From Task 6A I already spoke of what Tools I would like to use as I think they would benefit my Inquiry more than Tools.
Interviews
Interviews are one of the tools I will be using to gain more knowledge and research about my Inquiry. These will be semi-structured interviews as I will have a set of questions that will have a variety of themes that I would like to cover to understand my inquiry in my depth. However as well as asking questions I will let the interviewee know that I have the flexibility of expanding questions I ask if it brings up other questions as they may be useful emerging issues arising that I can look further into which could spark of other avenues for me to consider. This also stops any way of the interviewees to be led into an answer.
I will be Interviewing people that have a greater knowledge within the areas I will be looking at for my Inquiry. I will need to begin sorting out my dates and times to meet each person and it would be good if I could have a variety of people that are in the same job but at other places or who work with different ages.
I already will be interviewing;
- Primary School Teacher.
- SEN Teaching Assistant (Primary School).
- PE/Dance Teacher (Secondary School).
- Principle of a Dance School.
- Choreographer working in London with Professionals.
Here I know I am covering people who teach a variety of ages and that work in very different environments. This will provided with variety of answers and ideas rather than it being one sided if it was just aimed at dance teachers. Here I will then have a better understanding when questions are answered and if there are similarities that work and do not work.
I need to make sure that my questions are clear but do not give the option for a one word response as I would like to gain the most out of the interviewees and I would like them to share their past experiences when they started to become teachers/chorographers and if they have changed the way they are now to then.
Limits of my Interview Tool
- However I could only carry out interviews with adults that have more time, this is because parents that are picking the students up could be in a rush, need to get home etc. To gain an understanding of what the students enjoy and may struggle with I will need to find a more effective and less time consuming tool that gets the research I need. This is where Questionnaires would be very helpful!
Questionnaires
Further on into my inquiry I would like to present questioners to my students as I personally think it is a clever and effective way to understand how the children/young people are working and what areas are in more need of gaining more enthusiasm and understanding.
As the questionnaire will be targeted at a range of ages I need to make sure that the language is simple and the questions are kept clear and precise. After talking previously in Task 6A (http://kirstiesmith1993.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/skype-with-paula-and-task-6a-reviewing.html)
in detail about what I need to also think of when representing the questions I also need to make the way to answer is clear.
As it is aimed at children/young people there will be an option of numbers 1 - 5, number one meaning it was rubbish/didn't understand it at all and number five meaning it was absolutely fantastic/I completely understood. There will then be a small box under each question if older students wanted to elaborate more on the question but all boxes are optional.
- I know that these questionnaires will need to be given out at the end of a class so the class and feelings about what they have learnt will be fresh in their memories.
- I also will need to make sure that all children/young people are sat away from each other so they can give their own honest opinion rather than being influenced by a friend.
- I need to make sure that whatever questions are on the questionnaire are relevant to what we have done in the class, otherwise there may be confusion.
Merits of Questionnaires
- They are confidential and so I will not know who's questionnaire is who's. This may mean the children feel more comfortable in telling me what they really think about each question.
- Quick and Simple to do.
- Can be fun and is a good way to show people how much you care about what your, in this case, students think.
Limits of Questionnaires
- Questionnaires are great but they are not in depth answers of how the student actually feels. Instead you are being told by either multiple choice or numbers. This is great as it is not time consuming but we cant ask the question 'Why?'. This is when we could try new tactics and observe to see if it has changed the students mood or understanding of something.
Observations
After receiving the questionnaires I will be observing the how different the students where before filling in the questionnaire to the second class I have with them in the way I approach the main problems that occurred within the questionnaires. As a dance teacher I am observing all students progression and technique all the time, I will also look closely at their interaction and the way their enthusiasm and body language may change towards a different approach I take of a certain subject/area.
This observation will be very difficult to jot down but I know that I can remember a lot of the students own corrections and the way they react and I am sure that after the class I will be able to remember how certain students where and jot them down quickly. I could use taping/videoing off the students but that will mean more parental consent and I know I will be able to remember like I said before.
Merits of Observations
- You will be able to visually see how different approaches/language affects certain students and whether they are progressing.
- It indicates to you, as the teacher, if you need to find a different approach or whether the students are gaining a valuable lesson from certain triggers you may propose.
- You can get an instant idea of who is struggling.
Limits of Observations
- Observations can only be your own interpretation of what the student is portraying. (This could be incorrect because if the student has had a bad day already they may either look like they are uninterested or may struggle more as their mind is somewhere else. As the teacher you need to be aware before observing.)
- You are not getting feedback from the students directly as you are only assessing the situation.
The Tools I will not be using for my Inquiry
Focus Groups
Even though Focus Groups are very good when carrying out certain investigations I personally do not think that I would get the best results in this way for my own inquiry. For the investigation I am carrying out I want to use interviews, even though focus groups are similar to interviews I have people that are from different places with different job descriptions and putting them altogether at the same time wouldn't work. This means that the group may come to a stand still if certain people were to specifically talk about their own profession or theme this may make people feel out of the conversation as they have not got the same knowledge in the same areas.
When you read on to the limits of focus groups these are the main reasons why I did not choose this option this is because I want people's own opinions and to be able to see each of the individuals individually. I want to speak to each person as it is important for me to listen carefully to what each individual has to say rather than it being lost in a group setting.
Merits for Focus Groups
- Can trigger other peoples ideas and a collaboration of thoughts that come together can be stronger than one.
- Can begin debates which is great to see two sides of the point which is raised.
Limits for Focus Groups
- Some people may feel threatened by bigger and bolder personalities and then decide not to voice their opinion when it could be a valid point.
- Others may influence others thoughts and opinions.
- It will be difficult to get everyone together at the same point.
- If people do not know each other you do not want people to hold back on their thoughts.
- Some individuals questions or answers may be lost in a group setting.
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