Literature

Neglect would be understatement when it comes to my blog, but I thought today was as good as any to get back on track and finally write a post! Time management has been a massive issue when it comes to getting my BAPP work done but I had a good couple of hours this morning before travelling the theatre to crack down and get started. I have been doing some ongoing literature research and have made some bullet point notes on information I found of relevance. This technique, I feel, really  helps me to see clearly what information I wish to use in my inquiry. Below I have copied and pasted the notes I made on research surrounding warming up and cooling down, which I would like to pay attention to in my inquiry as it is a vital part of body management and maintaining a healthy body.

Article 1:

ISTD - “warm-up…why?”

“Whilst some injuries are true accidents in the sense of being unavoidable, many are the result of your body being unprepared for tasks that you have set it”

people are confused about what constitutes a good warm-up - some think barre is a warm up but this is false

for barre and set exercises you need to be sufficiently warm already to make the most out of the exercises and also prevent injuries 

“A good warm-up is a group of exercises performed immediately before an activity that provides the body with a period of adjustment from rest to exercise”

It improves performance by preparing a dancer mentally and physically 

It should increase elasticity of muscles and tendons allowing greater flexibility of the joints preventing injury. This is caused by blood situation which is why cold muscles are more susceptible to injury

You should increase breathing rate to take in more oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide

You should raise your heart rate to deliver more oxygen and glucose to the muscles for energy

you should increase your body temperature

you should activate and speed up the signals along motor nerves to allow quicker muscle contractions for faster, smoother movements  (muscle engaging exercises)

you should focus and concentre your mind to avoid making mistakes that could result in an accident

increase range of movement in the joint 

“A warm-up is necessary no matter how warm the environment. All the above benefits can be obtained by a warm-up routine that should include the following features in this order: -

• Gentle jogging, marching, skipping or similar rhythmical activity.

• Exercises of a steady rhythmical nature involving other joints of the body, such as gentle knee bends, arm swings, sways, trunk rotation, step ball change. None of these should reach end of range of movement at this stage so muscles and joints are not overstretched. Incorporating arm movements at this stage will accelerate the effects of the warm-up.

• Gentle stretches to the large muscle groups, holding each stretch for 10-15 seconds. An increase in flexibility through stretching may reduce the incidence of musculo-tendinous injuries.

Balance exercises, such as standing on one leg, then being able to control bending and straightening the supporting leg and rising on to demi-pointe.”

the fitter you are and the higher the level of your training, the longer warm up has to be to have the same effect.

The warm-up should be gradual and sufficient to increase muscle and core temperature without causing fatigue or reducing energy stores, and should not involve technical demands on the dance student (dictated)

Remember to consider that sometimes with a long day or rehearsals and performance, often the benefits of an early warm up may not still be there later on

COOL DOWN:

cooling down allows your body to wind down after activity gradually and return to a resting state as opposed to just stopping

interestingly, your body returns to its pre-exercise state more quickly if you perform light exercise during the recovery period than just stop. (dictated)

cooling down allows you to relax both mentally and physically. it helps the recovery process and prevents muscle soreness and tightness in following days.

Article 2:

Trinity Laban - Warm up and cool down for dancers

It is important to warm the body up in order to prepare it for longer, more intense movements. it also helps to relieve tension in the joints and muscles

by doing this you are ensuring you are able to dance without strain on the body

an ideal warm up gradually raises the body temperature to that of an optimum working condition

The cool down is just as important after dancing as this can help to reduce muscle soreness and speed up the recovery process after the activity.

a warm up should; prepare you mentally and physically, improve performance and reduce occurrence of injury, increase coordination and proprioception, raise heart rate and increase blood circulation, raise body temp, free joint movement, improve muscle actions, improve transmutation of nerve impulses.

a warm up shouldn’t tire you or contain anything too high impact with rapid change of direction 

The movements should be controlled, continuous with the correct alignment to reduce the risk of injury (dictation)

A warm up should include exercises for ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, elbows and wrists with 6-8 repetitions of each exercise

With the information I had found on these two websites, I decided to create some interview questions to ask fellow company members and also external dancers that ask them about their warm up and cool down regimes as well as how they manage their bodies on tour or in a work environment.

The questions I came up with were:

1) Do you think warm up/ cool down is important for dancers and why?

2) At what point in the day do you think is the optimum time for warm up?

3) How long do you think a warm up should last and what do you include in your daily warm up?

4) Do you think rest is important, and how often do you rest your body?

5) What is the first thing you do when you get a niggle?

6) Do you think it is harder to look after your body on tour and why?

7) Is there anything you do to prevent injury or stop niggles worsening?

8) How do you think you could look after your body bettie whilst on tour and manage time more effectively?

9)  Do you think it is important to do preventative strengthening exercises to stop injuries occurring on tour?

I am going to ask these questions to 4 dancers within my company (2 males, 2 females) and also 2 dancers working for other companies.

Getting back to blogging will hopefully enable me to manage my time more effectively as I am aware time is running away very quickly.

Hitting the proverbial brick wall

Having neglected my work slightly, I knew that a Skype call with Paula would be a good way to get me back on track! Myself and Maddy, had a great discussion the other night with Paula about our possible lines of inquiry. It really helped to be reassured that we were heading in the right direction and also allowed us to hone in our ideas to create a more concise plan of action with regards to module 2.
I explained my ideas to Paula surrounding injury prevention and hyper-mobility in dancers. I said that I had always had an interest in injury and anatomy so that route seemed only too natural for me to explore in more detail. She then told me that if anything I was being too specific and needed to open up the topic and make it more explorative and developmental, as opposed to black and white research. This point I found particularly interesting and helpful, so I talked about the idea of looking into the individuality of each and every dancer's body and how different bodies are going to be effected by certain elements of training. This topic seemed more appropriate for my inquiry and Paula said that looking into individuality was very interesting. From here I just wrote down some possible bullet points of things I would like to explore or things to research further and include in my inquiry. These were:

• Injuries in young training dancers

• Hyper-mobility in dancers and it's effects

• EDS syndrome and similar conditions in dancers and it's effects

• Individuality in dancer's bodies

• How to prevent injury through strengthening and conditioning 

• Screen processes at vocational school for young dancers

• Can young dancer's bodies be affected by the way in which they train? (positive and negative)

• How does dancing from a young age make your muscularity and body develop differently from non-dancers?

• Should there be a more rigorous screening process to identify young dancers weaknesses and help prevent injuries?

• Should there be more dance specialist physiotherapists at vocational schools?

Also during our discussion, Paula asked me why I had an interest in injury prevention and in particular hyper-mobility. I told her than at age 14, I had quite a serious hip injury which went un-diagnosed for almost a year and resulted in me having to have hip surgery. When I eventually had it treated by a consultant, he said it was down to me having hyper-mobile joints and as I was young and doing abnormal things with my body daily in ballet class,  I actually hadn't developed the strength to control my movements. Had this been identified earlier on, I could have had exercises to build the right muscles and a worked more carefully in class and surgery would never have been necessary. This is the reason I feel so passionate about this topic as I know that with more research and attention, many other young dancers could prevent such injuries from occurring.

The Next step

Now I'm back into work mode I'm going to create a plan of action for the next few weeks. Some things I want to achieve are:

1. Research my area and come up with some good extracts of literature relevant to my topic
2. Look into ethical issues surrounding injury prevention in particular ethical issues around young injured dancers
3. Converse with my old physiotherapist and some other useful contacts to get ideas and knowledge of the area from them
4. Discuss my ideas with other dancers both on the course and outside of BAPP

Hopefully, I will be able to get the ball rolling now with regards to my studies and I'm very excited to see what new information and research I can find on this area. 

Answered and unanswered questions

In my last post, I came up with 4 key questions surrounding my professional practice which I found to be of importance.  I have subsequently received several comments on my blog answering my questions and have interviewed a few colleagues in my company to see what the general response was. Although there is always a degree of differentiation, largely speaking, people were on the same page with one or two queries which I found particularly interesting.

My findings

I conducted some audio interviews with a few colleagues at Vienna Festival ballet, asking them my questions and the responses I received was very interesting. I tried to ask a variety of people with different dance backgrounds to gain a broader understanding of the issues I feel may exist.

My first dancer is 25, she trained vocationally from 16 and has worked with Vienna Festival Ballet for 6 years since graduating. Her responses were as follows:

1)  Q: Do you feel there is enough support and advice for injured dancers both physically and psychologically?  

     A: "I think physically there is a lot of support for injured dancers, because I had a lot of minor injuries myself and I've had a lot of support in finding physio and recovering quickly. I think psychologically, theres not always enough emphasis on the impact that getting an injury can have, so I think that more could be done with the impact in can have psychologically on a dancer. "

2) Q: Do you think dancers receive enough education about how to prevent injury and how to keep their bodies in peak physical condition?
   A: "Personally, when I trained I was given a lot of information about how to deal with injuries and how to identify the difference between just pain and an actual long-standing injury. I felt quite prepared to deal with that in professional life."

3) Q:  Do you think there is enough emphasis on preparing yourself for a life and career outside of dance? 
    A: "I think there is. The school that I went to (which is Central School of Ballet) I received quite a lot of preparation for life after dance but I think there is such a stress and emphasis on dancers to get a job as soon as they graduated that it can sometimes become less important to think about what you are going to do after you retire. This could do with being stressed more as a dancer' career is so short".

4) Q: Do you think it is important to build strength and stamina outside of the studio as well as in training and performance?
   A: " Yes I believe it is important, I believe the most important thing is always going to be your career and the performance you give at work but having a certain amount of fitness outside of work is incredibly important especially as many dancers are going to carry on into other professions that involve physical exercises so I think it is important to keep that up."


My second interview was with a 27 year old dancer who trained in Russia. She also worked with 2 different companies in Romania and also a Russian company here in the UK before joining Vienna Festival Ballet this year. Her responses, as you will see, where quite different from my first dancer's.

1) A: "I'm lucky in that I've never been injured, but I feel in the larger companies there is enough support for injured dancers, but not so much in the smaller companies"

2) A: "In my opinion it is much better in Russia than here in the UK. We had lessons on injury prevention and management which were very helpful. We also learnt a lot more on anatomy."

3) A: "No I don't think there is actually. You should be encouraged to find something outside of dance  than you can continue doing after dance e.g teaching or something like that."

4) A: "NO, because i've always done what I've needed in the studio and haven't felt the need to do anything else. Our rest time should be exactly that, rest time."

Finally, my last interview is with a 21 year old dancer, whom after graduating took a year off to have hip surgery and has subsequently returned to dance this year.

1) A: "I think that in terms of physically there is more advice, i'd say, but psychologically not so much.  The impact a physical injury can have on your mental wellbeing is strong so it could do with more attention."

2) A: "I think at the school I went to there was quite a lot of information about preventing injury but then there's not so much in terms of post injury which is equally as important ."

3) A: "no I don't think so,  well at school we didn't get any advice about life after dance. It felt like if you didn't get into a ballet company, then you're a failure. So I think more attention could be paid in that area." 

4) A: "Yes, I think there is importance for strength and stamina. I feel it won't have a negative effect, only positive. As someone with not greta stamina, cardio work would definitely help me." 

As you can see, the answers varied greatly but what I found interesting is the majority of people I asked these questions to, stated that there was a distinct lack of psychological support for injured dancers and that it is something they all believed required improvement. The amount of physical support for injured dancers variety broadly depending on training and circumstances. Larger companies with more funding tend to have a better care programmes for injured dancers as opposed to the smaller, non-funded companies. Another issue that arose when these questions were being discussed, was the lack of dance specific physiotherapists. Many of the treatments dancers receive are basic rehabilitation and physiotherapy for athletes rather than engineered programmes for dancers of a certain level. This, I feel, could have a big effect on the recovery of a dancer as the demands on the body are different and more specific to those of athletes and sportsmen. This got me thinking about a potential line of inquiry, as the body of a dancer interests me and looking into the rehab requirements is perhaps an area I may like to research.

Module 2 - 'Developing lines of Professional inquiry'

Module 2 begins our process into developing our professional inquiry for module 3. In Reader 4 it describes Professional inquiry as "an approach to learning that acknowledges the central role of the individual to the process of learning", which means that in this module we will be making our learning and our practice more personal and relevant to what we find important and of interest. 

Creating an inquiry at this moment in time seems rather daunting , however the tasks help to break it down and create a path towards our end goal. In task 4a, we are asked to create a set of questions surrounding our practice, that we find relevant to our possible line of inquiry. I began my making a spider diagram about my practice, this may not be the most sophisticated tool but i've always found it an excellent way to organise my ideas,  and start thinking of questions as I built on it. I started by making 4 legs (north, east, south and west) with 4 key thoughts I had on life as a ballet dancer, be it currently, previously, or in the future. The points that came to me were:

 

1) Well-being - the health and well-being of dancers is the key to a long career and getting the most out of your body.

2) The Education of dancers - ballet requires many years of training, the education of dancers is very important in my eyes and it is something that is often raised as a concern. 

3) The short manner of the career - As we all know the career of a professional ballerina is very short so looking into the next step of your career is something that needs attention.

4) Supplemental training- Dancers don't just dance to maintain their physical condition but there is a whole load of alternative forms of exercise that they must do whilst working and during their breaks. 

I then expanded on these elements and below is a picture of the completed mind map. 

As you can see this really does fall under the label of mind map as it really is just regurgitated thoughts with little structure! I did, however, begin to link similar points together and intertwine my categories slightly which enabled me to find common ground between areas. I honestly believe the '6 degrees of separation' rule applies to all areas of life and when it comes to the arts, it is almost more the case than any other field. Links can constantly be made and often one issue can lead to another and this is what I found particularly interesting when making this diagram.

When I decided to take the course, I had a clear path in mind as to what my inquiry would be based on. As someone who has always had an interest in science, in particular biology and the human body, it seems only natural for me to take my route in that direction. The human body fascinates me and when looking at it through a dancers eyes, I can appreciate what it can do.  One of the reasons I put a section on the diagram for "career future" is because it is something I have given a lot of thought about in recent years. My body is particularly injury prone, so I am very aware of how short and fragile a dance career can be. With my knowledge and experience of injury and my passion for biology I have always wanted to pursue physiotherapy post dance career. I find there are very few dance specialist physios around and bringing my knowledge of dance to that could be invaluable. This may all seem a little off track, but it means that my ideas around my inquiry should be linked to injury in dancers to incorporate my interests and future plans.

Taking a few steps back, I want to have a look again at my diagram and create some relevant questions to both my practice and my plans for my inquiry.  I thought a good way of doing this would be to come up with a question for each of my 4 sub-topics.

1) Do you feel there is enough support and advice for injured dancers both physically and psychologically? If not, what do you think could be done to improve it? (Well-being)

2) Do you think dancers receive enough education about how to prevent injury and how to keep their bodies in peak physical condition? If not, what more do you think can be done? (Education)

3) Do you think there is enough emphasis on preparing yourself for life outside of dance? If not, what more do you think be provided? (Career future)

4) Do you think it is important to build strength and stamina outside of the studio as well as in training and performance? If so, why? (supplemental training)

I am now going to take these questions to a few colleagues and dance friends and see what their responses are. I will blog about my findings soon! If any of you reading this have any thoughts, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

A new season, a new module!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least mildly apprehensive about the next chapter of my BAPP studies but it's like anything, getting started is the hardest part. I have completely neglected this blog since the end of last term - I know it kind of defeats the object - but routine and structure have a big effect when it comes to my studies. The company season finished at the beginning of June alongside my BAPP work, which meant I had a long restful summer ahead. It was great, after a period of non-stop dancing, to have some time to relax and recuperate but I must admit I'm glad to be back into the swing of things again.
I began my first full season with Vienna Festival Ballet on the 8th of September, excited and eager to get stuck into rehearsals. I am delighted to have been cast in a principal role - although at only 20 I'm hoping I will do it justice. This does, however, leave me feeling somewhat worried about the time restraints of the course along side my largely increased workload, both in rehearsals and on tour. Of course, if there is a will, there is a way so i'm sure it will be possible and my tour bus journeys will be utilised to their fullest to complete my work. I don't know about any of you but having completed module One, I feel slightly more prepared and in the loop heading forward, perhaps it's because I have more understanding of the manner of the course or maybe it is just a confidence that comes from having survived a module already!

THE INTRODUCTORY SKYPE SESSION

On Friday night I joined the 'welcome back' Skype group to discuss the next step and also looking back briefly on what we learnt last term. I live with Maddy who is also on the course so we both joined the Skype together! At first, we discussed the past module we had studied, looking at what we found worked well and also what changes we can take forward with us when continuing our studies. For me, I felt that using my time effectively was key when completing module one, as it is easy to be lulled into a full sense of security and then realise you are miles behind where you should be! We also  talked about effectiveness of working with another course mate. Personally, this was a life saver throughout module 1, as working with Maddy helped me keep on track with where I needed to be and also gave me another perspective on the tasks resulting in a broader understanding of each topic. The next part of the session we discussed the upcoming module and what the end product should be. As I am beginning module 2 we talked about the idea of creating a proposition to present to the university of what we would do in module 3. This is by no means an end result and our ideas should evolve as we begin module 3 but the aim is to have an outline or idea of what our enquiry may entail.

At the end of the Skype chat, we each had to say what we felt we took away from the session. What stuck out to me was the conversation we had around creating group discussions with others on the course who are particularly interested in a similar field to you. With the nature of the degree being so broad and open to interpretation, it is a good idea to narrow your communications to people who are looking into the same areas as you. I find this a great idea and way of working as it helps you to find inspiration from others who are on the same page and share common interests.

This post is rather short but I am glad I have taken the first step towards beginning module 2. I hope you all had a lovely break and lets get cracking!!

Part 3 :The Networked Professional

This part of the module is perhaps the section that I am most familiar with. Networking is something that most professionals will encounter in their careers and I believe that within the Arts, in particular, it is very important for professional development. So, what is Professional networking exactly? I began by doing a mind map of everything I already knew and had thought about networking. This was anything from examples of networking, to words I felt related to it. I began to build upon and expand on the mind map by using Reader 3 to deepen my understanding of what it means to network professionally. Below is a picture of the finished mind map, as you can see many of my thoughts linked with one another and I suppose this echoes the connective nature of 'Professional Networking'. 

According to Reader 3, the literal definition of Professional Networking is "A work related community held together by either close working affiliation or more distant but common work interests or needs" (Reader 3, 2015). Professional Networking is an extremely effective tool for bettering yourself within your field and if used cautiously can aid your career immensely. One of the main words that sprung to mind when thinking about the concept of networking was 'community'. Anyone in the dance industry will know how tight and small the world of dance can be. It very much is a community which makes networking more accessible to dancers. There is a group on Facebook called 'The Hustle!'. This is essentially a large scale network for performers, actors, models, photographers etc, with over 34700 members. As a dancer, in my opinion, this is perhaps one of the most effective and popular methods of networking around today. Auditions, workshops and industry discussions are posted very regularly (several an hour), which allows you to communicate and network with other professionals within your field. I have been contacted by other members regarding work and have also messaged others myself with questions or concerns within the industry. 'The Hustle!' is referred to as a community which again demonstrates this idea of unity and friendship. I feel that within this community there is an element of "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" so to speak. By this, I mean a mutual respect. If you help someone they will do their best to help you out in return. This is the beauty of networking - it is a two way street. Using acquaintances or fellows performers to aid your professional development is a fantastic tool to have but you must remember to help in return when you can. 

Issues of Professional Networking:

There were some issues that began to arise in my exploration into Professional Networking. Dance is renown for being a competitive industry and exchanges between dancers can turn sour when the element of competition is brought into the equation. This is something that can actually hinder networking as someone might not want to give away advice, help or information in case it gives another 'the upper hand'. As ridiculous as it might sound, that is not something that cannot be dismissed. A wonderful quote I found in Reader 3 describing professional communities is "A network of support that will help us when we are in need" (Crisp & Turner, 2007, p266). This is how it would be in an ideal world, helping one another when we can, however with the element of competition that might not always be the case. Another interesting point is that of "be nice to everyone on your way up as you never know who you might need on your way down".  With networking within the dance world being so rampant, it is important to remember that you might need the assistance of anyone you encounter at any point. The dance world is very small, everyone knows everyone and word of mouth can spread fast. If you gain a bad reputation with an employer or colleague, this could reach any number of industry professionals and could have a detrimental effect on your future endeavours. If you are pleasant and helpful whenever you can be, then this shouldn't be a problem, however it is easy for a bad reputation to spread and you may need someone in the future who won't be so willing if that reputation has reached them. 

With the idea of a community comes the added issue of hierarchy boundaries. Understandably, one must be cautious when trying to network with an individual that is perhaps high up within their field. Despite everyone starting out at the bottom, professionals that are highly regarded need to be approached with respect and professionalism. Acting over confidently or friendly may put them off and they may not wish to be bothered. Privacy is a right and although once upon a time they would have been in the shoes of the eager new beginner, they may not appreciate pestering. Is there a particular way to approach this issue?

Types of Networking:

• Agents - In my opinion the champions of networking. The job of an agent is literally to network with industry professionals, build rapport and put forward dancers they deem suitable for a role or job. They have to gain the trust of employers and expand their contact list through networking on a daily basis. Reputations are a huge factor in Networking and building rapport with a variety of individuals is a great way to achieve this. 
• Acquaintances - Networking with people you have met on your journey is an excellent way to better your career. Fellow dancers can help one another to find jobs and gain experience - something I have experienced first hand. In fact I got my current contract through a dance friend as she set up for me to take company class and when a dancer went down through injury, she told the director I would be available. All of these things would not be possible without using the contacts you have made along the way.
• Teacher /Student - Remaining in contact with teachers you have had can also be a good way to network. Teachers tend to have a good knowledge of the industry and may also have useful contacts in the profession. likewise a teacher remaining in contact with past pupils can be useful when it comes to sending current students out to company auditions

Connections, be it personal or professional, can be the making of someone's career. Networking is using these connections to aid yourself professionally and it is a powerful tool to have. It has been said that you are never more than three people away from anyone and this shows how connected we are as the human race. Professional Networking can be used within a multitude of settings as long as we remember that like anything there is always an element of give and take. Don't expect to have someone help you if you do not offer it in return, if you remember this, then networking has the ability to aid you to the top!

Part 2: Reflective practice

This part of the module is centred around the idea of using your daily events and thoughts to enhance or improve upon your practice. There is a lot to be learnt from sparing a few moments each evening to reflect on your day and what it meant to you. Interestingly, I have found this the most difficult task to date, despite being someone who reflects on past events naturally. I suppose it's the idea of relating my thoughts and journal notes to my professional practice that has me stumped, or perhaps just the idea of a more structured reflection. As suggested I began a reflective journal a couple of weeks ago. As someone who works largely with lists; shopping lists, packing lists, lists of blogs to write, lists of things to do etc etc my journal began with just bullet points of events and thoughts.

Finding the time to write in my journal was not an issue at all. Which is perhaps something I might have thought would be. With countless, mundane, tour bus journeys, I didn't struggle to get thoughts typed up on my iPad (although, I admit it is a lot easier, motivationally, when I sit next to a fellow BAPP student). I found recapping on the day and writing about it, was somewhat therapeutic and it helped me to have a period of unwinding which is always nice after a busy day. I know this was perhaps a little ignorant of me, but initially I did struggle to find a major benefit of a reflective journal other than its therapeutic effect, nevertheless, I enjoyed it all the same. 

To the left is a screenshot of my first few days in my journal. As you can see, it was very basic and written in note form just highlighting key thoughts, feelings and events as opposed to going into detail. I was beginning to think about what each event meant in relation to my professional practice and the life of a professional dancer. The additional thoughts put after the hyphens show how I believe it relates. For example, On day one I was particularly anxious about doing my warm up class on pointe shoes as I hadn't done much pointe work since breaking my ankle and I wanted to save myself for the rehearsals. I added a comment about self management and adapting to suit your needs, which I feel is very important for professional dancers as you are in charge of your own bodies and know your own capabilities. This deeper thinking into small events is the essence of the reflective practice and encourages you to take lessons from your day and your thoughts rather than letting it pass and moving on without any kind of absorption. 

As I was now just touching on the deeper concept of reflective practice, I decided to do a little bit of research into the benefits and found two wonderful quotes which I believe 'hit the nail on the head', so to speak, of the real reasons for reflective practice. They are as follows:

“Reflection is a basic mental process with either a purpose, an outcome, or both, applied in situations in which material is unstructured or uncertain and where there is no obvious solution.”

This was said by Jennifer A Moon in reflection in learning and professional development : theory & practice. This quote shows the reflecting and writing about every day isn't necessary unless there is a purpose or something to be gained by it. I agree that simply writing down events for the sake of it, perhaps doesn't have the benefit of writing about a particular event with a lesson or meaning. The idea of reflective practice is to learn from past experiences as opposed to just noting them down. I think the section about an uncertain solution is interesting also, as it approaches refection in a direction I hadn't necessarily considered. Writing about situations which confused you or you feel leave unanswered questions is a good way to take more information from the event than you had at the time, thus gaining more knowledge and perspective. 

"Reflective practice is 'a dialogue of thinking and doing through which I become more skilful'" 

This quote comes from The Reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action and it was said by Donald A Schon. Again, this highlights the importance of using your reflective practice as a learning experience and to gain skills that weren't as developed before. I think the use of the word "dialogue" is really interesting and it evokes imagery of your thoughts and actions conversing and almost working in opposition. Your thoughts and actions are very independent from one another and your reflection should show this. They can influence each other, but one doesn't always happen as a result of another. Using reflection for self improvement is also a very interesting point. There is little benefit in writing down events if you don't use them to improve how you may act in the same situation should it arise. 

I am now going to use the table given to us in the handbook to explore alternative methods of reflective practice. I will also use what I have learnt from the above quotations to re-evaluate the purpose of my reflection and direction I shall approach it in for the remainder of the course. I shall write a post shortly about my discoveries and I hope you gained something from the quotes as much as I did!