There Is No Finish Line

As the final deadline date nears and my time as a Middlesex BAPP student draws to a close, I thought it appropriate that I reflect on my learning during this time and how it has shaped me as a professional...

It is hard to truly appreciate how much I have learned during this inquiry process. I feel I have absorbed and now integrate new ideas on motivation/confidence of my drama students that without my personal learning journal, it would be difficult to see what outlook I had to begin with. The inquiry process itself has brought to light the multitude of theories and variety of ideas that surround both the concepts of motivation and self-belief. Insightful literature that I have come across has been extremely thought-provoking in providing a series of often opposing views. I now have a much deeper understanding of what intrinsically motivates a drama student, in addition to the internal factors that could be affecting their motivation/confidence. I also believe I have a greater awareness of how teachers can only reasonably be expected to manage the external ‘climate’ of their classrooms and various teaching methods employed to support this such as; creating a ‘safe’ classroom, peer influence/the effect of group work and differentiation of learning resources.

In terms of my practice, I now know how to carry out a work-based inquiry, including the importance of efficient time management skills to fit University commitments/a commitment to improving my practice around my current responsibilities. This process as a whole has provided inspiration for future research, in acknowledging that my limited inquiry has only begun to ‘lift the lid’ on what makes students tick.  My development professionally means my approach to teaching classes has changed in the integration of methods to reduce performance pressures and I appreciate the importance of my supportive role/responsibilities. I should endeavour to stay up-to-date with current and evolving theories surrounding educational motivation.

Personally, I feel that not only do I have the experience of personally carrying out the project itself but I also have an increased knowledge about the field in which I work. I am confident at and fully prepared to participate to my professional networks; self-learning and reflection can only improve how something is done to a certain extent, beyond that the points of view and input from others is invaluable to continued learning. On a more literal level of learning, I have seen great improvement in my abilities to use web 2.0 tools as well as technical skill required to create my artefact. As I have previously mentioned, the inquiry process itself has not been the pinnacle of either the course or my learning, but instead I am viewing this experience as one long continuous journey, one too that is not yet finished as I am intent on continuing to further my practice.

I hope everyone is well, and to my fellow Module 3’ers; hoping you have enjoyed (amidst a little stress??) your final module as I have. Now roll on the presentations!

General Election Results and Implications for the Arts

Wherever you sit with views on who should be in charge of this country, I thought these articles made for an interesting read...

Writers’ Guild: ‘Generation of creators could be lost under Tories’

https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2015/writers-guild-generation-creators-lost-tories/

BECTU: New theatre work at risk from Tory government

https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2015/bectu-new-theatre-put-risk-tories/

Honour Bayes: We’re surprised by the election result because our view is too narrow

https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2015/honour-bayes-surprised-election-result-view-narrow/

Thoughts for the day...

What does a Tory majority mean for the arts?

https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2015/tory-majority-mean-arts/

by Georgia Snow - May 8, 2015

The continuation of theatre tax relief and a frozen BBC licence fee are among the pledges made by the Conservative party, which has won a majority in the House of Commons after the general election.

Tax reliefs for the creative industries, including theatre, were introduced by chancellor George Osborne in 2014 and look set to continue under a Conservative government, with the party’s manifesto pledging to “expand them where possible”.

The Conservative manifesto also pledged to freeze the BBC licence fee at £145.50. By freezing the fee for members of the public, BBC finances are likely to come under scrutiny ahead of the BBC’s royal charter renewal, which must take place before the end of 2016.

The previous coalition government came under fire for severe cuts to the arts after its election in 2010. However, speaking to The Stage prior to the election, culture minister Ed Vaizey defended the party’s arts policy of the previous five years, maintaining that the government had not cut the arts “horrendously”.

“People have got to get out of this mentality that if the arts council budget goes up, the arts are healthy and if the arts council budget goes down, the arts are in crisis, because it is complete nonsense,” he said.

Vaizey, who has previously championed the role of philanthropy in creating a thriving cultural sector, admitted that “no party can promise to maintain arts funding”, but said that a Conservative government would commit “to new and imaginative ways of supporting the arts”.

When asked by The Stage abut the role of Arts Council England, Vaizey suggested that a strong relationship between government and ACE’s new chief executive Darren Henley would be crucial to the strength of the body.

Vaizey did not, however, commit to the continuation of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, but said: “DCMS is now a much smaller department but it is not going to disappear.”

Thoughts and Plans for the Oral Presentation

The finish line is in sight! (almost...)

With deadline day looming next week, I now look ahead to the oral presentations which are due to take place towards the end of May. Fortunately they fall during the May half term which means I shall be loading up the car and driving down early Wednesday morning of the 27th. Due to current work commitments, and various touring contracts prior to my current position, I have yet to actually set foot on campus, and so am looking forward to being present for something other than Skype-based conversation! (Not that they haven't been a life saver over the duration of this BAPP programme...!) 

Naturally I am curious to discover in greater detail what it is my fellow Module 3'ers have been busy working on over the months. The ten minute question and answer session that follows the main body of the presentation could prove difficult to prepare for in that there is no way to accurately anticipate the sorts of questions I could potentially be asked. There is however, something comforting in the notion that all of us who are present during the same scheduled day/time slot will all be able to put ourselves in each others shoes. I anticipate that because we will all be aware of the learning journey that has preceded the presentation, support amongst the group will be fantastic, especially if the Web 2.0 SIG's are anything to by!

In order to present my findings on motivation within the drama classroom, my personal motivation will come from presentations/speeches that have in the past been extremely organised, succinct, relevant and interesting. I doubt I need to point out the irony in talking about body language that would suggest a lack of motivation, only to look out in front of me and find you all asleep in your chairs! My current plan is use software just as Power Point, and to include some visual, auditory and kinaesthetic sources to cater for the variety of learning styles that could be present. Not only will this (hopefully) make for a more interesting presentation, it also reflects some of the themes that have emerged from carrying out my inquiry; such as ensuring everyone can access the information through differentiation of the resources. 

I am also looking forward to meeting with fellow course members/advisor and actually putting a real life face to a blog name or email address! 

Methods of Data Collection

Throughout this inquiry process, time has been  extremely precious in balancing the responsibilities of an existing work-load with the demands of an inquiry. During the planning stages of the process I had originally considered using an observation schedule with pre-defined behavioural categories for motivation. However, the review of literature and current theories in the field highlighted just how difficult it was to find a universal definition for motivation and as such, how would existing designs know what I was behaviour I was looking for? Opting instead for a much more simplistic design (see the link - http://bit.ly/1aILoOL ) I was able to make a record of observations during the lessons I was supporting in the form of brief notes. Another impact of time meant that precise details of events were only be remembered accurately for a short period of time. One solution for this, though impractical in this context of studying children, would have been to ‘capture’ events within the classroom by using audio-recording, photography or video. 

In order to formulate my questions for the teachers I interviewed regarding motivation and/or confidence in their classrooms (see the link - http://bit.ly/1D32caQ ) I attempted to focus my on what I did not yet know, but considered to be of great importance, at which point I had already starting thinking in terms of internal/external factors after having begun to review and explore additional literature and wanted to learn more about possible reasons for lack of motivation/confidence. Although time-consuming, I thoroughly enjoyed the data collection aspect of inquiry and feel that this foray into methodology has equipped me with the skills/knowledge to continue investigating my practice again and again in the future. 

My Learning Experience

The inherently behavioural nature of this inquiry has meant I have found it challenging to portray a true representation of motivational attitudes and behaviour within the classroom. As an artist I am able to appreciate that words are not the only form of expression and if the getting up and moving around the classroom is what truly motivates my students, the irony lies with me sitting down to write a body of text in order to articulate findings. After all, my understanding during this process has developed from what I did, not from writing it down.
In looking at my current professional environment through a motivation/confidence tinted lens, it was highly likely that I would find similarities between myself and the participants. My confidence in the wish to check transcribed interviews with participants to ensure accurate representations, mirrors that of those students who ask the same question/s repeatedly in order to gain understanding. Motivationally, my intrinsic desires lay in my genuine interest and curiosity of the topic but completion of this inquiry was also driven by the extrinsic time schedule. Time has therefore been a legitimate theme throughout this investigation in attempting to maintain an achievable balance between University commitments and professional responsibility, a balancing act likely occurring inside all participants involved.
In previous modules whereby I have noticed the progressive ‘steps’ I was making in the work, the process has now become natural in that I accept new knowledge without having to stop to actually acknowledge the process. Realising my range of questions were too broad and the changing of my perceptions regarding confidence/motivation were only recognised as ‘steps’ after a conversation with my advisor (Adesola), as I had already learned from these incidents and instinctively approached them quicker than I have done at any other stage of this BAPP programme.

I am now aware that data collected during this process did not provide the ‘answers’. Instead, every part of the inquiry process from interviews to reflecting on my day at work whilst in the checkout queue, were all ‘ingredients’ that made up the ‘recipe’ of my understanding. Had there been any readily-available answers in the literature, there wouldn't have been the desire/need for me to carry out this line of inquiry. My unique position lay in that I was able to link studies of motivation and apply them to a dramatic environment and as such, ‘answers’ were formed through the  links between all of the different elements.
My journey as a distance learner over the entirety of the BAPP programme has meant a transition from constantly seeking the approval of my advisor for fear of being ‘wrong’, to being more confident in my abilities to explore my practice. The support network of fellow peers/SIG members built throughout this experience should provide different perspective should I seek it in the future. Motivation being the nebulous concept that it is, the shape that this inquiry has taken was not as clear-cut as I first anticipated it being. What I had originally perceived to be a two week schedule of research tools as the main window for my learning has instead been the process of the inquiry (and BAPP course) overall and has been all along; reflecting on my experiences whilst at Middlesex has allowed me to appreciate my significant learning curve.

Update/s on Inquiry Process...(back into the swing of things?)

Here I am....made it onto Module 3 and the last big push needed now in order to complete this BAPP course. Feeling absolutely swamped at the moment at work; holding my hands up and being completely honest, I haven't made the most of my time so far and aim to change that now!

Overall, I was very happy with the progress I have made in terms of the quality of my work between Modules 1 & 2. I would have to say, the feedback from Adesola was very useful and has provided much insight. A comment was made about having too wide a range in the data I am looking at collecting- due to me having stated too many inquiry questions. I believe this may have stemmed from my belief that I had to have a larger collection of questions in Module 2 to initially look at, in order to then narrow them down in Module 3…clearly what I now need to do! In response to Adesola's suggestion, I now aim to focus on just one main subject area whilst keeping another couple at the forefront of my mind during the inquiry: The factors affecting student’s negativity towards drama and the factors aiding motivation and/or confidence, what can teachers do in order to reduce the pressure when performing. I will be looking at the class as a whole, and recording individual moments relating to my topic i.e. confidence, motivation and how the teacher responds.

The idea of a more in-depth and analytical literature review required for Module 3 is certainly a little daunting to say the least, as it was probably the section I found most difficult in the initial inquiry plan. I know that I need to identify some text that clarifies the terms ‘motivation’ and ‘confidence’ so that I am able to apply them to other theories, and was wondering if anyone had perhaps yet met this hurdle during their inquiry process?

As far as I'm aware, there weren't many alterations I needed to make to the ethical section of my inquiry plan. Nevertheless, during a recent Skype session with students from across all Modules, it was something that Julia Gill mentioned that has really got me thinking… By stating that I had planned on the use of a Dictaphone in order to try and minimise discrepancies when it comes to the transcribing of the conversations, I had just assumed that I was making the process ‘error-proof’ and thus ensuring the reliability. However, will the participants be happy with how they are being presented (albeit anonymously) and have I correctly transcribed their viewpoints? If not, the originators are then free to edit if necessary.

The time-scale originally laid out 6 weeks for observations/interviews, but I now find myself reducing it down to 4 weeks due the school’s Easter holiday falling slap bang in the middle of this study period! Not only that, but trawling through 6 weeks’ worth of lesson observations would take an extremely long time to analyse. Plus, it’s not as if it is a completely new situation I find myself in, it’s about trying to further understand an existing one.

Phewf, plenty to be getting along with…!