Online tutorial with:
Kwame Baah, Jess Curtis, Antonella Norris and me.
This session was a lot less formal, and I am focusing my Blog entry on the feedback I received. I engaged in verbal feedback with both Jess and Antonella, but have not recorded it.
Key points for this tutorial:
- Resolving the U18 consent issue
- Defining methodologies
- Refining the aim of my ARP
I discussed my progress, how I had formalised my aim to enhance (empower?) student voice by fostering conversation and gathering data to improve student learning spaces. Kwame advised that, in terms of timeframes, it would be best to keep it ‘snappy’ and to the point. By keeping moderation in mind, I would be able to resolve issues such as underage consent, which had become a real challenge. Having spoken to colleagues who had already undertaken the PGCert, I had reached no formal solution. Jess was the one to come to my rescue and found documentation on GOV.UK, stating that parental consent was not required (for the type of activity I would be running) for over-16-year-olds. This was a great source of relief, allowing me to move forward with finalising the consent and activity forms.
Kwame suggested that I map out definite things I knew I could do, such as send out an invite for the activity, develop the questionnaire. Consider the cycle.
After the session, I generated a ‘mindmap’ to plan my thinking:
Although not a formal mind map, I found that setting down my thoughts in this format can help me represent ideas around a central theme in a non-linear graphical format (which links to McNiff and Whiteread’s non-linear action research cycle (s)). This is an invaluable approach that I use regularly when researching. It aids brainstorming, can bring structure to projects, and helps organise complex information, making it easier to understand systematic thinking.
And finally: Kwame’s final advice for the presentation.
Next Steps:
- Send out invite to students participation.
- Complete Ethics form and return to KB
- Complete / formalise activity.