Thinking Time

Here I am, back in the blogging world. I took two days "off" from blogging, to go over my findings so far and to re-read some of my literautre.

I was playing the interviews and dicussion groups I've concucted so far, over and over again ... my dictaphone is basically my best friend at the moment. Can't live without it ;)!

But at one point, suddenly one thing jumped at me. It was something one of the students had mentioned.
One of my questions I asked the participants was "What is the most important thing to you in a dance class, in order to learn the most?" And one of the students answered, "I need a feeling of to togetherness:"

This was when it struck me ... I was looking at my inquiry from a completely wrong angle. Instead of treating the students and teachers as two seperate groups and assessing the differences they have, I have to look at them as one union and find the similarities they share. At the end of the day, both teachers and students share the same goal. Teachers want to pass on their professional knowledge to their students in a way that the students gain the best technical ability from it. And students try to absorb as much of it as possible because they aim to achieve the best possible technical standard.

As soon as I started to read through my notes again, with that thought in my mind, I found many similarities between my two inquiry groups.
By the end of the week, I'll definitely update you on what I have find out from my findings so far and I'll fill you in on one of my books from my literature list. It's called 'Teaching Dance - The Spectrum of Styles' by Elizabeth Gibbons. This book has helped so much, not only for my inquiry but a teacher in general. If you ever get your hands on it read it. But more about it later this week.

Finding the right track!!

This afternoon, I had my first set of student discussion groups and I have to say it was really interesting.

It was great talking to all students and actually having a productive discussion about a topic that concerns their teachers and themselves.

Before talking to them, I had them fill out a questionnaire to gather information about their points of view and their opinions. That was already helpful and I have to say, I learned a lot from it. I realised, surveys are great in order to get a first insight into people's opinions and especially, to get them prepared for further interviews and discussions. Therefore, I was already looking forward to having a personal discussion with the participants.

Luckily, I wasn't disappointed. All of them shared their opinions and ideas they had and nobody was put under pressure. We really had a great discussion!

I got so much information from the discussion groups but at the same time, just as many questions emerged. Right now, I have to sort out all my thoughts and find the right path for my inquiry.
Tonight, I'll definitely have to sit down and sort out my thoughts. Getting everything down on paper and having a good nights sleep always helps ;)! Tomorrow is a fresh start and I can dive into some more researching, so watch this space :)!

Getting ready for student interviews

Today I'm having my discussion groups with the students that are participating in my inquiry. I'm just doing some final preparing and reading so that I can get most out of it. I'm excited to see what they have to say on the topic of teaching.

I've already handed out a survey last week which was about their opinion on teaching methods and teachers themselves. It's already super informative but I'm sure I'll get much more out of it when talking to all of them.

I'll definitely let you guys know how it went later today. Fingers crossed everything goes the way I planned ;)!!

Skype session!!

The other week I had a skype session with Paula to discuss my inquiry and I have to say,  "Thank god!". I would recommend it anyone who hasn't had one yet - it's super informative and helpful!!

I was feeling rather lost before talking to Paula; I wasn't sure where my inquiry was heading and I lost my focus.
After discussing my inquiry with Paula, I feel back on track and it also opened up new possibilities for the way my inquiry is going to head.

I'm feeling much better now about my work and can't wait to dive further into my research!! :)