Everything I have taken from reflection in the last 4 weeks has drawn me to my personal conclusion that reflective practice is key to improvement.
If I don’t think about, analyse and evaluate my own professional practice I cannot improve. It makes me wonder why I have never done this before. Basically because I didn’t have the correct knowledge or understanding of reflective thinking.
The fact that reflection has been primarily for me and my own development and learning has been a positive learning curve for me. My past education and past events I have taken part in have always been presented to someone. My school work was always presented to the teacher, my tests were marked by examiners, I was carefully examined and graded when doing dance exams, my athletic events were viewed and my dance shows and performances were presented to an audience and now in the present and future as I attend auditions I will be presenting myself to the panel. Everything I have studied, practised or worked on has always ended up being showcased or carefully observed whereas learning to reflect on myself and know what I am achieving or what I need to work on is proving to become really refreshing for me.
To become a reflective practioner will be a challenge. It is something I have not always been familiar with but I know it will benefit me in my chosen career path and my general life. To think that I am reflecting for myself and my own personal developments feels good, I won’t be presenting it to anyone or I won’t have to showcase myself at the end of it. I will keep evaluating my own practice and continue my professional developments and hopefully see improvements as I become more familiar with my own beneficial ways to reflect.
I can see why using reflection in my teaching will be an important aspect of learning and developing. ‘The most distinctive of these very good teachers is that their practice is the result of careful reflection...They themselves learn lessons each time they teach, evaluating what they do and using self-critical evaluations to adjust what they do next time’ (Why colleges succeed, Ofsted 2004, para.19)
Over the last 4 weeks I have reflected thoroughly after each lesson I have taught, evaluating the students, my own teaching methods, the structure of the lesson, what seemed to work and what didn’t work quite as well. I have taken positives and negatives from each lesson enabling me to look in and focus on what I can change to better the lesson and how the students can also gain benefits. By doing this has had a positive change on me and my lessons. Each week I have tried to do things different, I am not to say everything has worked, it has been a trial and error process each lesson but I am now starting to see developments in certain areas of my teaching. An example being developing my structured warm up so the students could gain and develop technique and fitness levels ensuring there bodies were ready for class. Not only were the students gaining benefits of improving fitness, technique and muscle memory but the warm up became more structured and relevant to what we were working on allowing the lesson to move on in the right direction.
Reflecting is helping me notice why certain things are happening. Identifying critical incidents which to me have been significant and important. My critical incidents have been positive and negative realising a problem, a solution to my problem or realising that I need a particular development in a certain area and noticing strengths I have never picked up on. These incidents are leading me to ideas and solutions.
What I have noticed most and I have read on a few other people’s blogs too is that the most inadequate reflections are those who just describe what is happening. I started my journal this way and didn’t see any value in it, I needed more than just description and that’s why exercise 2b – Using different techniques to reflect helped me to reflect in more depth.
Driscoll and Teh (2001), Working in nursing and clinical practice, provide a simple but very useful framework for reflection based on three questions:
- WHAT? – Description of the events
- SO WHAT? – Analysis of the event
- NOW WHAT? Proposed actions following the event.
What?
- What happened?
- What did I see/do?
So what?
- How did I feel at the time?
- What were the effects of what I did (or did not do)?
Now what?
- What are the implications of what I have described and analysed?
- How can I modify my practice?
Finding this gave me insight on how I should be reflecting until a few weeks later I found a more descriptive model of reflection provided by Gibbs (1988) which made me take my reflective thinking to another level.
Description – What happened? Don’t make judgements yet or try to draw conclusions; simply describe.
Feelings – What were your reactions and feelings? Again, don’t move on to analysing these yet.
Evaluation - What was good or bad about the experience? Make value judgements.
Analysis – What sense can you make of the situation? Bring in ideas from outside the experience to help you. What was really going on? Were different people’s experiences similar or different in an important way?
Conclusions – What can be concluded, in a general sense, from the analysis you have undertaken? What can be concluded about your own specific, unique, personal situation or way of working? What are you going to do differently in this type of situation next time? What steps are you going to take on the basis of what you have learnt?
Using this model provided me with guidance for my own reflective process. I noticed my reflection became more in depth, thorough and meaningful which meant I gained more understanding of my events that took place.
‘Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience’ (David A. Kolb. 1984).
Kolb’s developed idea ‘The idea of cycle’ – A learning cycle talks about the different ways of learning: Do something, think about what you did, come to conclusions about what you did and plan to try again." (Kolb, 1984)
‘Some people start to learn when they are involved in a CONCRETE EXPERIENCE’ (Doing something).
Looking back through my journal I have learnt from Kolb’s cycle that I do learn when in a concrete experience. When teaching I am in the present moment and have to think there and then to help the children develop and gain skills and knowledge. By demonstrating movements to my students and seeing them repeat it back to me looking completely different to my expectations makes me realise in the moment I have obviously been unclear on what I want from them. I then go into more detail of the precision I want to see by slowly breaking down the movements and demonstrating in detail exactly how I want them to perform the movements. Whenever I take dance class, attend and audition or practice yoga I learn when involved in the concrete experience. If Receive a correction from a teacher or tutor, I will implement this immediately in the present moment and this is what I have trained my mind and body to do in all my years of education. It becomes second nature and almost a habit; I do it without thinking about it.
‘Some people can do something but start to learn about it when they are watching the people around them doing it: REFLECTIVE OBSERVATION (Watching).
Learning from reflective observation has become more useful for me within the last few weeks. I never considered myself as someone who would pay attention in a lecture or absorb all the knowledge and information by watching a video/audio presentation or a demonstration. I have always been the girl keen to get stuck in and just give it a go without much background information, knowledge or instruction. However I have noticed if I take step back, watch, listen and learn it can really expand my knowledge and depth of learning in a different way to just doing it. I watched and observed the teacher I was shadowing teach her lesson one week instead of me doing it so I could notice and learn from reflective observation. It was very interesting for me to watch. I observed and took notes on the way she taught and the way the students reacted to her teaching. I noticed what to avoid when teaching but also gained a lot of knowledge on different, positive methods of teaching. By the end of this lesson I had learnt as much as I would of by taking the class but also a deeper insight to teaching skills that I could implement into my own practice. I also started to learn more about the students different styles of learning by observing there reactions and approach to the direction given which helped me work with these student in particular in more depth during my next lesson. As well as watching and observing someone else and reflecting on how they work and learning from it, I also know that ‘reflective observation ‘within my own practice is key to improving my practice. Since I have started reflecting thoroughly on my events I have learnt that reflection is an image- a mirror image, we can see ourselves and other things around us. Whilst I have been learning by ‘doing’ I have actually started to learn more by thinking about what I have done, how I done it, what my experience was like and how I can do it differently next time. Looking back on a previous post on my blog: Task2a – reflective practice. I talked about how I wanted to make a conscious effort to use the learning styles I feel I don’t use regularly, reflective observation being one. I am a good observer but I have never reflected back on my observations. Reflecting on my observations is proving to provide more meaning and learning developments.
‘Some people need to work it out in their head first: ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALISATION (Thinking).
We have to be motivated to discover the relevancy of the ‘how’ of a situation. Application and usefulness of information is increased by understanding detailed information about the system’s operation. Abstract conceptualisation allows us to draw conclusions about our practice. I feel I struggle with this way of learning using an example being my driving lessons. I find it difficult to understand the theory behind driving and never seem to have a clear grasp of the driving concept. When my driving instructor gives me instructions and direction I just do it, remember it and try not to think about the science of theory behind the certain manoeuvres. I tried to think this way one lessons to see if it helped me grasp certain things quicker but my brain did not function this way and I found it a lot more difficult thinking than just doing.
Some people start to learn when they start trying out ideas ACTIVE EXPERIMENTAION (doing).
I feel as though I gain most knowledge and understanding in my practical work life but also my general life using active experimentation alongside concrete experience. I believe this is down to my individual character and how I have developed learning skills growing up has became a habit, however I realise I have developed new conceptions of learning provided by new experiences throughout my years studying and working, For example Kolb’s states that ‘ Different people naturally prefer a certain single different learning style. Various factors influence a person’s preferred style, For example, social environment, educational experiences, or the basic cognitive structure of the individual’. When I first began teaching I was given a class and told to warm them up to start a performance piece, although I wasn’t familiar with the students and what there bodies could achieve, I got stuck in using ‘active experimentation’ , getting to know them throughout the lessons and approaching new ideas in order to make my lesson successful. However if I would of observed the lesson first to gain insight to the students, there ways of learning and the teachers methods of teaching I feel I wouldn’t have gained as much as I did by giving it a go and learning throughout the process.
Learning only occurs when a learner is able to execute all four stages of the model. Therefore, no one stage of the cycle is as effective as a learning procedure on its own. Effective learning is seen when a person progresses through all 4 stages of the cycle:
1) Having a concrete experience. 2)Observation of and reflection on that experience which leads to 3) The formation of abstract concepts (analysis)and generalizations(conclusions) which are then (4) used to test hypothesis in future situations, resulting in new experiences. Kolb propose that experimental learning has six main characteristics:
- Learning is best conceived as a process, not in terms of outcomes.
- Learning is a continuous process grounded in experience.
- Learning requires the resolution of conflicts between dialectically opposed modes of adaptation to the world ( learning is by its very nature full of tension)
- Learning is a holistic process of adaptation to the world.
- Learning is the process of creating knowledge that is the result of the transaction between social knowledge and personal knowledge.
Here is an example of me using Kolb’s four stages of the learning cycle for my driving lessons:
REFLECTIVE OBSERVATION – I think about driving and when in a car with another person I watch and observe them driving.
ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALISATION – I try to understand the theory and science behind driving to realise the background knowledge of why I am doing certain things.
CONCRETE EXPERIENCE – Receive practical tips and techniques from my instructor and other drivers.
ACTIVE EXPERIMENTAION – I get in the car and have a go at driving.
Kolb states that ’learning only occurs when a learner is able to execute all four stage of the cycles’ which my example shows that using all four stages of the cycle gives a more in depth way of learning.
‘Sometimes we probably don’t event know we are having an experience at the time of an event’. Dewey used the term ‘reflective thought’ to talk about ways for us to be aware that we are having an experience, ways to find links to other experiences and ways to find meaning for ourselves. Dewey see’s reflective thought as a more scientific approach as he believes we need solid proof to support our belief. What supports our knowledge? He saw reflective though and: ‘Active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the ground that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends’ Michael Polanyi supports Dewey’s statement where he wrote ‘ I shall reconsider human knowledge by starting from the fact that we can know more than we can tell’ Polanyi’s statement raises two important points: The importance of articulation of reflective practice and the importance to have a variety of ways to support reflection.
As Kimberley Gallagher states in her blog: ‘being a beginner in teaching, reflective practice is necessary to building up my skills through mistakes and successes’. “The successive portions of the reflective thought grow out of one another and support one another...each phase is a step from something to something.” (John Dewey, What is thought? 1910) Dewey sees reflective thought as a stream or flow. This also applies to all of my reflective thinking and practice in my career. She also wrote “I experience a mistake; I correct it. I experience a success; I build on it. I build onto the success too far of which turns into a mistake; I correct it. I see a mistake; I correct it. It goes on and on”. "Until the artist is satisfied in perception with what he is doing, he continues shaping and reshaping" (Dewey, Art as experience, 1934 p51) Everything Kimberley talks about in this statement I can relate to as being a beginner in teaching also I go through this process quite often.
The most familiar approach to reflection was developed by the late Donald Schon. Schon argues that a vital attribute of all effective practioners, no matter in what area they operate, is that they are able to reflect on their ongoing experience and learn from it. Reflecting on what you do as you go about your everyday practice, he calls this approach ‘reflection in action’. Just as important as this approach, however, is the considered reflection that takes place away from the press of immediate action. This is called ‘reflection on action’. Robert Kottcamp puts forward that reflection in action is harder to achieve but more powerful for improvement of practice. As dancers we are so used to reflecting in action, it becomes second nature. We are told to correct a movement, posture, alignment or change the quality of our movement whilst in action; automatically our brains will react to correct ourselves in the given moment. ‘Reflection in action is often fostered in artists who respond to what is happening as is happens’ (if you are dancing across the floor and something is not working you change the steps as you are moving) it tends to be a ‘hands on’ way of working. ‘Reflection on action is often fostered in academics who respond to what is happening by going away to conceptualise it and look back on it’. Coming from a dance background I am used to adapting in the present moments, however since I have began teaching I have became more aware of the ‘reflection in action’ approach . They both have very positive impacts on learning and gaining a variety of knowledge.
Tharp explains the idea of muscle memory when demonstrating a dance, a tacit knowledge: ‘Muscle memory, Automatic, Precise, A little scary. The second time though, 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 non verbally. Her memory of movement doesn’t need to be accessed through conscious effort’ (Tharp and Reiter, 2006). Tharp describes how she makes sure she is in touch with her non-verbal self, her muscle memory and how this contributes her reflective practice as a professional choreographer. Tacit knowledge is knowledge you cannot express with words. Karen oysterman (Osterman and Kottkamp, 2004), Jennifer Moon (Moon, 1999) and others have argued the importance of finding ways to articulate tacit knowledge and experiences, not because they are only ‘real’ when they are put into words but because they have understanding and meaning in them that are important to access. Artists have argued the importance of accessing innate, tacit, gut feelings that many use in the arts. Although many artists do not expect to give voice to their tacit knowledge through words, they do see accessing and communication with it as part of the professional creative process.
Tufnell, Tharp, Moon and others show that reflection does not have to happen as a written process, but they also stress the importance of being able to articulate and communicate the reflective process so that you can recall ideas, plan or link.
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