Since the completion of Module 1 earlier in the year, a lot
has changed in terms of my professional life. After spending the most fantastic
four weeks travelling around Europe over the summer, I have since returned home
and started a new job as a teaching assistant/cover teacher in a secondary
school. The hope is that the invaluable experience this is providing me with
will enable me to begin a teaching course upon the conclusion of my BAPP
degree. As a result, the inquiry and the
initial questions that will be generated in order to ‘get the ball rolling’
will assist in the investigation, exploration and evaluation of my new working environment.
The topics that I am hoping to investigate are based not
only on my current professional practice within education, but also my
experiences on the ‘receiving’ end of the tuition. Ultimately, I hope to
explore my final line of inquiry and find that it not only benefits my work and
improves my practice, but also the work of colleagues and fellow course members
who work in a teaching role.
1. What factors affect student’s negativity towards
dance/drama?
2.
What factors can aid motivation and/or confidence
when performing?
i)
Does gender have any influence on the above two
questions?
ii)
Does age?
3.
Do the skills that are developed in dance/drama
aid students in other aspects of their education?
4.
What are your sources of inspiration when
teaching?
5.
Do the performing arts subjects still hold relevance
in today’s curriculum?
6.
To what extent are the disciplines in the
performing arts relevant outside of the classroom?
7.
What are successful strategies for reducing the
negative effects of peer influence/pressure within the classroom?
My professional inquiry is a way to learn about what I am
doing as a teacher whilst gaining the necessary experience and putting any
ideas into practice within the work place. Reflecting on lesson
objectives/strategies that may not have been successful and learning from the
experience this gives me will improve my professional practice. A self-
employed performer who is also a teacher has knowledge about the specific areas
of acting or dance but must it is also important that they should understand
the concepts and practice of education. As a result, my approach to inquiry may
be ‘inter-disciplinary’ in nature, as not only does can the previous description
apply to my current situation, but I believe that in taking a trans-disciplinarian
approach will aid my knowledge of how to apply the performance skills in a wide
variety of settings.
Occasionally, lines of professional inquiry can relate to
what is required of an individual in the next stage in their career, as much as
it is about solving problems about existing issues. By comparing my practice
and sharing my questions with a range of existing professionals in the field, colleagues
or not, I hope to bring new dimensions to my inquiry and to be able to look at
things from a variety of perspectives. In the same way that academic literature is often
peer-reviewed by other experts in order to ensure that the research is relevant,
I hope fellow members of the BAPP course will aid me in my investigation, and I
in turn hope to be of assistance during theirs. Exploring this topic will help greatly
in my teaching in improving my practice and if successful, strategies and successful
ideas can be shared with co-workers in order to create a really positive and
successful working environment.
