All Module Skype 1- Keep Questioning, Keep Exploring

This week I attended a skype discussion group for modules 1, 2 and 3. It was great getting to talk to everyone and discuss where everyone is at with the course and general learning and development. There were 2 main points that I picked up on from our discussion.

  • Questions
  • Reflection

Questions

I am becoming more aware of how important it is to question yourself, not only for this course but in life. By questioning things, it means you don’t just accept what is. Questioning isn’t always about finding an answer, but about gaining more information. Things are constantly changing and we do not have the capacity to know everything. There is too much information in the world for it to be accessed by everyone. This is why when we question, we never get a full answer because it’s impossible- hence why we gain knowledge to develop on, not an end point. As George Siemens talks about in 'Knowing Knowledge' (2006), we should look at ‘knowledge as a river, not reservoir.’ Page 53. He talks about how knowledge is always moving and changing, like the river, hence why it is so important to keep questioning.  

Particularly for module 2 there are certain questions we need to ask ourselves. Module 2 is about putting an inquiry proposal together for a topic we have chosen. But why have we chosen this particular topic? Why have we chosen to do interviews, or questionnaires, or focus groups? Why have we chosen to ask these particular questions for our research. What is the purpose of them? How will they affect the people they are being asked too? We need to question our assumptions and our own bias.

Reflection

Looking back on yourself and seeing where you started to where you are now is a great tool to use. I believe that by reflecting on your past, you are giving yourself the best possible chance to move forward. Reflective journals are often spoken about and they are a great tool to use as you will notice things about yourself that you may have otherwise missed. By reflecting it also gives you opportunities to question yourself and ask, why did I do that? It also can highlight patterns and habits that you could have been unaware of. It gives us the opportunity to better ourselves and to learn and develop from our past. This links back to module 1 with Donald Schon (1987) where he talks about reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action in ‘Educating the Reflective ‘Practitioner’. Do we reflect whilst we are doing something or after we have done something? Both are important and useful.

To summarise the skype session, we should keep questioning, keep exploring and keep reflecting.



Bibliography

  Schön D. (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner: Toward a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the Professions, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass

Siemens, G. (2006) ‘Knowing knowledge’, Milton Keynes: Lightning Source UK Ltd.

Image from https://fi.pinterest.com/pin/406449935115198229/

Comments

  1. Alice Pettini29 September 2020 at 14:07

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  2. Alice Pettini29 September 2020 at 14:08

    Hi Alys, I loved reading your post. It was interesting to read your ideas on these topics - I feel that we share many ideas, but it's intriguing to hear your way of describing it. I tried to start my reflective journal and initially struggled to think of things I should be reflecting on, but I suppose the answer is 'anything' and the way you have described it has been very helpful. x

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    Replies
    1. Alys May-James3 October 2020 at 04:38

      Hi Alice,
      I'm glad it helped! Reflection is really key and a reflective journal does help! Its great to be able to look back because certain things you may have forgotten or it may help you with something in the future! I also find it reassuring to go back and think how far I've come already. :) Alys xx

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