Critical
Reflection on Professional Practitioner Inquiry
Introduction
I finished module one with a sense establishing a
professional tone within my practice, my journal captures my overall learning
in module two as, “being brave and getting on with it… Having discovered my new
professional voice, I feel ready to go out there in my world and find out what
I don’t know” (Ahmet, A. 2012). In my blog about my initial reaction to module
two (Appendix
1), I notice, “going from a position of looking at myself as a practitioner
to exploring how my network does things” (Ahmet, A. 2012). This notion lies at
the heart of my inquiry.
Principles of Professional Inquiry
My critical reflection of Reader
4 (Appendix
2) and answering its questions in a blog (Appendix
3), allowed me to collect some theories behind professional inquiry and
apply them to my practice. My blog about creating a list of questions within my
practice (Appendix
4), helped me come to the realisation that the questions point to an, “area
of interest” (Ahmet,
A.2012), within my inquiry. Martyn Descome (2002) supports this as a good
starting point. Having created a Special Interest Group (SIG) via my blog (Appendix
5), I engage these questions with my SIG, take them to a fellow
practitioner and blog their development (Appendix
6). This blog task proves useful and the comments display the importance of
asking clear, concise and open-ended questions.
By engaging with my SIG, my inquiry is able to construct knowledge and
understanding in a supported process of inquiry (Kahn
and O’ Rouke 2004). When summarising this part I noticed that my writing
has improved, comments describing it as mature and clear (Akineye,
A. 2012) gives me a great sense of confidence and achievement for my
learning on the course.
Professional Ethics
My learning begins with a blog on my ethics as a
practitioner (Appendix 7).
I express the idea that ethics isn’t necessarily something the practitioner
conceptualises, rather, “my ethics are in place because of my community of
practice” (Ahmet, A. 2012).
Using a code of conduct within my practice, I notice in a blog (Appendix
8), that rather than a list of rules, ethics are more of a complex idea of
moralistic approach over your actions. I then continue with my critical
reflections of Reader
5 (Appendix
9). I find great guidance to my professional ethics in an article about
theatre arts education (Lazarus,
J. 2004). Blogging about the ethical framework within my inquiry (Appendix
10), confidentiality and respect arise as key elements. I then summarise (Appendix
11) highlighting that as an insider-researcher I will have to
live with the mistakes and should proceed carefully in negotiating with
colleagues (Costley
et al, 2010). After sensing a feeling of struggle to the topic of ethics,
the notion of applying it to my practice was the key to broadening my awareness
of the subject (Ahmet,
A. 2012).
Tools of Professional Inquiry
In a bid to enrich my understanding of Reader
6, I continue with my critical reflections (Appendix
12). While Mason (2002) introduces
qualitative and quantitative approaches to research, the approach will depend
on the nature of the inquiry (Bell,
2005). Fox
et al (2007) highlight the importance of planning and piloting. With a
sense of “planning ahead and being efficient” (Ahmet,
A. 2012), and putting my SIG at the heart of my design, I construct my tools for inquiry (Appendix 13, Appendix 14 and Appendix 15). Comments on a fellow student’s blog (Appendix 16) express the survey failed in, “capturing
feelings and ideas”, (Ahmet, A. 2012). I
then decided on the survey’s role as the quantitative support for my
qualitative data, giving my findings triangulation (Bell,
2005). I understand that these tools are, “the backbone of
my inquiry” (Ahmet,
A.2012) and learn that they are the, “bridge that connects
me to my research” (Ahmet, A. 2012).
Conclusion
Having
established my area of inquiry, the ethics within it and the tools to
facilitate my research. My summary of the module concludes that by having
discovered a, “hole of knowledge within my practice, I
hope that my work… provides the sealant I'm looking for (Ahmet,
A. 2012). From establishing my practice in
module one to planning my practitioner research in module two, the BAPP (Arts)
programme is feeding my future practice beyond imaginable lengths and my
thinking and practitioner confidence developing in ways incomprehensible
before.
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Appendices
Appendix 1:
Appendix 2:
Appendix 3:
Appendix 4:
Appendix 5:
Appendix 6:
Appendix 7:
Appendix 8:
Appendix 9:
Appendix 10:
Appendix 11:
Appendix 12:
Appendix 13:
Appendix 14:
Appendix 15:
Appendix 16:
