Literature - Looking into Learning Difficulties, Disabilities and SEN

Linking Learning Difficulties, Disabilities and SEN into my Inquiry

 

As I have been teaching for a while I have come across a lot of children who have their own difficulties in certain areas. For my inquiry I want to help all of my students and to help them to learn by offering their strengths of learning as well as work on their weaknesses.

Within my inquiry I want to learn about SEN and Learning difficulties however I know that I cannot look at all of them as I need to research heavily into each one individually. I have made up my mind to look into two difficulties which I deal with a lot but do not know that much about, these are;

Dyspraxia and Cerebral Palsy.

The idea for me to look into these two learning difficulties is because I want to learn about their behaviour, their particular problems and to find strategies for dealing with those difficulties.

 

 

Definition of special educational needs (SEN) and Ethics

The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (SEN Code) (DfES, 2001) was introduced to demonstrate the rights and duties introduced by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) 2001. This code sets out a model of intervention for children with SEN within early education settings and in school setting and provides a toolkit to help practitioners with its implementation.

The law states that if a child has a significantly grater difficulty than most children their age with their schoolwork, communication or behaviour, they have a learning difficulty. According to Directgov (2009) the term SEN refers to 'children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn or access education than most children of the same age.' (J.Thompson, 2010) 

History of disability and integration (1971 - 1989)



Taken from the book by J.Thompson, 2010

It has been an interesting read about how children/adults were affected in the past and to see how over the years how much we have integrated those who have difficulties in specific areas.
I then looked into the Warnock Report (1978) and how after this report was made the term special educational needs was introduced into UK legislation.
The Warnock report had two categories for SEN children;
- Children who had difficulties at school whose needs could be helped within a mainstream school.
- Children who's difficulties where more complex that required a specialised educational environment/school as their difficulties could not be met within mainstream.
This was a big turning point for children with SEN as they were introduced into mainstream rather than being segregated, this then gave teachers a 'responsibility in the identification and assessment of children who they suspected may have special educational needs.'(J.Thompson, 2010)

Below is the Social model of disability and inclusion;


Taken from the book by J.Thompson, 2010

The impact of the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda has been significant, as it advocates a multi-agency approach to ensuring that the needs of children with SEN are met. The focus of ECM is to ensure inclusive lifelong learning opportunities for all children, ensuring that every aspect of school life is taken into consideration. (J.Thompson, 2010)

Here I want to cater for every child within my inquiry however I know I need to research just two SEN. However in the furture I want to do more research into other SEN so I can cater for most people who want to learn dance. I need to take into consideration the Warnock Report as I may not be able to cater for those with complex special educational needs and they may require specialised help

 

General Learning Disabilities

The model of learning disabilities that is currently most widely used evolved during the 1960s. Four stages of information processing used in learning are identified and difficulties experienced by learners are categorised accordingly. (D. Fulton 2014)

The four stages that are used within a learning environment that some children with learning difficulties/disabilities/SEN may struggle to face;

1). Input

Some may struggle to take in and process information that has been given to them.

Input is usually received through all of our senses, but we most commonly use our vision and hearing to take most information in. The difficulty with vision may be that the perception of an image/shape/orientation can be distorted or difficult to identify. The problem with auditory may mean that the student has not heard what has been accurately, as certain letters/sounds may not be identified altering words.

2). Integration

Some may find it difficult to understand the way information is interpreted or placed into a sequence which is linked with previous learning.

Integration is usually difficult for students with learning difficulties as they can not remember the sequence/order of information.

3). Memory

Students may find it difficult to recall on information which they had learnt in the past.

Students can have a difficulty with memory with long-term or short-term. Most commonly it is short-term memory so with more repetitions the student should start to remember more each time.

4). Output

There may be a difficulty showing the actions which could be verbal, gestural or a movement from an input which has been stored.

The difficulties of output is the frustration of not being able to recall information to generate a response.

 

Here I already can see how some of these effect dyspraxia and cerebral palsy.

Dyspraxia

The name dyspraxia offers a description in itself, as 'dys' means 'faulty' and 'praxis' means 'the ability to use the body as a skilled tool'. (J.Thompson 2010)

Dyspraxia usually runs within families and is more likely to be seen within males rather than females. It is thought that dyspraxia affects 10% of the population. As I said before all children are unique and some children may show signs of dyspraxia which can be very mild or severe depending on where they are and what they are doing. People who are affected by dyspraxia understand their difficulties and develop their own strategies to dealing with their weaknesses.
People with dyspraxia usually develop the skills of walking, running, writing and talking later than others but with the correct help and support they will be able to accomplish these skills. Dyspraxia may not be recognised very quick as the children's condition is not visible but only apparent when the teacher/parent recognises it. As a teacher if I have a student that has dyspraxia I need to make a mental note to always ensure that child may be struggling and I need to offer the correct support for that specific child.

Research in Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia has been discussed by many people through literature for the past 100 years however there doesn't seem to be an agreement on the definition of this disorder.

The Dyspraxi Foundation (2009) suggests that developmental dyspraxia is An impairment or immaturity of the organisation of movement. It is an immaturity in the way that the brain processes information, which results in messages not being properly or fully transmitted. Dyspraxia affects the planning of what to do and how to do it. It is associated with problems of perception, language and thought. (J.Thompson, 2010)

 However a researcher Dawdy (1981, cited in Ripley et al., 1997, p1) described dyspraxia as something different. I believe that this debate on what dyspraxia is as a whole will always be ever changing and there will always be a disagreement on what is said.

Characteristics of dyspraxia

 

Photo taken from the book by J.Thompson 2010

 

Here within the characteristics of noticing dyspraxia and here they struggle I instantly can see the difficulty they may have when learning dance or when they are put into a dance studio environment.
Here the main issues for my teaching dance to people with dyspraxia will be;
- co-ordination
- overbalancing when changing direction
- may change the movement to the opposite hand/foot, this will then confuse them.
- poor concentration skills
-poor listening skills
- may get annoyed and angry if they cannot get anything due to lack of coordination and inability of controlling movements.
- difficulty making friends.

I need to make sure that when looking into my inquiry that I take into consideration the learning styles I could do or certain exercises to enhance co-ordination and the control of movements. This will challenge the students but motivation and praise will be needed and an extra assistant may be needed to give a one to one support.

Cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy covers a number of disorders affecting muscles, movement and mobility. This is effected by part of the brain which is damaged or has failed to develop properly resulting to a lack or no movement. There is no definite cause for cerebral palsy but it is thought that a virus, drug, poor nutrition or premature birth may have an effect on cerebral palsy as well as low birth weight, lack of oxygen around the time of birth, or injury to the brain before, during or just after birth.

There are approximately 1,800 babies diagnosed with cerebral palsy in Britain each year. (D.Fulton, 2014)

This struck me as I didn't realise how many diagnosis's were made for cerebral palsy every year in Britain.

Research in Cerebral palsy

When researching I realised that there was no cure for cerebral palsy however physiotherapy and other therapies helps people with the condition become more independent.

Further into my research I discovered there are three main types of Cerebral palsy but most people will have a mixture of these types;
Spastic Cerebral palsy
Dyskinetic cerebral palsy
Ataxic cerebral palsy

I need to look further into each of these three main types to fully understand the difference between each one looking at the difficulties each on has.  I have found a great website which I can refer to for this; More information on Cerebral palsy.

Characteristics of Cerebral palsy

Here I have looked at each characteristic and realised which ones will be difficult to overcome within a dance environment.
- limited or uncontrolled movement
- poor mobility
- muscle weakness/stiffness
- muscle spasm or floppiness
- problems with speech
- hearing difficulties
- visual difficulties
- difficulties chewing and swallowing food
- a tendency towards epilepsy

Already working with a child with cerebral palsy I have already learnt that I needed to include them within each class. This can be difficult if you are working on a specific move which is the area that has limited/no movement for the student with cerebral palsy as you need to keep mindful that they may feel left out so incorporating an arm movement or leg movement for them to work on at the same time keeps their mind active.

I currently have had training in moving and handling for this specific student with cerebral palsy and have used a variety of ways to keep them involved in the dance class.

Conclusion

Looking into the history of SEN and learning difficulties as well as the specific difficulties I want to look into further has really opened my eyes to the day to day difficulties they may face and how I as a teacher need to acknowledge this and make dancing a place and environment they feel valued like everyone else where they are treated like every other student that is present at my dance school.

Places which specialise in SEN for those who need extra help.

I have done some research into places near me that cater for SEN dance classes where I could point people in there direction if I cannot offer the specialisation that their child may need but I can also learn from them and look into what they do. Tiger Feet

Preparing for my Interviews (Part 1)

When starting to look at my interviews I had a clear idea with who I wanted to get in touch with to have a variety of answers which may be similar or completely the opposite to what others have said.
The professions that I have chosen to get in touch with are;

- Primary School Teacher.

- SEN Teaching Assistant (Primary School).

- PE/Dance Teacher (Secondary School).

- Principle of a Dance School.

- Choreographer working in London with Professionals.

Before approaching each person I decided to write a letter explaining what I was doing, what I wanted to achieve and how they could be apart of my inquiry by helping me by me doing an interview setting so I could listen and learn from the knowledge which they have developed through their own professions.

Within the letter it does not make them feel they have to but explains more so as to why I want to do interviews. It also states that there name and identity will remain anonymous when their own opinions are presented anywhere within my work. This will hopefully make them feel more at ease to say yes to being apart of my inquiry as they know that they can give honest answers about each question without being penalised for it in the future.

Ideally for the letters I would like to get 3/4 back to have a variety of questions. If this does not happen and only have 2 I have carefully decided who I choose because anyone's answers, regarding their own professions, will be very different and useful to me.

Preparing for the Interviews

At the moment I have drafted nine questions with smaller questions to ask off those bigger questions. I have left room for more just in case if new research/information comes up as I am researching and I would like to add that to my interview.
I have also put a paragraph to say to them before the interview to remind them what my title is and why I am researching this specific idea. Below is the draft of the paragraph I will say before the interview;-

I am currently undertaking a degree in Professional Practice within the Arts. For my personal inquiry I have decided to look into one of my practices that I would like to enhance and become more knowledgeable for my students that I teach.

At the moment I have my own business of a theatre school but I am just basing my inquiry on the dance classes I provide within my school. I have been researching into many different learning styles that theorists have been researching for many years and am trying to understand if they are correct or are flawed. I have also looked into the debate about learning styles, in particularly the V-A-K as it seems to be the most common within schools. I have also been looking into two specific learning difficulties that I am/have dealt with in the past but would like to know more about the way in which they find easier to learn to improve my understanding further.

As well as looking into the different learning styles I want to be able to cater for as many students as possible and to offer the learning of movement/material/performance/steps/rhythm etc. in a colourful and stimulating way to achieve the best that they can be within dance.

Please feel free to elaborate on any question I ask even if it doesn’t stay quiet on track it may also be very helpful for my investigation. Any information you have given me  within the interview will be anonymous when presented within any information I hand in or write about.

As a draft I am happy with the way the paragraph is structured but I know it will need to be looked over and added to or have certain bits taken out. I will keep adding to my questions and expand on the questions I have already written down.

Task 6C: The Title to my Professional Inquiry (Part 1)

What I wanted to incorporate within my title?

As I have been researching into so many avenues from a specific idea I found it difficult to narrow my question down without making it too long. As I kept going through each section I wanted to look into whilst gaining the information I wanted to achieve for my own practice I realised that the main thing I want to do is to enhance my own practice as a dance teacher. This has helped me to discard any title that will limit my research.

My Draft Title I am starting to look at expanding:

Enhancing and advancing my practice as a dance teacher.

 

After this I then realised that this isn't what I want to achieve so sent a new version of the title;

 

Enhancing and advancing my practice and creativity of teaching as a dance teacher.

 

Once I sent my idea to Paula I realised that the title doesn't have much body. Paula also agreed and sent back that the question was too vague. I have taken Paula's advice and I am trying to develop a title with more depth and an issue that needs resolving.

 

Paula gave me the question of; What issues are you trying to respond to? (creativity? curriculum? performance? pedagogy?).

 

From thinking about Paula's question I now know that I am not looking into curriculum. However, I do know that the other three issues link with my research and could play a part within my professional inquiry.

Below I have researched the definitions of each issue so I know that I am 100% sure which one or two I would like to look into but, most importantly which one relates the most to the research I have been looking into.

Definition of Creativity: (Mass Noun) The use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness: 'firms are keen to encourage creativity'. (Oxford Dictionaries)

Definition of Performance: (noun) An act of presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. (Oxford Dictionaries) 

Definition of Pedagogy: (Mass Noun) The method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept: 'The relationship between applied linguistics and language pedagogy'. (Oxford Dictionaries)

I now need to go away and broaden my question and figure out which issue/s it is that I would like to include within my title.



Literature - Learning Styles

After being on holiday I have done a lot of reading and have gained more knowledge within the area I am looking into for my personal inquiry.

D. Fulton - Ways of Learning (third edition) - Learning theories and learning styles in the classroom.

 

LEARNING STYLES

Since 1970 there has been a variety of ideas and theories into the way in which we learn: learning styles. This is mainly looked into for the specific fields of education, learning and psychology.

Over time theorists have agreed or disagreed with each other as some ideas change or go out of fashion. Other theorists may have elaborated on what previous theorists have originally stated.

 

Learning style is defined variously as:

- a particular way in which an individual learns; 

- a mode of learning - an individual's preferred or best manner(s) in which to think, process information and demonstrate learning;

- an individual preferred means of acquiring knowledge and skills;

- habits, strategies or regular mental behaviours concerning learning, particularly deliberate educational learning, that an individual displays. (D. Fulton 2014 pg. 46)

Here there are a few ideas that overlap each other, however the term 'learning style' is a preferred way of learning/studying.

The term 'learning preferences' has been used to refer to the conditions - encompassing environmental, emotional, sociological and physical conditions - that an individual learner would choose, if they were in a position to make a choice (Dunn et al. 1989) (D.Fulton 2014 pg. 47)

As a dance teacher I understand that my students all learn in a variety of ways. By understanding 'learning styles' it gives me a clearer vision of the different types of learners out there. As well as people learning in different ways I also believe that when a student has an interest in a specific subject, that person will develop a better confidence and motivation to fully understand and fulfil that subject than a student who is half hearted in that specific area/subject. This could automatically push your student away to begin with creating a larger gap to fill with confidence and motivation. This is what Dewar 1996; Hartman 1995; leadership project 1995 agreed with as well;

Learners who are actively engaged in the learning process will be more likely to achieve success. (D. Fulton 2014 pg. 47)

Honey-Mumford model 

When looking at Honey-Mumford in module one I realised how interested I am in different ways in which people learn and this is where I realised what I have already used to encourage certain learners.
The most important information in which Honey-Mumford gives us is that learning styles are not fixed and people can adopt certain traits and styles along the way.
The four styles within the Honey-Mumford model is;
1.  activist;
2.  reflector;
3.  theorist;
4.  pragmatist.

What each style's strengths and weakness are? How can I incorporate that into my dance teaching?

ACTIVIST
- Learn by doing.
- Like to work within groups.
- Don't like to plan but just like to get on and do.
- Open minded and enthusiastic.
- They get bored with repetition.

When a student who has traits of an activist is within my class I need to make sure that I have a point within the class where they can work within a group (even in twos). I could allow this to happen when I have explained a movement or new step and explained it then ask for them to work in small groups to watch each other to fully grasp the step by helping each other.
As they learn by doing I need to show the step first and then explain for those other learners whilst doing it so the activist learner can copy and 'learn' the step/movement whist 'doing'.
Repetition needs to be kept to a minimum but make sure that you have other corrections to give whilst they are practicing to focus on other components of the step eg. arm/head lines.

REFLECTORS
- Stand back and observe;
- Like to look at the bigger picture, including previous experiences and the perspectives of others;
- Collect data well followed with an analysis.
- Slow to make up their minds but when they do it is based on their own knowledge and opinions and what they have watched and listened to off others.

When approached with a person who owns the traits of a reflector within my class I need to make sure that I do not rush them into a decision quickly. These students may enjoy watching others when accomplishing a new movement to see how it is done after being taught it from the teacher. These students will be trying to critically understand the movement before coming to the 'conclusion' which will be to execute the step.

THEORISTS
- Like to see and understand how one observation is linked/related to another observation;
- Tidy and well-organised minds;
- Cannot relax until they get to the bottom of a situation.;
- Take a one-step-at-a-time approach.

When dealing with a theorists within my dance classes I will need to make sure that I piece steps together for them to understand and see the reason behind doing those particular steps in the first place. I need to be aware that if this student cannot get a step/movement straightaway to be calm and take time as they will not be fully content until they are able. If they make slight progress keep awarding them with praise and go through the movement step by step for them to fully understand.

PRAGMATISTS                                                                                                                                            - Like to find out and use new ideas;
- They are confident in new ideas and will incorporate them into their thinking;
- They do not see much point in putting effort into something that does not work;
- Enjoy problem-solving situations.

When approached by a student who holds a few characteristics of a pragmatic I need to make sure that if they see any floor/failure within themselves or something that they need to do that they should don't give up and I keep encouraging them. I could do this by giving them a situation, practical implication, to show them how a dance step helped and when it is applied to give them an understanding that it IS possible and IS important. They would be great in a class as they like having new ideas and applying them to themselves which could have a great knock on effect to the group and could enhance their knowledge and technicality as a dancer/performer as well as others around them.


Within Honey-Mumford model not every person has a specific learning style, most people have characteristics of all four of them. They didn't make this to assign a person to a specific category, instead they have tried to help individuals find out which predominant learner they might be and what other traits do they have from other learning styles.
To do this Honey and Mumford designed 80 statements, 20 for each learning style, this is then added up and shown on a axes chart.

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)

Neuro-linguistic programming looks at how we communicate and how this effects each individuals learning. Three particular learning styles have been found; visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (V-A-K).

Visual Learners
- Prefer information to be given Visually.
- They tend to use hand gestures when explaining or recalling events or objects.
- Tend to look upwards when thinking or remembering information.

Within a dance class I can give information in picture forms like mood boards or if I need to get more information across a posters could be good as it is visually striking as well as having short sharp statements that are written on it (not too much to read). Another idea to keep information locked in would be the words of the steps we were learning that day or the counts are written out clearly to see visually.

Auditory Learners
- Prefer to learn by listening.
- They like sequence, repetition and summary's.
- Tend to tilt their head when recalling a memory.

Within a dance class these types of learners may benefit from me using descriptive language to grasp information but I will also open up questions as they enjoy discussion. These types of learners may also want to hear the counts or a rhythm to understand the timing of a movement/step/sequence. Another way to stimulate emotion/performance would be to use a piece of music and for them to listen to it and improve or move in the way it makes the student feel, this could be in any genre of dance.

Kinaesthetic Learners
- Prefer to learn by doing.
- Good at recalling events and their feelings or physical experiences with memories.
- Struggle to keep still and want to be active.

Within a dance class the students will be moving 95% of the time and if not it will be to have a water break. When approached with kinaesthetic learners, performance shouldn't be too difficult as most of the time they find it easier to unlock their emotions. This is great and will enhance their understanding and be able to unleash any anger, pain, happiness through dance.

Like Honey and Mumford we do not solely use one specific learning style however some people heavily rely on one of them.

An overreliance on one style, and an inability or unwillingness to adopt another style where it might be appropriate, can be limiting in some learning situations and can mean that learning may be hindered.(D.Fulton 2014 pg.51)

Here as a teacher I need to remember as much as I need to cater for everyone's needs as best as I can I will not be able to do it all of the time. However this is were the students learn as they need to learn to adapt and allow room to grasp information in a different way, otherwise there will always be a hindrance in whatever they do.

Looking further into the debate of Neuro-linguistic Programming (V-A-K)

As I am heavily interested in looking into how to become a dance teacher who gets the most out of her students to make sure they feel a sense of accomplishment and pride I need to look at different ways of teaching and learning. However some do not agree with the (V-A-K) and have put up a good argument for me to look deeper into.

Do children have preferred learning styles? This is the question I kept asking myself as I have been looking into two theories and both have not said that each individual has a certain style but they may acquire many. On the one hand I understand that some of these ways do not work for me but others do and some styles I can relate to more than others but on the other hand do we need specific types of branded learners if we have different preferences from each style?

This is a summary of an article, the full version is on 'More nonsense for teachers to avoid'. I hope to look into this article further and gain more knowledge of why people believe that certain learning styles do not work.

Going back to the summary of the article ...

The V-A-K is largely believed in within the teaching industry it quotes that;

Dekker, Lee, Howar-Jones and Jolles (2012) identified that 93% of UK teachers in their survey believed that 'Individuals learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning style (e,g. auditory, visual, kinaesthetic). (N.Rose 2014)

As we are aware VAK have a self-report questionnaire which has been put together by a few questions. I do agree and believe that in some cases they are poor due to the questions or answers given as they have not been thought out and sometimes/most of the time they have a tendency to be answered incorrectly due to the wording of the question. One reason that questions are usually answered incorrectly is because the questions and answers can be asking a ridiculous question such as; 'what are you more likely to say?' I personally think this is ridiculous as I, personally, don't remember what I say half the time and so it would be more of a guess than a certain answer, or I may say more than one of the answers given below, in which case which one do I choose?

However when reading further it tells of us to only use visual and auditory methods as it 'is best conveyed in that modality'(N.Rose 2014). Even though I agree that the questionnaires are usually flawed I strongly believe that we should not discard of the kinaesthetic approach. This way of learning keeps students minds active and gives a hands on approach to learning keeping them engaged. Even though some may enjoy the visual/auditory learning better we still need to cater for those who enjoy learning through experience. This doesn't only benefit students who enjoy learning hands on but it also gives students an experience in what they have learnt leaving them with their own opinion.

I hope to fill you in with more information I have read and learnt about soon x

 

 

Task 6B - Tools for Practitioner Inquiry. Who I will be aiming them at? And what are there Merits and Limits?

From Task 6A I already spoke of what Tools I would like to use as I think they would benefit my Inquiry more than Tools.

 

Interviews

Interviews are one of the tools I will be using to gain more knowledge and research about my Inquiry. These will be semi-structured interviews as I will have a set of questions that will have a variety of themes that I would like to cover to understand my inquiry in my depth. However as well as asking questions I will let the interviewee know that I have the flexibility of expanding questions I ask if it  brings up other questions as they may be useful emerging issues arising that I can look further into which could spark of other avenues for me to consider. This also stops any way of the interviewees to be led into an answer.

I will be Interviewing people that have a greater knowledge within the areas I will be looking at for my Inquiry.  I will need to begin sorting out my dates and times to meet each person and it would be good if I could have a variety of people that are in the same job but at other places or who work with different ages.

 

I already will be interviewing;

- Primary School Teacher.

- SEN Teaching Assistant (Primary School).

- PE/Dance Teacher (Secondary School).

- Principle of a Dance School.

- Choreographer working in London with Professionals.

 

Here I know I am covering people who teach a variety of ages and that work in very different environments. This will provided with variety of answers and ideas rather than it being one sided if it was just aimed at dance teachers. Here I will then have a better understanding when questions are answered and if there are similarities that work and do not work.

 

I need to make sure that my questions are clear but do not give the option for a one word response as I would like to gain the most out of the interviewees and I would like them to share their past experiences when they started to become teachers/chorographers and if they have changed the way they are now to then.

 

Limits of my Interview Tool

- However I could only carry out interviews with adults that have more time, this is because parents that are picking the students up could be in a rush, need to get home etc. To gain an understanding of what the students enjoy and may struggle with I will need to find a more effective and less time consuming tool that gets the research I need. This is where Questionnaires would be very helpful!

 

Questionnaires

Further on into my inquiry I would like to present questioners to my students as I personally think it is a clever and effective way to understand how the children/young people are working and what areas are in more need of gaining more enthusiasm and understanding.

As the questionnaire will be targeted at a range of ages I need to make sure that the language is simple and the questions are kept clear and precise. After talking previously in Task 6A (http://kirstiesmith1993.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/skype-with-paula-and-task-6a-reviewing.html)

in detail about what I need to also think of when representing the questions I also need to make the way to answer is clear.

 

As it is aimed at children/young people there will be an option of numbers 1 - 5, number one meaning it was rubbish/didn't understand it at all and number five meaning it was absolutely fantastic/I completely understood. There will then be a small box under each question if older students wanted to elaborate more on the question but all boxes are optional.

 

- I know that these questionnaires will need to be given out at the end of a class so the class and feelings about what they have learnt will be fresh in their memories.

- I also will need to make sure that all children/young people are sat away from each other so they can give their own honest opinion rather than being influenced by a friend.

- I need to make sure that whatever questions are on the questionnaire are relevant to what we have done in the class, otherwise there may be confusion.

 

Merits of Questionnaires

- They are confidential and so I will not know who's questionnaire is who's. This may mean the children feel more comfortable in telling me what they really think about each question.

- Quick and Simple to do.

- Can be fun and is a good way to show people how much you care about what your, in this case, students think.

 

Limits of Questionnaires

- Questionnaires are great but they are not in depth answers of how the student actually feels. Instead you are being told by either multiple choice or numbers. This is great as it is not time consuming but we cant ask the question 'Why?'. This is when we could try new tactics and observe to see if it has changed the students mood or understanding of something.

 

Observations

After receiving the questionnaires I will be observing the how different the students where before filling in the questionnaire to the second class I have with them in the way I approach the main problems that occurred within the questionnaires. As a dance teacher I am observing all students progression and technique all the time, I will also look closely at their interaction and the way their enthusiasm and body language may change towards a different approach I take of a certain subject/area.

This observation will be very difficult to jot down but I know that I can remember a lot of the students own corrections and the way they react and I am sure that after the class I will be able to remember how certain students where and jot them down quickly. I could use taping/videoing off the students but that will mean more parental consent and I know I will be able to remember like I said before.

 

Merits of Observations

- You will be able to visually see how different approaches/language affects certain students and whether they are progressing.

- It indicates to you, as the teacher, if you need to find a different approach or whether the students are gaining a valuable lesson from certain triggers you may propose.

- You can get an instant idea of who is struggling.

 

Limits of Observations

- Observations can only be your own interpretation of what the student is portraying. (This could be incorrect because if the student has had a bad day already they may either look like they are uninterested or may struggle more as their mind is somewhere else. As the teacher you need to be aware before observing.)

- You are not getting feedback from the students directly as you are only assessing the situation.

 

The Tools I will not be using for my Inquiry

Focus Groups

Even though Focus Groups are very good when carrying out certain investigations I personally do not think that I would get the best results in this way for my own inquiry. For the investigation I am carrying out I want to use interviews, even though focus groups are similar to interviews I have people that are from different places with different job descriptions and putting them altogether at the same time wouldn't work. This means that the group may come to a stand still if certain people were to specifically talk about their own profession or theme this may make people feel out of the conversation as they have not got the same knowledge in the same areas.

When you read on to the limits of focus groups these are the main reasons why I did not choose this option this is because I want people's own opinions and to be able to see each of the individuals individually. I want to speak to each person as it is important for me to listen carefully to what each individual has to say rather than it being lost in a group setting.

 

Merits for Focus Groups

- Can trigger other peoples ideas and a collaboration of thoughts that come together can be stronger than one.

- Can begin debates which is great to see two sides of the point which is raised.

 

Limits for Focus Groups

- Some people may feel threatened by bigger and bolder personalities and then decide not to voice their opinion when it could be a valid point.

- Others may influence others thoughts and opinions.

- It will be difficult to get everyone together at the same point.

- If people do not know each other you do not want people to hold back on their thoughts.

- Some individuals questions or answers may be lost in a group setting.