Inquiry Plan Proposal- BA (HONS) Professional Practice in Community Dance Teaching

My line of inquiry will probe in to the teaching of dance. I go into this, wanting to discover which teaching styles and methods, dance teachers, especially practitioners of dance within communities who aim to engage anybody in dance, have found to be most effective and how different methods have worked for them. 

These teachers are often individuals or part of organisations that support people of all ages, who want to participate in dance. Community dance is creative and accessible to all, it is usually the foundation of those wanting to involve themselves in dance for recreation or professionally.  

 I have chosen this line of inquiry because I want to broaden my own knowledge on a subject that I feel is very relevant to me. As a dance practitioner within the community, my credibility has often been questioned and I am often asked about my teaching styles and even why I feel that the way I teach is the most effective way. I can’t always answer these questions and using the knowledge I acquire from this inquiry, I hope I will be able to in the future. I also hope, that in doing this inquiry, I will develop myself as a dance teacher outside of an educational setting. 

I want to focus my inquiry on teaching styles that work most effectively outside of an educational setting. Most teachers within the community do not follow the guidelines of the national curriculum for dance. I want to find out how they gather their content for teaching and how do teachers of community dance groups, organisations and dance companies achieve results. Most importantly, how do they aid the progression of their students?

In dance, in the community or in education, young people still gain access to core artistic discipline. They develop skills in physical interaction, team work, problem solving, observing, evaluating, verbal and non-verbal communication of ideas and emotions, making connections, design in space, musicality and creativity. 

In my inquiry I will observe Beverly Glean, Rosie Lehan. I have also contacted Vicky Igbokwe of Uchenna Dance Company although I am still waiting upon a definite confirmation. If I am not able to use Vicky as part of my inquiry, this will leave a slot to include another community practitioner. All teachers have inspired me and played a big part in helping me to attain my place now as a community dance practitioner through their teaching methods and vast knowledge of the history of their dance form. I have been taught by Glean, Lehan and Vicky Igbokwe. All have different styles and methods but yet all have developed me as a practitioner, all have made me more passionate about dance. I don’t believe that any of these practitioners believe that their method of teaching is best, but I do believe they feel their methods work best for them. One factor links them all, they teach within the community dance setting. They are teachers who haven’t studied the curriculum and who don’t follow the national guidelines but who use their knowledge and experience to create dance and teach their students the core disciplines of dance. 

I will be carrying out an intensive inquiry into the three individual teachers. I will research their history, I want to discover how they were taught and if it influenced their teaching practices. I want to find out why they have chosen to teach with a community setting and not within schools. I will research the literature that they feel has helped them as practitioners and choreographers they are passionate about who may have also influenced their work. I will also conduct a focus group with 4 students who are currently being taught by these practitioners, to discover how they benefit from each teaching style and if they have adjusted more with one method than another.  According to Patton, ‘the value of a case study is unquestionable because it enhances the understanding of a phenomenon by providing a depth of knowledge, not obtainable through other means.’ (Patton, 1990) 

WHAT ARE THE INQUIRY QUESTIONS/OBJECTIVES? 

Questions I will be asking will be tailored so to ensure the most detailed knowledge and information can be received. I want to discover, not so much what the teacher knows, but how the teacher uses the knowledge in class instruction. 

·                     What do you know about the dance form you teach? 

·                     What are the sources of your knowledge? 

·                     How do you manifest what you know to teach an effective class? 

·                     What are the defining principles of your teaching content? 

·                     On what bases do you select the content of what you teach? 

·                     What Practitioners inspired you and why? 

LITERATURE & PUBLIC AVAILABLE IDEAS-WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT YOUR TOPIC OF INQUIRY? 

I plan to look at literature, reviews on their work and past recorded interviews on sites such as You Tube and Linkedin to discover what is already known about the three practitioners I am studying. Some of the literature I will look at is; ‘Black Dance’ by Edward Thorpe, Adad’s ‘Voicing Black Dance’, ‘Women in Dance’ by Christy Adair. I will also be researching literature by Diane Amans; her literature is based on the practices of Community dance. This will include ‘Passport to Practice’ and ‘An introduction to Community Dance.’ What I cannot find through literature, I will have to research through inquiry tools such as the internet and media. I think You Tube will be a great source of information as it documents findings of others whether this is an interview or choreography by the practitioners themselves. 

INQUIRY TOOLS THAT YOU WILL USE AND WHY (BASED ON YOUR REVIEW OF PILOTS CONDUCTED WITH THE SIG’S) 

Based on my past experience of using inquiry tools, I was able to reflect upon which one worked most effectively in gathering information needed to further my inquiry. For this inquiry, I know it is least likely I will be using statistics. I don’t want to be restrictive and upon reflection of the pilot survey I undertook when trying to discover how many dancers found exams beneficial to their personal careers, I know that a survey will not provide me with the valuable in depth answers I am looking for. The inquiry tool I found most successful was the interview. Using the questions I have collated, I can direct the interview to areas that are of most relevance to the inquiry, it also gives me freedom to broaden my knowledge, adding questions when possible. With this inquiry I thought I would take the interview technique to another level, not only posing questions to receive answers, but to video the interviewee. This will allow me, to not only to read back through the answers given but to reflect on the reaction of the practitioner. Although I have not done a pilot video interview I do not think this puts me at a disadvantage, I am confident that videoing the interview will enable me to capture the true feelings of the interviewee, the honesty and passion behind their words. 

I will also be using observation as an illuminative inquiry tool. I feel it will be particularly useful to watch, first hand, how these practitioners teach their classes.

APPROACH TO ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION YOU WILL COLLECT IN THE INQUIRY 

I understand that there is no expectation for me to learn something knew at this stage of my inquiry. I will carefully study the video footage of interviews and answers given and when observing the classes I will be studying all aspects of how it is taught. I can then compare my observations to information I have collected from the interviews and from literature I have researched. By doing this, I can analyse how the practitioners put their knowledge into practice and whether it reflects upon the sources they have offered to me as the reason behind their teaching practices.  

When analyzing the focus group with the four students, I will be looking back through my findings to discover if more than two of the students found one teaching style or one practitioner most influential and why this was. Understanding why is most important because this knowledge will lay a foundation for the final findings of the inquiry. Analyzing why and how a practitioner of community dance is most beneficial to their students will be crucial if I am able to take some of this knowledge and use it in my own teaching practices.  

ETHICAL PRACTICE IN YOUR INQUIRY 

When carrying out this inquiry, there are ethical practices that need to be considered. As a researcher, I have a responsibility to safeguard those involved and those who will be affected by my work. When analyzing the information drawn from my interviews and observations, my findings will need to be reported accurately and truthfully. The research I undertake will be for the purpose of my Inquiry and I will need to ensure that participants in my research are happy with the way I carry out my investigations. They will be encouraged to look back through all my findings. The research techniques I used will be appropriate for the purpose of my investigations. I will use Interviews, observations, literature and focus groups. I need to understand my involvement in the study and realize that my research methods should be diverse allowing me to react humbly and courteously if I may not agree with something. Following the guidelines of BERA, ethical principle’s I will be taking into account are; 

*To ensure I have the consent of all research participants, informing them of the purpose of my inquiry, getting their consent and adhering to the confidentiality requirements. 

*To make sure all information collected is valid and accurate. 

*To provide feedback of all information gathered to the research participants and let them know of any intention to publish. 

‘Data which is held in a digital form requires proper managing of it and special handling to ensure the data is not manipulated or shared with the wrong people.’(Reader 5: Professional ethics) 

RESOURCES NEEDED 

In order to carry out this inquiry I will be using Beverly Glean, Rosie Lehan of Irie! Dance Theatre and Vicky Igbokwe of Uchenna Dance company to conduct interviews and observations. I will use four students, over the age of 16 and currently being taught by these three practitioners, to hold a focus group. All interviews and observations will take place in the Moonshot centre, Angus Street, Fordham park, New cross and the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in Tottenham. Both venues are a hub for Arts learning and development within the community.

I will require the permission of all three practitioners and I will also need their consent to hold a focus group with participants of their classes.

I will need access to internet and web tools in order to gather background research, I will also need computer access to keep an up to date blog of my findings and to write up the final analysis.

I will be using a media device to record the interviews, the consent forms will be given to the practitioner in week one of the inquiry

SCHEDULE 

1) Background research discovering what is already known about my topic of Inquiry to build a basis for interview. This will take place at the beginning of my Inquiry. I will take two weeks to gather my background information, during this time, I will contact the three practitioners to discuss the details of my inquiry, arrange dates and times of initial observations and interviews. 

2) Observation- Observe classes of each of the Practitioners before interview to interpret their teaching style for myself and to build questions for interview. The initial observation will take place in the third week. I will discuss with the practitioners in week one and two, weather this is possible and that they are teaching classes during this period that I can observe. The latest initial observation, depending on class times will be in the fourth week. During the third week of the inquiry in which the initial observation is taking place, I will ask four students partaking within the classes to take part in a focus group. 

3) Interview-apply questions developed by background research and observations and get their own reasons as to why or how they came to teach how they do. Interviews with all three practitioners will be carried out in the fifth week, after initial observations, this allows enough time for me to gather further information and interview questions based on initial observations and also allows time if classes could not be observed in the third week. 

4) Observation II- Observe for a second time to connect the information gathered at interview to the class. Make links to what has been said to how it is applied. Observation two will also be carried out in week five. I wanted the interview and observation two to be close together as I will be comparing my second observations to the answers collated from interview. 

5) Focus Group- to ask students over the age of 16, who have been taught by all three practitioners, their opinions, perceptions and attitudes toward each teaching style and method. What they have gained and which they feel they have adapted to best. The focus group will be the last research tool I use before beginning my analysis. This will be carried out in the 6^th week.

6) Analysis & write up- Analyse all the information collected and write up my case study. My Analysis will begin within a day after completing my research process. This will be in week 6 after the focus group. I want to take approximately two weeks to compare, analyse and write up my case study.

CONCLUSION 

In conclusion, I plan to carry out a case study, an intensive research process into the three individual practitioners Beverly Glean, Rosie Lehan and Vicky Igbokwe. The purpose of my inquiry is to discover how effective different teaching methods are, in dance that aims to engage people of all ages and abilities.  I will then go on to use my findings in my own teaching practice. This will develop me as a teacher and benefit those whom I teach.

I will carry out extensive background research before I begin to prepare my interview questions. I will use literature and web tools research knowledge already known about the three practitioners. After observing a class taught by each of them so as to build upon my research and discover questions in regards to their teaching practices, I will conduct interviews to discover how they came to use the teaching methods they do and why they believe their teaching style is best for them and their students. The focus group conducted with four students taught by the practitioners, will be to discover which teaching method they feel has had the most influence on them as dancers, from here I will be able to ascertain which teacher may be most influential to me.

Critical Reflection

Developing lines of Profession Inquiry.

Reflecting upon where I stood in my journey at the beginning of Module 2, I had started to develop some understanding as to what I wanted my line of inquiry to be but I hadn't fully grasped what it would take to arrive at this point. This has been such a long journey for me and I had been in this place before,  a positive point I could take away from having reached this place almost a year earlier, was that I already had a basis and a sketchy idea of where I wanted to go with my line of professional inquiry. (Appendix 1)

 A negative I can now reflect upon and learn from, was the inability to develop my idea through blogging and use of SIGs and allow others to form opinions and give me feedback, this which could of been of crucial assistance to the development of my line of inquiry.

When starting out on the Bapp, I was confused and not sure where I wanted to take it. I wasn't thinking of myself, my own practices and how the course would develop me as a practitioner. I originally chose a line of inquiry that was to vast, not directly associated or relevant to myself. My proposed award title was BA (Hons) Professional Practice Community dance development.(Appendix 2)

 Reflecting back, I don’t believe my initial thoughts were wrong as overtime I have grown and my original thoughts have not been terminated only developed. I was focused on wanting to build an inquiry around creating a new syllabus for street dance within a community dance setting, that I completely overlooked the basics. (Appendix 3)

 How could I think of developing something such as this, when I didn't have a full understanding of what community dance actually was, I hadn't observed or researched the background or its teaching practices and more importantly I hadn't analyzed my own teaching practices or thought about who would benefit from my inquiry. My new proposed award Title is BA (Hons) Professional Practice in Community Dance Teaching. (Appendix 4)

Professional Ethics

I found Professional Ethics a hard subject to tackle, mainly because I didn't have a great understanding of what ethics actually are and how I would be responsible for following a code of ethics. Upon reflection, as a freelance dance teacher, I had always worked to a code of ethics as it provides the guidelines to good professional practice. I can now use ethics within my inquiry, to provide me with a guideline of how it should be carried out and what should be considered. An example of Ethics considered will be how to ensure the research method is appropriate and ensuring my findings are presented accurately and truthfully. (Appendix 5)

Tools of Professional Inquiry

I discovered that interviewing would be the most effective inquiry tool, allowing me to take control of the information gathered from the practitioner. Although I reflected greatly on a survey as a great inquiry tool, I do not think it will be appropriate for this line of inquiry, (Appendix 6). The questions are like a guide but the practitioners answers often lead onto questions that may not have been thought of previously giving a broader scope of knowledge that can be taken and analysed.(Appendix 7)