Ethical Action Plan

I found the writing of an ethical action plan quite a daunting task at a relatively early point in the unit, but the process was invaluable in terms of the focus it gave me. It’s formation was at the heart of our first workshop and the form provided a map that re-enforced some of the preparatory talks we had before the unit started. It also made clear the responsibility we had to our participants and the material they produced ( BERA guidelines 2024)

We had a lot of support from peers and tutors in the session, so once I had completed my form and sent it to my tutor. He replied:

“I have reviewed your ethical plan and I confirm my approval for you to continue your research. In considering some of the comments you received from your peers in the recent tutorial you should have enough to progress your action research…..Your plan is very well structured and the only comment I have for you is to keep your timeline in mind because of your list in point 5 of the ethical plan.”

( Baah 2025) 

This last sentence was a useful reminder, and as a result I created a Mural board ( protected by password) – a platform I often use when I am designing for a show. This helped me be mindful of the timescale and the task in hand, and enabled me to organise all the elements of this unit in one main place, visually. 

Visualising Timelines

The Mural board I created became fundamental to this project. I have gathered here documents, timelines, reading lists, quotes, plans for my blog and presentations, a running to-do-list, reflective model and images for my resource. This sits alongside my PG Cert notes book and scraps of paper for daily tasks. 

This method of planning and organising has helped to coax me into the unit – the writing and recording of which was quite nerve-wracking for me. Having an interesting visual layout reassured me that I had some thoughts, had done some work and helped me to see unexpected connections between elements. I will continue to use this platform to plan my teaching and will share it with the students in classes to complement the use of other digital resources such as Padlet.

 ” Now the spread of graphical computer technologies is permitting a return to our visual roots with a new balance between hemispheres and ways of thinking – presenting new opportunities for problem solving and big picture thinking.” ( West, T 2004) 

Looking back at my plan, I was able to achieve what I set out to do, but I would include a more detailed outline for my reading and writing up – this was the thing I found hardest to schedule! It is still growing as I move into the last phases of the unit – please do have a look at it HERE

Information sheet

This is the information sheet that I emailed to my interviewee, and that I displayed in the classrooms during my November sessions. I also used it as a structure to verbally describe to the participants what my research was about, what they would be interacting with and to ask for their consent. By this point I had begun to think about making these documents more accessible, checking for plain language, using a sans serif font and including a coloured background. There would be more work to do here in terms of access to this document, including editing the content to make it more succinct, providing a digital version that could be translated or read with appropriate support ( such as using Speechify for example).

Participant Consent Form

Participant Communication and interview schedule

This is a screenshot of the interview schedule, proposed to actor Alex Bulmer within an email and accompanied by a consent form and the information sheet. They wrote back to suggest another question be added, so the final interview schedule looked like this:

• What inspired you to become an actor and what continues to feed your curiosity? 
• What helps you to feel comfortable and confident in a costume?
• How important do you feel representation and visibility of differently abled people are within the performance industry and why? 
• What tips do you have for designers if they want to work inclusively and accessibly?

These and the accompanying documents were included in the body of an email as Alex is blind, and has computer software to help speak text. I also offered to read the consent form and information sheet to them, though Alex said that wasn’t necessary, and Alex gave verbal consent ( which was recorded).