For Task 2b we are asked to focus on the process of reflective writing, referring back to the previous task of keeping a reflective journal. Throughout this blog I will be engaging in my reflection, looking at the tools I used, the outcome, what I will continue to do and ethical considerations.
''Reflection and Reflexivity are the essential elements of reflective practice'' (Bleakley, 1999, p.317)
From the past week I have been writing everyday reflecting back on the days activities, sometimes I wrote about the whole day and others just about one event. I started writing in diary fashion, noting my feelings but keeping it pretty basic and not too in depth, this was to get use to recording my day on paper as it's something Iv not spent time writing down for years. Over the next few days I developed the way I wrote and started to change the framework. Using lists one day I separated it into the places I was throughout the day and wrote my feelings at each place, this helped me see where my feelings changed and think about what made this happen. Another day I did a bubble chart of one event and had ideas,feelings and notes coming from it. I wouldn't use this method again as it seemed very unorganised to look back on. After looking at the Handbook I tried the 'Ways to Write' diagram to record my day. This framework separated my thoughts into different sections but again I wouldn't continue to use this way of writing in the future. Writing from another persons/object point of view was the next step I wanted to try, for this I looked at my day I spent with my boyfriend. The person I spend most of my time with in London and share most of my honest thoughts and feelings with, the harsh reality of this was unpleasant at time and as I wrote my day down considering his thoughts I realised how much of a negative impact I may have on him when talking about certain situations. Since then I have thought more about what I should reflect upon on my own instead of with my closest friend.
When reading about reflective writing in the Reflective Practice book I came across 'The 5 stages'. Stage 1 was called the 6 minute write, this was when you write continually for 6 minutes about anything that comes to mind whether it be related to your practice or not, or make sense.
''Awareness of anything other than the writing can inhibit the flow, so allow the writing to follow its own track and leave the writing rules (grammar, logical sequence, etc.) until later'' (Reflective Practice - How to start: The 5 stages. P136)
For this I used a purple gel pen which instantly took a more calming affect on my thoughts at the time and the what I wrote down. I wrote everything that came to mind, my surroundings, feelings, thoughts and managed two pages of A5 paper by the end of the 6 minutes. I got lost into the writing and found the time pass by before I knew it. Reading back I enjoyed the things I noted down and I knew I would use this way to reflect more at the end of each day. The second stage was called 'The Incident, Narrative, Story', within this stage there was a section on types or writing and an example of a reflective piece converted into a poem,
''Give the story your own title. Make it positive, so if the incident was problematic, try renaming it with the title more empowering to you.'' (Fook, 2012)
I was interested in the idea of changing my piece of writing into a positive poem picking out different sentences, words that inspired me, I thought about keeping it private but later read that Stage 4 was about sharing your writing with peers,
''Your writing has the power to influence another, and they you.'' (Reflective Practice - Jane p143)
Purple Pen;
Sounds of piano
Airing out
Nature surrounds me,
Rest recharge sun on my face
Yesterday, Next week
Reflect, mentally, recharging physically
Wellness
Think about what matters
Looking into my own life,practice
Always positive
I do love the feeling
Healthy
Sounds of piano
Light, emotionless
Fluent Journey.
From reflecting in different ways over the past days it became clear to me that the same feelings accrued when talking about my current practice. In Task 2a I spoke about my current role as Dance Captain, this is was a role I was given last minute and the first time having more responsibility with colleagues I'd previously worked with. Upon reflection I wrote about my struggles mentally with the role and wanted to find a way in which I could take control of my feelings to help me at work.
Kirsten Jack a first year student nurse wrote about her first hospital placement caring for a man 'Harry' who she struggled to control her emotions over as he reminded her of her father that passed away in similar circumstances. She found reflection helped her work and care for Harry without becoming emotionally attached.
''Through reflection I was able to make sense of my feelings of fear, anxiety and real heartbreak, and come to an understanding of how my grief as a daughter differed to that of a student nurse.'' (The man in the green pyjamas - Kirsten Jack)
This piece Jack wrote made me think about how I can work in the same way with my emotions about my role, I started to break down why I felt the way I did and what/who caused this. That then made me think about Klobs Learning Cycle from Readers 2, and how different people learn in different ways,
I firstly looked at myself and reviewed how I learn, Reflective observation is something I use most day to day, this relates to dance a lot as I see someone do a movement/routine then copy what they have done, this also relates to my blog. I was unsure where to start when creating my blog so I used reflective observation and active experimentation to give me guidance throughout the process. Also when using a social media application for the first time we use reflective observation to inspire us and help us get started. When teaching I tend to use Abstract conceptualisation when I'm unsure of a situation or working on the spot to set spacing for a dance. I was unaware of how many different types of learning there are and since researching these it has given me more of an understanding how to apply myself to my practice.
Ethical Consideration;
Referring back to my reflection at work and after reading about Reflexivity, I looked at questions a reflexive minded person would ask themselves, one question I consider a lot when working is ''how and in what way we're my actions perceived by others?''
Thinking about this question and Klob's learning cycle made me realise that I need to be mindful when working with my colleagues. I need to take into consideration different learning stages and have overall more patience, The uneasy thoughts and feelings I had are not because of a certain situation but because everyone is different and has different interpretations of my instructions. This task has been the most rewarding so far and will help me move forward as a performer, teacher and work colleague.
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