in their work and experiences is a great networking opportunity. It is way to make contacts with people that expands your network (see Module One) rather than just talking to the people already in your network.

Continuing this idea James http://jamesbapp.blogspot.co.uk/  is going to post on the idea that your ‘question’ (inquiry) could be on what other people think of some of the questions you have been mulling over. In other words, the ‘question’ is not something to be answered it is something to find out more about. Overall Module Two is about making a plan to do some inquiry, it is about how you find out more about your own practice and how you look at where you are today and practice ways to keep your professional development going beyond being in training or at college.

I enjoyed a definition we created for reflection – that it is a way to clarify your thoughts and organize them. It is a way to start to see things newly.

What do you think of all this?

What definitions do you have for reflection?

Please comment below

Adesola