Critical Reflection on the developing ideas of ‘Structured Improvisation’

MAINLY FOR MODULE 1 STUDENTS but of interest to others perhaps ...

This is my account of the campus session today, 28th February 2012. Please look at student Blogs for other takes on what happened.


At the campus session we explored the topic of critical reflection. We decided to raise and discuss an issue … in effect to practice the process of critical reflection. The topic that quickly emerged was the issue of reconciling the necessary structure (of curriculum, learning outcomes, learning objectives, lesson plans) with the need to react in the moment to the needs of students. (while this was an issue about teaching, the group thought it also applied to Choreographer-dancer and director-actor realtionships).

We coined the phrase ‘Structured Improvisation’. 

“Structure’ was seen as curriculum, learning outcomes, learning objectives, lesson plans and representative of standards and the manifestation of control. 'Improvisation' was seen as adaptive in the moment, drawing upon your own ‘memory bank’, reactive to students’ needs, a spontaneity, instinctive, and perhaps non-verbal or text based approach or practice. On reflection, this seems unecessarilly ‘opposed’ as an idea, but that is how it emerged in the session. Both aspects were seen as important, and toward the end of the session it was suggested that Structured Improvisation represented an attempt to create different balances between controlling and instinctive teaching practices depending on the needs of learners.

We also discussed some of the underlying reasons for the state of national curriculum and the diverse range of learners in a school setting and how the teacher can respond to both ‘delivering’ national curriculum while responding with more versatility and adaptability to the needs of students.

The most important outcome for me was to be a participant in a session where everyone was contributing to the process of critically reflection. The key points that came out of the session for me were:

a.    critical reflection is a process to be engaged and can be honed as a skill (likened by one participant to ;’muscle memory’);
b.    the reflection element is natural to us humans – we all do it – but to be ‘critical’ is to not accept the obvious or easy first thoughts, but to stay with the questioning, asking better and deeper questions;
c.    I thought that critical reflection is best structured around honing better questions.

When thinking about the initial proposition of ‘Structured Improvisation’ in teaching, I had the following questions:

1.    What is it?
2.    How did it come about?
3.    What is its purpose?
4.    Who does it?
5.    Are there different approaches?
6.    Who has previously commented on it – what did they say?
7.    What other ideas are associated with it?
8.    What relevance does it have to me?
9.    When does it occur?
10.    How is it engaged?
11.    What does it look or feel like?
12.    What does it mean?
13.    What value do I attribute to it?
14.    What values do other attribute to it?

Finally, it should be borne in mind that the idea of Structured Improvisation is a bit of theory making, but the session was really about the act of critical reflection in action. Structured Improvisation was simply the idea we were reflecting upon. Nevertheless I think all participants went away thinking about teaching in a slightly different way?  It would be interesting to know if they do and in what ways?

I will post some podcasts to BAPP YouTube made at the session.

Independence, Critical Thinking and ‘Self Discovery’

There is a great deal written about higher education and its purpose. There are many different perspectives and explanations of what higher education is, and its underlying purpose. Whether you are just starting out on BAPP Arts on the first module, or engrossed in planning or conducting your Professional Inquiry, I though it might be worth giving you three ideas about the attributes that Higher Education might be seeking to foster in students:

1.    Independence – I think of this as a ‘stance’ where we (students and teachers) each establish our own voice. This is not simply about opinions, but rather recognises the stances of others and our own responses to those positions. Success in higher education is partly about accessing information and views of others to help form our own understanding especially recognising where others are coming from.

2.    Critical Thinking – I think of this as a ‘practice’ where we do not accept any explanations on face value, but explore through questioning the value and meaning of the world around us. This is the practice of keeping an open mind, of questioning what others do and say, and most importantly, challenge our own ideas and views.

3.    Self-Discovery – I think of this as a ‘goal’ where we are trying to use our independence and critical skills to educate ourselves. Higher education of course includes aspects of training (being shown how to do things) and has elements of socialisation (fostering particular behaviours) but for me it is more important that we use the opportunity to find out new and deeper things about ourselves, the world, and our place in it.

As you move through your current studies, it might be worth asking:

Am I simply regurgitating existing views on my topic, interest or task, or am I bringing a worthwhile and personally relevant perspective that adds to my understanding?

To what extent am I happy to accept the ideas of others or my own without critically challenging them?

Am I really trying to improve myself and find out new things?

I would really like to hear your views on this … especially if you have other ways of thinking about this. If you are interested, this came out of a Blog response I posted to a Student Blog.

Mid-Semester Group Feedback

This is mainly intended for students on WBS3730

I have been following the work of my advisee students on the first module for BAPP Arts. I thought I would like to give some general feedback to them, and any other student on WBS3730 (the first module).

In looking through hundreds of Blogs and comments I think some examples of good practice have emerged for me, and I would like to share these with you to help you, and to stimulate your thinking on these themes. It may be worthwhile to spend the time to look across the whole BAPP Arts Blog-sphere (even previous years) to see if what I am saying holds true for you. I would be really happy to discuss.

Engagement
I believe that the frequency of blogging and commenting vary considerably across the BAPP Arts Blog-sphere, and this can be due to a whole range of factors. But in terms of the quality of thinking and the development of ideas and skills, I think I can see a direct correlation between those who blog and comment frequently and good quality work. Testing out ideas, honing skills, reflecting on what others say … all lead to developing intellectual skills that come through in the quality of work. So engaging the Blog-sphere is very worthwhile.

Quality of Blogs and Comments
Again, there seems to be a great range of stylistic approaches to Blogs and comments. One of the greatest challenges is to be supportive while maintaining a critical perspective on what someone is Blogging. It is too easy (and there are quite a few examples) of individuals simply saying ‘yeah, I like you Blog’. Far harder is to find a mature and critical, yet supportive approach to someone’s Blog. There are some great examples of this, some from very early on in the semester, so do go and search them out and form your own views.

Using comments to improve the skills of critique
I have found some excellent examples of Blog comments. Tracking back through an individual’s commenting I can see some individuals developing their critical skills (assessment; evaluation; reflection). It would be very worthwhile to explore different people’s comments to see these developing skills and to learn from their practice.

Commenting to encourage feedback on your Blog form others
At a basic level, I can see very clearly that individuals who are commenting frequently are also getting far more comments back. So in addition to benefitting from the critical practice of commenting, some individuals are also getting a tremendous amount of feedback from others because they are engaged and commenting frequently.

Supporting others
Notwithstanding the theme above, there are also some great examples of people lending support and encouragement to others via their comments. It is a professional dilemma that we are, in the same moment, competing (for work, for grades, for recognition) and cooperating (to develop our support networks). The earlier we are in our careers (whatever the field or discipline) the more we need support. Early career professional therefore (I believe) need to get into the habit of constantly growing professional networks, and consciously improving current networks. Giving real support to others through comments is an easy way to grow you professional network and to practice the skills needed.

Working with the Conventions
Lastly, one of our ideas about professional ‘practice’ is that it is largely made up of iterative practices (practices that develop over time). These can be built on ‘conventions’ (the way it is done now) and ‘conventional knowledge’ (what we all know in a given field or discipline). So within our Blogs we can reveal and discuss conventions; our shared experiences; our shared knowledge. A small number of Blogs have been successful it demonstrating how the ideas being discussed relate to conventions (either conforming to, or arguing against the conventions). Being aware of, and being able to relate our ideas to the conventions, is an important professional attribute. Simply having a view on something is largely irrelevant. How it compares or contrasts with conventional knowledge and perspectives is far more worthwhile and useful (?).

Final thought. Emulate, don’t copy! The observations and comments above are to say ‘go and find examples of what I am suggesting and say whether it makes sense to you’. In the past I have included links to examples, but I think it is more useful for you to find these yourself. Where you find examples of good practice, engage that individual in discussion, they have something you want! If you can learn from their approach then do so.  To emulate good practice is a great method of learning. I hope this Blog post is of interest and helps, but it would be great also to know of other good things you have come across, or if you disagree with something I have said (academics really do like people disagreeing – we like it -  that’s why we encourage it!).

Thinking about Reflection. ?

This will mainly be of interest to students on the first module (WBS3730).

We know that reflection (of the critical, questioning type) is an essential element of professional practice in any discipline. We know this because practices and contexts change over time. So while we might be educated or taught how to respond to a given situation, we cannot predict how to respond to a future situation, one that may be difficult to imagine or predict. Critical reflection is the thinking process by which we adapt to the changing face of our professional and personal lives.

One way I like to think of reflection is as a practice in itself. As a practice, it is a skill that can be developed, honed, changed and generally experimented with to see how it can be used to good effect.

I posted a while ago on this, and think it is still relevant and may be helpful to you as you further explore what critical reflection means to you: What reflection might look like?

Developing your Support Network (for whatever stage you are at)

As I have been looking through the Blogs I am struck by some good examples of how students on BAPP Arts are supporting each other, commenting to each other’s Blogs, make good observations and giving sound advice. For me this simply reflects good practice in any professional field. Professional work is largely carried out collaboratively, and professional practice is largely conducted through the engagement with, and use of, our professional networks. It is a key professional attribute.

While there are lots of good examples of professional-level interaction (e.g. commenting) I though Liam’s post on his YouTube video serves as an excellent example. One of the reasons for the large number of comments on Liam’s Blog is that fact that he is out there commenting on others people Blogs – giving time to others through your comments are both a learning opportunity (in reflection, analysis and evaluation) as well as a benefit on terms of lots of useful feedback from others. My advice … emulate this practice.

I picked on Liam as an example, but there are lots of great commentators out there, go find them, link to them, comment on their Blogs, share, contribute and benefit!

Starting out on BAPP Arts - Confused?

(this is mainly for new starters but experienced BAPP Arts students may wish to comment)

Starting a new programme, with people you don’t know, at a distance, focused on concepts and principles that you probably have not tackled at depth before, using technologies you may or may not be familiar with. ANYONE who was paying attention would be confused so don't for a second expect that this should all make sense at the beginning. My only advice is to accept the confusion – things will get clearer – access and read the module handbook – we have written them to be as clear as possible. Engage with all the tasks we set out in the module handbook, and use advisers and other students as your support network.

At the core of all learning is the unknown.

Why use Blogs?

Our rationale for using Blogs is detailed on both the Web 2.0 guide and the programme handbook but to briefly reiterate that Blogs and wider social media tools are establishing as a core technology for professional practitioners to interact, share and develop as professional communities. 

It is therefore essential to be practiced at these technologies. As part of the programme, additionally it enables you to interact in learning with other students in a public domain where your ideas are presented, and you as a professional are represented. 

We all therefore have to carefully consider how we engage these technologies.