Reflective theory

Reflective Practice encourages us to question what it is we know and how we have come about to acquire this knowledge; reflecting on our strengths and also where we can improve.

John Dewey (1930) was the first to realise the true value of reflection as an aid for learning. He stated that those trying to learn in a chosen field need to first be active in ‘doing’ for, lack of a better word, but then in thinking back on what we are trying to achieve and the information that relates/aids this goal.

Many would rename this process as ‘Critical Thinking’ and that is what I have encountered numerous times in the world of dance and performance.

According to Google Critical Thinking is:

An essential tool of inquiry; purposeful, self regulatory judgment that results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is based. The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well-informed, trustful of reason, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in evaluation, honest in facing personal biases, prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly in complex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit’.

I first encountered Critical Thinking/Reflective Practice as a learning aid at Tring Park School for the performing Arts (Formerly Arts Educational, Tring). I have mentioned before that it was here we were asked to keep a journal of corrections and constructive criticism on how we might improve it was a also a vehicle for learning the English language which is also relevant to this point. Writing these notes down made us adopt a process of physically banking all the useful information required for improvement as well as making us recall them in our minds (by looking back over the relevant parts). This is exactly step by step the process Dewey was referring to. It wasn’t just useful to apply this technique from one day to the next but to adopt this tactic in real time; thinking of a movement in its finer detail before you execute it. For example a double pirouette, stop, think about placing your weight over your turning leg, hold in the core, go up to the turn as your feet push down into the floor, etc.

In my professional work after training has finished, it is now up to me to establish what isn’t working, as opposed to being told by a teacher, and how to improve. Without reflecting on my actual performances, my rapport with the company and my base technique I cannot hope to improve and this is why I really value keeping my own version of a journal which is encouraged by this course. The journal not only contains technical corrections but also company member observations, Dos and Don’ts, Audience feedback paired with things that I changed or tried new in performance etc.

Reflective practitioners have been described as those who;

‘understand how to think and learn from their experiences in practice and to apply and monitor the outcomes of that learning’ (Moon 1999:42).

I think the reflective journal is already beginning to help me, I have already seen two company members whom I was working with become blacklisted due to poor company skills and correction management and I feel that if they had the opportunity to understand learning like I and many other professional have, they might have avoided this fate.

Moon also refers to journal writing as enhancing “self empowerment”, when confidence is at a low. There are so many rejections to be faced in this industry and a bit ego boosting and self empowerment can really go along way. A friend of mine has a Journal himself and he has a section with a condensed version of his CV including all of his favourite and proudest moments of his career and next to them he has all about why they were good and how they could still have been improved if similar opportunities were ever to arise. I think this is a fantastic example of what Moon was talking about when he mentioned “Self Empowerment”

When reading through some other people’s thoughts on this same subject and a lot seem to talk about Kolb and Fry’s Experimental Learning Model (ELM) from the 1970s but when I first read about it I couldn’t really relate it to my own learning especially in the four elements so I decided to take this model and adapt it to aid my own learning, making it into a dancers four elements.

Cycle for learning and improving repertoire for performance

Set Choreography

(Learn work from Choreographer)

Rehearse

(Show Choreographer by physically dancing)

Relect/Criticize

(Hear Corrections/ Praise)

Apply

(apply feedback for further rehearsal or a performance...curtain up!)