Task 2: The Reflective Practitioner

I've been gone for a while. The funniest thing is, I knew where I had to be and what I had to be doing but a strange fear has kept me away. I couldn't tell you whether it was a fear of not saying the right thing or weather people would be interested in anything I write but today something said that if I don't get over this "fear," I  would stay scared possibly for the rest of my life.(or for the remainder of the BAPP)....

As I read through the reader on the Reflective Practitioner, I realised that reflecting is something I do a lot of and since I've sold my car it’s something I'm doing a considerable amount of, especially on my travels whether it be on the train, bus or on foot. I think taking time to reflect on any experience or situation that you come across is so important as it allows you to understand certain things better, perhaps make things that may have confused you become clearer and enable you to change things that may not have been right, all in all it's about learning.

For me, reflection is all about looking back on things that have happened usually that day but commonly in previous, weeks, months and even years.

Many of you have spoken about not knowing what to reflect on or even how to keep a reflective journal. For me, it’s something that I’ve been doing for a while but maybe not in the most obvious of ways. As a dance teacher within the community I find I always have something to reflect on, this could be how I felt a class went, why I think a child/children behaved as they did and always, how I think I could make a session better. I have always been quite a confident writer but sometimes I feel as if I just don’t have the time. Usually after I’ve been teaching for most of the day, the last thing I want to do is pick up a pen and start putting my thoughts and ideas to paper. However, what I’ve never been too tired to do, is use my Blackberry to keep in contact with my friends. You may be thinking, ‘well that’s a bit random?’ but with the use of this technology (going back to how important the use of web 2.0 tools are to us as professionals) I have managed to keep a reflective journal. ‘How?’ you may ask. I have simply added myself as a contact so technically I am seeing myself as my own friend. I “ping” myself my thoughts, my ideas, anything I’ve experienced that day and whatever else I can think of. I am so comfortable using my technological device that when it comes to reflecting I don’t see it as a chore but more of a conversation with a friend. In doing this, I have found a way to reflect in a format most suited to my own needs.

I felt so enlightened as I read through the course reader put together by Adesola Akinleye, (Akinleye, 2010). I didn’t realise how important a tool reflection can be to a professional. Not only within the arts spectrum, but across any professions that are involved in the process of change, for example; Nurse (healing), artists (creating) and Architects (design). I also didn’t realise how we are all accustomed to different ways of reflecting. To me reflecting was reflecting right?

I think about what I write when I’m reflecting and it is only now I see that what I’m writing is and will continue to enhance my professional practice.

Here is a small excerpt from my Blackberry journal written on November 3^rd 2010:

“So I came away today from teaching, knackered but with a sense of achievement. I’m learning (only now) that preparation is the key to a successful lesson.

When I relate this to Honey and Mumford’s adaptation of Knolb’s ‘Learning Cycle’ I can see how this process now allows me to break my reflective thought into the ‘four stages’

·        Having an experience

·        Reviewing the experience

·        Concluding from the experience

·        Planning the next steps

(Honey, 1982, Honey and Mumford, 1983)

Through reflection I have been able to identify that I have had an experience. I have looked back on the experience and realized what I have learnt from it. I am now taking what I have learnt and planning what to do next. I will now start planning my lessons thoroughly.

The learning cycle

                                                           http://bsspdl.wordpress.com

I look at the Knolbs ‘learning cycle’ and wonder just where I fit in and how I reflect best. Hopefully as I continue to note and learn from my experiences, where I enter the ‘learning cycle’ will become clear.

References

HONEY, P.
1982.
Manual
of
learning
styles, Maidenhead,
Peter
Honey.

HONEY, P.
&
MUMFORD, A.
1983.
Using
your
learning
styles,
Maidenhead,


Berkshire, Peter
Honey.