Pilot Observation

I chose to keep my observation relatively open, as I wanted to look at how my students participated in class and how they communicate between one another when devising their own work. I chose to be an active participate, as I did not have the time to observe a class, so also for convenience, which I guess is something I will need to consider when researching for my inquiry. I found it hard to maintain a positive position as a teacher, with so many things to consider during a class and to then have to split yourself into two is extremely difficult. Insuring you capture data and take notes is virtually impossible without disrupting the natural flow of a class. Reflecting back on the observation I now consider videoing the most efficient and precise way to record data with the least amount of disruption. Being an observer and a participate was  a conscious decision as I did not want the students to behave differently which I presumed may have have happened had I sat, observed and took notes, I think the balance is to keep it as near to a normal situation as possible in order to observe natural behaviour.

I asked the principle of the school if I could observe the class as well as teach. I explained it was just to investigate the usefulness of the inquiry tool in researching into my own inquiry. Reading the British Education Research Association guidelines has aided me in understanding the ethical issues involved in observing.

I wanted to look at the Kinesics, which is the science that describes bodily movement. Kinesics has given a name to something I just saw as the interpretation of bodily language. My inquiry will look at how people communicate and how their body engages in learning.  Even though I only managed to notate a few  things down about the observations I found it difficult to later start dividing behaviour and events as I had no comparison and for that reason alone I do not think just one observation is going to be beneficial when undergoing research for my inquiry. However I am concerned that if I observe for a week and then analyse the data and repeat this process, I will then be looking for a particular type of behaviour, so this is something I will need to consider.

I have also decided I want to look at different types of dancers so full time regular dance students and once a week students to see if they engage with learning dance differently.

My inquiry will involve both a quantitative and qualitative approach as I will be looking at how and why but also need to understand how much and when something occurs.

I think the most difficult thing about analysing observations is to remain objective about what you interpret something to be, instead of just seeing what you want it to be.

Inquirer as a participant observer

I believe the pros of being a participate observer is that you know how the community of practice works so you can look at areas of interest. It does however mean you can manipulate a situation and make it work or look how you want it to, so again it is not easy to remain objective.

As I have experienced it is difficult to find a balance between teacher and observer but although complicated with the right tools to notate the observations like video recording, you have a valuable position being actively involved in your own research. This type of research is less time consuming as it has little disruption to a normal day, however analysing the videos is where you find this tool time consuming, so time management again will be key. Overall observations are will be an effective and useful tool in aiding research into my inquiry, I will then follow up how I observe or view something, to interview a student and define how they interpret and understanding it.