Thoughts from recent group skype discussions

Module conversations

We have had a number of sessions on skype; conversations with a particular focus on Module topics. Please note a skype with a focus on Module One is open to anyone who wants to think about Module One points not just those on Module One.  From these conversations a few points to share follow below and same for the other Module focus sessions

 From the Module Two focus session on Thursday 16^th :

Making an inquiry plan is an art in itself. You can use your own artistry from your practice to create something… the ingredients or steps or parts of the inquiry that must be included are knowing what your Methodology is, your method and your analysis.

Your methodology is the way you are approaching the inquiry, how you understand the people and things involved it links to any ethical considerations you have considered. It is about explaining the why of your approach.

The method is being able to say exactly what you will be doing and explain why you are doing it that way.

The analysis explains what you will be doing with all the things you generate from doing the inquiry data collecting activity. It is not an inquiry if all you do is ask someone something and then tell us what they said. You need to compare across all the forms of data you collect, looked for significant ideas or themes or things that don’t sit together and think about why they are significant to you, why they are the same or different…

Analysis is how you will be triangulating:  1) the data you collect, 2) the literature and existing arts on the subject 3) your experiences and reflections on it (3 things like a triangle (triangulations) where you look at what hold them together and a part.

Keep asking yourself am I creating a plan that assumes I will go and ask someone the answer to a question I have. If so remind yourself if you don’t know the answer, why should they? And if they did answer it how would you know it was ‘right’. Answers are not what you are looking for. Better understanding the depth of your question is what you are looking for. So you will need to analysis everything you come across.

Look at defining what is meant by the words you are using to explore your inquiry. For instance if you are wondering what makes a good teacher, you will also need to find out what ‘teacher’ means to people and what ‘good’ means to people. Part of your inquiry is finding out if people make the same assumptions about things as you. Finding out more about something is realising not everyone thinks about it the same way as you.

We are using a form of triangulation in Module One as well. We are asking you to look at what your practice is. How your practice peels away from the background of your training, current work situation – how your practice is a thing in its own right. In the module, we ask you to triangulate:  1) your practice in terms of communication (inc. web 2:0) 2) your practice in terms of with reflection 3) your practice in terms of networks

In the Module One focus chats both groups talked about networks and the feedback one gets from people – how much of that you allow to shape your practice and how much and when to let it go. There is something here about the transition between being a student in training (when all feedback is expected to be taken on board) to when you are a professional when you need to decide what you will let define you.

We also talked about how sharing and hearing the experience of others can help you start to see yourself more clearly against the backdrop of the experience you had training or working cyurrently. This especially true if your training experience was more negative than positive.

We acknowledged the small word count for the essay in Module One is part of what is hard. You cannot waffle on about your practice or spend too much time just reciting the Module handbook information back to us. You have to have thought about a clear articulation of what your practice is and how it is growing and shaped particularly using communication, reflection and networks. Do not use the appendix to extend the word count!!! (Imagine no one will bother looking at the appendix.) The essay should be clear and make sense with no appendix.

We are more than half way through the term so now is the time to start thinking about what you are handing in and making sense of how it is relevant and meaningful to you/your practice and to the Module Handbooks information. Keep blogging and commenting on each others posts.