Throughout my life I have used art as a tool to attempt to make
sense of some of my life experiences, particularly those I have found hard to
explain and/or difficult to understand. Art has been my emotional outlet,
enabling me to reflect and make sense of the world around me. I have used art,
whether a painting or a sketch, as the tool in which I can reflect on my daily
and cumulative life experiences.
Growing up under Apartheid shaped my artwork and how I view the
world. Without these experiences I would not have been able to produce my art
as the majority of my work has a political and social message (Fig.1). Despite
living under an oppressive regime during my youth, I have not allowed this
experience to deter me from achieving the goals that I set myself. My drive at
work comes from my determination to succeed despite a difficult start in life.
My own experience allows me to empathise with the young people I work with who
also come from deprived and unstable backgrounds.
Fig.1 No Condition is Permanent
Knowing how informative a tool art has been to me in the past, I encourage
young people to take time to express their thoughts and feelings on paper and
to discuss and reflect on their experiences. Art acts as a tool to engage in
healthy discussion about often difficult issues which, without being addressed,
could lead to negative outcomes.
I have work with young people that were being stopped and searched
by the police on a regular basis. I have also experienced this and decided to
use it as a subject to reflect on in my own artwork (Fig.2). I began by using my
own experience as a baseline before looking at other people’s documentation of
events. By the time I had finished my art piece, I had a more rounded
understanding of the subject. I exhibited the piece at the College attended by
the young people who had expressed their concerns about stop and search. The
work provided an informal platform on which the young people could continue
with their discussions. Seeing the need for space for young people to express
their thoughts and feeling about their everyday experiences led me to work
towards creating art workshops and projects for young people.
Fig.2 Stop and Search
Dewey believed that the interaction with the arts leads to a unique and valuable experience (Dewey, 1934, Module_2_BAPP_handbook_3730_Reader_2_final.pdf).
“He felt that if people had full experience and therefore full engagement with their lives they would be
better able to be a part of society,
fully engage with democracy and spend time solving worldly problems”.
(Dewey, 1934, Module_2_BAPP_handbook_3730_Reader_2_final.pdf).
Conversation is one of the main tools I have used to practice
reflection in the working and learning environment. As well as our meetings and
record keeping at work, we also have a catch-up conversation at the end of each
day to reflect on our daily experiences by sharing our thoughts and feelings.
This is incredibly useful as it allows people to express their perspective on
each event and to discuss the pros and cons of the actions taken by each person
involved. This allows me to understanding how people view the methods of action
I chose to take, to reflect upon their views and to be more informed in my future
decision-making. As well as learning it is also a place in which I can share my
knowledge with others less experienced. Jeff and Smith view conversation with
colleagues as important as supervision and recording. (Jeff T and Smiths M K,
2005)
“Each of these encourages us to reflect on our
own experiences, to look to our own feelings, thoughts and actions. Without
engaging with these it can be very difficult to work with others. Conversation
with our peers around these matters must not be seen as time wasting. Such
activities are an essential part of our work. Within them rehearse ideas and evaluate
practices.”
(Jeff T and Smiths M K, 2005)
Marry Wolf writes about how a conversation
provides a way in which we can either revisit our experiences or entertain the possibilities
of future experiences. (Wolf M, et al, 2001). In the learning environment,
whether formal or in formal, it is important that the teacher doesn’t just
relay on the syllabus, but also considers the students circumstance and draws upon
their own experiences to teach effectively. If one of my students has an
emotional outburst while I am teaching them a subject, I encourage time out to
discuss what triggered the outburst. While discussing this with them I give
examples of similar experiences that I have had to show that I can understand
their situation. This helps them to relate and open up to me and allows me to
equip them with the tools for them to move forward.
In my educational experience I have benefited
more in classes where the teacher has taken the time to understand my abilities
and to draw on my strengths. As a result, when I am teaching in a school or
running a community project I take the time to engage in one to one
conversations with each student/participant. By doing this I am able to deliver
a subject in a way that best suits a student or a particular group of students.
By having an interest in the student/s shows that an educator has empathy and
understanding. It also means that they are prepared to learn from the student/s
and shows that they don’t just view teaching as a one-way system. Paulo Freire states that education is not
a “banking system”.
“It should not involve one person acting on another, but rather people working with each other. Too much education, Paulo
Freire argues, involves 'banking' - the educator making 'deposits' in the
educatee.” (Smith, M. K, 1997, 2002)
We all have different ways of learning, which I think is
influenced by the subject and the environment in which it is being taught. Some
students respond better in group settings and others find a one to one experience
more beneficial. When I run workshops or work in schools, I need to be able
read the body language of the people I work with and respond appropriately to
it. When students are participating in a task some prefer to be left alone while
others want to be guided step by step. Their response is often a result of how confident
they feel and how much understanding they already have of a subject.
I recently ran a series of printing workshops for young people.
The workshops began with me demonstrating a print technique, which I soon
realised did not mean that the participants could simply replicate what they
had been shown. Kolb designed a learning cycle that breaks down the process of
converting experience into learning through reflection. There are four concepts
in Kolb’s cycle and each person can enter the cycle at any point, this is
described as a learning style.
“The point you start to learn and find meaning is your
entry point into a learning cycle. Where you enter the cycle is sometimes
called your learning style. Kolb’s learning cycle is a tool for Reflection on
how you learn and a tool for approaching experience.” (Module_2_BAPP_handbook_3730_Reader_2_final.pdf).
I can apply his concepts to understand different ways in which the
participant’s of the print workshop learnt.
Concrete
Experience [doing/ having an experience] eg. being shown how to cut a stencil
for using on a screen print.
Reflective observation [reviewing /reflecting on the experience] eg. creating a
screen print with their stencil and analysing the process.
Abstract conceptualisation [concluding/learning from the experience] eg. learning
by observing the print outcome.
Active Experimentation [planning / trying out what you have learned] eg. reviewing
the stencil to improve the desired outcome.
Donald Schon’s concept on reflection-in-action, and reflection-on-action both have relevance
to my work, whether I am working in a school, running a workshop or creating my
own art. When I am working at school and running workshops I use
reflection-in-action during the day, when I need to respond quickly to a
situation. I use reflection-on-action at the end of the day during meetings or
de-briefs. I use this time to assess how I responded in situations and what I
could have done differently. Jeff and Smith give an example of how we use
reflection-on-action at our work place by writing journals, keep records, talking
to others and thinking about how we dealt with a situation. (Jeff T and Smith
K, 2005). I also use reflection-on-action when I do my own artwork. I take time
to stand back and observe each piece, before continuing to progress with the
work. I also invite other to my studio to comment on the pieces whilst still a
work in progress. I feel that both of Schon’s and Dewey’s ‘present’
reflection-in-action and ‘future’ reflection-of-action practices have equal
importance and usefulness in my professional practice.
References:
1. Dewey,
1934, Module_2_BAPP_handbook_3730_Reader_2_final.pdf
3. Jeff T and
Smiths M K, 2005, Informal Education: - Conversation, democracy and learning
(Community Creative Choice Change), Third Edition, Education Heretics Press, 113 Arundel Drive,
Bramcote, Nottingham, NG9 3FQ
4. Smith, M.
K. (1997, 2002) 'Paulo Freire and informal education', the encyclopaedia of informal education.
[www.infed.org/thinkers/et-freir.htm. Last update: December 01, 2011] Look
at how
5. Wolf M, et al, 2001, Principles and Practice of Informal
Education, Learning through life, Edited By Linda Deer Richardson and Marry
Wolfe, RoutledgeFalmer, 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
