Reflection is something that i have encountered in my profession many times. I’ve always been aware of the term but wasn’t quite sure what it meant. It’s apparent that i’ve been doing it a lot but i wasn’t sure how i was doing it and why? Why do we reflect?
‘It is not sufficient simply to have an experience in order to learn.
Without reflecting upon this experience it may quickly be forgotten,
or its learning potential lost” - Gibbs (1988)
As a dancer, i seem to reflect back to when i was learning myself. I will always remember my teachers corrections for me to improve as a dancer and whenever executing certain moves, i can still hear them in the back of my mind. With this in mind, i seem to always be reflecting and i’m now passing on this knowledge to my pupils that i’m teaching.
Schön identifies two kinds of reflection: - Reflection-In-Action and Reflection-On-Action (Schön, 1987)
Reflection-In-Action (RIA) means to reflect in the present tense.
Reflection-On-Action (ROA) means to reflect after the practice has occurred.
In my practice as a Dance Teacher, I’m used to both kinds of reflection in my practice but i’m more familiar with Reflection-In-Action. I find it easier to Reflect-In-Action when teaching a lot as i need to make sure that the class i am teaching is keeping up. If for some reason, the students are struggling with the choreography, the pace of the class or aren’t simply keeping focused, then i immediately reflect-in-action and draw from past experiences to make sure that everyone is keeping up.
However, i could argue that i also Reflect-On-Action when teaching as i always look back on the class and reflect on What went wrong? What i could improve? and What worked?
Using a combination of both Reflection-In-Action and Reflection-On-Action will help me to develop the reflection of my practice.
I was immediately interested in Kolb’s learning cycle. Kolb’s learning style is represented by the four stage learning cycle. Kolb and Fry (1975) argue that the learning cycle can begin at one of any of the four points.
After reviewing the cycle, i decided to apply this to a recent event to show that i can relate to all 4 sections of the cycle. I have learnt that you can join the cycle at any stage but most of the time, any one stage often leads into another.
Choreographing a routine for my dance class i will:
- Prepare for the class by listening to various styles of music and planning in my head the choreography -(Active Experimentation)
- Creating the choreography -(Concrete Experience)
- Review the routine that i have made up- (Reflective Observation)
- Come to any conclusions about the choreography. Any changes to be made? Different music? -(Abstract Conceptualisation)
As you can see from the above. I follow the circle around when creating my choreography to make sure that i get the exact product that i want. This is something that i’ve always naturally done but wasn’t aware it was a process of reflecting.
However after more research, i came across a different learning cycle by Greenaway. His cycle is a more simplified approach than Kolb’s but i something that i can relate more to. Greenaway outlines 3 simple steps to help learn from an experience. This cycle also relates to Schön’s thesis of Reflection-On-Action as it is a process that is used to reflect afterwards.
1. DO - Have an experience
2. REVIEW - Review what happened and what can be learned from it.
3. PLAN - Plan a way to approach the next round of experience.
It wasn’t until i finished reading ‘Reader 2’ that i realised i was reflecting on different events every day. Weather this be in my personal or work life. Now that i have more of an understanding of the term “Reflection” and the process of “Reflective Practice.” I’m sure i will be using it a lot more in my daily experiences. I’m hoping that my practice will improve more now that i’m more aware.
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