Journals. Journals. Journals.
The word journals immediately
brings to mind personal diaries and writing about how you feel throughout, on a
day to day basis. When I was younger I always dreamed about keeping a journal,
and made the attempt on several occasions, however I was never able to keep a
consistent flow of when I would write and the subject matter that held my
interest. I suppose there are several
differences at this point of time. When you are younger you have time to explore
and discover new things about the world on a daily basis but lack the focus and
maturity to reflect properly on an event that occurred during the day. I make
this statement now because, surprisingly even to myself, I find writing quite
therapeutic. I like be able to write about the events of the day, why I responded
to a situation in a certain way and how I feel about those actions now that I
have had time to consider the experience. It’s like having a conversation with your past
and present self. While writing provides
me with a new sense of calm it remains a challenge for me to adequately express
my emotions through this medium. Instead or perhaps in addition, I learn and
reflect better, when I use visual materials. I find photos work best, as they
seem to describe exactly how I feel in any given situations. But more
importantly, it leaves the window of interpretation open to everyone. I may
find one picture to represent stress, but someone may find that picture to
represent sadness. In my opinion I feel that if you show someone a picture at
the exact moment they are feeling a certain emotion, they will discover that
emotion in the picture. I decided to list my emotions that I felt during the
day as series of visual images.
As a test case, I decided to
reflect my day in both writing and through the use of emotive images. I found these images a few hours after my work
day had finished and used them to capture my daily experiences. I wanted to
discover if the list of images would have the same effect as my writing did, in
my reflection. Also I wanted to see if the feelings that I experienced
strengthened or weakened. Below are the
pictures-
Responsibility
Opportunity
Determination
Problems
Anxiety
Relief and Solution
(Self taken Photo)
After a few hours had passed, I then
wrote about my experiences of the day. I found that my recollection of the day’s
events and my reactions and emotions had weakened somewhat. The feelings were
still there but no longer had the raw intensity I had first experienced. It was
only after I referred back to images that I realized the strength of these
emotions in a visual representation, but also showed me the different types of
reflection I achieve through the method of writing. I find that when I write my
reflection it lacks the strength of my emotions at the time and I feel that
using images captures my emotions, but using both methods together allows me to
get a more accurate reflection of my day.
Before starting my journal I
decided to look more into the different ways we learn, focusing on Howard
Gardner’s theory. I am now, after this experience, questioning if the way we
learn (our strengths) is also the way we reflect? Also if we can reflect in the
same way, does it differ which learning method we use?
After using two reflective methods,
imagery and linguistic, I find that using different ways brings new light to
the particular event you are reflecting on. From reflecting on this event, I
have now found that instead of interpreting help as someone pointing out a weakness,
it is actually an opportunity to learn and better my skills. I now find that I
am more willing to accept help if I ever need it. Through my reflections I have
realised that when I come to a situation I don’t need to become stressed,
because if you step back for two seconds you will regain a sense of calm and
control. Without doing both methods of reflection I wouldn’t have found some of
the solutions I have. I learn every day in my job, and being able to take a
step back and reflect on what I can improve on not only helps me but it also
helps the advancement of the children’s learning.
Thanks again reading.
Cassie V.
Bibliography
Anonymous. (2015, November 9). Anxiety &
Academia. Retrieved from Dr Nadine Muller:
http://www.nadinemuller.org.uk/academia-and-mental-health/anonymous-anxiety/
Arizechi, A. (2015, November 9). The Power Series…The
Power of Determination; Mrs Bolaji Adedotun’s Story. Retrieved from Konnect
Africa:
http://www.konnectafrica.net/the-power-series-the-power-of-determination-mrs-bolaji-adedotuns-story/
Marketing, C. C. (2015, November 9). Energy
Deregulation. Retrieved from IControlEnergy:
https://www.icontrolenergy.com/index.php
Morgan, J. (2015, November 9). The Business
Problems With Social Media ROI. Retrieved from The Future Organisation:
http://www.thefutureorganization.com/the-business-problems-with-social-media-roi/
Roar, D. (2015, November 9). Weight of
Responsibility. Retrieved from Deviant Art: http://dragons-roar.deviantart.com/art/weight-of-responsibility-389821855
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