John Dewey coined the term 'reflective thought'. He defined the
process as "
active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief
or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and
the further conclusion to which it tends". (Dewey, 1933).
Dewey's most basic assumption was that learning arose from the intensity how
one experienced an event, and the process of reflection upon it. For me,
being aware of the idea of reflective thought is one of the most important
tools for my own reflective practice.
Dewey made special reference to how reflection was especially
important to professionals with careers based on a process of change.
Working in the arts we depend on a continual growth in our work.
Reflective thought is a constant process invaluable in creation or
teaching. Be it when creating a lesson plan for young dancers, or
creating a dance work, we use reflective thought as a process to enlighten our
work. Dewey described reflective thought as
'continual reorganization,
reconstruction and transformation of experience' (Dewey 1933).
For me, this translates as a process of three stages.
Initially being fully present or ‘in the
moment’ in the event.
This will allow
clarity when I then record what took place, and my initial feelings on what
happened.
The next stage would be to
evaluate the event, taking care to acknowledge my own biases and strengths; why
I felt a certain way about what had occurred.
From there I can reflect on my conclusion of what took place, and how
this could shape future outcomes.
David Kolb published his model of the learning cycle in 1984.
His theory was largely influenced by John
Dewey’s ideas, among others.
“Learning is
the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of
experience”
(Kolb, 1984). He created this model:
He created the model on the conclusion that everyone experiences the event
in the same way:
we experience the
event, we observe others, we think about the experience and we actively
experiment (or test the idea).
The
process of learning would be to make a full loop on the cycle, reflecting in
each of the different forms and going full circle.
What ‘type’ of learner we are depends on where we enter the cycle, according
to Kolb’s model.
What I take from this
is that we are not only one type of learner but all enter the cycle at different
stages depending on the experience.
In
the majority of cases, and the events I have recorded in my journal I believe
that to feel something is understood I have to test the idea myself.
Clarity for me doesn’t come from
experiencing or watching others.
When
learning, as I am now writing this essay, I needed to read up on the idea.
I then created notes and graphs and read
other peoples’ thoughts through their blogs or articles.
Not until the point of active experimentation
(now) do I feel the Kolb’s theory is starting to be understood.
Around the same time as David Kolb produced his ‘learning cycle’ other ideas
of learning styles were published.
Howard Gardner, as well as Peter Honey and Alan Mumford creating
different models of learning styles.
Gardner produced a
list of intelligences. This was not to
say that people could be pigeon-holed into being one type of learner, but a way
to create awareness of the different intelligences that we use as tools to
learn.
‘Anything
that is worth teaching can be presented in many different ways. These multiple
ways can make use of our multiple intelligences.’ (Gardner,
H). Later Gardner speculated on the idea
that we use multiple ‘lenses’ to learn and that we can cross over. After a recent group discussion with Adesola
and other module one students, it occurred to me that we all probably use all
of these styles to learn in different situations. I developed my thoughts on this further
after the discussion on my blog: http://catherinehayward.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/group-skype-session-with-adesola-18th.html
Another important theory that relates to
professional practice, particularly for myself in dance pedagogy is the idea of
reflection ‘in-action’ and ‘on-action’. This
idea was coined by Donald Schon in the 1980’s.
He said that there are two types of reflection: we reflect during the
moment and ‘critically respond’ to what we are experiencing, 'in-action' or we reflect ‘on-action’
and think through / discuss the event after it has taken place.
There is an argument that ‘in-action’ is
harder to achieve as it relies on independent thought and reacting in the
moment. I enjoy the idea of ‘in-action’
being harder to achieve because we as performers have to do this in our
professional work, such as when we are learning choreography but have to perfect it and take correction at the same time. However, my initial thoughts upon reading about Donald
Schon’s theory was that perhaps we don’t always naturally respond ‘in-action’
but that it is something we learn through our practice. From my experience children learning to
dance don’t naturally analyse and think ahead while learning for example, but
it is something we as performers learn to do so that we can become better, quicker. I believe that reflection 'in-action' is a skill and like all skills it requires practice. While teaching now, I am more aware of changing my plan 'in-action'. If I can see that something is not being absorbed by the students I am not afraid to change what I am doing and teach it from a different angle or change the content in that moment. I have found that with time I am becoming more confident in this approach.
Now I am consciously aware of the theories behind
reflection and learning strategies, I noticed I am more thoughtful of the
approach I take when teaching children and adults. More that this I am also intentionally aware of
my own learning process and what works for me.
I have found that rather than always going to my ‘default’ way of
explaining something that I have been more willing to try a different approach
teaching. This way I have been able to
try out the idea of learning styles with my dance and drama groups. I want to see if there are students who are
quicker at picking something up if I mix up the order I would usually teach. For example, this week in my drama lesson I
started with the students lying down and listening to someone perform what they
were about to learn. Then I asked them
what they thought of the performance and what they would change. My usual approach would be to go straight
into teaching the lines and listening to somebody else afterwards. It was interesting because it sparked an
interest in a couple of children who would normally not be so forthcoming in
having an input. This idea of changing
structure to appeal to different learning styles is something I would like to
practically try out further.
Reflective practice is invaluable to the arts, in
that we are dependent on growth and change to create our work. Therefore it is something that I have always carried
out, however I am now intentionally recording and analysing experiences using
different tools I haven’t used in the past.
This has meant a greater depth of questioning the process behind my own
work, and where I am headed. Moreover, recording reflections through my journal has revealed common thoughts that
occur not always consciously. These thoughts need the attention of being recorded in a journal to allow them to be acknowledged as recurring ideas. From there they can be addressed; to be learnt from or to be used as material for creation.
Atherton J S (2013) Learning and
Teaching; Reflection and Reflective Practice [On-line: UK] retrieved 22
March 2015 from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/reflecti.htm
Dewey, J
How we think, (2007)
reprint, Champaign: Standard Publications, Inc.
Gardner, Howard (1983) Frames of Mind the Theory of Multiple intelligences, New York: Basic Books
McLeod, S. A. (2010).
Kolb - Learning Styles. Retrieved
from http://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html
