There are many different ways of reflection that we
use on a daily basis, sometimes unconsciously and it becomes a natural process
our minds take us on. I will be looking at some of the key theories that are
used and how I have used them in my own professional practice, which will
hopefully help me in the future to improve on my approach to my work.
I have found that as a performer I reflect on my actions almost all of the
time, I believe training at a professional performing arts school from the age
of 11 years my teachers used to offer critical feedback and not so much praise
me in class. This then made me think ‘What am I doing wrong? and what can I do
to resolve the problem and prove the teacher wrong?’ In class we were often
told to bullet point 5 corrections that were personal to ourselves as targets
to improve for the next lesson.
I found that was useful and for this course I think by using bullet points to
note down things to be improved will be a good thing to add to my journal.
John Dewey was very focused on experience for use of reflection. He felt the
level of education as an experiential action viewing the process as ‘Continual reorganization
and the transformation of experience’ This is apparent when you look at the transition
between primary to secondary school children and then onto college and
university students. I feel that my role as dance ambassador, delivering
workshops to males aged 10-25, I will hopefully see the development of the participants
from session to session.
Dewey also talks about persistent thinkers. I feel
some of the challenges as a dancer I have to continually work on are my
flexibility and physical strength but with persistence and determination I try
to improve this. One of the quotes I like to think when I am struggling to
overcome something is ‘Failure is no option’ I find even when it doesn’t
necessary go to plan its all a learning process and can be improved for the
next time.
Kolb’s learning cycle: I found this very interesting as I feel at every stage
of my own learning process I use all four stages at different points in my practice.
I will now discuss these:
1. Reflective observisation: Reviewing/ reflecting on
my own experience.
I start learning from watching, learning and being inspired by others. I find
it sparks creativity which I can then expand on the initial concept and improve
things I feel would make it better. I would like to ‘shaodow’ a few more dance
classes taking note of how the teacher leads and organizes the sessions. I feel
this will help me with my own workshop sessions I will soon be teaching.
2. Active experimentation: Planning/ trying out what
I have learnt.
I am at the stages of planning workshop sessions with my colleague Sian, and we
are diversing 3 different levels to use with different groups of young male
dancers who we will be working with. I feel by having a structure to anything
is essential to gain the most out of the practice.
3. Concrete experience: doing or
having experience. I have been involved in dance from a young age and have been
professionally working in the arts industry for the last 4 years. Skills and
habits become second nature which help when you are coordinating a class, in
order to gain the respect from students to inspire them to work harder and to
think about their destination and goals they would like to achieve in the
future.
4. Abstract conceptualisation : Concluding/learning from experience. I find by ‘working
it out in my head’ helps me visualise what was successful and what was not. I
am a visual learner and by thinking back to the experience I learn choreography
through mirroring the shapes that the dancers make.
Schon: Reflection-in-action and Reflection-on-action. The idea you can reflect
during the situation or you can reflect after the event has happened.
Reflecting after the event and responding to the error after is often more of an
academic way of correcting the problem. I find this is more difficult as you
then have to remember what went wrong at a later date and go back on the fault.
I find when performing I need to be able to adapt and change the set sequences ‘in’
action if problems occur. As they say ‘The show must go on!’ I find this is
what my teachers encouraged that using my initiative to overcome the situation
was okay and it could then even re produce something better then the original
concept.
Robert Kottcamp: uses these terms reflection-in-action as (online) and on
action (offline) he highlights that refection-on-action is much harder to
achieve but the most powerful for improvement, as it results in experiments to
improve actions. ‘Reflection-in-action the actor is the sole collector of data
on the event’ (Kottcamp, 1990) I find I recall a lot of information as ‘sole
collector’ but now as im am teaching it is much harder to translate that into
words to direct students, this is something I need to work on as my perception
of something my translate differently to the people that I am teaching, as
everybody’s interpretation will be different.
This then leads on to ‘muscle memory’ the idea that
the body no the steps but this is sometimes difficult to break down and explain
the steps verbally. ‘We know more
than the body can tell’ (Polanyi 1966) I feel this is something I need to
improve on especially when teaching classical ballet as the terminology is in
French so it makes it even more difficult to explain as a teacher. Although the
theory is important every student is unique and may require different technique
to suit their learning styles. That’s why it is important that the teacher needs
to be creative and think ‘out of the box’ to help all students reach their full
potential.
Through studying on the BAPP arts
programme. I am learning to use my
reflective skills in a conscious and structured way as a means of improving and
developing in my professional working practice. These skills will continually
be developed as my professional experience expands.
