The Art is in the process

We had two great Discussion groups on Tuesday. I am going to highlight some of the different points that we talked about and some I have talked about with other people in One-to-ones.
First some Module Two questions (and reminders for Module Three.)

What is the recommended time frame for the primary research aspect (interviews, questionnaires etc) in module 3?

I recommend 3-4 weeks for each section1-4 wks data collection (interviews, etc..)
5-8 wks analysis (triangulating the data, literature, your experiences)
9-12 wks creating communication of experiences and discoveries (written essay and artifact) 

How many research questions do you recommend? 
It depends on how you are working - I recommend being open to the area you are looking at and not pinning it down too much. This might mean one to two very open questions or lots of small ones that build to create a bigger picture together. You are not looking for answers you are looking to find out something more about an area in your own professional practice remember.

and how many pieces of literature to review? 
You are not reviewing single bits of literature - you are reviewing what is said about the topic in general (The Literature). Like not reviewing a show (Kinky Boots) but reviewing (overviewing) all the different types of shows there are - Musical Theatre, Drama, Medieval, Dance etc…. You are explaining the field where your one small area fits. In doing this you might (and should) identify three or four written books / articles that are particularly relevant and that will be key in informing your inquiry analysis. For ‘Review' think ‘overview' or 'The Literature' think ‘whats out there on the general subject…’ so a literature review is An overview of what is out there on the subject.

Other ideas we talked about

Don't get stuck trying to perfectly answer one question - cycle round tasks, come back to things review older Modules and tasks. You don't go to a ballet class and spend two weeks just standing at the barr trying to do the perfect plie or playing a song on the saxophone you don't spend two weeks  getting the perfect first note. (You know when to come back to it and when to work extra on parts. Use the same skills in your 'academic' study. Don't make the artist you a different being from the 'academic you'.

Reflection is about keeping track of your process

Differ your approach to ideas - organize yourself so you can play with looking at ideas from different perspectives.

Don't look at things in terms of 'I agree' or 'I disagree' - look at things in terms of what their relationship is with other experiences you have had and other ideas you have encountered. 

Ethics is not a thing it is a more a word that indicates you have taken or are taking an approach... 

Rather than the 'ethics of the situation' (as if Ethics was a thing)  you would say 'the ethical consideration made in the situation' (about how things were done). My last blog  Oct 30th 2017 talks more about this. 

For module Two and Three rather than think 'What question an I finding / exploring' think 'what do I want to find out more about / what am I finding out more about'.

People who attended the discussion ate writing the links to their posts about the discussion below. Also please comment below.

Discussion, literature and getting started

Monday 13th  is the start of our 12 week term at BAPP. Last week we had some discussion group skype chats and generally got back into our Inquiring Selves. We had two Coffee shop Discussion Group chats.

On Monday 6^th in the morning we discussed connecting ideas and mapping how things fit into a bigger picture .

On Tuesday 7^th in the afternoon we discussed getting started, scheduling and library access.

Across both discussion the idea of Literature Reviews came up again and again.

I have noticed in the past that people start talking about the start of the module as if it was the start of a treasure hunt. As if  you are looking for clues for things you have to find to be told what to write so you can pass. People have talked about the module as if they were on their own having to invent or forage for any information they can get to know what the key is to passing.

For instance often people reflect by saying “I came across an article by Gill Jones that said…” = this gives the impression you happen to find something.

Instead this should read “Gill Jones (2009) suggests that…” = you did the research and you know what you are talking about.

You don’t need to invent answers or hunt for someone who can tell you what to think so you can write it down and pass. Many people before you have thought about similar subjects. They have thought about things, raised questions, explored ways to look at the subject and mapped how their thinking fits with other people who have done the same thing. It is not about the luck of ‘coming across’ something it is about looking up key words and seeing what people have said or choreographed or created in order to better understand your own experiences. So not looking for articles that say what you think already BUT looking at what people have said about a topic that is new to you that expands your understanding of it. In other words it’s not a treasure hunt for evidence you are right about something. It is an inquiry into how what you have thought and experienced fits with other people’s thoughts and experiences.  That is a literature review.

A literature review gives context to an idea because you look at many peoples ‘take’ on the idea.

It can help you connect ideas in new ways seeing how other people have made connections. It can give you structure helping you find out the areas within a topic that other people have noticed or organised into.

It can help you challenge your assumptions.

 It gives you a range of perspectives, so it is not just the loudest voice is right. Or the highest hit on Google is the authority on something.

It is about you having considered knowledge about things because you have thought about a lot of other people’s ideas in relation to your own.

Also think about this: just because it is the first time you have heard something does not mean it is the first time it has been told to you. Someone with the answer is not always someone amazingly wise, often it is someone who told you something at the right moment for you to hear it. So it is not just about what people say it is about how meaningful you allow it to be.

Getting started back into things, connecting with people, and many of the other points we discussed we talked about all seemed to be about looking beyond your panic for the loudest voice to tell you what to do to get 100%. Instead this is about respectfully listening and contributing to debate. Start looking at the MDX library on-line where you can use Summon to explore journals and books. Visit each others blog and start discussions there. Not “can anyone tell me how to start Module Two?” but “I just finished reading Jenny Gladsons’s book (Maths in the Magic of Dance, 2017)  about dancers in North Carolina who have used dance to develop a math curriculum for Kindergarteners, I had not thought about how closely dance and maths are linked. I am interested in other people’s experiences with arts in school?...”

Other people have posts about our discussions on Monday and Tuesday. Have a look at their  links. Have a look at what they say and please leave comments on the post you read. Please comment here too.

Please leave a message on these comments with a book or choreography that you have found interesting as you are studing and say why.

http://meganlouch.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/monday-6th-february.html

https://alyshiawaite.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/first-coffee-shop-chat-of-2017.html

http://lizziebell92.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/back-to-business-first-coffee-shop-chat.html?m=1

http://lawrencemassie.blogspot.com.ee

http://oneillhannah25.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

http://charlieormerod.blogspot.com

https://bensbappblog.blogspot.com

Communication- Our group SKYPEs...

On Tuesday we had out First Tuesday of the Month SKYPE chats. We did a lot of sharing of ideas and practice. People said it was really helpful to just talk to each other about where they are at and what they are doing. As you are all starting a Module (1 or 2 or 3) it is great to hear other people are also in that “oh my goodness I’ve got to start place!!!”.

Remember the blogs are sharing and listening too. They are not a place to post perfect task responses. We don’t have to see all that all the time. The blogs are for you to communicate and participate in the community of learning that is BAPP (Arts).

Bethany: http://hucklebethany.blogspot.com/2016/03/module-2-researching-my-professional.html

People talked about ideas like:

Improvisation visit Cathy Hayward’s blog if you have experiences and ideas about improvisation. It was so useful to talk to people who looked at improvisation from lots of focuses: improvisation in dance, music, teaching…. That the beauty of the Learning Community people from many different aspects of the field. Cathy: http://catherinehayward.blogspot.com

We also talked about the importance of the Literature in all the modules. It opens new doors up to you. The Literature shared ideas with you, you might not have thought of.

Jessica Plant: http://jessicaplant.blogspot.com

We talked about the practicalities of starting a SIG. this could be getting a group together on Facebook or Google hang-out or physically in a coffee shop. Some people are in the same place as each other you can meet up and skype someone in. Its just about sharing ideas with other interested people. SIG stands for Special Interest Group – it’s a group who all have a special interest in something – that is all.

We talked a bit about privacy on-line and how you don’t have to post anything on your blog you do not want someone at work to read. You can start to use the principles of ethics we look at in Module Two maybe not use the real names of people or places  and still make your learning point or idea.

Have a look at the following blog’s of people who said they would share further info and ideas that were sparked from the conversations:

Victoria: http://victoriamayvickers.blogspot.co.uk

Jess: Jessboswell@blogspot.co.uk

Lily: http://lilygrundy95.blogspot.co.uk/

Megan: http://meganlouch.blogspot.co.uk

Darren: http://darrentaggart.blogspot.com

Irini: http://irinibapp.blogspot.co.uk

Chloe: http://westchloe.blogspot.com

Most important GET ON WITH THE MODULE!!!!!! And don’t worry so much ‘about getting it right’. Getting it right IS getting on with it….

What do you think?  – My new moto is ‘don’t be a stalker, be a talker’ = Don’t just look at peoples blogs, comment.

Adesola

Module Two On-line session (good and healthy for all moduler!!!)

Today we had a module Two on-line session.

We talked about

The importance of finding a topic to start working with. In the handbook this is written as finding a question but what we mean is an area you are interested in. Through the module you will be shaping and molding. Finding an area is like getting your lump of marble and then you will be shaping and molding the area/marble by using different tools such as shaping it through looking at research methods you will use, shaping it by looking at the ethical issues you will consider, shaping it by looking at what other people have said (the literature review). Commit to some marble/an area of interest so you can start to look at how you can design the inquiry. If it is not quite right you will find in shaping it it will start to be clearer and take a form that works for you.

Now you have committed to an area you need to do a literature review. That is map the ideas other people have had around your topic. You want to find out what you don’t know you don’t know about your topic.

That does not mean read every single book but know the areas of interest other people have had when they looked at your topic. For instance if you are interested in finding out more about choreography because you find at work you have been asked if you want to choreograph a piece, areas to do a literature review might include finding out:

• About what choreographers say about their own process and work.
• About what other people have said about working with choreographers – looking at other people’s processes.
• Looking at the way people have chosen to document their choreography
• About what kinds of choreography are there.
• About what people say choreography is.
• About the kinds of people who choreograph – they are not all dance trained

These are all areas of the literature that have many books within them but finding out a little about what is thought in that area will help you map more about your topic and also help you see where your own interest lies. Lastly it will help you find out things about the topic you had not thought about which will help shape your inquiry. We also pointed out this is most important because in Module three you need to analyse the inquiry data and activity and if you don’t know much about your topic you can not analyse it to any depth.

Other sources are:

1. Can you find a specialist journal on choreography and what sort of discussions are published in that?
2. Are there any videos about choreography?

Lastly you need to look at literature about how people have researched and designed research in your field of interest. Researching in the field of choreography is different than researching in geography or microbs. You need to know how designs for research in your field have been carried out and what you feel would work for you in your Professional Practice. You need explain how choreography research is different from xxxx

You can use the University Library as a great source of info. You can use Summon to gather a really good range of articles. DO not just google use Google Scholar, try not to ‘just come across something’ work out what the schools of thought are how many people think a thing is what your reading old school or a new idea in the field?

All of this is helping you shape the direction you want to go in.

As you do this keep notes on Ethics – things people describe as things to reflect on or even as problems. Notice what you question and where you have problems with what people have said or done or even how much a problem finding something is. Is there a lot of information about Male European choreographers but not much on West Indian women choreographers for instance? How will affect your inquiry.

The people at the on-line session are also posting on what they found helpful or interesting please visit and comment.

Charnelle: http://charnellelatouche.blogspot.com

Francois: http://inthemakingbapp.blogspot.com

Nicole: http://nicolealphonce.blogspot.com

Cassie: http://cassievercoe.blogspot.com

Tuesday is the next First Tuesday Group Skype hope to hear what you are doing then.

Adesola