Tuesday 7 February 2012

Campus Session 1: Module 2

Everyone attending had a starting point for the future inquiry. Inquiry topics can be driven by various forces including:

Place of work
Career Aspirations
Interest / Passion / Curiousity about topic

Some might find drawing out a mind map of all that is known / unknown about topic useful. With a map, connections and links can be made. What is could be tried out is to consider what would the impact be if one node on the map was removed – what impact would this have on the topic and the angle of it.

One topic that was suggested was about the preparation that vocational schools give to students for finding employment in the performing arts industry – e.g. preparing for auditions. This topic raises a whole lot of other questions such as…

Do vocational courses include preparation for work?
How do producers / directors select performers?
Is there a reputation attached to various schools? (For instance, the graduates of certain colleges tend to find work more than others?)
What if anything is included in these curricula?
Are there any broad similarities between those who find work easily after graduation and those who do not?
Who would know the answer to these?
Do vocational schools gather data / information on the destinations of graduates?
If so, does this data reveal anything?


Asking a range of questions and drilling further down into a topic can be revealing and suggest the focus of the inquiry. Another topic of interest yesterday was on Community Dance organizations. Again this raises a whole raft of deeper questions and should be reflected on to give shape to an inquiry.

Who are the range groups /individuals in a Community Dance organization?
Does one have priority?
Are all groups being catered for equitably / appropriately?
How is this known?
Is there a best model of practice / provision for a Community Dance organization?

These questions can be explored with peers and professional contacts (SIG) in order to help shape the inquiry. This then leads onto the inquiry tools which can be used and how ethical principles will be implemented.

Key points made were:

This module is a huge step up from Module 1
There are 3 readers to support each strand of the module
Networks, both peer and professional are essential to progress on this module
Subject interest groups will help with shaping the inquiry and can be useful in piloting inquiry tools
Reading about topics which may be pursued in an inquiry is essential

3 comments:

  1. Thank you Rosemary, this is a great help to me!

    I can now begin to crack on with Module 2 with slightly more confidence and feeling definitely more informed.

    Thank you :)

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  2. Thank you Rosemary!

    This has really split up the Module for me. However, I am still struggling with my Inquiry topic. I thought I knew what route I wanted to go down but now I don't know whether to focus on setting up my own company as a line on Inquiry. I know it will be a challenge. I feel that most people are doing teaching so I will find it difficult to set up a SIG as no one shares my Inquiry! I feel it should be on something we are passionate about not what everyone else is doing. I am going down the right line?

    Thank you

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  3. Lisa - it's not unusual to wrestle with topic ideas - this module gives you the opportunity to think and read around topic ideas. And while I am sure that you will find that there are others on the course who share your interests and will be able to engage with you. You should be blogging about this and scanning other blogs and making comments - this way you will attract interest in your subject. You could also start a wiki - and there is a guide on how to do this on libguides http://lgdata.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/docs/566/173356/How_to_start_with_Web_2.0_tools-2.pdf
    Good luck! PS - Reading around the topic that interests you is also required - it will provide you with focus and extend your knowledge

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