Module 3 is here and I can't quite believe how quickly this year has gone. What a year!! Since this time last year I have travelled (again!) and had some incredible adventures...decided on a future career path as a primary school teacher and started a new adventure in another part of the country with a new teaching support role starting in September.
I was pleased with my feedback for module 2 and after much reflection and a few conversations with my tutor I could finally get my questions to the place they need to be, though I think I will constantly be re wording them to the last possible minute. I realised my questions were very specific, I was targeting a specific problem and looking at it from a problem solving view instead of an exploratory one. As discussed in my feedback I am not in a position to apply change to a situation in my current role, but I am in a position to apply knowledge to my own personal practice and everyday life. So I needed to readjust my thinking from ' this is a problem... How can I solve it?' to more of a ' Why does this work this way... How?...' type approach. I have a very active mind and become passionate about an idea very quickly, on reflection I think this is the reason my questions became so specific and focused into the subject area of inclusion in primary schools. But this can be one of many things I ask about! I was really cutting down the scope of research I could do by being so specific, altering my questions means a broader horizon and more knowledge to be gained whilst still touching on that area of inclusion.
Studying on the cruise ship was something that allowed me a lot of time to really get my head down, the downside was obviously the internet and connectivity to the rest of the world. I desperately missed not being able to just check things online or look up that article I had wanted to read. I had to come up with a new system and make a lot of lists, planning ahead for ports I knew had decent wifi connections. But this did allow me uninterrupted time and study on one particular article at a time and I think it really helped to develop my critical thinking, it simply wasn't possible for me to become distracted by another idea because all I had was what was in front of me until the next port. I would make a note of it and then add to the list of things I needed to look at next time, it became a very methodical way of working with definite progression. I think it helped to develop my sense of focus and even though I am glad to be back in the world of wifi I will endeavour to not lose this sense of concentration.
