BETA Conference 2012, Ruse A black belt at learning from experience Adrian Underhill

Reflection means taking an attitude of inquiry and curiosity, to become aware of our practice, not just immersed in it

Not to examine one’s practice is irresponsible; to regard teaching as an experiment and to monitor one’s performance is a responsible professional act Ruddock

The purpose of reflective practice is to change things, not just think about them

We make the mistake of dictating problems and solutions, making people passive, colluding in the problem and dictating answers, rather than inviting them to empower themselves by entering the problem, and developing their own knowledge Anne Burns

Intelligent action in complex situations is unlikely to derive from following given or universal models…… There are no ‘universal’ solutions to ‘local’ situations. Therefore we need to by guided by knowledge and experience from the people in the local situation……. We need to develop local knowledge that exactly follows the contours of the setting and circumstances we are in…

…neither modern science nor the modern university is dedicated to the study of one’s own practice… Bill Torbert

Universities … are institutions committed….to a particular … view of knowledge that fosters selective inattention to practical competence and professional artistry Donald Schon

Experiment 1: Recall a recent happening in which you were actively involved 1… What happened? Describe the ‘facts’ 2… Your thoughts and feelings at the time 3… Self evaluation: How I see it now 4… Learning: What can I take from this? 5… What next? What shall I do different?

I experience myself as a living contradiction when I recognise that I hold a value, such as fairness, yet deny it in practice Whitehead

…to come to understand the degree to which we may be experiencing ourselves as a living contradiction, and to find ways of resolving the tension so that we can live in a way that does no violence to our own or others’ integrity.

What is deeply important to you in your work? What fires you up? In what ways do you enact this value? In what ways contradict this value?

When people are aligned to their purpose, when the gap between values and behaviours closes, what people experience is… a stream of ease Roger Lewin

Outcomes and impacts Actions and Behaviours Values and Purposes

…the problem is …that we don't know enough about experience. Everybody thinks they know about experience, I claim we don't..... We have had a blind spot in the West for that kind of methodical approach…. where you become truly a black belt … observer of your experience… Francisco Varela

The Learning Mantra: See what’s going on Do something different Learn from it

A learning organisation is one that: facilitates the learning of all its members and continuously transforms itself… (Pedler and Aspinwall)

A company that does lots of training is NOT a learning company Individual learning can be wasted unless harnessed at organisational level

1.. It’s easy to get people to listen to and experiment with new ideas and suggestions 2… When one person learns something new, everyone hears about it 3.. Making mistakes is part of learning. You can be open about it. It’s not career limiting 4.. Staff members of all ranks give each other plenty of quality feedback from above, below, sideways 5.. Everyone is involved in discussing school policies before adoption 6… People in one dept. know what people in another dept. are thinking, and they help each other

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING Burns, A Collaborative Action Research CUP Burns, A Doing Action Research in English Language Teaching Routledge Lewin, R Weaving Complexity and Business: Engaging the Soul at Work Texere McNiff, J. and Whitehead, J Action Research for Teachers David Fulton Pedlar and Aspinwall 1998 Concise Guide to the Learning Organization Lemos & Crane Reason and Bradbury 2001 The Handbook of Action Research Sage Richards and Lockhart 1994 Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms Schon, D The Reflective Practitioner CUP Torbert, W. et al Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely & Transforming Leadership. BK Varela, F. October Williams and Burden Psychology for Language Teachers CUP

BETA Conference 2012, Ruse Thank you! Visit my blogs: adrianpronchart.wordpress.com demandhighelt.wordpress.com