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

As we have now handed in our final work, you would think that the hard work has passed..however, there is the oral presentation to prepare for. I think it will be a little different this year as we are doing them over Zoom instead of on campus. It is within everyones best interests that we do them in this way, but I do wish I could meet the people that I have shared this journey with. I think it would be nice to continue a journey together and update fellow students on the map which our new BA PP qualifications and lessons have taken us and I will be checking in on Blogger and the Facebook page to see how everyone is doing. It is still uncertain if we will have a graduation and a change to wear a cap and gown, but I am sure we will be able to make it happen in the future.  The oral presentation is a chance to share our journey, findings and artefacts with our community and a chance for questions as well. I don't think the presentation part is the scariest for me, it is the question...

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, an...

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...

 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, wr...

How time flies! I am not too sure if I could say 'how time flies when you're having fun' because I don't know if you can describe the last couple of months as fun, however it is so nice to have a focus, and a positive drive. Welcome to the people starting module 1, and welcome back to those moving onto Module 2. Module 2, for me, was a challenge because there were so many different elements and I always felt like I had something else to add in or consider. The list never ended, it was like I was always adding on another job at the end of the day, and don't even mention the word count. Editing the work that you have worked so hard on is extremely time consuming, as you are trying to maintain integrity but the overflowing word count is still screaming out at you. I have read through the module 3 handbook a few times before starting this final leg, as I felt it was paramount to start my research with knowledge and most importantly confidence within my self. Once comple...

Submitting all of the documents that I have worked hard on over the months was scary but a relief. I am always doubting myself and aim to constantly evolve upon my work, but towards the end I had to stop editing and trust that it was at a standard I was happy with. Hitting the submit button and seeing all of the documents on Turnitin was extremely satisfying and I did a celebratory dance around my kitchen.  I don't want to jump the gun, but I always said that I would give myself a couple of weeks to get my head together and get myself straight at work, and then I would pick up the module 3 handbook. I don't want to jinx it and throw myself into module 3 as we haven't yet had the results for module 2, but I also want to make sure that I can assure my self that I used my time wisely and did enough, no matter what my results are.  I will give myself a month and then begin further reading and also read over the module 3 handbook to get to grips with everything I need to prepare...

So during this absolutely crazy time, I was re-deployed into an adult care home. Here, I was in a 14 day isolation period, making sure that the most vulnerable came into contact with as few people as possible. The second rota of staff are working the isolation period right now and I am back to my 'normal' day work in school. We are keeping the 14 days isolation, 14 days day work routine until we feel appropriate and safe for everyone concerned. The isolation has been a very challenging time, more so than I thought it would be. Going in I thought I was going to be absolutely fine. I had no idea what was going to be fine, but I just didn't think a lot of it.  The first couple of days were absolutely fine, we had a good routine and everyone seemed to be on the same thought path, the good thing was the team spirit carried on throughout. Around the 4th day I started to miss home, it was less than a mile away from the home but I wasn't allowed to leave. I started to miss waki...

For those who are new to my blog, I am a dance and yoga teacher in a school for special educational needs and disability (SEND), and I also work in a private dance school a few nights a week teaching ISTD syllabus in tap, modern and ballet. Unfortunately due to the current situation around Covid-19 the dance school has closed for the foreseeable, which is extremely sad but others are in this very same situation. I miss my students so much, they were meant to be doing their annual show this week!! We are keeping spirits high by constantly posting on the schools instagram page and streaming live or pre-recorded classes. I am still working during the day as the school as this place of work falls into the 'vulnerable' section and we are required to keep providing services for the students who need additional care. Due to the vulnerability of some students we have been forced to go into a lockdown in some of the homes connected to the school and college. I have been working and livi...

Interview techniques and conducting interviews is something that I have never had to think about, and until now, I have only experienced them in the form of a job interview.  Job interviews to me have never been a joyful experience and I often don't remember them at all upon walking out of the room. It all turns into a blur and a fraction of self doubt. "Why did I say that?", "did I answer their questions fully?", "could I have done better?". Conducting an interview feels very surreal sitting on the other side of the table in the manner of having to prompt questions and lead the session.  For my inquiry I have chosen to carry out my interviews and focus groups in semi-structured format. These types of interviews are exactly what the title says, they are not rigid and dictated completely in the form of closed questions in search for a yes/no answer. The interviewer maintains structure by taking into the interview pre-set open ended questions to keep the...

Throughout my journey so far on the BA PP course I have had many lightbulb moments, and also moments of complete hysteria where I don't have a clue what I am doing. Through our community on blogger and also the Facebook group (which has been a god send) I have managed to stumble through module 1 and into module 2, but feel like I have constantly not been able to catch myself fully upright on my feet.  I tuned into a Skype session with a module 3 focus last week. I logged into Skype and was away chatting with module 3 students and some of my fellow module 2 students. My intent going into a Skype session is always blown out of the water and I come out with different thoughts, my questions that I write down before hand and intended to ask are either irrelevant or just don't fit into the conversation. My mind is away thinking about what has just been discussed during the session and my questions are left on the side unanswered. This is what I call my 'reoccurring hazy fog of a ...

I think the way we think about ethics and the way we portray them in life has a lot to do with; how and where we are brought up, how open minded we are and experience. My upbringing was not one of religion, I wasn't exposed to it at all and I was from a small town. My big move to a city at 16 was when I realised how different life was. I had no option but to open my eyes and change the way I looked at things. I felt a bit like a blank canvas that was able to form my own considerations but also a little uneducated in approaching certain situations. Attending other dance classes was a massive eye opener for me. There was a student that didn't take off their cardigan for the entire ballet class, throughout the barre, centre work, allegro and all the way through to pointe work. Out of curiosity I asked why they made this choice, to which they politely explained that it was due to religious reasons they were making this choice. Things as simple as this I had never had to think abo...

As a child I attended dance classes and took numerous exams with the examining body ISTD for ballet, tap and modern, I now teach these grades as a qualified teacher. It wasn't until I learnt and taught the grades that I realised there are differences in the syllabus, in the way it is learnt, taught and performed. The ISTD is a syllabus written in books, word for word, black and white, count by count. So where do these differences come from? One of my classes is grade 6 tap, which I have recently just taken over. Whilst observing the class prior to teaching, there were a lot of differences in the way the students performed some of the exercises. The students weren't doing it wrong but it certainly looked different to what I teach. Me being a conscientious person started to question myself, did I learnt it correctly or have I modified it to what I think it is? Has the previous teacher put on their own twist to give the performance factor? It started a whole trail of thought abo...

Picking up the handbook for the new module (module 2) after a break for the Christmas period was always, in my mind, going to be a mind field of unanswered and unexplored questions to add to the list of thinking and research. The first Skype back was a lovely introduction to new members to the BA PP course and also a very good kick start to the new material at hand. I didn't allow my self to think about how much I have to do, but more so about pinnacles through out which are going to help me progress. The first read through the handbook didn't register at all, I tried to process everything but there is so much to take in. I read the words but as soon as I was onto the next page, I forgot what was on the last. This feeling was all too familiar as I felt a little like this during Module 1. Before reading through the handbook again the next day I completed one of the tasks set out in the handbook to help you settle into the module. For us (module 2) there are numerous activities...

Starting Module 1? Totally lost? Yes, I was too. I thought that the first Skype session was going to be one big answer to all of my questions, however I felt like I left the session with even more questions than I started. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing as it gave me a good starting point for my blogs. I am currently starting Module 2 and after the first Skype, the mist descended and the feel of nostalgia crept up. The feeling of not knowing where to start and the thought of "what am I doing?". To avoid the panic, I thought back to what I did to ease my self into Module 1. Once I read, reread and double checked the handbook and started blogging, I knew I was on a journey of exploration but I didn't know if what I was doing was right. My advice to you would be to start with blogging as soon as possible. Your ideas flourish and it also gives you an opportunity to share with the BA PP community on blogger.com. It provides the chance for you to write your ideas down...