Wednesday 4 May 2011

Log 4 Critical reflection on learning across BAPP course

When I first started this course I had no idea how much academic work I was going to do. If someone had told me one year ago that I would conduct a whole project and then write 12,000 words on the process, I would have called them a liar. I have shocked myself in how much I have achieved since doing this course.
When I first started, I was a little apprehensive. I didn’t fully understand how the tasks where benefiting me as work based learner. In reflection however I understand that now because I have never been exposed to this way of learning before and I know now how crucial each stage of this course was in preparing me for my project. I can remember thinking how out of depth I felt. This course has taught me to persist. To try and try again and has broadened all knowledge I have of academic writing skills. I can see how my work has improved along the way and that makes me feel proud. Using blogger was a new experience for me and has been beneficial as I never felt alone in the process. In the past it has been easy for me to get stressed out when it came to academic work and deadlines but using blogger has helped me see all the other people in my situation and that has been comforting.
If I had to pick a part of the course that I enjoyed the most it would probably have to be the planning of the project. It was after all my mixed feelings but before the stress of actually doing the project! Haha.
Each module book has been my bible and now it is all coming to an end there won’t be a handbook to tell me what to do next, instead I will take all the skills I have acquired on and put them to good use in my future career events. I appreciate all the positive support I was shown and without the guidance given to me has allowed me to create a project developing my companies outreach work. Even saying it now it sounds so grown up!

Log 3 summarise main project findings

My research question was “Can using the inclusive method (practised by Chickenshed) develop a person’s awareness in sexual health?”
Completion of each stage of my project depended on the value of research gathered. Using action research I had a constant view to develop and improve my performance based workshop which went through many stages of development. Using various research tools over a 6 month period Ed-sex-tra was able to fulfil its its goal in creating a performance based workshop that could be taken into a secondary school, in doing so we have successfully developed Chickenshed’s outreach work which was an aim of my project. We delivered the workshop to a class of pupils with a view to broaden their perceptions of sexual health (focussing on sexually transmitted infections and diseases) 83% of male participants and 70% of females within the secondary school agreed that other young people should attend this workshop. Within the collected feedback there was clear view that participants had indeed been influenced by our workshop activities and learned more on Sexually transmitted diseases and infections, I believe this to be in consequence to the way in which we followed inclusion throughout the entire process. Ed-sex-tra succeeded in creating an open, comfortable environment for students to learn in, not just within the workshop but also in each research activity. It is therefore a simple word that can answer my research question, Yes!