Alison Lonsdale BA (Hons) - Professional Practice, Arts & Creative Industries Blog

At the close of each module I have found it hard to stop editing and re-reading my work as I always find something that could be added or changed. I have found it easier to trust myself throughout this course, but there is always something telling me that I can do more. I have a full time 9-5 job, part time job (2 nights a week), completing this BA PP course, and training to be a Level 4 sports massage therapist. Am I crazy? What was I thinking by taking on all of these things? But, I cannot stop!!! This course has definitely made me realise how crazy my life is, and it has taught me to stop and reflect, which has opened up a new way of learning for me. I think everyone has slowed down a little this year as it has been one strange year with Covid-19. Having to stay in my house after work and at weekends has really made me appreciate what I have immediately around me.  Tonight is the night that I am submitting my Module 3 Professional Practice Inquiry, Artefact and feedback form, and al

During any learning experience we are able to take away pockets of useful information which we can apply to our own practice. I realised during my research project that I underestimated data analysis and longevity of this, as there is so much information to take onboard! Processing all of this information in detail and drawing out meaningful data is demanding to say the least. We need to immerse ourselves in the data to review and scrutinise multiple times to give the themes depth and importance as we only have enough time to focus on a few. This 12-week research project only analyses a snap shot of what is, so we have to be precise. When writing, thinking and talking I can often drift off topic, as thoughts come into my head I go off on a different tangent to which I started. This can be said for my everyday life as well, as sometimes days seem to come at me at 100 miles per hour. I read John Dewey's 'Art as experience' (2005), and reflected back to module 1 on how I comme

My background is mainly based around dance which in itself is a creative art form. Having the additional expression of ideas through an artefact gives you the opportunity to share and communicate a journey in ways that words would not. When I was in module 1 and beginning the process of creating an artefact, I didn't quite get why I was doing it and also for what purpose. It kind of felt like I was in high school art class again. But the more I developed my artefact, the more I could express and realised that this is what I have always done...expressed without words.  I believe the Artefact should relate to you; your past, present and predicted/desired future. This is your journey! An artefact doesn't have to mean anything to anyone else, but can mean the world to you. For any module 1 students struggling, my advice is trust yourself. There is no right or wrong answer, this is personal and an opportunity for you to deliver a message. Think clearly about where the meaning is com

 It was really nice to hear everyone talking about their topics of inquiry and to see how the stages of analysis have taken suit. There was a really interesting mix of responses as some people are struggling to define themes and narrow down the amount of emerging themes, and some have clear themes that have formed. I am the latter and think that the themes have naturally emerged and seemed to respond to the needs of the research. But after the Skype call, I have now turn to question why these themes stuck out for me, as this is qualitative research there is an interpretational stance on the data analysed.  The Skype sessions really help me to realise the assumptions that I hold as people share experiences and give opinions on the topics we discuss. Some of the topics that I noted throughout the Skype were: - Remembering that everyones responses come with experiential backing or with pre-formed opinions, and in order to hear what they are trying to say it is essential to listen carefull

 One thing that I have experienced as a dancer my whole life is feedback. Whether it is positive, negative or constructive, it is a daily occurrence. I wish I would have discovered the art of questioning a lot earlier in this course and also in my career. We take feedback at face value and exactly what it says, and try and change what is being critiqued, but what if we reflected and question the feedback we receive to extend the ideas we have. To question is extending, not refusing.  On the journey of this BAPP course, I have come round to ideas on the feedback I have received. I am going to be honest and say that I used to get very frustrated that my work wasn't 'marked' as such and that my work came back with feedback instead. I felt like I need more to push through the course and got upset at points, I have said 'what on earth am I doing' too many times to count and had a few melt downs. Now coming to the end of module 3, I openly receive the feedback and I can e

Knowing that a second lockdown was coming, I was preparing to have spare time to concentrate on Module 3. However, and this is a big however, this has not really been the case at all. School is crazier than ever with extended hours for cleaning and planning, dance lessons are back online for the foreseeable and when I do eventually have time, I want that time just for me. I think with a lot going on at the moment, it is important to remember to just have a bit of time to relax. I have found module 3 a little easier than previous modules to get into a writing rhythm and regular study plan. I feel this is because it is such a personal project of my making that I have found it interesting to develop. I know how to take the research forward and where to follow it, whereas in module 2 I always had a little unsettling feeling of I didn't know what I was doing. I could also question whether I feel comfortable or have become accustom with the feeling of unknown and I can look past the worr

 I don't think blogging will ever be my go to thing when I am wanting to express my thoughts. It still feels alien to me writing this. I thought about the last time (before this course) I wrote something with intentions of others seeing it, and I do it every day in the form of a text message. How can writing your views on a subject on social media or a text message feel so different to blogging. The recent work shop on 'talking about writing' with the guest speaker Peter Thomas was refreshing and also a god send to help me begin getting ideas and thoughts down on paper to start writing. In past modules I have gone through the process of writing bullet points on ideas, but I do this throughout the day, so when I come back to that bullet point my thoughts are lost or irrelevant because I can't remember the intentions. Writing continuously to get everything down on paper was difficult to do, my thoughts can sometimes be fragmented as the thought/idea isn't quite finish

 When doing any form of data collection you have to maintain a certain degree of organisation. Collecting multiple versions of an interview explores so many paths and brings forward different considerations. Maybe some subjects that you haven't thought about and sometimes subjects that you intend to focus on. I chose to conduct semi-structured interviews because I feel it will keep me focused on the subjects at hand but it will also give me opportunity to broaden my learning. I think it is important to remain focused, as I have experienced (so far) that it can be very easy to delve into extending subjects that are linked to your inquiry, but the scope is way too wide for a 12 week research project. Interest draws me towards something that I read or have heard and so I research it and end up down a rabbit hole and have lost focus on what I set out to do. This is where I have to really think about if I have listened and filtered everything properly. We had a module 3 Skype that opene

 I am one week into my data collection process and off to a flying start. It has been a lot easier to schedule people in than I first though. I didn't know how easy it as going to be arranging a date and time for interviews and more so for focus groups as I struggle to do things like; book a doctors appointment or a hair appointment. There always seems to be something that crops up and things are constantly being rescheduled around work and my busy life style. My thoughts are that Covid has had a huge impact on how people spend their time and also go about everyday life. Weekends don't seem to pan out the same, people are spending more time at home. Weekdays are mainly filed with work and planning. For me, this has been beneficial as people are more likely to be able to attend a Skype session.  So far I have managed to hold 4 interviews and one focus group and I intend to hold at least one more focus group. My plan over the next few weeks is going to progress onto analysis, wri