Saturday 26 October 2013

Still delicious!

Hi Guys, just a quick blog to let you know that I am still using and updating my delicious account to gather my literature for my inquiry.  If you want to check it out or follow me the link is below;

https://delicious.com/mimiwhitney1

Campus session 2 - continued

After looking at 'mapping professional domains' (See previous blog http://michellewhitney1.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/mapping-professional-domains-campus.html ) we  separated off into our module groups and Paula lead our session.  I am so grateful that I managed to ask all the questions I had jotted down over the last few weeks of studying and now I feel ready to move forward with my work.  Here are some of the points we covered;

  • Enjoy other things - don't get bogged down with work, sometimes walking away and getting some perspective will mean that you work more effectively. 
  • Evaluate - Look at the work you have done and evaluate what you have achieved.
  • Handbook - It is there for a reason, don't forget to re read it every so often.
  • Appendices - These can be used to fill the gaps in your writing.  for example you only get a paragraph or so of your critical review to analyse your literature reviews, use the appendices to add information that you can't cover.
  • Drafts - Try to write at least 3 drafts of your work, it should be at least the second draft that gets sent to your adviser.
  • Drafts - Try to self analyse your work so any 'frilly' writing becomes more formal
  • Literature Reviews - Analyse the writing, try to discover what it means to your inquiry.
  • My work - What does it mean? What have I discovered?  How does that meaning inform my thinking?
  • Videos/Audio - This can be added to your appendices, do they inform your research?
  • Summarise your work
  • Scanning - You don't have to read all literature word for word, scan documents to pull out the important pieces.  Highlight these pieces for future reference.
  • Criteria - What is the criteria for your selection of research participants?
  • Practice - Has your practice changed through what you have learnt?
These are just a write up of my notes, if you would like more clarity on any of these just write a comment and I can add to the detail.

Paula asked us to say out loud the main questions of our inquiry, this was so helpful because it makes you realises what is clear and what isn't.  I would recommend everyone trying this, even if you can't say it to someone on the course it will give you an idea of weather you are articulating what you need to.

Thursday 24 October 2013

Mapping Professional Domains - Campus Session 2

I feel really thankful that I have been able to attend 2 brilliant campus sessions this module.  Not only do I feel I have learnt a lot from the sessions but they have also kept me on track with the Inquiry process.  To start the day Alan Durrant showed us about 'mapping professional domains'.  This is a great way of relating what you are working on to the world around us.

The basic diagram looks like this;




Apologies for the diagram, this is one I created in 'paint' because I don't have a scanner to add the official one!


First we were asked to look at 'Practice' and place the words or ideas that relate practice to all 3 domains on the diagram, for example;

Practice
My inner world - My day to day activities
Tools technologies and methods - Study
The outside world - Performance

This shows how my day to day work or practice relates to the outside world.  My day to day practice is working as a dancer, the tools technologies and methods I use is study (rehearsals/university work), how does this relate to the outside world? watching shows, reading my blogs etc.

Secondly we looked at 'Values';

Values
My inner world - Morals
Tools technologies and methods - Social Skills
The outside World - Understanding

Values to me mean my personal morals, this has lead me to develop social skills and in the outside world I am able to be more understanding of the world around me and of other people's beliefs and ideas.

Finally we looked at Questions/Inquiry;

Questions/Inquiry
My inner world - Relevance
Tools, technologies and methods - Research
The outside world - Understanding

My Inquiry is driven by my personal need to understand the questions I have asked, this started by asking questions that are relevant to me and my day to day practice.  The tools, technologies and methods I use during the Inquiry process is research. To the outside world I gain understanding and so will my research participants and anyone who reads my inquiry.

Alan said there isn't really a right or wrong to this process.  I found it useful because it made me look at how the work I am doing relates to the outside world.  I don't know if mine are right or wrong but I know that this method has helped me.  It is easy to get bogged down with the work we are all doing, but using this method has helped me get some perspective on my studies.

Monday 21 October 2013

Monday, starting week 4

Last week did not go 100% to plan! Typical! I know that this is the reason that I have created the plan so at least I understand what I aimed to achieve and what I need to get going on.  Unfortunately I would have been on track had I not hurt my back on Saturday night, I had the whole day planned to work yesterday but was unable to sit at the computer;

The work I need to catch up on from last week is;

  • Complete Survey
  • Complete the work I have started on Paula's feedback
  • Download another piece of literature I have found
The work I completed last week was;

  • Wrote my study plan
  • Consent forms
  • Identified some new sources of literature
This week is going to be a little up in the air as to when I can actually study as I have rehearsals going into my schedule on a daily basis.  However I have spent this morning tying up loose ends such as sending invoices, planning my journey to the Campus session and the obligatory Monday job search!

My aims for this week are;
  • Begin to collate and analyse Survey findings
  • Attend Campus session
  • Send paragraphs to Paula of sample inquiry analysis
  • Blog about the Campus session
  • Focus on literature
  • Complete the work I need to catch up on form last week

Thursday 17 October 2013

Summon = Success

Following the last campus session, Paula explained the use of summon for finding literature from the universities online library.  Following this I have found many useful articles for my literature reviews.  For anyone who is struggling here is how it works;

Enter Myunihub

Scroll down to 'My library'

Click on 'Summon'

Enter the information you are looking for into the search box

There is a tab on the left hand side of the page marked 'refine', you can refine your search here to find specific items

Click on the article of interest

The article will launch under a new tab on your computer

On the right hand side of the page there is a tab marked 'tools'.  Here you have options to, print, save, email etc

If article opens and you can only see the first page there is an option of, 'Full PDF Text' on the left hand side.


I hope this helps anyone who is struggling with this!

The new schedule!

I have been wavering over the last few weeks and I have decide that the only way to get on is to set myself clear concise week by week goals.  Rather than drowning myself in sheets of paper I am taking a pro active attitude to my studies, here we go!

Goals of this module
  • Critical Review
  • Professional Artefact
  • Oral Presentation

Week 3, 14th - 20th October

  • Complete Survey ready to send out Monday 21st
  • Build on Paula's feedback from my inquiry summary
  • Build on my literature for review
  • Consent forms

Week 4, 21st - 27th October

  • Attend campus session 22nd October
  • Send 1/2 paragraphs to Paula as a sample of my inquiry analysis
  • Begin collating and analysing survey data
  • Continue blogging
  • Focus on literature and start writing review

Week 5, 28th Oct - 3rd November

  • Write up literature review
  • Build on analysis with further data, focusing on Paula's feedback
  • Work on questions for interviews

Week 6, 4th - 10th November

  • Hold Interviews
  • Plan professional Artefact
  • Build comparisons between my research findings and that of my literature

Week 7, 11th - 17th November

  • Send a 1 page description explaining the plans for my professional artefact
  • Start writing up critical review
  • Begin writing up my inquiry findings
  • Review all my work to date

Week 8, 18th - 24th November

  • Attend Campus session Thursday 21st November
  • Continue writing up and reviewing my work to date
  • Start artefact based on Paula's feedback
  • Work on critical review

Week 9, 25th November - 1st December

  • Send draft sections of my critical review to Paula for feedback
  • Work on finalising inquiry
  • Plan Oral presentation


Week 10, 2nd December - 15th December

  • Focus this week on critical review, print and edit
  • Read and re read
  • Apply Paula's feedback

Week 11, 9th - 15th December

  • Focus this week on Professional artefact

Week 12, 16th - 22nd December

  • Focus this week on Oral presentation


I appreciate that my plan seems to run out of steam in the last few weeks, but I feel at that point I will know what needs to be done and be getting on with it.  

My main work days are going to be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.  Monday's are the day when I tie up looses ends such as sending invoices etc.  My aim every Monday is to blog my plan for the following week, detailing what I will be carrying out that week and how my work schedule will affect my study days.

Wednesday 9 October 2013

Module 3 Campus session one

Last weeks campus session was the first I have been able to attend since starting Bapp.  Not only was it nice to finally meet everyone but it was also good to see where everyone was in their inquiry process.

We started with looking at concept drawings.  Firstly we had to draw growth and then later inquiry, without drawing anything in particular.  For growth I drew a series of arrows that formed from one point, my aim was to show that growth can take us in many directions and not necessarily the way you planned.  I found the idea of concept drawing quite helpful as I often schedule study time and get a writers block about how to start, trying a concept drawing in my learning journal could be a way of overcoming that?

Once we split off into module groups we began to discuss our inquiry topics.  Being able to talk about my inquiry and where I currently am on my research was particularly useful as it showed me where my strengths and weaknesses are.  Literature has been one area that I have struggled with as many of the articles I have found have been relatively informal.  Talking to the group made me realise that Hayley and I are following similar threads of research so will be able to share literature and ideas on our topics. 

Paula explained the My Library section of myunihub and how to use it.  I know this tool will be helpful to me whilst seeking new literature to review.  Sarah also suggested Google alerts which will send you a note when a new article relating to your research is added.

At the end of the session Alan asked the module one students if there was anything they wanted to ask us.  It was interesting to see that they feel exactly how I felt starting the course and how I even feel now.  I think being overwhelmed is part of the learning experience, it's about how you deal with those feelings and move forward to understanding.  If I'm honest I  feel completely overwhelmed at times, however I feel at the moment I have everything ready to go I just need to formulate these pages and pages of notes and scribbles into something useful.

Moving forward I want to make a sound study plan.  I want to set attainable goals and plan a schedule that fits around my workload.  I appreciate that sometimes unavoidable things will get in the way of that schedule, such as rehearsals etc, but having those goals will hopefully keep me on track.  Paula suggested trying to allow a month for analysis, I'm not sure I can manage to allow a whole month but I am going to try.  Nearly two weeks have gone of module three so I need to ensure time does not slip away from me.  I also want to make better use of my learning journal and blog.  There is a risk that I will spend so long formulating ideas and research that I will forget to share my thoughts, and as I said before, that's part of the learning journey!

Who is Mimi?

I have been writing so many notes and getting together loads of thoughts and ideas following last week's campus session and my Skype tutorial on Monday with Paula.  One of the first questions Paula asked me was, who is Mimi?  This made me think that this is probably the best place to start module three.

Who is Mimi?

  • I am a professional Dancer.

  • I am 28 years old.

  • I am studying for a degree in professional practise (Performing Arts).

  • I am looking at changing my career to a role that will be less about performing and more secure for my future.

  • I have been in a relationship for five years with another performer.

  • I am currently working as a dancer under contract until January 2014

How does who I am affect my inquiry?

  • My inquiry is driven by my current situation and my desire to change career.

  • The majority of my participants are colleagues

  • I am an insider researcher

  • My age and relationship drive my career decisions
This might seem like a simple beginning, but I believe understanding how this process is starting will allow me to drive my research forward.  I cannot predict where my research will go but a solid understanding of where it came from will hopefully keep me grounded!