Emily Richards BAPP Blog

Nearly two weeks since we submitted our critical reviews and artefact is now time for the final part of our BAPP journey- the oral presentation. I am a mixture of nervous and excited about this. Nervous to talk infant of everyone (I am sure I will have to keep telling myself to slow down) and nervous because I am worried that my presentation won't be right or won't be enough? I thought my inquiry journey would be over after submitting my final assignment, but I still keep discovering more and having new and different feelings about things as I piece my presentation together. It is going to be tiring day for me - getting a 6am train from North Wales to Euston and then making my way to the university to listen to everyones presentations and to make my own and then a train back home at 5! See you all then!

And there it goes! 18 (nearly) months of work over with just one click! (of course there is the presentations, but I am actually looking forward to meeting everyone and hearing everyones experiences, so it doesn't feel like it counts as work) I actually submitted mine last night and I know most others have already submitted theirs too, but with just 15 minutes left until deadline day there is no going back now! I am having a lot of fear right now. Is it enough? Have I missed anything? Could I have done more? Should I have proof read one more time? Is it the right format? Did I label everything correctly? I felt like I got to a point where I was making unnecessary changes, so I thought that was a good place to stop and submit. Thanks to all my other module threes! I feel like we've really been there for each other over the past couple of weeks and in just two and a half weeks time all the stress, worry and hard work will be over and hopefully we'll all com

With the deadline just four days away I am starting to pull everything together, make some tweaks, proof read and put together an outline for my oral presentation. I have finished my artefact video and I feel pretty good with it. I didn't find this particularly straight forward and struggled to understand the concept of this, but hopefully I have managed to piece together something coherent, clear and reflective of my inquiry process. I will post a link on my blog after results! I hope everyone else is getting on well and is ready for deadline day!

I initially thought the professional inquiry a difficult process to grasp, however after getting my head around that I thought the artefact would come quite naturally and would be easier to establish. However this was not the case! And I think I am right in thinking that a few of us in module three felt the same after discussing it within my SIG and in group Skype chats. I think being told that we shouldn't think about it until we have finished the inquiry and the critical review left most of us with the idea that the artefact is about the findings, however the artefact is actually about the process; just like the critical review itself. I had originally been thinking about doing the artefact as a leaflet/booklet, which I thought would be a good way to show my findings, but after understanding that it is in fact the process I decided to reevaluate my approach. I thought a video artefact would best appeal to my professional community, so I did a mind map of my ideas together a

Adesola Jessica Eleanor Henry Alexandra I couldn't quite hear Adesola at the start of the call, but I assumed we were talking about the Artefact, however this wasn't the case and we were (I think) talking about the critical review. Eleanor gave an overview as this was something they spoke about during a campus session. It is an... An account of your journey of your inquiry What is it we've done as if someone has no idea what we have been doing. Clear and accessible What we have gained and keep it in line with ethics and critical thinking. Analyse and crucially reflect on journey and experience. What it indicated to you and how it is relevant to my practice Artefact  A way you tell ideas through something different than an academic essay. Familiar to your practice, something people in your practice are used to engaging with. It isn't the result of your inquiry, it doesn't just tell the result, it tells the journey. Condensed summary of m

This was a great opportunity to talk through my ideas, that until now I had only been thinking in my own head, or writing down in my blog, journal or in my online SIGs. By speaking through these with Helen, I feel like this helped me gain clarity about what I am doing and the reasons behind it. Helen answered a few my questions and cleared up any uncertainties I had been having. As I have been writing the Critical Review in parts for a while now, despite not having collected all my data I tended to keep switching between past, present and future tense. I need to go back once i have completely finished to ensure it is all wrote at that time, so I am looking back on my processes and what I have found. At the moment my data isn't drawing any conclusions, it is simply showing me that everyone is their own person, everyone is individual, and what works for one person may not work for the other. I need to think about how this has shifted my thinking from when I started the inquiry.

I have jus returned from a week away in Mexico, which meant I took a break from BAPP work. Before the holiday I was worried about being a way right in the middle of my inquiry and had a sense of guilt and a little anxiety about it. Th first book I read whilst relaxing on the beach was 'Happy' by Fearne Cotton - a sort of autobiography/self-help book. This book helped to ease the feelings of panic and guilt and made me realise the importance of taking step back sometimes, especially seeing as I felt as though I came to a bit of a standstill before I left.  The time away from my inquiry left me with lots of time to reflect and to see things clearer and to realise what the important things are. Now I have returned home I feel recharged and ready to tackle the inquiry with a new lease of life.

After deciding I had collected a sufficient amount of surveys after discussing this within my SIG and with Helen. I was thinking of the best way to identify themes within my data. I spoke to BAPP alumni, Chrissie Homer who suggested making a mind map of all the key word which come up as a starting point.

  (Uk.sagepub.com, 2016) "Bryan left my office after venting his frustration over his interview skills, and I didn’t hear from him for a while. I decided no news was good news, meaning he must have been working hard, collecting data in the field. I knew he would visit me sooner or later, and I was right. So, on a Monday morning during my office hours, Bryan showed up with a stack of paper along with a thick notebook. His first words came out before even saying hi to me. Bryan: I am overwhelmed, Dr. Kim. Look at these pages of transcripts and I still have more interviews to transcribe. By the way, how are you? Me: Fine, thank you for asking. And you? Bryan: I would feel better if I were done with this stuff. Me: What stuff? This research stuff. It is so time consuming to get an interview tape transcribed. I have transcribed three so far and I have five more to go. It is

One element of my Inquiry involves surveys as a method of data collection. Below is the link to my survey, please feel free to fill it out! https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DKM9VTZ I have personally sent this survey to a number of friends. I have some friends who are currently part of big casts in touring shows (Hairspray, Miss Saigon) so I have asked if they could ask their colleagues to fill this out. I have posted this in numerous groups on Facebook. I have shared this on my own page on Facebook. I have shared this within my SIG. I am hoping to recieve as many surveys back as possible, which I know is easier said than done. I initially trialled a few questions within my SIG during module two and before finalising the survey, I put the questions to a friend of mine to make sure they made sense. She suggested a few changes, I completed the survey and away we go! I am quite excited that this first data collection process is under way and I and intrigued and interested

So! After a week of foot pain, today I discovered I have a break in my sesamoid bone in my foot. It's not really easy to tell from this photo of my X-ray (its the very feint line across the white round lump on the right of the big toe joint).  I have absolutely no idea how i've done it, which I think was why it stumped everyone I saw and took so long to find the cause of my pain! So not ideal in all aspects of life - Dance teaching won't be easy, I can't drive anywhere, can't work out in the gym and I am going on holiday in two weeks! So how does this affect my inquiry? I had been planning on conducting all my interviews face to face, however without being able to drive I will not be able to do some of these. SO I am now considering other ways of doing these. A paper interview - send an interview out and ask my participants to fill these out with descriptive answers. Skype calls - I would still get a sort-of face to face, however this release o

I have been finding the literature reviews very informative and interesting. Although the actual review part I am finding really hard to get my head around. We are not actually reviewing in the sense of what a theatre/movie review would be. We are not critiquing or giving a star rating. I am finding it difficult to write my reviews without actually giving on opinion on what I am reading. I just wanted to share a few quotes from literature I have found so far. “A dance studio can also contribute to the community by providing strong, positive role models for children to emulate and follow.” “We don’t teach kids to make great dancers, we teach dance to make great kids.”    ‘You have to take dance seriously for others to value it. To call class activities “having fun” creates the perception that dance is neither serious nor educational” - I agree with the first part of this quote, however I do believe dance class should be fun.