6c - Award Title (part 2)

After talking with Alan, he advised me to simplify my award title. This would make it more relevant to my expertise and more beneficial in the future. So this is my revised award title rationale.

I have chosen, BA (hons) Professional Practice (Dance) as my Award Title for this course. Having already gained a Level 6 National Diploma in Professional Dance I have established a profound knowledge in dance and performance, especially in classical ballet. My understanding of the physical and performance side of dance gives me first hand experience into what a dancer goes through psychologically and how that affects them which has aided my learning and inspired me to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the subject. My training has brought me into contact with many people who have had a career in dance and have undergone injury and I have found it interesting to observe the variety of responses shown by the injured dancers and how it has affected them both in the short and long term.

The biggest factor in choosing my Award Title was ensuring that it would be beneficial to me in the future. Although currently I am a performer I want to able to have the option to have a smooth transition into other aspects of dance and I think this award title will aid that. Having a Degree in Professional Practice (Dance) is something that can be valuable in a variety of different jobs within the dance world and I am interested in one day in transitioning to dance therapy. Therefore having a good understanding of dance and the way dancers think will establish a good base to allow me to progress smoothly into a future career.

Critical Reflection on Professional Practice

Developed Professional Questions

This course helped me to actively reflect on how to personally and professionally develop an area of performance of my choosing. I really enjoyed this freedom that allowed me to look into a lot of aspects of dance and really discover what interested me. By identifying questions I found that these stimulated me to come up with ideas that constructed my final line of inquiry. 

I began by brainstorming a selection of questions which looked into a few possible approaches of my inquiry (Appendix 1). I found that a lot of my themes were based on pressures that dancers have to face and raised questions about how that psychologically affects them, this affirmed that psychology was what I was interested in. I then came across a piece of literature which really inspired me (Appendix 2) and it allowed me to refine my questions down to a specific subject which was the psychological effects of dancers with injuries. My special interest group (SIG) has been an efficient way to share questions and receive advice about all our topics and it allowed me to engage with others, build on ideas and encounter new ways of thinking (Appendix 3).

Ethical Considerations

Having developed a greater ethical awareness as well as acknowledging my own morals has led me to an understanding of my power as a researcher in my studies. I recorded my initial awareness of ethical considerations (Appendix 4). From there I was able to identify the gaps in my knowledge and Reader 5 opened up my eyes to ethics and how concepts such as right and wrong have many overlapping areas which are subjective to an individual (Appendix 5).

My new understanding and being able to discuss these concepts with my SIG group allowed to me engage my knowledge and pin point what ethical considerations were relevant in my inquiry.

Tools of Inquiry

Throughout this module I have been able to refine methods for gathering information for my inquiry. By creating a pilot survey and interview I was able to compare the advantages and disadvantages of these methods (Appendix 6). 

After reflecting on the initial results I decided that I would take a completely different approach to my survey focussing my questions which had been too broad and did not lead to useful results. Also feedback from my interview allowed me to get the participants perspective ensuring that they felt comfortable and the questions were relevant. Contribution and feedback within my SIG group has made a huge impact on this section of the module as it has allowed me an insight into other peoples ideas, adding to my own reflections.

Realising how beneficial this module has been in preparing me for my inquiry has allowed me to feel confident in tackling my topic of inquiry. I have learned that communication is the key element in developing me even further personally and professionally and I feel that I have come a long way from the beginning of module 1.

(Appendix 1) - http://rohannecb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/task-4a-questions.html

(Appendix 2) - http://rohannecb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/task-4b-literature.html

(Appendix 3) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1453841404846242/

(Appendix 4) - http://rohannecb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/task-5a-ethics.html

(Appendix 5) - http://rohannecb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/5c-reader-5.html

(Appendix 6) - http://rohannecb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/6b-reflections-on-inquiry-tools.html