I
took part in the Wednesday morning Skype discussion this week with
slight anticipation. I admit that I still become anxious at the
thought of speaking in a group, especially if I am unconfident with
my ideas which is often the case! What if I don't get the gist of the
discussion? What if I'm actually lagging behind everyone else in
terms of my understanding? What if I embarrass myself and orate
something which is completely irrelevant?
Which
is all rather ironic as after a brief conversation from a Module 3
student, Adesola suggested we veer in the direction of 'relevance'. A
topic which is more of a concept. Something we all seem to attempt to
consider continually, but a notion which never really fulfils one
with confidence. After all, relevance is surely quite a subjective
stance? What might be relevant to one person may seem completely
irrelevant to another. And how does one ever know which information takes priority over the rest?
It
can frequently feel like searching for a needle in a haystack,
especially at the start of studying a topic where all the sources of
information seem so vast. However, we did come to a few conclusions
and it turned out to be a very thought provoking session. Firstly,
what is relevance?
RELEVANCE:
'The degree
to
which something is related
or
useful
to
what is happening
or
being talked
about'
(Definition
of relevance
from
theCambridge
Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus ©
Cambridge University Press)
In
the context of the BAPP course, I am striving to find relevance in
the study I am undertaking, and although I cannot quite articulate
the process I adopt, I do know that sometimes I get 'a feeling' when
reading a particular source. Apologies for the intangible explanation
but it's almost as if something clicks, like a memory has been released. With deeper reflection I came to the conclusion that often
something appears relevant to me if it is something I can connect
with a prior experience. An example?
When
conducting my research on Lens 1, specifically Web 2.0 my attention
was drawn to the ethical considerations of the online world. I have
always been fascinated in the speed of technological development, but
when relating the phenomenon to my practice I discovered balancing my
private and public life was something I faced daily as a teacher. I
agree with the view that “The
boundaries between private and public information – especially on
the internet – are frustratingly ambiguous, contested and changing”
(Markham & Buchanan 2012, 6; Ess 2007, 499). I
receive friend requests from many of my students, and with my work as
an administrator I have to delve into the world of social media for
advertising purposes. This has made me acutely aware of how the
children interact with dance school promotions, and I have had
incidences where although Parents have previously given their consent
for videos of their children to be taken, they then retract this
permission as soon as the media is posted online.
Then there is the
more recent enforcement of the GDPR principles which strictly ensure
that client Data is protected and stored safely. This had a huge
impact on the method of data collection at the studios, where no
contact numbers can be on public display (e.g: on a summer camp sign
in sheet) and every time I send a mass email, I triple check that all
the contacts are in the Bcc field!
Long
story short, the research I read turned from mere words on a page to
something which sparked familiarity. This recognition unveiled a
memory, which led to more connections, thus provoking further
thoughts and questions about the topic which I am encouraged to
explore. This for me, I thought, was relevance. Something I
experienced. Something I will experience again. Something I can apply
to my everyday working life.
However,
the Skype discussion then sidetracked slightly to the idea of
disagreements within a group. One brave participant had the courage to
disagree with a statement and explain her own viewpoint with
justification. Adesola exposed this encounter to the group and I personally admitted that
I find it very challenging to disagree, feeling content, safe and
accepted with mutually agreed points. I see this as a way to
strengthen a relationship through the finding of common ground.
But,
then I asked myself where continual passivity would get me? The principal aim of this course is to not
achieve right and wrong, closed minded findings within one's comfort
zone. Why not challenge my cognitions, think outside the box? After
all:
Even before asking such questions, it is vital to understand the concept that “knowing
something new has to start with the confusion of realising you don't
know something” (Akinleye 2019). Therefore, perhaps relevance is
found in the areas which are seemingly irrelevant as this gives
the opportunity to discover something new within a deeper level of
reflective thinking. I then started to ponder on my own approaches
and realised I may subconsciously be operating in a mode of bias, inclined to merely strengthen ideas I already know. A
disadvantage to my attempts to better myself in my studies. But, hopefully by engaging in 'reflective thought; as I am
presently doing which according to Dewey is "active, persistent, and careful
consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge" (Dewey,
1997 p.6) - I can then expand my capacity to grow.
With
this influence in mind, I have been consciously aware of my approach
to the recommended literature for the BAPP course. I am working my
way through Schon's 'Educating the reflective practitioner'
and I have been finding the intensity of explanation quite
challenging. Often I feel demoralised as I cannot grasp a certain
concept which leads me to focus on the theories I have already
understood through experience.
Much of the book focuses on dialogue
within a architectural design studio. Immediately I found myself
questioning 'what does this have to do with my practice?' 'Surely
this is a different field and I don't need to comprehend an entire
glossary of architectural terms?' 'Teaching dance is very different'
(and so on.) Although I would read the information, I can't say I'd grasp confident understanding due to my unwilling stance, which I accept is a
significant barrier to future learning.
But
what if I saw the challenge of irrelevance as an opportunity to embrace curiosity? It doesn't
have to be so black and white, as surely with any form of tutor and
student relationship there are common themes despite the context?
Foe example I Initially battled with discerning the following:
“In
the designer's conversation with the materials of his design, he can
never make a move that has only the effects intended for it.”
(Schon 1987, p.63)
Routinely
I'd skim over this information despite the fact that it could actually hold a relevant
message. Once I thought deeper about the idea of how reflecting in
action presents itself through a series of actions and consequences,
I understood the importance of evaluation where outcomes are
anticipated and influential over future decisions. For instance in my
choreographic work I may picture a partnering sequence with multiple dancers. I would envisage how the staging may marry with the
placing of dancers, where my next choreographed move would always be a
result of the previous movements.
Another example may be predicting how a class may flow during my lesson
planning. I may
include a section of floor work which could then prompt me to plan
some travelling combinations in contrast. I may predict that the travelling section of the
class would cause disarray if the children were particularly young
and energetic, so I might then think about including a lyrical composition
at the end of class, intending to ease potential chaos.
With the above example I can now see that despite the original context of Schon's explanation
seeming quite irrelevant, I actually was able to find relevance,
subsequently learning something about my own endeavours.
One
possible problem with this new found epiphany of mine is that I may be tempted
to seek relevance in every situation which would be a very time
consuming process! But I believe in the notion that knowledge will be
absorbed if I target areas of unfamiliarity. This is perhaps where
the greatest discoveries can be made? Then as discussed in the Skype
call, refining the collected information gradually should lead to
common themes which reoccur. Colour coding seemed to be an agreed
effective method amongst us all- An aspect we did all agree on!
It
was a very beneficial conversation amongst us and I'm looking forward
to reading more blogs from my fellow peers who were also involved- No
doubt their contributions will be relevant to my learning!
Bibliography
Akinleye,
A. (2019) Establishing Professional Practice [Handbook]
Middlesex University London.
Book
Summary - A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark
Breakthrough Ideas. (2019, April 17). Retrieved October 18, 2019,
from
https://readingraphics.com/book-summary-a-more-beautiful-question/.
Dewey,
J. (1997) How we think, Mineola. N.Y. Dover Publications.
Jouhki,
J., Lauk, E., Penttinen, M., & Rohila, J. (2015). challenge to
research ethics: Exploring the case of the Facebook experiment.
Social
Media Personhood as a Challenge to Research Ethics,
1–19. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284156533_Social_media_personhood_as_a_challenge_to_research_ethics_Exploring_the_case_of_the_Facebook_experiment
Markham,
A., & Buchanan, E. (2012). Ethical Decision-Making and
Internet Research: Recommendations from the AoIR Ethics Working
Committee (Version 2.0. Ethical Decision-Making and Internet
Research: Recommendations from the AoIR Ethics Working Committee
(Version 2.0. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.)
Schön,
D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.
Woodford,
K. (2005). Cambridge advanced learners dictionary. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
