Critical Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry

CRITICAL REFLECTION ON PROFESSIONAL PRACTITIONER INQUIRY

INTRODUCTION

Module One enabled me to develop a level of critical reflection about my professional practice and an understanding of communication technology and networking.  I have used and developed these elements within Module Two in order to plan my professional inquiry.   

DEVELOPING LINES OF PROFESSIONAL INQUIRY 

Arriving at an inquiry topic I felt could enhance my current professional role was challenging.  I found it hard to grasp that an inquiry is "a way to learn about what you are doing while you are doing it"(WBS3630:Reader 4) and is not a process to prove or disprove theories.

I originally wanted to look at image overriding talent and the psychological effects this has on a dancer, (APPENDIX A). However, by speaking with other B.A.P.P students it soon occurred to me that this topic could be too subjective. (See comments on APPENDIX A)  

I was then intrigued to research how dancers cope with rejection. (APPENDIX B).  After speaking with my advisor, I realised I should make use of my current employment situation and focus on how this could enhance future employment opportunities. 

"The discipline of team learning starts with "dialogue", the capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions and enter into a genuine "thinking together" (Senge 1990). In order to do this I created a S.I.G (APPENDIX C) using "Facebook" to discuss issues and topics.  However, I found most of my feedback came from speaking to other B.A.P.P students on "Google Hangout" and "Skype" as well as receiving comments on my blog.  I also spoke about inquiry topics with other dance colleagues in my professional community (Work Based Learning APPENDIX D). It was by using these networks, alongside Personal Mastery (APPENDIX D), that a more positive topic was triggered.

My inquiry topic now is "How can a Freelance Dancer Increase their Chances of Employability?" (APPENDIX E).

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Before arriving at my inquiry topic, I understood the principles of ethics in my current workplace (APPENDIX F) and the codes and conducts I must follow. (APPENDIX G). 

However, I then had to identify what Ethics I must consider for my inquiry, in order for Middlesex University to sign my Ethics form and allow me to carry out my research.  I devised a checklist in order to make sure I carry out my inquiry safely and correctly (APPENDIX H).  Breaking the ethical considerations down for my inquiry and answering each question in more depth, gave me a clearer understanding of what participants I wanted to use for my practitioner research, who would benefit most from the research and how I would adhere to a safe and professional process when carrying out my inquiry (APPENDIX I). 

TOOLS OF PROFESSIONAL INQUIRY

"Understanding the major advantages and disadvantages of each approach is likely to help you to select the most appropriate methodology for the task in hand" (Bell 2005).  I evaluated the merits and downfalls of each practitioner research tool in order to find out what tools would be most beneficial.(APPENDIX J).

I conducted a pilot Interview (APPENDIX K), a pilot Survey (APPENDIX L) and a pilot Focus Group (Appendix M) with my professional community and members of my S.I.G.  This enabled me to establish what worked well and what I would need to improve, in order to use the tools to their full potential.  

I found the use of a dictaphone would be more beneficial than notating and the use of a semi-structured format worked well.  After receiving feedback from the fellow B.A.P.P students who completed my pilot survey, I used the Double Loop Learning theory (APPENDIX D) to evaluate whether I needed to change the way questions were formatted, or the question itself. (See comments on APPENDIX L).  

The combination of these three tools will be useful as it will enable me to gather a variety of qualitative and quantitative data. 

CONCLUSION

This module has informed me about the ethics involved when carrying out my inquiry and has allowed me to trial the tools I will be using for my practitioner research. To enhance my knowledge on how I can increase chances of employability for myself and other dancers, I will continue to look for more literature (APPENDIX N) and add more links to my Delicious Page, which has been beneficial for keeping my online literature in one place (APPENDIX O). Module Two has equipped me with the tools and information needed to undertake my Professional Inquiry in Module Three.   

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Bell, J (2005). “DOING YOUR RESEARCH PROJECT” (4^TH Ed), Milton Keynes. Open University Press.

Blaxter, L, Hughes, C and Tight, M (2001). How to Research (2nd Ed), Milton Keynes: Open Univeristy Press.  Available from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/mdx/reader.action?docID=10441949. 

Costley C, Elliot, G, Gibbs, P .(2010) "DOING WORK BASED RESEARCH APPROACHES TO ENQUIRY FOR INSIDER-RESEARCHER", London: Sage Publications Ltd

Denscombe, Martyn. (2002) "GROUND RULES OF GOOD RESEARCH A 10 POINT GUIDE FOR SOCIAL RESEARCHERS", Buckingham: Open University Press.  Available from https://www.dawsonera.com/readonline/9780335239375.

Devlin, P. (1959) “THE ENFORCEMENT OF MORALS”, Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks

Durrant, Alan, Rhodes, Gareth, Young, David (eds) .(2009) “GETTING STARTED WITH UNIVERSITY-LEVEL WORK BASED LEARNING”, London: Middlesex University Press.

Hobbes, T. (1985) “THE LEVIATHAN”, London: Penguin Classics

Kant, I .(2007) “CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON, London: Penguin Classics

Mill, JS .(1987) “UTILITARIANISM AND OTHER ESSAYS, London: Penguin

Senge, Peter M. (1990), “THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE THE ART AND PRACTICE OF THE LEARNING ORGANISATION”, New York, Doubleday Currency

Smith, M. K. (2001, 2013). ‘CHRIS ARGYRIS: THEORIES OF ACTION, DOUBLE-LOOP LEARNING AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING’, the encyclopedia of informal education. http://infed.org/mobi/chris-argyris-theories-of-action-double-loop-learning-and-organizational-learning/. (Accessed 3^rd February 2015)

Thielke, Janet .(2009), "A 1945 CODE OF ETHICS FOR THEATRE WORKERS SURFACES" Available online from  http://lastagetimes.com/2009/08/a-1945-code-of-ethics-for-theatre-workers-surfaces/ (accessed 13th March 2015).

WBS 3630 B.A.P.P ARTS, MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY 2013: HANDBOOK

WBS 3630 B.A.P.P ARTS, MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY 2013: “PRINCIPLES OF PROFESSIONAL INQUIRY” READER 4

WBS 3630 B.A.P.P ARTS, MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY 2013: “PRINCIPLES OF PROFESSIONAL INQUIRY” READER 5

WBS 3630 B.A.P.P ARTS, MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY 2013: “PRINCIPLES OF PROFESSIONAL INQUIRY” READER 6