Reflective Theory

Tuesday 23rd October 2012

As humans, I feel we are constantly 'learning from experience'. Without actually doing something, we would never know what an action involved or the emotions that were involved in the process. We can all learn from every thing we do in life, whether it be positive or negative - we are still learning. 
Personally, I always try to reflect on events in a positive way. It is so easy for us to dwell on the negatives: "that part was awful", "I should have said [...] rather than [...]" etc. I like to think the following: "next time, I will have improved on [...]" and pick out the strongest moments.
I don't use 'I learnt that by experience' very regularly at all. I believe that we are always learning that way and every day we learn something new. However, I do think that we 'learn from our mistakes'. Once we have dealt with our mistakes we know what went wrong, not to do it again and how to avoid it in the future.

This links in with Donald Schön's ideas behind "reflection-on-action" - looking back on an action. I definitely use this rather than "reflection-in-action". At times, I do use the latter, attempting to divert the direction an action is going in order for it to all be correct and run smoothly. However, I would still then use "reflection-on-action" afterwards to prevent such an occurrence again. A mild example of this would be working with children. I have dealt with a child falling over and injuring themselves. At the time, I dealt with it by looking after the child and taking necessary actions but then looking back, I now know what else I can do to prevent children falling. Keep an eye on them at all times and clear any obstacles. 

Kottcamp says that reflection-in-action is harder to achieve but is "more powerful for improvement of practice." I disagree. I feel that reflecting back on an action can be just as powerful as we gain a clear idea of how to avoid any wrong-doings next time and make any improvements. I do understand that it is important but feel that both types of reflection are equally powerful.

When at my peak in dance training, I would have been an 'online' practitioner. Every movement and performance I did, I would be thinking about what came next and how I could adapt things if I needed to. I would always also use the 'offline' approach afterwards. Nowadays, I am still actively 'online' but I'm more of a forward thinker. I look for possibilities and how I would approach something should it occur. I have to question whether this links with Kottcamp's ideas.. or does he just think about the moment there and then, not looking forward on the event?

I feel I can relate to Osterman's views on tacit knowledge. Having studied art as well as dance, I can understand the difficulty of expressing an action or emotion in words. I actually find it easy to do this with writing, however, if I were asked to write down an explanation of 'how to draw an apple' to someone, I would struggle. It would be much simpler to take out a piece of paper and pen and draw it step by step. The viewer could then reflect on what I have shown them and repeat the process. 
Boud says that a journal "provide[s] an alternative 'voice' for those not good at expressing themselves" - this is how I can feel with drawing at times. As well as expressing myself in a different way to writing my thoughts down, drawing relaxes me and distracts my mind. 

From my studies on being a 'reflective practitioner', I am aware that I want to improve my "reflection-in-action" skills. Now that I am not in dance training, I want to use the knowledge I had before and put it into every day life. My previous education and experiences have allowed me to think before and after actions, now I want to work on the parts in between! 
When we 'return to experience', we could be re-living it (or an event very similar) or simply, re reading our thoughts on it, we can fully understand the situation and know what to do when returning to it.

Reflection is something that occurs naturally, whether we are conscious about it or not. It is so important to assess what we do every day. We can look forward to the next few days or weeks, give ourselves aims but also think back to what we have already achieved and how this will help us reach our goals.
Without these reflective skills it would be difficult to progress and to grow in confidence within our professions.


“My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery - always buzzing, humming, soaring roaring diving, and then buried in mud. And why? What's this passion for?”
- Virginia Woolf