Reflective theory - how I learn
Today I have been looking at how I learn and Kolbs learning cycle.
Kolb says that ideally this process represents a learning cycle or spiral where the learner 'touches all the bases', ie., a cycle of experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting. Immediate or concrete experiences lead to observations and reflections. These reflections are then assimilated (absorbed and translated) into abstract concepts with implications for action, which the person can actively test and experiment with, which in turn enable the creation of new experiences.
At first I thought it was hard to tell where I actually enter the cycle as I think we all have a little of all of them in normal practice and not one exclusive single style or preference in exclusion of everything else.
I consider I am a person embedded in my culture, geography and historical time and I have been influenced in my thoughts and opinions by my upbringing, my parents, peers, education and tutors and this all plays an important part in how I learn and the conclusions I draw from that information and any experiences.
When thinking about making a blog for this course within Web 2.0 technology this was a new experience for me. I had used “My Space” and “Facebook” as social networking sites to keep in touch with friends so had some very limited experience to draw upon but hadn’t explored the possibilities of Web 2.0 or considered the use of technology in promoting myself in a professional sense or keeping a blog specifically designed to develop my professional practice and find my own artistic vision.
Therefore fitting this into Kolbs cycle;
I entered at the “Activist” (Having an experience) stage – this was the experience of setting up my blog.
The second stage was to research Web 2.0 and consider the possibilities it offered looking at the pros and cons and developing my own ideas and opinions on some of these – the “Reflector” (Reviewing the Experience).
The third stage was where I was learning about Web 2.0 and planning and experimenting with various ways of working within it and where I took action and made choices – the “Theorist”( Learning from the Experience) and the final stage was where I was planning how to use this to improve my knowledge and skills, reflecting on my thoughts and attitudes on what I had learned throughout stages 1 to 3 and how it could help me develop as a professional – the “Pragmatist”
(Planning the next steps).
(Planning the next steps).
I have always thought of myself as a Kinaesthetic learner as I am a very practical person and I like to learn hands on through practical experience. I remember at school I was always labelled as a Kinaesthetic learner. This is because I am a dancer and I regularly have to learn routines very quickly in classes, auditions and rehearsals and I’ve always been known as someone who can’t sit still for too long before I have to be active. I was particularly into sports at school too. I do often go for a run to “think” and formulate plans and ideas and blow off any “cobwebs” – I suppose this is how I “reflect”. I often come back from a run full of new ideas I want to try.
During my research I came across the VAK learning styles self assessment questionnaire and thought it would be interesting to complete it and see what that told me about the way I learn to see if this was any different now to when I assessed it at school.
I had to score each statement and then add up the totals for each column to indicate learning dominance. This is supposed to help improve my understanding of myself and my strengths, how I perceive things and the way I relate them to the world around me.
Knowing how to adapt the way you work with others, how you communicate, provide information and learning, how you identify and agree tasks, are the main factors enabling successfully managing and motivating yourself and your career.
The results were;
A 7, B 3 and C 20.
A 7, B 3 and C 20.
The VAK learning styles explanation suggests people can be divided into three styles;
A : visual – a preferred learning style for seen or observed things,
A : visual – a preferred learning style for seen or observed things,
B : auditory – a preferred learning style through listening to the spoken word and
C : kinaesthetic – a style that has a preference for physical experience.
Some people have a strong preference for a preferred learning style others will have a more even mixture of two or the least common, three styles.
Looking at my own results from the questionnaire I have a strong preference for C – kinaesthetic - which came as no surprise to me. It is useful to me as it means I have to make the best use of the learning methods which suit my preferred style.
Kinaesthetic learners learn best through a hands on approach and find it hard to sit for long periods and learn best when different activities are structured into their learning pattern as doing the same activity for long periods of time causes the kinaesthetic learner to “switch off”. I can really relate to this analogy and this probably explains why I have had problems learning in the past where the methods have been rigid and auditory. We all need different experiences to learn effectively.
Adesola suggests in her “Reader” that the way in which we learn sculpts what we will be. Using Kolbs learning cycle as a guide what does my personal learning cycle say about me and does this have an impact about the way I choose to work. Kinaesthetic intelligence is presumed to predominate in the profiles of athletes, dancers and craft persons.
In my case this appears to be true as my chosen profession is as a performer and in particular a dancer. I have always been a very active person from a young child with, as my mum describes it, an “abundance of energy” which needed to be channelled in some specific direction. This was always through sports and dance and I excelled at both being a competitive swimmer, gymnast and runner as well as a dancer. Even now if I get any spare time I spend it doing physical exercise - swimming or running, pilates or yoga. Therefore I think it was inevitable I would end up doing something that involved physical exercise of some kind.
C : kinaesthetic – a style that has a preference for physical experience.
Some people have a strong preference for a preferred learning style others will have a more even mixture of two or the least common, three styles.
Looking at my own results from the questionnaire I have a strong preference for C – kinaesthetic - which came as no surprise to me. It is useful to me as it means I have to make the best use of the learning methods which suit my preferred style.
Kinaesthetic learners learn best through a hands on approach and find it hard to sit for long periods and learn best when different activities are structured into their learning pattern as doing the same activity for long periods of time causes the kinaesthetic learner to “switch off”. I can really relate to this analogy and this probably explains why I have had problems learning in the past where the methods have been rigid and auditory. We all need different experiences to learn effectively.
Adesola suggests in her “Reader” that the way in which we learn sculpts what we will be. Using Kolbs learning cycle as a guide what does my personal learning cycle say about me and does this have an impact about the way I choose to work. Kinaesthetic intelligence is presumed to predominate in the profiles of athletes, dancers and craft persons.
In my case this appears to be true as my chosen profession is as a performer and in particular a dancer. I have always been a very active person from a young child with, as my mum describes it, an “abundance of energy” which needed to be channelled in some specific direction. This was always through sports and dance and I excelled at both being a competitive swimmer, gymnast and runner as well as a dancer. Even now if I get any spare time I spend it doing physical exercise - swimming or running, pilates or yoga. Therefore I think it was inevitable I would end up doing something that involved physical exercise of some kind.
For example the first thing I check out wherever I go is where the nearest pool is, the nearest gym and where I can join some classes either dance, yoga, pilates or fitness classes and where I can run. I run most days at least 5km and this is my “me” time, my “think” time. This is often when I have my most creative thoughts and ideas and where I clear my mind and resume my focus.
I moved back to London last Sunday to board with a family friend whilst I am rehearsing for panto. Hannah lives overlooking the
Today I ran along the Thames path and thought about my panto character and how I could develop her and how she would move and walk and talk and worked on some ad libs as directed. You get some real funny looks as you talk and smile to yourself as you’re running along. I often use the time to learn my lines or lyrics to the i pod as I run along and it can be quite embarrassing when you suddenly realise you’ve been singing out loud. At last nights rehearsal I was appointed dance captain for the company and I reflected on all the choreography we’d done and by the time I got back to Rotherhithe I was happy it was all solid in my head and what I had to work on to develop my character and improve my own performance. It’s not that I have to move to think but I have to move to think.
John Dewey was interested in experience and saw education as an experiential action. He felt the quality of education was linked to the level of engagement with and consciousness of the experience. He also felt that interaction with the arts led to a unique and valuable experience. He used the term “reflective thought” to talk about ways for us to be aware that we are having an experience, ways to link it to other experiences and ways to find meaning for ourselves. In other words as far as I can translate that for myself this means “practical experience is important and reflection on that experience helps us to learn from our experiences”.
Today I reflected on yesterday’s rehearsal and how I could improve my performance in the development of my own character and authenticate my character, make her believable. I formulated a plan in my head for how I would play the role, reflecting on the advice given to me by the director, experimenting with different “ad libs” and how to deliver my lines, use my body language. I recalled watching some of the other actors at the rehearsal and how they made me laugh with their mannerisms and body language and I decided I could experiment with certain “moves” that could work for me. My character is “outrageous” and so I tried to recall all the outrageous characters I’ve seen either on stage or screen or in real life and then take certain characteristics and mould them for myself into my character to make one really wild outrageous one. When working on characterisation I often think of someone I know who fits the description and then over emphasize their traits. I had great fun trying things out for myself and deciding which were suitable. Hannah’s two cats eyed me with great curiosity and interest. My next experience is to go to tonight’s rehearsal and perform them publicly in front of the cast.
Today I reflected on yesterday’s rehearsal and how I could improve my performance in the development of my own character and authenticate my character, make her believable. I formulated a plan in my head for how I would play the role, reflecting on the advice given to me by the director, experimenting with different “ad libs” and how to deliver my lines, use my body language. I recalled watching some of the other actors at the rehearsal and how they made me laugh with their mannerisms and body language and I decided I could experiment with certain “moves” that could work for me. My character is “outrageous” and so I tried to recall all the outrageous characters I’ve seen either on stage or screen or in real life and then take certain characteristics and mould them for myself into my character to make one really wild outrageous one. When working on characterisation I often think of someone I know who fits the description and then over emphasize their traits. I had great fun trying things out for myself and deciding which were suitable. Hannah’s two cats eyed me with great curiosity and interest. My next experience is to go to tonight’s rehearsal and perform them publicly in front of the cast.
So putting this into Kolbs cycle;
1. My experience is yesterday’s rehearsal - Concrete Experience
2. I reflected on how I could improve the character - Reflective Observation
3. Learned from observing others and advice - Abstract Conceptualization
4. I experimented with new ideas - Active Experimentation
By being out in the world and having experiences and reflecting upon them we come across new ideas which means we are learning from those experiences. I think this helps us develop our individuality and enhance our creativity through analysing our own experiences and others and gives us the skills to be confident professionals. We learn to accept new ideas and are open to the ideas of others. This occurs to every person as a result of having experiences in daily living that are not really thought about but reflective thinking is when we consider them and make an intellectual decision about them. This is how I perceive I am learning about myself and how to evaluate life experience to learn and improve from it.
Anyway enough for now, I’m a kinaesthetic learner and I’ve been sat too long at a PC blogging I need to go have another physical experience !!!
References:
Reflective Practices - A Reader compiled by Adesola Akinleye.
Establishing Professional Practice - Module Handbook for WBS3002 Middlesex University 2010.
Kolb D 1984 Experimental Learning Experience
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesthetic_learning
Anyway enough for now, I’m a kinaesthetic learner and I’ve been sat too long at a PC blogging I need to go have another physical experience !!!
References:
Reflective Practices - A Reader compiled by Adesola Akinleye.
Establishing Professional Practice - Module Handbook for WBS3002 Middlesex University 2010.
Kolb D 1984 Experimental Learning Experience
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesthetic_learning
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