Skype Discussion: 27th November: Questioning construct

On Wednesday morning I engaged in a slightly different skype call to the others I've been a part of as this one only consisted of only three participants! One including Adesola, so the only other student was Tom who is also currently in module one. Initially I felt a sense of anxiety as I realised I'd really have to vocally contribute, which as a performer you think I'd be used to by now (sadly not). But the whole experience was incredibly helpful and I believe that between the three of us we managed to construct a relevant, thought provoking discussion.

Tom and I are both in the process of refining our Essay and diagram submissions which formed the background of our conversation. I was able to share the feedback I'd had from Adesola which had prompted me to make some improvements to my writing style. To elaborate, my first draft was very wordy and without realising it, my anxieties around not appearing 'academic' resulted in me inserting hundreds of citations, regardless of their impact. When I was instructed that to correctly format my essay, I needed to place all quotations on a separate line it highlighted to me how disjointed my writing had become. The document almost felt like a Wikipedia style fact page as opposed to an explanation of my personal practice. What I perceive to be relevant- how the theory actually applies TO ME.

Therefore, I used my initiative to research a little about APA citations and I came across a website which explained quotations should be used scarcely and only if absolutely necessary. Instead one should aim to explain a citation in their own words, whilst still correctly making reference to the original source. This was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me. Relating back to Kolb's learning cycle (1984), Kolb explains how knowledge is attained through experiences and then the transformation of these experiences into action. (Kolb, 1984, p. 41) By using reflective observation, I learnt from viewing paraphasing examples online and used this knowledge to make adjustments to my work:

Examples of Paraphrasing rather than direct quotations

EXAMPLE 1

BEFORE:

This follows the emphasis Lo et al place on student variations as they explain

“Crucial is a deep and thorough understanding of the different ways by which students come to acquire the capability targeted”. (2002, p. 4). 

AFTER:

This follows the emphasis Mun Ling Lo et al place on student variations. They explain how vital it is to understand how contrasting capabilities require adjustable targets. (Lo et al, 2002, p. 4). 

EXAMPLE 2

BEFORE:

Twyla Tharp explains that this type of Tacit knowledge

'doesn't need to be accessed through conscious effort'. (Tharp and Reiter, 2006 p 65.) 

AFTER:

Twyla Tharp, author of 'The Creative Habit' (Tharp and Reiter, 2006 p 65.) explores this type of tacit knowledge which she characterises as automatic, non-verbal and sensed rather than articulated. 

As you can see, rather than just inserting direct quotations from another source, I was able to convert what I was trying to say into my own words. Inadvertently this made the essay a little less 'academic' in my eyes which prompted me to reflect on where my focus is being directed. I was prioritising the correct writing style and proving how much theory had been understood rather than selecting what was necessary. Adesola described this in a different way by explaining students need to be telling their own story, saying what they want to say rather than just saying what they predict the tutors want to hear. 

Tom and I then both reflected on our past experiences of the notion of academia. What does it mean to be academic? My initial thought is intelligent, erudite, logical, correct. Ken Robinson describes in his book Out of our Minds, how seemingly academic subjects like mathematics and history are placed at the top of a hierarchy and the arts are at the bottom. (Robinson, 2017, p.9). I think this is a projected assumption within the education system and one which students are likely to inherit. I have memories of my teachers at Dance college almost insinuating that none of us were fit for academia, we were instead creative, as though the two are separate labels. 

Adesola challenged us with this perception. Academic is not a 'thing'. It's not a category you wake up and fall into much like one doesn't just become a celebrity. These ideas are the constructs created by other people which help us make sense of identity. There is safety in the streamlining of categories: academic/non academic. Famous/unknown. We perhaps fill these identities to reach the expectations of others, or embrace them to help us make sense of who we are. 

But how limiting to define oneself in such a way? In reality the world is objective; a result of social interactions and subsequent meanings. Instead our skills and qualities are fluid, on a spectrum, ever changing according to our environment. As Claire Robson explains, our identity is not just given to us, but through reflexive activities it is continually recreated. (Robson, 2012, p. 3).

The following video supports the idea of social construction and how it influences our identities. Florencia Escobedo Munoz questions some asumptions about her culture, and describes how these external views impact on her own concept of self.

How Our Identities Are Socially Constructed: 

Florencia Escobedo Munoz TEDxColegioAngloColombiano

Reflecting on my assumptions of intelligence which partly have been infuenced by the messages within the industry, is an example of critical thinking, or critical refection. Robert Ennis describes this as:

“the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” (Ennis, 2015)

By engaging in this method of thinking, I am able to realise that my beliefs are not concrete. There can be a continuum apon which performers can study, self educate, be intellectual as well as creative and so on. The transdisciplinary approach of my practice almost justifies this notion as mathematical skills used in my admin contrast from my communicative skills in my teaching. Performers have to juggle many disciplines in order to make a living and in realising this, Tom and I both acknowledge a ease in pressure relating to the assignment. Rather than desperately strriving to include every theory and every quotation under the sun, I will dig deep and think about what I really want to say, then work at conveying this in an appropriate tone. Therefore, I am placing myself 'somewhere' on the intangible spectrum of academia!

Bibliography

Ennis, Robert H. (2015) , "Critical Thinking", The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Thinking in Higher Education, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN  9781137378057, retrieved 17 Oct 2019.

How Our Identities Are Socially Constructed. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIuJT1n2vRY

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Lo, M. L., Pong, W. Y., Marton, F., Leung, A., Ko, P. Y., Ng, F. P., et al. (2002).Catering for individual differences building on variation: The first findings. Hong Kong: INSTEP, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong.

Robinson, K. (2017). Out of our minds: learning to be creative. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Robson, C. (2012). Writing for change: research as public pedagogy and arts-based activism. New York: P. Lang.

Tharp, T. & Reiter, M. (2006). The Creative Habit: learn it and use it for life: a practical guide, New York, Simon and Schuster.