A meeting of minds

I had a very encouraging meeting with my 'Gatekeeper' and thought it would be useful to write out some of our thoughts...........

I approached her a few weeks ago with regards to my inquiry but as I was still unsure as to what path my inquiry would take I could only ask permission to induct an Inquiry without giving any ideas as to what it would entail. I been spending time (furiously as I'm sure we all have) preparing my plan so I have a more detailed idea of what tools I will be using and how this will impact the students and my workplace where I will be conducting my Inquiry. I thought it would be a good time to meet with my gatekeeper an fill her in in a little more detail how my inquiry will work and its impact.

My first concern was my use of focus groups. I feel this is vital to my inquiry to see if any progress is being made, but the students timetables are full and fitting in focus groups during lunch (only 30 min) would not give me an appropriate amount of time.

Focus groups normally last about an hour and a half. 

Rowan University.

  Limit the time for a focus group to two hours or less. Usually somewhere between 60 and 120 minutes is ideal. If you’re doing groups with children, the younger the children, the shorter the group should be. 

CDC.gov

Fortunately through our discussion I was able secure an hour slot during my working hours that would not impede on the students studies, whew! one hurdle crossed.

Next we moved to disusing my topic of inquiry, my employer was very interested to here my topic was motivation particularly my findings regarding extrinsic rewards and their effect on intrinsic motivation. As a school we are heavily set around examination. The students have three years to gather the required number of examinations to gain the teaching qualifications, so the thought that these exam deadlines may have the opposite effect on a students motivation than you might at first think is one that grabbed the attention of my employer (me also, until gathering research for this inquiry I always thought as exams as a great motivator, and I suppose for children this might be so but the students are working towards a career in the Arts so these exams are given a lot more wight which carries added pressure upon the short three year deadline) I explained that my intention was to look into ways we can help students stay motivated. If students had a model to shadow and guide them it could possibly help. I also brought up that studies have shown that students who are in charge of their own learning are more likely to be intrinsically motivated. This is a tough one. Although they have opportunities to develop their artistry and choreographic skills the teaching course is mainly a didactic approach to teaching. We instruct the students on correct technique, we teach them the syllabus work and theory that goes with it. The problem is it has to be exact there in no room for artistic licence. So my employer challenged me to find a way that students could be in charge of their own leaning without impacting their education. I would like to cover this in my inquiry, Would giving the students more responsibility for their leaning help their levels of motivation? 

Next we covered what I will be asking of the students who will be participating in my focus group. As well as joining the group and sharing their thoughts and concerns (here we covered the ethical implications that my groups will be confidential, to encourage the students to talk honestly and openly to me) I will ask my students to complete a diary of there thoughts and feelings each day. I am hoping this will help us to find patterns that effect their motivation. The students are given a review with the principal regularly to talk about their progress and discuss their aims as well as regular tutorials where they can discus any problems or concerns they have. I mentioned that the diary's may be of use for all students to keep a record of how they are feeling and what has effects on their motivation, so they could then use them as reference and reminders in preparation for their reviews and tutorials, I feel this is something we could look into implicate if the diary's are successful. 

Overall this was a very beneficial meeting it allowed me to update my gatekeeper on my intentions for this upcoming inquiry and also talk about how it could benefit the students involved but also the potential of all students attending the college. It also gave me food for thought on some methods I could use to help with my inquiry.

Resources 

Toolkit for Conducting Focus Groups, Rowan University

General Guidelines for Focus Groups, Centers for disease control and prevention.