First Campus Session

Yesterday a small group of us ventured to the University Camps to have our first ever session with Adesola. A mixture of module 1 and module 3 students was interesting because we could see what the course had in store for us module 1 students later on.

We began by introducing ourselves, saying what module we were on and where in that module we were currently at. As this discussion developed it became clear that this course isn't about just simply doing the tasks as a box ticking exercise but rather a journey of continuing exploration - everything is connected together.

Rhizome Learning

From the idea that the course is continuous Adesola discussed with us rhizome learning. Our main three theories that we learn in the first module (communication, reflection and network) are blades of grass and the roots that run underneath them are our exploration of each. Each blade of grass represents a part in our course and the roots underneath them all are all connected thus showing that everything we do in our course is connected and not individual aspects. By nourishing (the water droplets in the diagram) one part of the grass it will also do the same for the others. Adesola also mentioned that some thing will 'click' for different people at different times. Here is a copy of the diagram that we had drawn to help visualise the idea:

Theories

Instead of using a theory to justify why we do something, a theory should be at the core of what we do. Think of theories as the driving force behind what we do. This was one of the most important things that came from the campus session. The theories will be present in your practice right now and although you may not be able to recognise what you're doing or why (I believe this is what reflection is for) you want to be able to eventually notice what the theories in you and your practice are. Then you have to be able to explain how you've noticed these theories in your practice.

By having a theory at your core it should direct you in what to do. For example, in Ballet the theory at the core is that everything has to be turned out so when stood in first position you do so with your legs turned out. This in turn forces your tend to be turned out as well. However, this direction may not always be the correct path to take due to ethical considerations.

Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations are asking yourself questions about your theory that involve other people, for example. A good example of ethical considerations was on that Adesola gave us. During an experiment normal everyday students were divided into 'prisoners' and guards'. Eventually the experiment showed that the 'guards' were using and perhaps even abusing the power to mistreat the 'prisoner' but when the experiment ended and those students went back to their normal lives who considered the impact that experiment would have had on them? That would be the ethical considerations.

All in all it was a really helpful session and it has helped me to realise that in Module 1 we need to notice what out theory is in our practice, what makes us notice it and how we use it. The first three aspects of this course as I mentioned earlier are all probably already in my practice and I hope that my reflective journal will help me to identify these and how I use them.