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

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...