Annamarie McKie: ‘Reflect on this..or that? Enabling space for reflection in the creative arts’
My reflections from the workshop titled “Reflect on this..or that? Enabling space for reflection in the creative arts” by Annamarie McKie on Wednesday, February 14th, prompted insightful considerations about reflecting on teaching practices in higher education.
Drawing from Thompson and Thompson (2008), who emphasizes the importance of integrating reflection into daily working practices (Thompson & Thompson, 2008:56), I reflected on my approach to teaching at UAL and the ways I create time and space for reflection.
Reflecting on my teaching at UAL primarily involves relational reflection, often through group or dyadic conversations with colleagues who share similar disciplinary interests. These conversations, which occur naturally with peers who are practicing artists themselves, allow for an exchange of information and insights that enrich our teaching approaches and improve student engagement within studio and tutorial interactions. Given that I am in the institution one day a week, reflective prompts about our teaching might allow us to catch up with what I’ve/we’ve missed, join the gaps, encourage possible insights that we might not have gleaned otherwise, or otherwise improve student understanding and engagement within the studio and tutorial interactions.
As someone who entered teaching from a Fine Art disciplinary background, I resonate with the idea that creative arts lecturers often prefer to use their own terms rather than adopting decontextualized frames of reference from teaching and learning theory (McKie, 2022:123). This preference reflects the unique language and practices within the creative arts field, where disciplinary language plays a crucial role in reflecting on teaching and learning processes. I considered my unfamiliarity within the pedagogical language presenting interesting insights into my Dual Identity’s.
To create time and space for personal reflection within my teaching contexts, I am currently relying on methods such as documenting conversations, keeping notes, engaging in reflective writing, and exploring scholarly literature on education. These practices enable me to develop a more advanced educational practice and vocabulary, enhancing my ability to critically reflect on and improve my teaching methods.
In conclusion, the workshop provided valuable insights into the role of reflection in creative arts education, highlighting the importance of integrating reflection into teaching practices and embracing the unique language and practices within the discipline.
References:
McKie, A. (2022). [Title of the Book]. Publisher. Thompson, S., & Thompson, N. (2008). The Critically Reflective Practitioner. Palgrave Macmillan.