Module 3 campus session 10th Nov

I just want to give everyone on module 3 an update about what was discussed in this week’s campus session. Adesola led the session and it was interesting getting a different view point of how to approach your professional inquiry.

The general feeling amongst the group was how do we layout the inquiry? As we were all a little confused about the evaluation and analysis section as they both involve similar topics. Adesola really helped us and said don’t think of the inquiry as sections but as a whole and you’ve got to link it altogether.

She said start by recognising THEMES within your research data e.g. what people have brought up in interviews/questionnaires etc. and use those themes as a catalyst for your inquiry, for example I’m looking at ‘The influence of Music and movement within early years development’ so one of my themes could be ‘Teaching style’ or ‘Environment’ and I would focus on those themes throughout my inquiry when writing up my evaluation and analysis sections and link literature throughout every section. Your literature review doesn’t have to be a section on its own but linked throughout all the sections as it shows you are relating to what you have found out to what people have said or use it to back up your findings. Think of Bridges linking all your sections together so it flows.

Remember when writing your inquiry it has to be in the past tense as your writing is about what you have done and found out, and why you did it, Adesola explained it as: “This can happen, that’s why you did it.” Try not to write narrative but write everything upfront. Adesola helped me make sense of it by relating it to a 70’s detective series where they show the murder at the beginning and then throughout the programme explained how it happened and why? There is also the cake method which is really helpful e.g;

·         What it is and what happened- I’m making cupcakes for 6 people.

·         Inquiry process- The ingredients laid out what you’re going to use.

·         Analysis and findings- Cooking it

·         Critical reflection- Tasting it, how it affects you and others.

We spoke about how to reference different sources of literature and what to include within the bibliography. Chiara told us about a really helpful website that explains how to reference any type of literature the link to the webpage is here:

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/infoservices/learning_support/refzone/harvard/

So if anyone is unsure how to reference some material please have a look.

Artefact

The last part of the campus section we spoke about is the professional artefact. You can’t really do the artefact until you’ve completed your inquiry and have the results and findings as your artefact is a representation of your inquiry and what you learnt. This can be presented in any way, shape and form there is no limit. Try and be creative the word count is just a guideline of importance not a guideline of how many words you have to include. An artefact can be for example;

·         An image

·         Installation

·         Song

·         Performance

·         Workshop

·         Video

·         Map

Above are a few examples don’t limit yourself think out the box. You can present your artefact within your aural presentation, and remember your artefact is to benefit your profession and the people within your professional practice to enjoy and understand.

Lastly I just want to say Adesola and Paula have posted some really helpful information on structuring and understanding your inquiry process please have a look at both their blog pages if you are confused or stuck. The links are below:

http://adesolaa.blogspot.co.uk/

http://paulanottingham.blogspot.co.uk/