Update on my interviews and data collection:
I have done a 'cold call' of sorts, and emailed eight high school dance directors across the country to participate in my study. I have received 1 response, and 3 more 'interested/maybes/time permitting' (I am gently nudging and following up). No response from the other 4 even after a kind follow up email.
So, the show must go on. Instead of reaching out to more strangers, I decided to let the strangers come to me! I joined a Facebook group called 'Elementary and Secondary School Dance Teachers Network.' I made a posting about my research and a call to action to see if anyone would be interested in participating. It has only been 5 hours since I made the post, and I got 3 new participants with many years of teaching experience who are eager to chat about dance assessment with me! The joys of the Internet...
I am very much looking forward to tying up the bow to this data collection phase of my research, so I can begin comparing everyone's thoughts and practices. I am curious how everyone else's data collection is going, and if you have had to make any adjustments? I constantly remind myself that research (and life in general) is like an improvised dance; we need to continually listen to our surroundings, open our eyes, adjust accordingly, and keep reacting to the moment to continue growing. It can be scary and intimidating with all of its countless possibilities, but also incredibly satisfying and enlightening. Onward!
That is really helpful. I am in a very similar place, hoping for replies from teachers with busy lives. Initially the response was really good but not enough answers yet to give a good rounded study. I find myself email watching, every little pling on my phone could be another yes. But what if at the end of this week there are still too few participants. I may take a leaf out of your book and see if there are facebook forums I can try, it seems to be working well for you. Thank you for the idea.
ReplyDeleteHi Simon, I have reached out to people all over the world to get as varied findings as I can. I wanted to know how different the findings could be if the demographics and social economic status were all completely different. Having not received as many answers as I would have liked, I really am glad I found your blog post and idea on joining a facebook group. I do that for answers on food and places i visit, I dont know why I didnt think of it for our MA :) My answer is that we try so hard to complicate it and like we did in Module 1 when trying to determnine our AOLs. We didnt need to look for them, as they were already embedded within us. Thank you Simon I needed to read this today.
ReplyDeleteFollow up on Simons advice ..
ReplyDeleteA company that does work in my field of research that I have trying to get in touch with to no avail via their contact page and contacting admin etc finally got back to me in minutes.
I found their facebook page and the director replied to me instantly on Facebook messenger. So we are chatting now about our methods and frameworks for teaching children in a foreign language using the language of dance! Thank you again
Linda, I'm so glad this worked for you too! We are all much more connected than we think.
DeleteHi Simon
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about life being like an improvised dance. Fortunately for me my research is about dance improvisation, flowing with the twists and turns of the narrative emerging is part of the process. You have set yourself a harder task by engaging strangers in your 'dance' - I look forward to hearing how they affect the outcome.