Emma Dalton BA PP

 Through this module I have found reflection to be key to discovering more about my practice and the inquiry title that I wanted to know more about. As time draws nearer to the submission date and the end of ACI3622, I cant help but feel a sense of relief at getting through this module.  Reflection is a fantastic tool in the sense of it can make you question decisions made in the past and influence your approach in the future. At the beginning of this autumn term I was unsure of what I wanted my inquiry to be and what I wanted my research to be centred around. By reflecting upon my practice and my work I discovered that I wanted to it to relate to my teaching and therefore I formed my question around the student and teacher relationship. On reflection I spent so much time panicking this term about whether or not I was doing the right thing and therefore I feel like so much time was wasted. However, I was reminded that learning is about discovering what you don't know and stayi...

 Within the Inquiry proposal that we are preparing as part of Module 2, we are asked to make a Gantt Chart. I had no idea what this was! So i took to the web! I discovered that Gantt Charts are a popular way of scheduling time when partaking in a research project. Therefore, I decided to search through Youtube to learn how to create one.  I found a fab video that talked through the stages step by step, allowing me to pause and try out the method I had just learnt. I am very proud to announce that I managed to create a basic version stating the data collection, analysis and writing process against the duration of time to complete it.  Thank goodness for Web 2.0 and for YouTube!! I have attached the link below as I personally found it really helpful! Good Luck!!

 Last week I was feeling rather foggy on module 2 and what i was expected to do. I didn't understand how to do a literature review, my chosen title inquiry wasn't broad enough and as a result I felt like I was going round in circles. Last night some of the module 3 students held a skype chat that was intended to offer support for BAPP students. It was so helpful! things that I had been thinking about and not understanding for weeks finally started to click into place. My biggest issue was the looming literature review and not understanding how to tackle it. One student shared with me her blog that included a video breaking the process down into easy manageable pieces that made it all feel a little less overwhelming.  It explained that the literature review is a process of gathering background information on your chosen topic.  The Literature review steps: 1) Take your summary's and citations and reword all that information into a paragraph. Refer to the Author or article ...

 Only a quick blog today as I am wanting to get going with my literature research for Module 2!  Friday evenings skype was a module 2 focused session discussing the idea of "Mapping". Within this module we are told to map our research to create a proposal that will be the inquiry we look into in Module 3.  The concept of an inquiry is completely new to me. I have never done a research project before and therefore I am feeling a little out of my depth. The main thing that i have taken from this skype to focus on the fact that i am researching how to research! I am not just looking into my inquiry but instead I am investigating the different ways to ensure that i look at my inquiry from many different prospective. The idea is "how" i am going to explore my topic rather than "what" is my topic. I'm not looking for the answers, but instead the provisions that will allow me to gather my answers together in the module.  That's the main thing for me curre...

Last week I got stuck into my Module 2 handbook and started noting through each section. To say I have feeling overwhelmed is an understatement! I remember this feeling from Module 1, but thought coming into Module 2 I would feel clearer on where and what i was doing. However, I must accept that its okay to not know everything at the beginning and just to take it step by step.  Therefore, I set myself the challenge to investigate "Little Wonders!"  These are the areas of our practice that we feel we need to research and investigate into. The areas that we find fascinating and want to know more about. This "Little Wonder" will become the centre of our inquiry for Module 3.  An area that I find interesting and often wonder about is the link between the creative arts and mental health. Isn't it interesting that dance, drama and music are used as therapies to help those suffering with depression and anxiety. Yet for some individuals it is the world of dance, drama a...

It has felt like a really long time since i finished my module 1. I suppose when you think about it, it was 4 months ago that I submitted my final piece of work. However with COVID-19 that time feels even longer.  Since finishing Module 1, I have completed a whole term of teaching on Zoom- teaching students of all ages to dance and act. Despite it working and being beneficial for the students, it was a very different experience. Zoom took away all the normality's of teaching. All the sudden this computer screen created a barrier between student and teacher. Students wouldn't talk, discipline of class had disappeared and it became incredibly hard to sometimes see what the student were doing, due to small screens and laggy internet connection. However, I have always felt that in the performing arts industry we are prepped to be resilient and to take on challenges, no matter how hard they may seem. With this in mind I changed my approach to teaching. I would set the students chall...

I changed my mind on what my diagram was going to be a couple of weeks ago and as a result had to expand my knowledge on filming and editing to ensure that it was depicted in the correct way. I have never been the most technical person and therefore this was a real challenge for me. My first big decision was where to find a decent editing programme. There are free ones, one you can subscribe to and then the ones designed for people that do this professionally. I looked into the more advanced programmes but I just could not for the life of me work them out. I explored YouTube tutorials explaining different parts of each programme, but it was just too complicated. Therefore I reverted back to what I could work with- iMovie. iMovie however still has so many parts that I had never used before this. I had never used underlying music, cut and split audio tracks to fit with my work and experimented with visual affects. It was a whole new journey. I am however happy with how my piece is ...