David Boud (Professor of Adult Education, University of Technology, Sydney), states journal writing can
be a "vehicle for learning" (1). However, it is important you as an
individual understand how you learn best in order to improve to your full
potential.
Howard Gardner (an American Developmental Psychologist) has
identified seven distinct intelligences. The learning styles are as
follows (2):
As a
dancer I personally feel I learn better using a body-kinesthetic and musical
style, as I can relate to rhythms and sounds and also learn well with a hands
on approach. Sometimes I have to do things in person to understand them
and I often put things I need to remember to rhythms and songs.
Another way I learn from mistakes I make as a dancer is by using muscle memory. If you repeat the movement enough times it will eventually become second nature and your body will take over without even thinking about it. Twyla Tharp (an American Dancer and Choreographer) quotes from her book "The Creative Habit" ‘...Muscle memory. Automatic. Precise. A little scary. The second time through, however, or trying to explain the steps and patterns to the dancers, she will hesitate, second-guess herself, question her muscles, and forget. That’s because she’s thinking about it, using language to interpret something she knows nonverbally. Her memory of movement doesn’t need to be accessed through conscious effort’ (Tharp and Reiter, 2006). (3)
As a dancer this is very appropriate as repeated practice allows the body to remember a routine and even perfect movements.
Keeping a journal is another way which could be effective for some people, as they could use this as a way of documenting choreographic ideas and those that worked well and those that didn't.
By writing a journal not only does
it allow you to evaluate what went well and what doesn't and how you can
improve on certain things Moon (an Associate Professor at Bournemouth University), identifies other purposes
of writing journals (4)
"To deepen the quality of learning, in the form of critical thinking or developing a questioning attitude"
"To enable learners to understand their own learning process"
"To increase active involvement in learning and personal ownership of learning"
"To enhance professional practice or the professional self in practice"
"To enhance personal valuing of the self towards self-empowerment"
"To enhance creativity by making better use of intuitive understanding"
"To free up writing and the representation of learning"
"To provide an alternative "voice" for those not good at expressing them-selves"
"To foster reflective and creative interaction in a group"
The quotes I have put in bold above are the quotes I feel are most relevant to what I will be considering whilst writing my journal.
Boud quotes "Reflection has been described as a process of turning experience into learning". (5)
Everyone goes through different experiences throughout life and therefore, this is why I believe everyone has a different learning style.
In the picture opposite, you can see John Dewey, (an American Philosopher, Psychologist and Educational Reformer), sees "Reflection as a meaning making process" and
it "Moves the learner from one experience
to the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections
to other experiences and ideas". (6)
I agree with this because
reflecting on whether a performance has gone well or not and if not how it can
be improved upon when you come to the next performance, is a beneficial
learning process.
I feel it is beneficial to reflect after what
happens as you can see the situation as a whole. However I have also used Schon's (1983,1987)
theory of "reflection in action". Schon was an influential thinker in developing the theory and practice of reflective professional learning.
I have used this method whilst teaching, as sometimes you aren't made aware that an exercise or a method of teaching you have planned isn't effective until you are in the process of using it. Therefore, you have to analyse the situation on the spot and think what would be more effective and change what you are doing.
There are different occasions of reflection. (7)
- Reflection in Anticipation of
Events - preparing ourselves for what's to come
- Reflection in the Midst of
Action - through noticing, intervening and
reflection in action, we can steer ourselves through events in accordance
with what our intentions are and with what we take with us to help us
through the process.
- Reflection after Events - the ability to view particular events
in a wider context. Here we can return to an experience, focus on
the feelings and emotions that were (or are) present and then re-evaluate
the experience in order to improve on what we could do better.
As a performer I can prepare myself for what's to
come by practising, however you can never fully prepare for what WILL happen. This leads to using
"Reflection in action", which I have used a lot without even
noticing! For example, the space in which we have to perform changes at
each venue and therefore we have to adapt the steps and spacing accordingly.
Also if someone becomes injured during a show we have to adapt and
re-block the performance. As they say "The show must go on".
After the show you can assess how well it went and what you need to go
away and work on more for the following shows, so the same mistakes aren't made
again.
When teaching, sometimes I prepare a piece of
choreography, however this is hard if you don't know the standard of the
students. I will then often have to use "reflection in action"
as sometimes they find what I have prepared too hard, so I have to simplify the
movements on the spot and vice versa, if they are finding it too easy I will
have to make it harder.
Kolb, (an American Educational Theorist), was highly influenced by the research
conducted by Dewey. Below is Kolb's learning cycle (1984). (8)
Kolb demonstrates that there are four parts to his
theory:
- Concrete experience
- Reflective observation
- Abstract Conceptualisation
- Active experimentation
Where you enter
the cycle depends on your individual learning style.
“Although we all have concrete experiences, reflective observations,
abstract concepts and actively experiment, the difference between us is the
point at which we start to learn...”(9)
On most occasions, I feel I enter the cycle at Active Experimentation
because I learn best by actively participating in the learning.
"Tell me, and I
will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will
understand." quote by Confucius. (10)
Although, I feel I would enter the cycle at different points depending on what I am doing. For example:
Although, I feel I would enter the cycle at different points depending on what I am doing. For example:
Choreographing
1. If I was choreographing, I would
start by experimenting with different moves to a piece of music. (Active Experimental).
2. Once I was happy with the
movements, I would finalise the routine. (Concrete
Experience)
3. I would then evaluate the routine and
whether it had turned out the way I wanted it to. (Reflective Observation)
4. Finally I would teach
it to a class and see if it suits their ability. (Abstract Conceptualisation)
Performing
1. When I am performing,
I enter the cycle at the Concrete Experience
point. This is because I have already
learnt the routine.
2. After performing the
routine, I would go on to reflect on the performance. I would think about what
had gone well and what I needed to improve. (Reflective Observation)
3. I would assess which movements
needed to be improved, e.g. a pirouette and how I could achieve this. (Abstract Conceptualisation)
4. I would practise the movement,
e.g. a pirouette and work on the technique until I felt satisfied it had
improved to the required standard. (Active
Experimental)
Gibbs was a previous Professor and Director of the Oxford Learning Institute, University of Oxford. His model was developed from
Kolb’s 4 stages.
Professor Graham Gibbs published
his reflective cycle in his 1988 book “Learning by Doing”. Below is the cycle (11):
It has 6 stages:
1. Description
2. Feelings
3. Evaluation
4. Analysis
5. Conclusion
6. Action plan
Even though both cycles are very similar in what they are achieving, I
feel having more stages in the cycle allows you to break it down in more depth,
allowing you to go into more detail.
This detail is important in helping you to improve to your full
potential.
Another learning style that was
inspired by Kolb’s cycle is that created by Peter Honey and Alan Mumford (Honey
and Mumford 1992). (12)
· Activists -
who are ‘hands-on’ learners and prefer to have a go and learn through trial and
error.
· Reflectors -
who are ‘tell me’ learners and prefer to be thoroughly briefed before
proceeding.
· Theorists -
who are ‘convince me’ learners and want reassurance that a project makes
sense.
· Pragmatists - who
are ‘show me’ learners and want a demonstration from an acknowledged expert.
If you were an Activist
you would enter Kolb’s cycle at the Concrete Experimental point. If you were a Reflector you would enter Kolb’s
cycle at the Reflective Observation point.
As a theorist you would enter Kolb’s cycle at the Abstract Conceptualisation
point and if you had a Pragmatic style of learning you would enter at the
Active Experimental point.
I feel I am an Activist
and a Pragmatist as these are the learning styles which refer to the points in
which I enter Kolb’s cycle. I learn best
when I can engage in the learning experience in a practical form.
I agree that all the
theories above are useful in reflective practice, however Quinn (1988/2000)
states a problem with the impact on the individual reflector is the way
reflection can involve constant striving for self-improvement. It can
lead to feelings of self-disapproval and self-rejection. (13)
Smith, (2001) has said
about Kolb's model, the stages or steps does not sit well with the reality of
thinking. There is a problem here - that of sequence. (14)
Dewey, (1933) has said
about Kolb's model in relation to reflection, the number of processes can occur
at once, stages can be jumped. This way of presenting things is rather
too neat and simplistic. (15)
Greenwood (1993) a Practitioner says
there should be more importance on reflection -before action. (16)
Davies (2001) identifies limitations to reflective practice, he states
that practitioners might feel “uncomfortable challenging and evaluating own
practice” and that it could be “time consuming”. (17)
I agree that it is
hard to critique yourself, but I feel instead of looking at it in a negative
way it is only beneficial if you take it constructively in order to better
yourself. The reflective practice method
allows you to change what is not working for the better, this enables you to be
the best you can be. It teaches us not
to get complaisant but to keep asking yourself how things can be improved and
this attitude is what will allow you to improve as an individual and keep
setting the bar higher and higher instead of staying still in the way you think
and work and therefore never growing as a person.
I have used a form of
reflective practice before whilst at dance College, as we used to have to
evaluate our classwork and write out corrections that had been given during
class. This enabled us to document the
corrections so we didn’t forget them, so we could improve upon them for the
next lesson. However, this task has
really made me think about the way I work in more depth and by going through
the different stages of the cycles published by Kolb and Gibbs, it has now
given me a structure to follow which I will continue to use throughout my
career.
1 .Boud, D (2002) "USING JOURNAL WRITING TO ENHANCE REFLECTIVE PRACTICE" -WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY 2014: READER 2.
2. Gardner, H (1983) UNDERSTANDING YOUR STUDENT'S LEARNING STYLE: THE THEORY OF MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES , AVAILABLE FROM www.connectionsacademy.com (accessed 23rd October 2014).
3. Tharp, T (2006) "THE CREATIVE HABIT", NEW YORK: SIMON AND SCHUSTER PAPERBACKS.
4. MOON, J (1999) WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY 2014: READER 2
5.Boud, D (2002) "USING JOURNAL WRITING TO ENCHANCE REFLECTIVE PRACTICE" - MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY: READER 2.
6. Dewey, J (1993) SOURCE FROM "JOHN DEWEY AND REFLECTIVE THINKING" Available from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/29999446/JOHN-DEWEY-AND-REFLECTIVE-THINKING (accessed 23rd October 2014)
7. Schon, D (1983, 1987) WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY 2014: READER 2
8. Kolb, D (1984) SOURCE FROM "SIMPLY PSYCHOLOGY", Available from http://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html (accessed 23rd October 2014)
9.Kolb, D (1984) WBS3730 BAPP ARTS, MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY 2014: READER 2
10. Confucius (450 BC) "EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING ARTICLES AND CRITIQUES OF DAVID KOLB'S THEORY, Available from http://reviewing.co.uk/research/experiential.learning.htm#axzz3HfhisO6Z (accessed 23rd October 2014)
11. Gibbs, G (1988) LEARNING BY DOING: A GUIDE TO TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS. FURTHER EDUCATION UNIT. OXFORD POLYTECHNIC: OXFORD- CYCLE.
12. Honey and Mumford (1992) "THE LEARNING STYLES QUESTIONAIRE, Available from http://www.peterhoney.com/content/LearningStylesQuestionnaire.html
(accessed 24th October 2014)
13. Quinn, (1988/2000) "REFLECTING ON REFLECTIVE PRACTICE" Available on http://www.open.ac.uk/cetl-workspace/cetlcontent/documents/4bf2b48887459.pdf (accessed 24th October 2014)
14. Smith, (2001)"DAVID A. KOLB ON EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING" Available on http://infed.org/mobi/david-a-kolb-on-experiential-learning/(accessed 24th October 2014)
15. Dewey, J (1933),"DAVID A. KOLB ON EXPERIMENTAL LEARNING" Available on http://infed.org/mobi/david-a-kolb-on-experiential-learning/(accessed 24th October 2014)
16.
Greenwood, J. (1993) "REFLECTIVE PRACTICE: A CRITIQUE OF THE WORK OF ARGYRIS AND SCHON.
17. Davies, S (2012)"Embracing reflective practice". Education for Primary Care 23:
9–12.
Sian - yes applying the learning theory to practice is key to being able to think through situations/experiences - so and a good appreciation of citation - so saying where ideas came form using authors - has there been any 'learning experience' theory in your previous education? how is it explained at performance college? or is it more implicit? Which theory/idea do you think will be most helpful to you in the next month?
ReplyDelete