Description
I found it hard to write in this style. I am used to writing about my thoughts and feelings and to write simply about where and when felt very impersonal and cold. I had very little to write too! I have always known I am quite in touch with my feelings as I have used journal writing in the past to work through decisions and issues but forcing myself to write in this way highlighted it further. I do not feel this style will be beneficial for me. I believe that my ever changing thoughts will shape my future professional practice and I therefore need to be aware of them.
Initial reflection
This is where I ended up writing two A4 pages! Ask me how I feel about something and I can write for eternity. I spend most of my day talking to myself and working through my feelings and what that means. That sounds a little psychotic but I think it is because I am in a position of instability and trying to choose a path and this can consume me at times. Sometimes to the point where I confuse myself so much it gets frustrating. Because of this I do not feel this is the best method for me as I have a tendency to waffle on and loose focus. In order to find a path I need to sort through my thoughts and feelings with focus.
List
This really worked for me! As fore mentioned I have a tendency to waffle and this helps me to stop that. With a list I can organise my thoughts and write about the key elements of my day. I also find it hard to make time for journal writing everyday and this style makes it quick and easy to manage. I feel it will also help me when looking back as it is clear and broken down rather than a chunk of text.
Evaluation
I found evaluation a useful tool that highlighted a lot of things to me. It is so easy to go day to day and not to analyse things that went well or could have gone better. I think about it at the time but I think I can slip into being lazy and not making any changes. With the tool of evaluation I had to ask myself questions that can sometimes be hard to answer. As a performer I am used to analysing myself and working out areas to improve upon but I have a tendency to look at this as a negative thing. I always try to do my best so find it frustrating when things do not go well. Sometimes I think I avoid evaluation because it is easier but it is time to use evaluation in a positive way to develop my professional practice.
Chart and graph
At the prospect of this I was a little critical. I couldn't even remember how to make a chart or graph let alone see how it would help me in my journal writing. I used www.ehow.co.uk and remembered how simple it was. I chose to do a pie chart of a day when I had little work comparing stress, freedom and fun and a bar graph of a day teaching comparing my three classes in different skills. I found it really interesting to see my day in an image form, it made it simple and clear and I can imagine it would be really useful when working in comparison.
Diagram
I took a slightly different approach to this style and did a sketch of elements of my day. I like to draw and I really enjoyed this take on my day and upon reflection it is interesting to look at the images I chose to draw. It highlighted the key elements of my day and created a strong visual.
What if?
I really enjoyed this writing style. It was good fun to dream and imagine what could have happened, my dreams are endless! I spent the day in a primary school leading drama workshops and I wrote: "What if someone from cbbc happened to be at the school and offered me a job as a children's television presenter?" This is one of the many dreams. In looking at things that I would have hated to happen it highlighted that I had a very good day and it is important to remember how good things are! "What if my car broke down and I was so late that the school cancelled and I got sacked from Perform (the company I work for)" I think it would help me to engage in this writing style every so often.
Another view
This was really good fun! I took the view of my vintage handbag as it comes everywhere with me. On reading it back my handbag is very negative about a lot of things I do. "She keeps looking at other people's blogs but not doing anything on her own, I think she is intimidated." But it was very positive about other elements of my day. "When she is teaching she has a sudden energy for life and everyone in it - I love watching her teach she is so happy." By taking a step out of my life and looking in it helped me understand how I really feel about things and made me face up to things I do not always see. I think this style will be beneficial for me to take forward.
So.....moving forward I aim to engage in the list style of journal writing on a daily basis. I will look to engage in what if? and another view once a week as I feel this will vary my view. I may also use a graph or chart at the end of each month but I will see how it goes!
Hollie x
Hi Hollie, I have always seen the list form as a bit lacking in detail. But I guess it would help to cut out the 'waffle' as you say. I think I agree it's definitely about a variation. I found the graph style a little odd, is there anything else you would use it for do you think? Just to get more ideas...
ReplyDeleteHollie I have been giving this out as a form idea about the journal - because I think some of the journal work is about recording things in such a way that they jog your memory - so that you can think about them in more depth later.
ReplyDeleteDate What was the focus/task for the learning? What have I learned about the focus/task? How can I be more effective? What needs to be done and why? e.g. acquiring knowledge, feedback/discussion with peers… What have I discovered about myself? e.g. strengths, points of view, values…
I keep a work book that also has personal 'lists' and events - but mainly for work. I draw things out when I need to - which is often as I am a visual thinker - I also keep a digital diary on my iphone.
Part 2 is about the inside thinking as Part 3 is about the external factors in our practice. 2d is important as it starts to focus on some of the questions that interest you - that might be used later for your work on BAPP.
Looking forward to these and the networking elements - they all fit together - critical thinking is just about using some of the ideas - such as Kolb's cycle or Schon's reflection on practice - or structural improvisation as Alan put in at the Campus Session - and using these to inform our work - so 'theorising' our practice. Give this a try with one of the thinkers and it might help also with the rest of Part 2.