Task 4a: Developing An Initial Line of Inquiry: Questions

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.