Entering week five of the module and week three of my research. I'm halfway done with both the classroom and the interview portions. As I'm progressing in my research, I'm seeing a wealth of connections between the different areas of inquiry. For example, it's fascinating to analyze the similarities and differences between my interviewee responses, especially in regards to musicality definitions. It's also quite fun to see how the different classes I'm teaching respond to the exercises I'm giving. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, but the classes as wholes have very different personalities, so to speak.
Unsurprisingly my research is taking its own twists and turns, however, and I feel like with the classroom exercises I'm winding around a bit. I figured out after the first class that my original approach was rather too ambitious in terms of *how* it was structured, so I quickly restructured and have been finding the restructuring largely successful. Nevertheless, it's a bit tricky figuring out how to reorder and reorient concepts so they're still introduced in a logical fashion, and in a way that offers the same experience (more or less) to every class--regardless of their technique level, age, time in class, or dance style (ballet vs. modern).
With every class I teach, though, I keep seeing thought threads wind their way through the research. They twist through my own head, through the interviews, out into the classroom, and back in from the classroom. I'm absolutely loving making all these connections and can't wait to sit down at the "end" of the research and analyze them more thoroughly. What's also been encouraging is how supportive those I've interviewed have been. One said how excited they were that I was doing this and they thought it would be a valuable contribution to the field. That's so encouraging to hear!
Fellow module 1s and 2s, how are you getting on? And fellow module 3s, what has surprised you or delighted you about the process thus far?
Hi Hannah, am at the stage of trying to put this all together. I have come across practical issues-Can you give me your interpretation of the module 3 handbook instructions regarding word count? I can seem to get any succinct answer as to length -or perhaps I am totally misunderstanding this?
ReplyDeleteOh! Yes, I actually asked Helen about that too. She said it was because of some revision that didn't get fully rewritten across the handbook. Total word count is 5,000. My guess is that puts the analysis and description sections at roughly half of the 2,500 the second section of the handbook lists them at. So they're like 2,500 together instead of separately, but of course those numbers are just rough guidelines.
DeleteI am still trying to discover what it is I am curious about researching, there is so much to research, and I am looking for something that will help me to become a better teacher. Again there are many areas I could improve as a teacher, but finding the best one is difficult. I have many theories on teaching, and I have many people who say I am a great teacher, but I want ot fill in the gaps, and find new knowledge.
ReplyDeleteYou're in module 2, right? Last semester what helped me was someone in a skype chat talking about finding the research gaps and going from there. I was originally going to do feminist pedagogy, but that was pretty well covered, so I noticed that musicality (approached from a fem. ped. viewpoint) was virtually non-existent and a pet interest of mine to boot, and off I went. Any gaps in the research you notice that you could see yourself filling?
Delete