Undermining the original aim...?

After taking quite some time avoiding my plan of starting to write things up, being not too sure where to start, I forced myself to sit at the computer, I have now been starting blankly at the screen for some more time.

I have come to the conclusion that I am not clear what to write as I cant quite make sense of my findings and feel to a certain extent that my emerging thinking is undermining part of the basis for my inquiry… and how do you recover from that?!

I’ll start from the beginning in the hope that explaining things in writing and perhaps some thoughts from fellow BAPPers may help me to make sense of it all.

My Proposal and Questions.  

“An inquiry into different teaching approaches of dance and the benefits produced for adult student with learning difficulties…”

·         Can positive changes in behaviour be seen in adults with learning disabilities when taking part in dance classes?

·         Do incidences of changed behaviour vary between the different types of dance classes? (creative improvisation, dance exercise, dance performance, syllabus)

·         Are there obvious causes within each type of class that produce benefits or behaviour changes?

·         Are teachers able to maximise benefits by their approach?

Brief Findings.

Through conducting the inquiry it would seem to me that benefits are able to be produced for adults with learning disabilities from taking part in dance classes. Things such as improved confidence, communication, team work, turn taking, expression, practicing emotional understanding and social awareness.

These are produced in differing measures in each of the types of class that I observed. The key factors being that well structured, planned, repetitive classes with plenty of breaks and clear positive aims seem to produce greater benefit. And those teachers aware of these things are able to maximise the benefit for their students.

My Dilemma.

This may all seem positive, this information is something that I am pleased to have discovered and I feel will inform my personal practice in the future. However I feel that it undermines part of my enquiry aim somewhat….

“The overall aim of the enquiry is to discover if there is a best practice approach to teaching adults with learning disabilities dance to produce the maximum amount of benefit for the maximum amount of students. And in doing so improve the ability of teachers to provide inclusive classes, with the hope that it is possible to tailor classes so they are aimed at achieving social, emotional, and educational goals that make the experience of learning to dance more valuable.”.

Part of my thinking behind the inquiry was being able to inform my practice, and perhaps that of those I work with, in being able to provide integrated and inclusive classes. This is a point of view that is very much shared by social care providers, there is currently a push in the company that I work for adults with LD to seek their hobbies and activities in the wider community, increasing integration, giving our clients more opportunity and reducing discrimination. This in theory I totally understand, and when initially planning my inquiry something I agreed with and wanted my inquiry to support.

Looking at my finding I am now concerned that this is not the best way.

The way in which I have seen classes run that provides the greatest benefits for my clients with learning disabilities would not be suitable for the wider community, I am beginning to believe that it would not be possible to create a fully integrated and inclusive class even with the greatest planning.

This thinking is something that is supported within education generally; setted classes in schools are the norm these days in order to cater to the individual needs of students. General dance and hobby classes are often provided at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Perhaps classes for people with LD should be separate in order to cater for their needs and to gain them the greatest benefits in a similar way?

This idea goes against my original aim, and I find it an uncomfortable thought to be batting around, the idea of inclusivity and inclusion are valuable and positive so it is difficult to be leaning the other way. I also feel it bringing me back to ethical concerns around discrimination within my inquiry.

So what do you do when your conclusions and analysis make you feel uncomfortable, hold the potential to be discriminatory and also go against your original aim?  

Working Backwards...

After what has been an incredibly hectic week at work with little time to think about studying I have just come back to looking at my inquiry analysis and came to a point this morning where I didn’t really know what to do! I think from having a week off of studying that I lost my flow and direction so decided to take another tack.

I have read through the blogs related to the 2^nd campus sessions, I read the side share on Paula's blog, I also found Simone's explanation on her blog really good as it included some really useful quotes from Adesola and Jo's blog was also great for prompting me to think about the process of beginning to draft and write things up. Thank you to everyone who posts about campus sessions it is so valuable when you aren’t able to get there yourself.  

So although I’m not sure I am ready to be drafting as I feel that there is more I should be doing in relation to looking at and analysing data, and seeking more from literature I have decided that I am going to start anyway as I feel like I have lost direction and that this may help.

I guess that I will be working backwards in a way. By starting the draft I will be able to see if there is any content missing, and I will have the time to go back and look for more information, literature or review data again.  I also think that perhaps by starting to put everything together rather than analysing each thing, literature, interviews and observations separately I may see more in my findings. I know from past experience that when I start to write thing up and put things together that I get to grips with things, and often I have left this to the last minute and wish I had more time to work back and fill in some gaps….

How is everyone else getting on with things, I feel like I have done a lot of different things up until this point but that really as yet I don’t have much to show for it!?

Analysing Data... Is there more beneath the surface?

I have written things up, started trying to organise things, listened and transcribed important aspects of interviews that seem to be the most important and have starting thinking about all the things I have seen, and heard and I’m beginning to analyse what I have.

I don’t know whether it is the data that I have collected or whether I am looking at things with a closed mind but I am struggling to find anything other than the glaringly obvious, I have had no great revelations, or sat there and thought… “this is amazing this is exactly what I hoped to achieve with this inquiry”!

Honestly I am feeling a little bit flat, searching literature is going better than it had but again I haven’t found anything where I have though…“wow this is fascinating”. More digging is required here, and I have a plan to expand my search criteria and think “outside the box” I am hoping that this will help me to feel more encouraged and motivated again. But I am starting to worry that maybe there isn’t enough depth to my inquiry, maybe I chose the wrong topic or I need to adjust the plan, but I am also aware that time is, as always on this course, marching on!

I ordered a book earlier in the week that Rosemary had suggested on her blog it s called “Freakonomics” and I began to have a read of it this morning, it is as she suggested, a really interesting read about how when you analyse data and trends things aren’t always as they first seem, and that further investigation, and again the all important “thinking outside the box” can lead you to discover more than you first thought, well this is what I think its about I have only read the first chapter or so. But I am hoping that perhaps this is what I need to get moving again with the inquiry, perhaps there is more beneath the surface of my data that I have yet to discover….

Anyone else having similar problems of feeling a little bit in limbo, feeling like the data isn’t enough or struggling to see the answers in the information they have got? Would love to hear from you, maybe we can share some thoughts or have some discussions that might help?  

Battling with issues of Discrimination.

When talking to Paula about my inquiry she pointed out that I should be aware of issues of discrimination in small scale studies. As I am working with people with learning disability, and this is a protected characteristic, meaning it is protected by discrimination laws, this is something that I need to be very conscious of.

Although I am not obviously going to treat the adults with learning disability in my study badly, it is important that I am aware of how my actions are interpreted within my inquiry and within my wider professional practice. Discrimination can take two forms, direct; where the cause is obvious, for example not giving someone a job based on their race or religion. Or indirect where the discrimination isn’t always intentional but puts a certain group at a disadvantage for example having steps at a main entrance and expecting wheelchair users to use a back trade entrance.  

When Paula brought this issue up with me I was instantly concerned. The last thing I want is for my inquiry to come across as discriminatory. I thought about how it might be coming across this way and decided that as I am trying to look at the benefits of dance for people with learning then it may seem that I am trying to put this whole group of people together in one category, which of course could come across as discriminatory.

This is not the case, I am obviously aware that people with learning disabilities are all individual, as is everyone, what one person likes another may not regardless of whether they share a learning disability or not. There is an unfortunate culture within social care and the provision of recreational services that assume that interest will be common within this group, and often there is limited opportunity to do much other than arts and crafts, drawing pictures or making things, while it may be true that many of the people that I personally work with enjoy this type of activity, it is also true that an equal number do not, just as in society as a whole.

I in no way wish to suggest through my inquiry that all people with learning disabilities should be taking part in dance because the benefits are A, B and C. This is simply not true, for some it will be something that they never want to do and therefore there would be no benefit to them. But I do feel that if we are going to provide any service to anyone then it should be done in the best possible way, and there should be the greatest opportunity to learn, develop and enjoy. I also know from personal experiences and hearing of the experiences of those I have interviewed as part of my inquiry that this is not always possible as teachers are not equipped to teach the wide range of abilities that may come up against in their current classroom or that there are a lack of classes provided that are adapted to be able to teach those with learning disability, is this a form of indirect discrimination, no one is saying no I wont teach you as you are disabled but they are saying I can teach you because I don’t know how.

This is something that I would like to be able to address with my inquiry, by looking at the benefits of dance for my client group I may be able to see what works best for the majority what benefits are seen, and how this is being achieved by their teachers, or what isn’t working. By doing this I don’t hope to find a one size fits all “this is how you teach adults with learning disabilities” teacher will always need to adapt to the students they have in front of them, as we are each individual and learn and develop in different ways but what I do hope to find are some tools, and tips and method that teachers can have in their armoury. A kind of best practice approach if you like, tried and tested methods that have been seen to provide benefits and maximise enjoyment for a large range of people that will allow us to be more inclusive where appropriate or offer our skills and services more widely.

If anyone has any thoughts on these issues, or perhaps still thinks that this sounds at all discriminatory or narrow minded I would love to hear them. I’m finding as in other areas of the BAPP course it is when you are challenged and start to panic that your thoughts become clearer....

Holding on to clarity. (Module 3, slide share)

I have yet to attend a campus session as I often work shifts that are over a 24 hour period and it always difficult to cover, add to this a colleague who is off on maternity leave, a colleague who is travelling for 3 months, and a colleague who is off long term sick and this becomes even more difficult.

But I have just been reading the slide share from the module three session for the second time, and decided that giving the exercises and discussions a go might be a helpful exercise, and it was, a rare moment of calm and clarity that helped me to focus my thoughts for moving forward.

So the initial task I looked at was defining a professional inquiry, I used key words to sum up my thinking on this;

·         Planning

·         Asking

·         Searching

·         Observing

·         Reviewing

·         Critically thinking

·         Analysing

·         Drawing conclusion

·         Testing in practice

Just jotting these words down and reading through Paula’s definition has allowed me to stop for a moment and think about what I am trying to do, not as a huge, important, degree defining project, but in its more simplified elements. It makes it a lot less frightening, as each aspect on there own are things that I am fairly sure I am capable of doing.

Next was reviewing the plan.

1. Topic; Different teaching methods, benefits for adults with learning disabilities

Questions; Any Positive changes in behaviour?

                  Do incidences of positive behaviour very between types of class?

                  Obvious causes of changes in behaviour. Eg. Teacher approach?

                  Can teachers maximise positive benefits/ changes?

2. Ethics; Discrimination, not treating people with learning disabilities as one whole. Respecting the individual and being careful to conduct inquiry and look at results in this way. Not assuming one solution will be correct for all LD adults as obviously each and every person is individual. How ever still looking for a best practice approach, that will benefit most people, perhaps looking at people as individuals may be an important part of this approach?

3. Literature; I have a selection of literature that I am reviewing at the moment, want to start looking outside the box slightly, looking for education and learning disability as well as dance education and learning disability to see if there is any common ground or evidence to be considered.

4. Gathering data. I have completed 9/16 observation. And 3/4 interviews, and one small unplanned bonus interview. I am now transcribing interviews and looking at analysing the observations and relating this information back to literature.

Breaking things down and looking back at my original questions, what I have achieved so far and putting the thinking in my head down in some concise words (rather than the ramblings if my journal) has again helped me to clarify. I think that because this module isn’t full of tasks that have to be completed and blogged about in the same way as module one and two it can feel like you aren’t achieving as much. I don’t know about everyone else but there is a lot going on in my head, and although there isn’t an end product as yet I have achieved quite a lot just by completing observations, reading and thinking.

So next on the slide share was “Updating your planning”

Action 1: Thinking about issues around discrimination. A conversation with Paula made me panic about this and feel the need to defend myself, and to clarify my inquiry aim to ensure that it is not misunderstood to be discriminatory. I don’t think I am being discriminatory but it is something that needs to be looked at carefully with this type of inquiry and would like to get a new aim on paper to make sure my intentions are clear and ethical.

Action 2: Thinking outside the box with my literature. To look at my inquiry from a different angle and see if there are any related sources, including looking at general education and LD, and looking at specific LDs and behaviours, such as autism and Downs syndrome and see if this has relevance to my inquiry.

Action 3: Continuing to gather my data. Analysing and relating anything of interest to literature to see if there are links and supporting evidence.

For someone who is not great at time management, this is a brilliant tool, I have now transferred these actions into my diary, so I have specific time slots to work on each thing, this should help me to get them done. And when they are I fully intend to set up another list of actions….. watch this space to see if it works!

Finally I looked at my emerging findings and what my participants had said so far. In one interview a service leader told me

“I had been looking for a dance teacher for 2 years, but they all worked

too quickly for our guys and couldn’t adapt their teaching from mainstream”

(Interviewee 3, service manager)

So the first thing emerging is the need for more teachers to be able to teach a wide range of abilities, this is something that I included in my inquiry aim. The need for teachers to be better educated to teach a wide range of abilities, what benefits are produced and how to achieve this, allowing the teacher to teach at the correct level and the student to have more options. (and potentially teachers more work!)

I have found support for my inquiry aim, and a need that requires fulfilling (hopefully by my inquiry). This is something I found from one comment in one interview. I am excited to continue, and see what else I get from my inquiry once I start analysing data. And now from going through the slide share and having a go at the tasks I have a short term plan within the big plan to help me achieve this.

If you didn’t get to attend the campus session, I would recommend this as a useful exercise.  

           

Every Cloud....

So it’s the beginning of week three of the study period, I can not believe that time is marching on so quickly again.

I have had a successful start to the term however, getting a good majority of my observations moving, and have completed most of my interviews, along with a bonus one with another professional which I wasn’t expecting, but which highlights and supports my enquiry perfectly…. Now I need to start writing up my evidence and analysing my findings, surprisingly I am looking forward to this process although I know its not going to be a quick task!

Today however I stalled, the observation that I had for today had to be cancelled as the performing art instructor leading the session was not able to attend. Although this has put me back slightly with my observations it did however give me some more things to think about and in fact I think provided support for my enquiry by not taking place.

The fact that due to the instructor being unable to attend the whole sessions was cancelled to me is a fairly poor situation to be in. Was there no one else who was qualified or able to take the class? Apparently not! This is not something that is uncommon in the world of learning disability and performing arts provision. I was speaking to another colleague yesterday who provides sports and recreation for people with learning disabilities and he told me that he had been looking for a dance instructor for 2 years before he found one. His experience is that mainstream teachers either weren’t interested in leading this type of class or that they were unable to teach at an appropriate level and he had to let them go as it wasn’t benefiting his clients. This is something that I highlighted as a need in my enquiry, the fact that mainstream teachers are not used to, informed or confident in teaching people with a range of abilities, and it shows a greater need for education and support in this area to give those adults with learning disabilities who want to take part in such activities the opportunities they require.

Additionally what I found disappointing today is that although the class was not running the student who were expecting to take part in their performance class were not informed until they reached the lesson, they were not turned away but were given another class in its place, this however was not performance based, it was arts and crafts. How would you feel if you turned up to your adult dance/ drama class and were told, “Its not running today but here is a piece of paper, draw me a picture.”?

This to me identifies that the performing arts classes when provided for adults with learning disabilities are not afforded the same respect as those provided for the rest of us, they are simply an amusement, and provided as a weak alternative to sitting around and therefore can be replaced by almost any other activity.

This client group should attend because they enjoy dancing and drama specifically, and this is what they should be provided with, they may enjoy arts and crafts, they may not, is it not a little discriminatory to assume that all people with LD enjoy arts and crafts and so they can do that instead? (that’s an argument for a different day and a different post!) In this case the students were more than happy with the change in activity and were happy to join in.

To me this just highlights the need to better educate teachers and activity providers of the benefits of performing arts classes for those with LD who enjoy this kind of activity, even if these benefits are simply participating in a hobby they enjoy, a little exercise and putting a smile on their face it is of much value as it is to us when we attend our recreational activities and should be afforded the same respect.

Critical Reflection on professional practitioner inquiry.

Module two has provided me great opportunity for professional growth, both in understanding and practical skills. I now feel more professionally confident, and secure, providing me with direction for further development.

Developing lines of professional enquiry.

When searching for my line of inquiry, I struggled with finding the right questions to ask. Many topics really interested me. (Appendix 1). My initial questions were too broad and couldn’t pinpoint a direction. This prompted me to develop further questions related to a particular career transition (Appendix 2). These questions were answered immediately from by BAPP peers and therefore I realised this topic was too narrow. After further thought, setting up SIG, (Appendix 3) conversing with my peers and advisor and a particularly relevant work experience (Appendix 4) I settled on a theme of the benefits of dance. It was only after networking, relating my ideas to my practice, reflecting and considering the impact of this new knowledge was I able to discover what I really wanted to know. Asking the questions and developing them with support from others allowed me to discover in myself what is important and how I move forward. I feel more confident and secure as a professional having gained this insight and in developing a line of inquiry that I see as valuable for my continuing professional development.

Professional Ethics.

I had considered ethics a fairly simple topic; how I choose to live, work and behave are determined by my ethical code, I would not be willing to align myself with anything that does not parallel this. (Appendix 5).

In looking at the ethical codes of practice provided by my employers I found that I agreed with the guidance, and came to realise that if I did not then it wouldn’t be my professional field. I do what I do as I consider it valuable and important, not simply for my self but for others and therefore feel that ethics directly informs my employment.

The reader explained ethical frameworks, I was able to apply some of these more easily to my employment that others (Appendix 6) and realised that ways of viewing ethics can be complicated, there are different motivations, implication and even legislation plays can play a role but the overall message for me was to work in a way that causes least harm. This is what I will be constantly in mind of professionally and during inquiry. (Appendix 7)

Professional inquiry tools.

I developed a whole new set of skills in piloting inquiry tools. It allowed me to develop my line of professional inquiry further by ascertaining through trial and reflection which methods would best suit to gain the data that I required.

It also allowed me to gain professional confidence by trailing ideas with professional colleagues and creating new dialogues around my topic of interest. (Appendix 8)

I found further support in my literature reviews, (Appendix (9), (10) & (11) showing that there are publicly accepted ideas around my topic but also showing a niche for my specific area.

It will allow me to move forward not only with confidence in my methodology but also in the validity of my ideas.

 References.

Middlesex University, (2012) (e) Reader 4 Developing Lines of Professional Inquiry, BA (Hons) Professional Practice in Arts WBS 3630.

Middlesex University, (2012) (f) Reader 5 Professional Ethics, BA (Hons) Professional Practice in Arts WBS 3630.

Middlesex University, (2012) (g) Reader 6 Tools of Professional Inquiry, BA (Hons) Professional Practice in Arts WBS 3630.

Oliver, P (2010) The Students Guide to research ethics. 2.ed Maidenhead: Open university press

Skoning, S. N. (2008). Movement in dance in the inclusive classroom. Teaching Exceptional Children Plus, [online] Wisconsin. Available from: http://journals.cec.sped.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1512&context=tecplus  [Accessed 05/12/12]

Webber, D (2012) BA (Hons) Professional Practice Blog. [online] available from

http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/

Appendix.

(1) http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/module-2-task-4a-questions.html

 

(2) http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/am-i-asking-right-questions.html
 
(3) http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=4693406&type=member&item=180063198&commentID=105682591&qid=345fe57b-e07b-4b33-9b7b-cc74c203b7fa&goback=.gmp_4693406#commentID_105682591
 
(4) http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/teaching-children-with-learning.html
  
(5) http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/5a-my-first-thoughts-on-my-own-ethics.html
 
(6) http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/5c-my-employment-related-to-ethical.html
 
(7) http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/5d-my-enquiry-and-ethical-considerations.html
 

(8) http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/6b-critical-reflection-on-research.html

(9) http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/6c-literature-review-1.html

(10) http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/normal-0-false-false-false_7.html

(11) http://danniwebber.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/6c-literature-review-3.html