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Showing posts from March, 2020

Not Knowing

Today we had a module 3 Skype call where we were able to share our experiences with our inquiries and how the process has been. From this conversation, I took away a lot that I can incorporate in my own work and expand my understanding on different topics. One of the main things I took away from this session was understanding that not knowing things is ok. It is something that I think I already knew but never really understood the extent of it. Something that Adesola said within this Skype call that really resonates with me is to 'enjoy the empty space as well as the full space.' Not knowing is part of the fun of research and learning new things about different topics should excite you. I feel that the thought of not knowing an answer scares a lot of people, but a lot of the time there is never one answer. Having an open mind is incredibly important and it allows us to expand and broaden our knowledge. Enjoy the opportunity of discovering something new to you and don't worr

After our career

Creating this research project has been eye opening to me. I have had the chance to read a lot and understand more about my professional practice. To me that is amazing because now I have a better understanding of where I am with it. One of the most recent things I have been looking into is Dancers' Career Development (DCD). My inquiry is about the end of a dancer's career and DCD aid performers in their transition to the next vocation (DCD, n.d.). When I was in school and also working in the UK as a professional ballet dancer, we had many workshops and lectures with this organisation. They would talk to us about the options and opportunities we had after our careers as ballet dancers. A career as a ballet dancer is relatively short. Most people retire at the age of 35-40. After that we need to find another job. This organization helps us to understand that there are no limitations. That the world has a lot to offer and just because our lives have been taken over by ballet sin

Interviews

For my inquiry, I have been undertaking interviews to gain data and information to include within my final report. Within this process I have discovered many things whilst interviewing each individual. These interviews have been a learning curve and I have developed my skills as a researcher in the process. Within the first interview, I realised that I must not encourage a certain answer from the participant. I found myself leading them towards an answer I wanted to hear, which I had to correct in the moment to not jeopardize the results. I also learned that keeping the conversation natural is the best way to relax the individual. Each of the interviews is recorded which can create a sense of unease within the participant therefore, I found that the less I check the recording is ok, the more we both forget its there, resulting in a more natural and thought out opinion from the participant. Allowing the participant to talk is also key and making sure you have enough time for them say wh