Methodology - Sunday Discussions

Sunday discussions went well – in the morning we talked about a range of topics converging on methodology – how we go about things. How we notice significant things - things at sparkle in our memory or imagination when we consider an idea. The conversation suggested that this was about ‘narrowing down’ ideas to better manage them. In other words not to be overwhelmed by the on-going growth or wonder of finding out more but to follow the trails of the things that compel you and inspire you as a starting point of finding out more.

We talked about the use of confidence to keep you moving forward and not second guessing yourself. Then we linked the points we were making in the conversation to positivist and non-positivist methodological approaches. We noted that a non-positivist approach is really the design model the course calls for. It does not involve certainly as a guiling principle so the uncertainty of the wealth of ideas people were experiencing (the feel of sometimes being lost) could be seen as part of the terrain of this kind of research approach. It is not about fixed facts it is about a process or journey to asking deep questions.

So maybe some of this is about shifting our perception of what research is and what it can do. We talked about it being like layers, or watercolour paints that bleed into each other rather than about finding out an answer to a fixed question.  It became clear reflection and reflectivity are key. Also how the past shapes our present perceptions of education and research.

We talked then about how a change of mind is not isolated to the mind but a shift in approach to everything because everything is connected. Research is about being sensitive to how even the smallest shift in experience reverberates across our understanding of everything.    

People in the conversation and who are posting on it also are:

Parimala

Raymond

Alice

Jo

Helen

In the afternoon we talked about objectivity, artistic v academic, learning through dancing. This conversation included talking about the low value dance has in some peoples hierarchy of learning. “wow you can do a degree in dance – I’ve heard you can do a degree in anything nower days.!!’ This returned us in many ways to the positivist non-postivist of the morning. The value of dance, or the academic-ness of the arts etc… are measured differently depending on what model for understanding what the world is you use (ontology). And what model for understanding what knowledge you use (epistemology). Whatever your area of scholarship you first need to have a theoretical framework (a sense of where you stand ontologically and/or epistemologically) this is because you do not want to spend all your time justifying what you are doing in some models your work will not be valuable. You want to know the framework you are working in order to make sure you keep moving forward and challenge yourself meaningfully. This awareness of where you stand is important because otherwise you are fighting the personal fight of your own study against gigantic models for research that have nothing to do with what you are doing. In other words, you cannot spend your time persuading yourself you are academic after a history of not feeling academic – you may very well not be in the terms you are setting out.  But you can shift what your perception of academic is to better understand the learning you have done. Then the question is not ‘artistic or academic?’ ‘It is artistic academia how and where do I fit in?’  Then you can spend you time finding the theory and thinking and frameworks that make sense for your embodied approach to the world.

We talked abit about the blog post on Theory, theoretical frameworks and ethics (see below posts) . It only has one comment please comment there too.

The pm discussion was with:

Davis

Michelle

Emma

Maite

Please have a look at each other’s posts on the two discussions, comment there and here.

Helen and I reminded you the Dancing and writing  Professional Practice Summer Intensive is fun and inspiring and helpful  and open for  registration now. See post below.

Adesola

Summer Intensive August 14th to 19th 2017

Booking link:
http://www.onlinestore.mdx.ac.uk/short-courses/school-of-media-and-performing-arts/degree-preparation-courses/dance-and-writing-professional-practice-summer-intensive

First Sunday Chats - March 2nd

This Sunday are our First Sunday Discussion Group chats: This is  a chance to share your ideas, thoughts and activities with colleagues (other people who are thinking about the same things snd have similar interests). Think about what you would like to discuss. Think of this as leading a discussion (not asking a question) to see what other people are thinking and air your own thoughts. We have two times:

11am (time in London) - call will come from Adesola
or
5pm (time in London) _ call will come from Adesola

Please comment below to indicate which discussion group you will join and a little about what you are thinking of talking about.

Looking forward to hearing whats been going on.

Adesola

Ideas, theory and theoretical frameworks

I had a campus session with BA students last week. I felt some of what I wrote-up about it might be useful for you too.

We talked about ideas and theory.

What do they do? In the first module you are introduced to three ideas:

-       The idea of reflection

-       The idea of networks

-       The idea of communication (via the web particularly)

These ideas are threads that will run through the whole of the course. They are not taught pieces of information to memorize and write about at the end. They are ideas to stimulate your thinking about your own Professional Practice deeply or differently. Therefore, the order you are introduced to them is not important but we had to choose an order (that is the one in the Module handbook). So, do not think of them like a tree building up from starting a blog at the beginning of Module one and layering up to handing in an artefact in Model three – this is like a tree model.

 Instead think of them all as equally feeding your understanding of your Professional Practice – like a rhizome.

each idea is a shoot that connects underground. You cannot see the connections from above ground. Your study is about finding the connections. So it is not about climbing a tree of ideas we have put there for you. It is about nurturing ideas, looking at them carefully and finding the connections between them. Connections that will be different for different people because all your professional practices are different.

So at the end of each module what you hand in is the result of looking carefully at the ideas that manifested during the term. And then making connections between those ideas and your professional practice.

So that being said; what is theory?

Theory could be thought of as what someone else has come up with having done that process of looking at ideas carefully and making connections for themselves. So you can link your connections with connection (theory) someone else has made and published about. They have spent more time looking carefully so you can often be guided by (their) theory.

BUT theory is not a justification for you to do what you want!!

Theory is a specific set of connections someone has made. You can’t pick and choose – “I will cite Smith about this connection and ignore that connection she made.” !!

Theory is not a neat bag to wrap-up your actions in. We talked about theory being like the bones not the skin. Theiry is at the core of your actions

Theory indicates what you can do – you are following a set of connections to see what they are like and how they lead you can’t chop and change. You can notice where they differ for you or the situation you are in. So if theory is partly going on someone else’s ride (which you need to do because that someone else has spent a great deal of time thinking about ideas you are just finding out about), what is stopping you from crashing. If someone else is driving the bus how do you make sure you don’t end up in an accident???

-----Ethics. Having looked at ethical issues means you are aware of where you are not willing to go on the ride. It means you are prepared for possible issues and it means you have drawn a line in the sand as to where you are not willing to go with the theory. Ethics is not about a set of rules it is about being aware of and thinking about the consequences of what you are doing. We said

Ethics is a response to what the theory indicates.

All this was talking about what is called a theoretical framework. The framework from which you are thinking. We went to the library to look at Journal Articles. To see if we could spot the theoretical framework the authors were working with. This was looking at the bibliography* which shows whose theories the author was riding. Then reading the introduction or abstract to see what parts of the theory journey the author was on board with, what changed and what questions they had about it. (*That is what a literature review is partly for to share the places you are constructing your ideas from, to show the rides you have taken as you have thought about things.)

We watched this Ted talk. It tells us a lot about – believing /following a theory, using ethics, how ethical issues change for you depending on which theory you are following, how looking at an idea carefully changes your own personal practices and how conversation and discussion with others also looking at ideas carefully helps you better define where you stand.

Please discuss on this whole post in the Comments below:

Adesola

Dewey's Rabbit

AM chat – The Middle Ground.

This morning we talked about a number of things people felt ‘stuck’ on – AOL’s , the field of study for module two’s inquiry for instance. But then we stepped out of that and looked at ourselves within these situations. What is it like to feel stuck and how do other people cope with it? Sam suggested the Reflective diary really helped her consider and observe her own process for instance. Imogen said she noticed how she was looking for the product of being correct, when she knows she values process. She wondered if coming from a technically orientated background (waiting for correction as many dance classes structure themselves around when we were learning dance), if coming from this ‘technical’ background holds us back and chains us to right wrong. Jo talked about the feeling/illusion that ‘help’ is connected to ‘waiting to be told’. We talked about looking for the middle ground between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.

Parimala talked about the big difference between self-image as a dancer and the habits and actions of study (getting a computer, writing to express yourself…). I wondered how you reconcile or expand yourself image to one of ‘student’, or ‘academic’ or ‘study’. I wonder if part of this opening to self-image to be bigger that the course asks you to do is part of the discomfort. (The discomfort of opening something that has been working well up until now – your professional persona- to allow it to have this new identity – student- added to it that you are not as familiar with.) But this personal struggle should not over shadow that actual act of getting on with just trying your best because after all everyone’s personal struggle is hard whatever they are doing. Parimala joked that an area of learning could be “my area of learning is to be right!!”

I kept being reminded of the idea of love (and acceptance). How being in the process (rather than extending forward to anticipate the product) is about being in love – valuing the present now and trusting and accepting yourself enough to be present.

Often so much of all of the conversation is about just actually doing the act of studying and so little is about the ideas and thoughts of the content of the study. Maite led a great discussion on the relationship people have with their students. I find that this kind of discussion is helpful because it is about the ideas you are working with. Through talking however, a conversation about one thing often generates answers to something else. This is because if you are ready to hear something you’ll hear it in whatever form it comes, and if you are not ready to hear it you can be as direct as you like about asking about it you will not feel anyone ever answers the question!

I spoke about learning I have just had doing a course about hip and knee exercises. We started by learning a massage method. As I was massaging my colleague I realised I was holding my breath more in the areas on her foot where I knew there was tension in my foot. When I hold my breath, I cannot be in the same space of empathy (love) with her body that the massage requires. In those places, therefore I am not doing as good a job as in other areas on her body where my body is ok. My note to myself was to think about “we can only envision for others what you can imagine in/for yourself.” This limit of are ability to see in others what they can be are constructed from the limits we impose on ourselves. So, in order to support others to develop or change we must be able to be comfortable in change ourselves because the change in other people is a change in our own identity: for instance I was a teacher of a beginner and as my student develops I become the teacher of an advanced person. This can only happen, my student can only become advanced, if I am willing to see myself as a teacher of an advanced student. If I am not willing to grasp that identity then I am also not able to allow my student to become that. That’s what the massage taught me.

Here is a great video:

Have a look at what other people in the conversation post. Please comment.

https://imogenbutler72.blogspot.com

http://jorootsmapp.blogspot.com

http://maitemappdtp.blogspot.com

https://dixieogivar.blogspot.com

Adesola

First Sunday of the Month discussion groups chats

This Sunday are our First Sunday Discussion Group chats: This is  a chance to share your ideas, thoughts and activities with colleagues (other people who are thinking about the same things snd have similar interests). Think about what you would like to discuss. Think of this as leading a discussion (not asking a question) to see what other people are thinking and air your own thoughts. We have two times:

11am (time in London) - call will come from Adesola
or
5pm (time in London) _ call will come from Helen

Please comment below to indicate which discussion group you will join and a little about what you are thinking of talking about.

Looking forward to hearing whats been going on.

Adesola