Wednesday, 19 March 2014

Task 2c: Reflective Theories

Reflection is a process that many of us will go through both consciously and unconsciously each and every day, whereby we gain experience should we need to draw on it for a similar event in the future. 

This practice in ‘learning from experience’ helps us as humans to turn mere information into knowledge we can use and access. Reflection is a particularly significant activity where Work Based Learning (WBL) is concerned as WBL assumes that the experience of doing something will give you an amount of knowledge. It has been suggested that in order to turn these experiences into learning, we require ‘tools’, Boud et al (1995) that I will move on to look at closely and in more detail. Reflection as part of my BAPP course will allow me to lean from my experiences, compare those to mine and other people’s knowledge in order to further my understanding and to continue to learn.

Finding the knowledge that we are missing is the first step of understanding what you don’t know. McFee (1992) and his example concerning the concept of a bachelor seemed extremely confusing to me upon first reading it. However, I have since come to rephrase it for myself in order to make it more understandable; that living life and having world experiences and reflecting on those moments is when a person starts to come across new ideas and reformed ways of learning.

I have had a personal working relationship with reflective practice for years now without ever being acutely aware of what it was and how it helps me on a daily basis. Reflective practice is key to a number of professions, particularly those involved in a process of change. For me, this covers all areas of my professional life, from teaching to performing. Teachers are involved in a process of change in the educating of students as artists are in a process of creation.  After studying the core existing themes and ideas surrounding reflective practice across all professions, I have come to realise that I have been using a variety of theories without even being aware of them! Howard Gardner (1983) introduced the idea that different people have different and preferred ways of learning in order to gain the most understanding. Gardner talks of ‘multiple’ intelligences and through his research, was able to challenge the common conception of what a ‘traditional learner’ may look like. A visual learner describes an individual who identifies with learning through sight primarily, for example watching a demonstrations, seeing diagrams, reading extracts etc. An auditory learner would benefit from listening to a set of instructions or having something talked through with them and a kinaesthetic learner prefers a more ‘hand on’ approach, attempting things for themselves practically. As a classroom assistant for year 4, we have, in the past, asked the children to try and identify for themselves their preferred method of learning and therefore, Gardner’s theory of ‘VAK’ learners is a term I have been aware of for some time. In a context that relates to myself as a working professional, it is also beneficial for me to decipher what type of learner I may fall under. When I am in the process of learning a script, I find myself using a combination of techniques. The visual elements to my learning can be seen in the way that I highlight and annotate my script in order to aid my learning of it.  Another method that I often adopt is to record myself reciting the lines and then listen to it back, incorporating auditory aspects and finally I believe it is of great help when trying to get ‘off script’ when physical runs of the show are performed complete with staging etc thus finally incorporating the kinaesthetic.This can also be related to the students that I have to teach. I adopt a similar approach in my drama lessons; and have found that the younger students tend to respond better to a combination of auditory and kinaesthetic due to their reading skills not being as advanced. They learn their words through listening to me or by repeating them over and over. In dance, I find it slightly harder to recognise all three of the different learning elements. Students may pick up choreography more readily by watching me execute the steps (visual) or by continuing to practice the movement with their own bodies (kinaesthetic.) The only auditory help I find I am able to offer those learners is to count aloud for them or to say the steps a few seconds in advance. An individual may have one preferred method of learning, but it is important to understand that an incorporation of all learning styles is likely to be beneficial. It is this way of thinking that I try to adopt into the lessons that I teach, to demonstrate and deliver lessons and workshops that are aimed at every person in the class, not merely those with a similar learning style to me.

It is with those thoughts that I move on to discuss the concept of ‘muscle memory,’ a term that can be seen in the teaching of my dance classes. It is through the action of executing choreography, of exploring the capabilities of the body in space and to a rhythm that my students form knowledge through the experience of the ‘doing’ of it all. “Without a sense of the body, of sensation and feeling, we lose connection to what is around and within us, to the immediate and present moments of our lives” (Tufnell and Crickmay, 2004). Tufnell, Thare and Moon have stated that reflection does not necessarily have to take the form of a written process, but that being able to articulate and communicate it is crucial. Therefore, in order to be able to recall my ideas instantly and be able to plan and link my lessons together, I write down my choreography in a journal style. The journal of my lessons over the weeks is not the process itself, but the outcome of reflective practice that I have engaged in as a professional.

The above methods can be related to John Dewey’s theories of different levels of experience. Dewey believed that the quality of education an individual would receive from an experience is directly linked to the engagement and consciousness that the individual has with the experience, “a continued reorganisation, reconstruction and transformation of experiences” Dewey (1916.) In order for my students to receive the best level of education I can offer them, they need to be fully engaged with the experience, hence the importance of adapting a lesson plan to incorporate a variety of learning styles. In this way therefore, according to the theories of Dewey, the students will be taking away more knowledge from my lessons than if they had been less inclined to be engaged/get involved. From a professional performer’s point of view, I will gain more knowledge from an experience if I fully immerse myself and engage with the role/experience fully. When put like this, perhaps I have been aware in the past of Dewey’s theories without realising it? Kolb discussed the importance of identifying an experience and how the use of ‘tools’ enable and help an individual to reflect on it. His ongoing learning cycle depicts the different points at which a person may start to learn something new or notice missing knowledge. For some, this may be when they are directly involved with the experience, for others this could be when other individuals around them are doing it (reflective observation.) Perhaps, this is when an individual works through it in their heads (abstract conceptualisation) or by beginning to try ideas out (active experimentation.) The point an individual begins to learn is which point they enter into the learning cycle according to Kolb’s diagram, this becomes their learning style. Parallels can be drawn here I think to Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (VAK) in that a kinaesthetic learner will begin to learn through active experimentation. In terms of creating this blog, it was a new experience for me, one that I had very little original knowledge of to begin with. I therefore found myself drawing on the experience of others who has already begun blogging as well as tentatively trying my hand at a bit of ‘active experimentation.’

Donald Schon (1987) laid out his theory of reflection in/on action which is a theory that I find myself adapting in all aspects of my professional work. He believed that different types of people tended to learn from their experiences at different times, for example an artist reflects on what is going on whilst it is happening. It is this ‘hands on’ that sees them being able to adapt during an event whereas an academic would tend to reflect on an event after it has passed, going away and coming back to it following further thought. It is extremely important for me personally to nurture both of the above mentioned as one describes my professional artist, yet the other is the area that I am hoping to enter upon completion of this course. His theory can be put into perspective by thinking of situation whereby this applies to me. During a dance session, especially those I am covering last minute, I often have to come up with choreography on the spot, produce a routine as if from nowhere. If I see that the students are struggling with a particular section, or a step isn’t having the desired effect I was after, it is important to be to be able to respond quickly, by reflecting in action and during the moment. It would be no use leaving the lesson to return the following week with a revised plan-of-action as I may not be teaching that particular class again or we could have to move on to look at something new. The Reflection on action is something I feel will come into play when I am in a teaching position in a school, with a curriculum to follow and a set of lessons to plan and improve upon week on week. Kottcamp states that in-action reflection such as that of an artist is harder to achieve but more effective in the improvement of practice, resulting in ‘live’ experiments to adjust or improve an action. The individual in question must attend to the lesson, for example, at the same time as trying to observe it externally, whereas ‘on’ action reflection allows for full attention to be given to analysis and planning. Perhaps this is due to Kottcamp’s academic nature, but I personally do not struggle with reflection ‘in’ action as it is something a performer has to learn to do from the very beginnings of their career, or perhaps my skills in this area have improved as a result of what I do.

Upon further research into methods of reflective practice, it is apparent that many theorists have described processes that I go through during my professional work, whether I have been aware of it previously, or not. Professional practice has to be supported by the judgements we make as professionals in terms of our knowledge of values. By observing our own practice, and that of others (reflective observation) we can continue to improve our ethical practice alongside our professional. 

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