Critical Reflection of Module 2
Introduction
After developing underpinning knowledge in module one, module two gave me an opportunity for professional growth. By expanding on what I had learnt, I was about to embark on a process of inquiry through which I will be able to “further investigate, explore, evaluate and understand your professional practice.” (Reader 4).
Principles of Professional Inquiry
Developing my own lines of inquiry I was struck by the comments of Kahn et. O’Rouke (2004) who stated in respect of the adult learner that they should “engage with relevant problems and scenarios, draw on existing knowledge, seek out new evidence, and analyse and present that evidence in appropriate ways.” My initial questions were all related and relevant to the fundamentals of teaching as well as my own experience with regards to this. (Appendix 1). I selected the questions which I felt not only most strongly about, but also the questions that I felt had the most potential to be developed I then critiqued each of the questions in my blog. Here I also noticed an improvement in the maturity of my writing in the way that I critically examined the negative as well as positive aspects of the questions. (Appendix 2). Although I made use of resources outside of the degree course, I feel that I could have benefitted more with a greater use of my SIG in this early stage of the inquiry process as I quote from my personal journal that I was “... feeling a bit unsure about where to go next with my questions” (D’Arcy, A, 2014). This is an area where using SIG would helped me establish where to go next.
Professional Ethics
My learning in this area begins with me stating the knowledge I already have. (Appendix 3). The list I had written was very basic and I had failed to consider the consequences to both others and myself if these ethical considerations were to be ignored. As I delved deeper into this topic with a focus on ethics within the workplace, it became apparent to me that the issue of ‘Safeguarding’ played a vast part when considering ethics (Appendix 4). This was one of the reasons why I wanted to lead my inquiry away from using under sixteens. As I gained a better understanding of ethical contexts (Appendix 5) I had a growing awareness of the part ethics would play in my inquiry. I am mindful of Devine and Heath (1999) “A researcher’s personal biography... can influence the choice of research topic establishing what ethics are - broad subject”. This became evident as I started to plan my inquiry as noticed that my writing was heavily biased in my first draft.
Tools of Professional Inquiry
As Bell (2002) states “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”. Throughout this part of the module, I lacked evidence through my blogs to support my development of my methodology. However, as I drafted my inquiry plan, I decided on three principal research methodologies to gather the information and then compare and contrast it in the best and most suitable way. Task 6c provided with a way a way of developing my own ideas through reading the blogs of my peers. (Appendix 6). This blog is an exemplar of how using rationale in a mature and professional way has helped me achieve an ideal conclusion.
Conclusion
Through this process of critical reflection I have established a number of areas in which I can improve my interaction with my peers and development of my own knowledge. From module one, I have further developed a way of critically examining each of the topics and gained a greater awareness of the ethical considerations. This module has built upon my knowledge gained in Module One and has assisted me greatly in the planning of an inquiry into teachers’ attitudes to dance and drama teaching in schools. The lessons learned from Modules One and Two will become invaluable to me as I proceed into Module Three.
Appendix’s
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Appendix 4
Appendix 5
Appendix 6
Bibliography
Bell, Judith (2005) Doing Your Research Project. NewYork.
Devine, Fiona and Heath, Sue (1999) Social Research Methods In Context. London.
Kahn, Peter and O’Rourke (2004) Guide to Curriculum Design: Enquiry-Based Learning, Heslington.
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