Relating to me

2D Inquiry!

Ive been a performer and tried my hand at teaching dance but my love was always for hockey. So with my degree I plan on becoming a PE teacher specialising in hockey coaching. Hopefully I can still be involved with the school's dance and drama department as I'd like the opportunity to help with the productions. I believe my experience would be beneficial to individuals and as a collective ensemble. I'm currently a level 2 coach running a school 1XI team in Kent, involved with coaching the Kent county squads and also the Southern county squad which is run by England hockey. Much of my reflection is centred around how I can change my methods and what I could introduce to improve my sessions. The actual practise of reflection comes quite naturally as it was a large part of my dancing career and is currently a major topic of coaching. We constantly are receiving feedback from others but most importantly are taught to question our own methods. What do I think went well? Could I have changed anything to better suit the athletes? (reflection-in-action!) My journal is full of entries questioning ideas or looking forward to a session where I've experimented and then reflected upon the outcome.

I'm not sure if it exists in dance teacher training but to become a hockey coach you must be aware of your role and responsibilities towards the group you coach. A safeguarding and protecting children course and a first-aid course must be passed as part of the qualification. Understanding the necessary code of behaviour towards children is taken very seriously as their safety and well-being is in your hands. As a coach your behaviour must be considered professional at all times towards the children but you also have to watch the behaviour of child on child. Equal opportunity is a highly stressed method of coaching and integral to the enjoyment of children of all abilities in any sport or dance etc.
Watching out for bullying is a main concern. Unfortunately there are two types. Inter-group bullying, as in child on child, or coach to child bullying. The latter can be difficult to spot as most coaches want to push the group or individuals to fulfil their potential.
When does it stop being encouragement and start becoming bullying? I think it's a fine line because if you see someone with a talent for something you like to bring that forward and develop it. The method in which you achieve this is what is important. Constantly shouting and singling the person out is not the way. You have to find the coaching technique which they will respond to positively. This may take time but with the help of reflective thinking it can be achieved. Did they respond well to targets I set them? If I made them demonstrate an exercise did that play to their ego and make them work a little harder?
I've witnessed what I've considered to be good styles of coaching both one-on-one and as an entire group but I've also seen bullying. Bullying has such a negative effect on the recipient even if it's not intended, just merely the coaches passion. Can it be mis-construed? Of course but you only have to look at the effect it has on the individual to decide for yourself. Being aware of your actions towards  the group and individuals is a vital component in coaching/teaching.

My coaching jobs enable me to work with different coaches on a regular basis thus helping me observe various methods and learn from some very experienced coaches. My admiration of certain individuals is reflected in my methods of coaching. I use certain explanations for techniques which I think relevant and then add my own 'spice' to it. Unfortunately I haven't asked permission to mention other coaches names and they don't have links I can post but hopefully in the future. I'll have to find out if there's a coaches union or forum where they swap ideas. If not....could I be the founder??

I love coaching hockey. It's not a job to me. To see the improvement in the athletes over the period of time I'm with them is a very enjoyable experience. Hopefully my passion for the game will reflect through my coaching installing self-belief and a willingness to succeed in the groups I work with.

My reflective history!

Without knowing it I have used reflective practise for the majority of my professional life. Whether it be while I was an active performer or more currently as a teacher, reflection is a tool I use to help me learn and improve on a day to day basis. Having been set the tasks and through keeping my journal I was able to look back over my career noticing what an important and necessary practise reflection to be. Reflection became relevant to my particular professional practise as a skill to help you adapt instantly, thus helping you at that specific point in time, or reflecting after the event to analyse for future improvement.

Although I can relate critical reflective thinking to being a performer, having trained for years it was a necessary method to be critical and want to always seek improvement, on this occasion I'm going to use my teaching as an example as I consider it more revelant as it's current and what I'm working towards. When, during teaching, does reflective thought occur? Donald Schön (1987)  wrote about reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. This is an explanation from reader 2:

0. Reflection-in-action is often fostered in artists who respond to what is happening as it happens, (if you are dancing across the floor and something is not working you change the steps as you are moving) it tends to be a ‘hands-on’ way of working. Reflection-on-action is often fostered in academics who respond to what is happening by going away to conceptualise it and look back at it. Dewey also makes this temporal distinction, looking at how the time impacts on how you engage with new ideas, ‘Present’ or ‘future’ being two distinct and different ways to engage with experience. (Jackson, 1998; Dewey, 1934). 
   
   

 It has only just become apparent that I utilise both methods during my teaching practise. Being able to reflect and adapt while conducting a session enables you to gauge if your students are, shall we say, keeping pace. Have I made it too difficult for them? Is it too easy for them? Are they enjoying it? Shall I make it more fun? Are they working hard enough? I am constantly asking myself questions to help better the class and eventually the students knowledge and skill set. This is reflection-in-action. Why do I ask those questions though? I could, and have conducted a lesson where I've had an original plan and stuck to it. On completion of the lesson I'd consider if things could be improved for next time. Did the students struggle with particular parts? Or was something organic happening and due to the plan was it cut short? Why didn't I let them explore with it more?  The practise of reflecting after the event is reflection-on-action. Robert Kottcamp believes one is harder than the other:

       The distinction... between future and present acknowledges Schon’s (1983) important differentiation between reflection-on- action (reflection on past event) and reflection-in-action (reflection in the midst of an ongoing action). The latter type is the more difficult to achieve, but the more powerful for improvement of practise because it results in “on-line” experiments to adjust and improve one’s professional actions. It is more difficult to achieve because the actor must simultaneously attend to performing the action and observe and analyse his or her action, as if from an external perspective. Further, in reflection-in-action the actor is the sole collector of data on the event.

Reflection-on-action is accomplished “off-line” at a time when full attention can be given to analysis and planning for the future without the imperative for immediate action... (Kottcamp, 1990)

For people in the arts I don't believe this to be the case. We can use both methods for equal measure. Over time, using ones experience, we can notice if a lesson needs changing or an exercise needs it's level of difficulty heightened or lowered to best suit the situation at hand. Even if it was a success there are still questions to be answered and lessons to be learnt. What did I learn from having to change the course of the lesson? Could I have adapted it in a different way? Is there a different way to adapt it? Both methods of reflection can be utilised fully in my professional practise but I believe it's something that can not be taught. It all comes from analysing and evaluating yourself and the methods which you use resulting in experience.

 As we are well aware everyone is different so everyone will learn differently. Students will respond in varied ways when taught by different methods/techniques. Howard Gardner talked about the idea of Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic learners (VAK). This theory becomes relevant when teaching a physical art or sport. Some students need to see the exercise to learn it (visual), others to hear it to learn it (auditory) and others need to physically do it to learn it (kinaesthetic). Whilst teaching I try to use all three ways to benefit as many as the students as possible. When comfortable in my teaching technique I was able to study the students themselves noticing which particular students responded both positively and negatively to the various methods.
Having studied Kolb's learning cycle I couldn't help noticing the similarities in the two theories. People will enter the reflection process at different stages, as clearly shown in Kolb's cycle. It will be the way that suits them best, their preferred learning method. Some people start to learn when they are involved in a concrete

experience, (doing something), some people can do something but start to learn about it when they are watching the people around them doing it (Reflective observation), some people need to “work it out in their head first” (Abstract conceptualisation) and some people start to learn when they start trying out ideas

(active experimentation). It stands to reason that if we learn from the VAK method of teaching that it would be applied to the way we identify and learn from reflection of our experiences.

Critical reflection is a way of educating oneself by keeping a rational thought process. Dealing with the facts enables you to analyse and evaluate on an experience discovering the values which you hold strongest. The world is constantly changing. How do we know if we likeloathe something if we never reflect upon it rationally? How will will ever better ourselves? Reflection is a way of keeping up in both our personal and professional lives. 

Journal writing experience

Having experimented writing in my journal with various techniques frameworked by Nola, Reid and Moon I discovered that although open to trying different methods I have already developed my own 'style' shall we say. Encorporating lists, initial reflection and evaluation I've been able to reflect on thoughts, feelings and experiences to gather information and gain extra knowledge by asking questions I wouldn't normally. Why did I re-act that way? Could I have re-acted differently? Why didn't I re-act differently?

To alter my thought process I had to start thinking rationally so I looked up the definition. This is an explanation from the Oxford dictionary:

• 1based on or in accordance with reason or logic:I’m sure there’s a perfectly rational explanation
•  able to think sensibly or logically:Ursula’s upset—she’s not being very rational

 endowed with the capacity to reason:man is a rational being.
Rational thinking is dealing with the facts. It adds an element of calculation and planning to a stream of thoughts rather than basing them on an emotion or personal opinion. Having beliefs is important but to be able to critically reflect and learn from the process rational thinking is key.
A common theme amongst my journal excerpts is that I generally choose one event to write about rather than my entire day. I believe this is the case because my general work and teaching work are not connected currently. I have work Leon and teacher Leon. (My work is a means to an end at the moment while I change career and although I teach a lot it is not my main income.) Early entries into my journal were very disconnected. I'd list the order of events not really expanding on an issue resulting in a jumble of facts and feelings with no visible current theme. After further reading on reflective thinking I began to pick certain events of the specific days and using my experience reflect on the aspects that interested me and how I think they've developed my learning. It was from this I noticed how I tended to keep things separate. My thoughts during the day were and are about planning classes and trying to improve my methods of teaching. In other words my mind would wonder. I've known this for a while but had never asked the question 'why?' Was it to pass the time? Am I more interested in teaching? Am I bored? The answer was simple but without reflection I doubt I'd have ever posed the initial question.
I found the evaluation technique the most beneficial when applied to my professional practise as it forced me to analyse first then produce what was valuable to me upon reflection. Questions I asked myself were....why did that work? What made it work? Would it have worked last week? I was able to apply a rational thought process to help me gain valuable information to apply in the future. Even if the answer was in the negative there was also a lesson to be learned.
I will keep an open mind when continuing with my journal as I would like to discover more themes yet to be uncovered.

Writing thoughts.

I've never really entertained the thought of keeping a journal before so this should be interesting. Why write your thoughts down? I don't think I'd ever re-read them so have never been attracted to the prospect prior to receiving this task.

I naturally went straight for a notepad and paper because that's what seemed comfortable. I reasoned that I need it handy throughout the day and as I travel from place to place it would be more convenient than carrying my laptop around. If I ever felt the need to jot something down flicking a notepad open is quicker that firing up the laptop. For a fraction of a second I considered recording thoughts via audio but I'd probably get sick of my own voice, be continuously monotone and think what I've said absolutely pointless! The time may arrive when it's necessary to record a thought and it's an easy option now we have smart phones. However, you can't upload it to a notepad so it does cause a problem. It appears that documenting your thoughts in a variety of ways using a variety of techniques is what's called for so I'm toying with the idea of using whichever method that I deem suitable for my needs.

What exactly do you document? Family issues? Work related things? Anything? I began like a diary of events, sometimes elaborating but felt this was wrong as it needed to be much more specific. My thoughts are dominated by the way I emotionally challenge and respond to events. If I like or agree with something, why do I? Just because I do doesn't mean all society will.  We are being asked to question everything. To go beyond...ask that extra question of yourself. When I looked back at my journal's first week there was no pattern or theme to my thoughts. They were all random and in a wide array of subjects. Thoughts on a friend or on someones behaviour at training. Are we looking for a theme? A pattern of behaviour? I feel, when exploring my thoughts, that if you question everything there will be no end....there's always another question.

I'm enjoying being reflective but am failing to see where this will lead me. Is anyone else feeling the same? I'm hoping all will become clear!