End of 2022

Well just completed amendments to my MORE application - hopefully that will be it...... Off to have a drink and some nibbles and a bit of reflection before the New Year kicks in with Module 3. Happy New Year to all you curious minds!

Module 3 Final Presentations 12/13 December 2022

Well what a great couple of days it has been watching the final performances by module 3 MAPP students. With an insight into an eclectic mix of dance technique pedagogy, dance (specialism) and somatic study presentations, the event gave me a sense of what was expected along with the individual take on the artefact which accompanies the presentation. I came away with the idea of "ah that's what you mean" but because they are so personal and indeed different, it's difficult to grasp where to start and what to include. However, I'm looking forward to bouncing ideas and thoughts with my supervisor in the coming months. Module 3 does look intense but I'm really looking forward to it. Having just completed module 2, (with a few days to spare before the submission deadline) I took the oportunity to look ahead and review the module 3 sessions prior to the end of term. I didn't look at module 2 or 3 when I was studying for module 1 as I felt I just needed to focus on my AOLs and essay. Having completed module 2, (and I think I've written about my thoughts in an earlier blog), it was gruelling. But on reflection, I think it was because it took me to places that felt uncomfortable and challenging - but then who likes doing those kind of things in every day life! Having been immersed in such a wealth of diverse knowledge, the last couple of days has once again tapped into my psyche and started to regurgitate questions, questions and yes you've guessed it - more questions. Maybe that's the whole point of the masters - you end up with more questions than answers...

What is it that you really want to know...

And that really was the question that I asked myself as I began my journey into Module 2. As well as thinking about the inquiry, I wanted to know how the reseach would benefit my practice now and more importantly in the future. I must admit, it's a great feeling when you come up with an idea for a research question, even more so when you find a gap in scholarship. Then the turmoil begins as you start to mould and reshape the words into structured sentences and ultimately into a concise question. In October 2022, I was at the British and International Federation of Festivals for Music, Dance and Speech which is fundamentally a conference for adjudicators. There was much discussion about the criteria for marking and its proposal for future change. At an open forum, I posed the question 'what is more important the mark or the feedback'. The question was received with silence. It was clear that it was a question that provoked thought but there was no answer. It was at that point I realised I had my question. After much thought, research and further contemplation I came up with my final title: What is more important in a competitive dance festival environment, the mark or the feedback? Examining the impact of the adjudicator's report on former dance festival performers in the UK. In essence what I wanted to do is shift the focus from the thoughts and judgment of adjudicators to competitors and to gage their thoughts about the impact of the mark and feedback on them. Due to age constraints and ethical considerations, the research would be conducted on former competitive performers over 18 years. I will update my blog next term, once the interviews have taken place. Watch this space...

Sorry...I've been a bit busy!

Well it's been a while since I've blogged but to be honest, I've had my head in my books and have been a regular on google scholar! Researching is time consuming but I must admit I've enjoyed reading articles, theses, journals etc., some of which have ended up in my essay and inquiry proposal as part of my literature review for module 2. Thinking about my research question I felt it would be quite straightford. If anything, it proved to be one of the most difficult things I've had to do. The ideas just seemed to overflow and at some point it became overwhelming - to the point that I didn't know whether I was coming or going - one question seemed to diverge into another question and I must admit I lost my way on many occasions. I do remember hearing from my tutors that 'research is messy' and it's not meant to be straightforward. It reminded me of Scrooge, from the film 'A Christmas Carol' where after spending the night with the spirits he finds himself having a fight with himself and the sheets! Not sure how anyone else found navigating the MORE application form but I found this challenging. Not just the form filling but it prompted me to think about my research question further. Like playing a game of snakes and ladders, you think you're nearly there then up pops a question that takes you back to the beginning. I'm looking forward to receiving the feedback and starting my research project next term.

Theory and Framework

The evening forum opened up with a discussion surrounding the thoughts and feelings relating to Theory and Framework, the glue that underpins writing a research proposal. Angela posed some questions to stimulate conversation and it was interesting to hear individual interpretations. As the conversation steered towards modules 2 and 3, I have to say that I was a bit baffled by some of the titles and concepts. To some degree I felt out of my depth hence the lack of vocal participation in the initial stages. However, below are some words along with ideas and questions that I picked up upon during the conversation and they are as follows: different ways of looking at things, layering, embodied practice, what will you be looking at, what is going to give you support when looking at an idea, acknowledging a framework beyond the field of dance, ethics, no constraints in your framework, one text can have a different application, what holds everything together. Although these were snippets from various conversations, upon reflection, I saw this as a pot of words and ideas just to help me start thinking about the thought process. At this point the concept of thinking about thinking comes to mind - does anyone else agree? Through another conversation it was compelling to discuss the impact the interviews had on the individual researcher especially where the information received was sensitve. As a result, a discussion evolved around the impact of feelings and emotions. I immediately thought about the transference and countertransference, a therapuetic setting used within the psychodynamic framework. This made me reflect upon my intentions and potential area of research for module 2 so it was helpful to hear other shared experiences. Like any discussion, it left me thinking more about the meaning of the word Theory, and the meaning of the word Framework and their significance. I then looked up the words independently and this led me to another hour or so of reading as the thread of an idea tends to hold many strands and leads you into the labrynth of further enquiry. I liked the explanation shown on vocabulary.com (https://www.vocabulary.com) that explains theory as a set of beliefs or principles that might not be proven yet. The word itself comes from the Greek theoria which means contemplation or speculation. Wikipedia offers another description of the word theory: looking at, viewing, beholding. The word Framework is described by the Cambridge Dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org) as a supporting structure around which something can be built or a system of rules, ideas or beliefs that is used to plan or decide something. By chance I came across a website called https://eric.ed.gov that outlined a paper by Kevin. C Costley, titled - Why do we have theories? (online submission, 2006, June-eric). I felt his answer cemented my understanding: Theories are vital: they guide and give meaning to what we see. When a researcher investigates and collects information through observation, the investigator needs a clear idea of what information is important to collect. Thus, valid theories are validated by research and are a sound basis for practical action. Now I have a better understanding, I'm off to complete my module 1 essays!!

Insight into academic writing

I was interested in both the dicussions by Peter, Ruth and Sam and their ideas about ways of accessing academic writing. When I first read a piece of text, I'm somewhat baffled as the words don't always resonate with me and I start to question my understanding. So I felt a sense of relief when Peter said it was ok to feel like that. I also liked the way he linked his thinking of art alongside his writing in particular the actual process. I listened carefully to ideas about how to read academic text. Suggestions included read the text in layers, don't try to understand it, don't read it word for word, just scan. I liked the analogy of the butterfly, allow yourself to flit from one place to another, just allow your eyes to rest in certain places, absorb then move on. That made me feel a lot better! Through discussion, we were given an insight into ways of accessing and viewing academic text. For example, with reference to a paragraph, I learnt that the first line begins with the point, then it goes on to the explanation, the evidence and then the comment. Another area of questioning was when you see a word, what does it mean?- question what you see. Think of it as spending time reading what it means rather than understand it? I then thought isn't that the same thing - understanding and meaning? Apparently not as google says : meaning is the symbolic value of something while understanding is mental, sometimes emotional process of comprehension, assimilation of knowledge, which is subjective by its nature. Another interesting point was not to go straight into detailed reading i.e. reading word after word - don't get sucked into the glue of the text whereby you feel you can't move forwards because you don't understand. This was helpful because this is how I sometimes feel and as a result I switch off. Discussion progressed as Ruth and Sam talked about what makes a text academic and it was suggested that the SQ3R technique may help develop this thinking process. I will endeavour to reflect on the diagram as I hope this will help me get a sense of structure. With this in mind, I'm off now to have a rummage through some text!

Free writing - a therapeutic tool?

Really enjoyed today's discussion with Ruth about free-writing. I've never done this as an exercise before, but to be honest I found it fun. Focussing on just writing about whatever comes into your mind for about 8 minutes seemed a daunting prospect, but when I looked back at what I had written; I was surprised to see how much reflective information appeared in the written form. Without realising it, I had asked myself lots of questions and I had attempted to identify some of my feelings and thoughts. The aim of the exercise brought to mind what happens in a psychodynamic counselling sesssion. The counsellor sits and says nothing, no interaction, just silence. The aim is to make the unconscious conscious and it is hoped that by simply talking brings unconscious thoughts and feelings to the surface. So, I feel that free writing could be seen as writing therapy, a tool to help unlock and allow the flow of thought. With that in mind, I'm going to challenge myself to do a free writing task each day in the hope that it will free my mind!