Building the bricks
It's been great to blog since starting back. I've found the more blogging I have done, the more uncomfortable and uncertain I have felt in my research. But I always remember Adesola and Helen discussing this as exciting, and that no discoveries can be made through playing it safe.
My thoughts recently can only be describe as a large piece of rope tangled up with no hope of creating some openings for release. I have thought often, I know why I do things because I just do them, without any subconscious thought as to articulating this for understanding. Almost like a gap between my body and mind. As an activist learner I just act on experiences and continue to progress with not enough deep reflection. My body acts upon my lightbulb moments, I get carried away and the connection between body and mind becomes discombobulated and I'm onto the next thing (because of the nature of my job). I would like to say my practice has become much more insightful and innovative since I became a teacher, due to different learning needs and a range of shifting daily things to contend with. But you can become a bit lost in this, and stop searching even further than desired.
I decided to take a look at how my thinking has been since starting back after the break. I wrote down all of my blog titles and content to understand how I had gone from one area of my research to another. I have started reading an article 'Theorising experiential learning' and is mind blowing. Everything I felt confused about has been put into practice.
Here's what my blogging process looks like so far... (from bottom to top)
Understanding research- In this blog, I discuss qualitative research and how I prefer to interpret research, always looking for more. I start to think about what does the concept of thinking actually mean and how can it be documented within the moment.
Surrounding ideas vs progressive ideas- In this blog, I discuss the impact of research on myself and start to think about why I haven't been thinking about my own individual process but the progression of development within my learners. I describe my practice as strands that start to go off, but then they don't feel like they travel off as productively as they could. I also continue to defend my practical practice and theoretical knowledge as I know it is having impact, but I don't articulate the reasons for it.
Refreshing curiosity- This was about becoming curious again within research and taking more time to delve into why I have chosen certain texts and how this contextualises my practice. I also discuss experiential learning and how this can spark curiosity as you become immersed in your own daily practice.
Recent skype discussion DAN4510- This discussed how I have internal learning conversations and how I put this into context of my practice.
It was only when I did this, I realised I have been on a journey of thinking and that even though I haven't been able to pinpoints the why's, what's and how's succinctly as of now, I have been delving more than I have ever done before.
The body and mind are two powerful mechanisms and at the moment they coincide by each other rather than intertwining with each other. You can't step out of your own body to see your practice in the now, so how do we document, understand how we went from previous knowledge to application to reflection. The piece that is missing comes in between prior and application. What actually happened for us to understand why we were ready to apply the information?
During 'Theorising experiential learning' a number of academics discuss experience can not be a stand alone tool to learning.
"Schon (1987) points out that experience alone is insufficient. Meaningful learning from experience requires reflection on that experience. As Criticos (1993) explains, the learning experience needs to be stopped in time, analysed and considered at some length in order for the experience to become knowledge" (p 1094). Stopping in time between each step is a tool I will be using this week. Even if it means I have to use it as part of questioning my students and myself, this is something I will do to develop my own external and internal understanding.
Layton et al (1993) discusses the use of building back into the experience and reversing the process. Understanding the foundations of the mind, stopping in time and revisiting the process over and over to influence new practice.
All authors were cited within
Garraway, J. ; Volbrecht, T.
South African Journal of Higher Education, 2011, Vol.25(6), pp.1091-1102
My thoughts recently can only be describe as a large piece of rope tangled up with no hope of creating some openings for release. I have thought often, I know why I do things because I just do them, without any subconscious thought as to articulating this for understanding. Almost like a gap between my body and mind. As an activist learner I just act on experiences and continue to progress with not enough deep reflection. My body acts upon my lightbulb moments, I get carried away and the connection between body and mind becomes discombobulated and I'm onto the next thing (because of the nature of my job). I would like to say my practice has become much more insightful and innovative since I became a teacher, due to different learning needs and a range of shifting daily things to contend with. But you can become a bit lost in this, and stop searching even further than desired.
I decided to take a look at how my thinking has been since starting back after the break. I wrote down all of my blog titles and content to understand how I had gone from one area of my research to another. I have started reading an article 'Theorising experiential learning' and is mind blowing. Everything I felt confused about has been put into practice.
Here's what my blogging process looks like so far... (from bottom to top)
Understanding research- In this blog, I discuss qualitative research and how I prefer to interpret research, always looking for more. I start to think about what does the concept of thinking actually mean and how can it be documented within the moment.
Surrounding ideas vs progressive ideas- In this blog, I discuss the impact of research on myself and start to think about why I haven't been thinking about my own individual process but the progression of development within my learners. I describe my practice as strands that start to go off, but then they don't feel like they travel off as productively as they could. I also continue to defend my practical practice and theoretical knowledge as I know it is having impact, but I don't articulate the reasons for it.
Refreshing curiosity- This was about becoming curious again within research and taking more time to delve into why I have chosen certain texts and how this contextualises my practice. I also discuss experiential learning and how this can spark curiosity as you become immersed in your own daily practice.
Recent skype discussion DAN4510- This discussed how I have internal learning conversations and how I put this into context of my practice.
It was only when I did this, I realised I have been on a journey of thinking and that even though I haven't been able to pinpoints the why's, what's and how's succinctly as of now, I have been delving more than I have ever done before.
The body and mind are two powerful mechanisms and at the moment they coincide by each other rather than intertwining with each other. You can't step out of your own body to see your practice in the now, so how do we document, understand how we went from previous knowledge to application to reflection. The piece that is missing comes in between prior and application. What actually happened for us to understand why we were ready to apply the information?
During 'Theorising experiential learning' a number of academics discuss experience can not be a stand alone tool to learning.
"Schon (1987) points out that experience alone is insufficient. Meaningful learning from experience requires reflection on that experience. As Criticos (1993) explains, the learning experience needs to be stopped in time, analysed and considered at some length in order for the experience to become knowledge" (p 1094). Stopping in time between each step is a tool I will be using this week. Even if it means I have to use it as part of questioning my students and myself, this is something I will do to develop my own external and internal understanding.
Layton et al (1993) discusses the use of building back into the experience and reversing the process. Understanding the foundations of the mind, stopping in time and revisiting the process over and over to influence new practice.
All authors were cited within
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