First Impressions.

I thought I'd talk about my first impressions after the induction day on Tuesday. Alan said at one point that writing down something that has happened and working through it analytically will solidify the ideas in your mind. I'm hoping this will be the case and I'm also hoping that other ideas surface that haven't previously occurred to me.

I suppose the biggest concept of the day for me was that of critical thinking. I found the following definition of critical thinking by Robert H Ennis and I am going to try and reference it correctly, but let me know if you don't think I have.

"Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do" (Norris and Ennis, 1989, extracts from Fisher 2001, Critical thinking an introduction [online], Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available from: http://assets.cambridge.org/052100/9847/sample/0521009847ws.pdf [accessed 16 September 2010])

It's worth reading the whole paper from the URL above because the ideas are explained really simply.

I'm still trying to get my head around the whole idea to be honest. One minute i think I've had an epiphany and everything is miraculously clear and the next I'm back in the dark. I am slowly starting to see how the idea will benefit me professionally though. Hopefully by looking back at the professional acting work I have done so far and critically reflecting on it I will be able to see what i have learnt. It should become apparent which aspects have been successful and which have not. This knowledge should then give me the basis to come up with new ideas and methods of work which i can then put into practice. I will then be able to move me forward in the direction I want to go and presumably the process starts all over again.

Creating my professional profile for the first task I hope will be a really good starting point in this critical thinking process (hence why we've been asked to do it first). It will be interesting to look back at what I've achieved and start self evaluating.

I suppose it's also important to have an idea of where it is you want to go and what it is you want to achieve. Paula's question on Tuesday about what each of us viewed as success I found extremely interesting. I have never thought about it for very long and even sitting there for two minutes allowed me to realise what's important to me in more detail than I ever have before. Some of the things I wrote down were;

• Career longevity.
• Improved knowledge and understanding of my profession.
• Increased level of professional stability.
• A larger network of work contacts.
• More creative control.
• A wider use of my talents/ being artistically challenged.

If I continue to apply critical thinking then this list will perhaps grow to include other yet unrealised aspirations or it may perhaps become more focused in a particular area.

Another of the most significant ideas that I came away from the induction with is that of a collaborative dialogue with advisors and peers. So please feel free to leave me comments any time and I'll do the same for you. I'm really looking forward to reading your blogs and hearing your ideas.

Wow! Longest blog ever. So sorry about that. It was totally unintentional. Maybe it's time to stop writing and start doing. As Adesola said, it's really all about action.