Friday 17 September 2010

So What?

In order to allow you further inside the mind of a Dave, I feel it important to outline you my Educational, pedagogical and psychological paradigms. This is to ‘frame’ the future posts and to ground my ideas, thoughts and ramblings.

I would like to share the best piece of advice I was ever given as an undergraduate psychology student, a piece of advice I believe works across disciplines. The advice was actually a question; a question I continually ask myself and others whilst thinking about and conducting research.

This magic question: So What?

These two simple words, this seemingly flippant statement is my guiding light. So What? causes a researcher to think about the application of their research, forces us to move from the numbers and the ‘themes’ and towards the personal. Most importantly, So What? allows a researcher to dream. By questioning theory we can start to see new applications, criticisms and benefits; and this my friends is exciting.

So now if I am successful in highlighting to you the wonder that is, So what? a number of you I am sure are thinking .... Dave is writing a blog..... So What?

Allow me to answer your pertinent and well thought of question. In doing so I hope to offer more insights into my academic thinking and research paradigms. I have a number of reasons for starting this blog. Firstly It allows me an arena in which to write and to construct ‘on paper’ my thoughts and arguments. I agree I could just do this on the comfort of ‘word’ or any other word processor without inflicting them upon you. If however I did contain my thoughts, I would never receive feedback upon these thoughts. I hope that many of you will comment on my coming posts in order to point out any problems with my thinking, ideas and general gaps in my knowledge. I am looking to connect my ideas with the cloud and in doing so use the feedback to reinterpret and re evaluate my constructs and knowledge. I am looking to offer my intellectual property openly upon this blog in order to receive feedback from which I can learn and hopefully grow academically.

With this open; constructionist; connectivist paradigm in mind I invite and encourage each and every one of you to openly comment on my academic musings in the coming posts.

So What ? 

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