Thursday, 6 November 2014

Task 4c...HINDSIGHT!!!

In order to establish the strength and relevance the questions I have begun to develop and explore hold within my workplace, it was important for me to be able to share them with other colleagues. From this, I may gage from their initial responses whether to carry them through to inquiry level.

As I have mentioned before in my previous blog, regarding individuals within my SIG’s sharing similar ideas, I thought it appropriate to ask colleagues who I work with daily to share their opinions. This was because I came up with much of the content for inquiry based on what I experience daily at work. The two members of staff that I approached for help were teachers of dance/drama within a secondary school setting. Looking at their responses, my initial thoughts were that they held some similarities to each other, but also to what I had been thinking when writing out the questions originally. Great! I thought this must mean I have a strong set of ideas on which to base my inquiry, they hold merit, the answers highlight similarities… 

It was only when I had a Skype session with Adesola that I have since realised that there may be cause to adjust/rewrite/omit certain questions before my inquiry. Why do their responses highlight similarities? Is this because we all work within the same environment, teach the same students, adhere to the same school policies? Maybe so, but it was also pointed out to me by Adesola that a couple of my questions could be considered ‘leading.’

Does gender have any influence on negativity towards drama?
Does age have any influence on negativity towards drama?

The way that I have worded this implies that I think gender/age affects negativity and as a result, I expect reference to that in answers given. Gender affecting negativity could be a subject of a scientific experiment carried out in schools, perhaps by the government etc., and certainly is not what I wanted to be focussing on in my inquiry.  I have since come to the realisation that my inquiry doesn't need to be so outcome orientated. Instead, it is OK for my inquiry to just focus on gaining more knowledge on an area. By changing the above question to; “How do you feel drama is accepted by students in a school setting?” I am leaving the questions far more open-ended and less bias. I had been under the impression that the results of the inquiry were intended to help improve both my professional practice and others whom I work with. But who am I, aged 23, recent graduate, limited number of years teaching experience, to dictate to far older/wiser/more experienced professionals?! Instead, I should think about the people in my communities being people I have yet to meet in my professional career.

Once again, hindsight is a wonderful thing!


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