Video Diary 6

Connectivism

This is the concept from the reader that I have found the most challenging and I think this is mainly because I like social constructionism and connectivism in some ways contradicts it.

“Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organisation or database).” (Siemens, 2004)

I do not entirely agree with this statement. I do not believe that learning can exist outside of a person. I think information can exist but that learning is about comprehension and it is people who possess this ability. With regards to an organisation learning I believe this occurs because the people within the organisation have a new understanding and therefore collectively implement change. It is however still about people.

 If learning happens within a person and experience is how we truly make something part of our understanding I could not see how connectivism could have any truth or importance, particularly in relation to my practice and professional networks. I then read this quote by Karen Stephenson:

“Experience has long been considered the best teacher of knowledge. Since we cannot experience everything, other people’s experiences and hence other people become the surrogate for knowledge” (Stephenson, undated).

Firstly I like that this statement acknowledges that the best way to acquire knowledge is through experience but it also tries to address what happens in the absence of experience and whether in these circumstances it is still possible to learn. I began to consider the statement carefully and realised there was truth in it, and that it applies directly to me.

As an actor you are required to understand and emotionally connect with a character you are playing so you can give as honest and believable a performance as possible. You are also faced regularly with portraying things that you have never directly experienced. For example, if you were asked to portray a rape victim (and pray to God you had never personally experienced it) the closest way of understanding it would be to read about it, or talk to someone who had experienced it.

Where does that leave us with regards to only really comprehending something if you experience it? I think reading about it or talking to someone is not enough to fully understand the emotions involved. This is where I think connectivism comes into its own. As an actor you would then relate the emotions the rape victim describes to your own experiences trying to find connections and common ground that would help you understand the event and play it truthfully. It is knowledge through thinking and reasoning but it is still connected to your own experience and understanding. It is about empathy and I think would prove easier for a person with ‘intrapersonal intelligence’ (Gardner, 1983). Perhaps this is why in my experience the best actors are always very empathic people.

If to understand something you have not experienced you need to make connections with things you have experienced it then follows that the more you have experienced the easier it will be for you to comprehend things outside of your experience. Therefore there appears to be a distinction between children and adults here. Children may be in more need of experiencing something to understand it than adults because their current pool of experience is small and it is therefore harder for them to make connections.

As an actor the more life experiences you have the easier it is to understand and connect to experiences you haven’t had. Perhaps this is why drama schools usually accept students who are slightly older (between twenty-one and twenty-five).  This is something that does not happen so much on musical theatre courses. Usually people are eighteen and indeed in some cases younger (there were several sixteen year olds on my course). I think this is probably because in musical theatre it is also important to be a good dancer and as a dancer you have a short working life. I am beginning to wonder whether this realisation relates back to my inquiry blog. Is part of the reason musical theatre performers are generally considered less good actors because they are too young when they train as actors? Perhaps their life experience is too little at that point so they never acquire the skill of making the empathic connections between their experiences and other people’s.

This thought may also have connotations for Melissa’s inquiry. She is wondering about the differences in training between American and British performers. There is a really interesting statistic that states that on average a Broadway cast is ten years older than a West End cast (I don’t know where the statistic comes from or if it is exact but from experience I know the principle to be true). Could Americans place more value in age and experience than we do here in Britain (something that is important for both connectivism and social constructionism)? Even if you are a young performer on Broadway you will have had the opportunity to work with many much older more experienced ones, who will in turn improve your understanding. I have found chances to mix with really seasoned professionals quite limited here in Britain, with the oldest person being under thirty in some casts I have worked in.

Connectvism has made me appreciate that as an actor your professional network is suddenly unlimited. Acting is about imitating and recreating life, “to hold as ‘twere, the  mirror up to nature” (Shakespeare, 1601). As such your professional network suddenly incorporates all the books you have ever read that you have emotionally learnt from, the documentaries you have watched that have taught you and moved you, the people you have watched arguing at the bus stop because you think they would make a good character study, and so on.

References:

Durrant, A. (2010) The networked professional reader.

Gardner, H. (1983) Frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences, New York:  Basic Books.

Greenhough, M. (2010) Inquiry - what are the differences between the ways English and American dancers are trained, http://melissagreenhough.blogspot.com/2010/11/inquiry-what-are-differences-between.html accessed 7 December 2010.

Iles, M. (2010) Inquiry, http://markgraemeiles.blogspot.com/2010/11/inquiry.html accessed 7 December 2010.

Shakespeare, W. (1601) Hamlet, [Jenkins, H. (1982) , 2nd ed, London:  Arden].

Siemens, G (2004) Connectivism: a learning theory for the digital age, http://74.125.155.132/scholar?q=cache:5HZrx9Kfgl8J:scholar.google.com/+Connectivism:+A%20+learning+theory+for+the+digital+age&hl=en&as_sdt=2000&as_vis=1 accessed 5 December 2010.

Video Diary 5

Social Constructionism

This concept is something I really connect with and is something I wrote about in one of my first blogs called Constructivism. I like the idea that in order to fully grasp something you have to make it part of your experience. William James believed the way we know something is true is that it comes back and proves true in our experience. The way I always imagine it to myself is that if you were to give a bald person who had never had any hair and never seen any hair a hairbrush, even if you explained to them what it was for, they would have no comprehension of what you were talking about. If you then showed them someone with hair brushing it, or perhaps even got them to brush it themselves, the hairbrush acquires meaning for them. A meaning they have constructed themselves from their own experience.

David Kolb also believes that learning is experiential. He says, 'The centre of learning is experience, your own subjective experience' (Kolb, date unknown) . As I have mentioned before I believe I have a reflective learning style. I therefore like to watch something being done first before I attempt it myself. This is where I think the concept of social constructionism comes into its own with regards to professional networks. If within your network you have older, more experienced practitioners who are demonstrating beneficial ways too professionally conduct yourself it is possible to first watch this behaviour and then try to imitate it until it is a natural an integral part of your own understanding and practice.

I was reading 'Getting Started With University Level Work Based Learning' (Durrant et al, 2009) where it is suggested that for self employed people it can be beneficial to appoint a mentor (someone in your profession who is more experienced) to fill the void left by the absence of a employer. This person would be there to bounce ideas off, give important advice, and (I think most importantly) lead by example. I have decided to make my friend Helen Evans my mentor. She is an older actress I worked with on ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ and she is extremely talented. She is also assistant head of acting on an up and coming musical theatre course. Not only that she is currently doing extremely interesting research for her PhD, some of which I have been involved in. The fact that she is an experienced, talented actress and teacher, coupled with the fact that she is used to working within academic institutions makes her an ideal person to have as a mentor. I have spoken to her about it and she thinks it’s a marvellous idea and is really looking forward to it. She says that she may learn something too, which is one of the things I love about her. She is always looking to expand her knowledge and understanding. I am hoping that through working closely with her I will stretch myself and expand my current understanding.

References:
Durrant, A. (2010) The networked professional reader.

Durrant, A., Rhodes, G. & Young, D. (2009) Getting started with university level work based learning, London:  Middlesex University Press.

Experience Based Learning Systems, Inc. (2000-2010) Experiential learning [online].  Available from: http://www.learningfromexperience.com/ accessed 2 December 2010

Iles, M. (2010) Constructivism http://markgraemeiles.blogspot.com/2010/09/constructivism.html accessed 5 December 2010.

Kolb, D, A. (1984) Experiential learning, London:  Prentice Hall.

Affiliation

Firstly I don’t think professional networking takes place because we have a psychological need for it. Perhaps socially we do (e.g. the desire to find a partner) and perhaps in business we mimic this behaviour because we are aware of the benefits it will bring but I believe it to be a conscious choice not an innate desire.

This assertion started me thinking about people’s need to affiliate. If socially you don’t have a strong need for affiliation (perhaps you are a content loner) I don’t think it necessarily follows that you won’t need or want to affiliate yourself with people professionally. I would say that I am naturally content with my own company. I have some very good friends but don’t like to have lots of superficial friendships. Professionally however I have come to realise that this can be detrimental to my career. It is important for me to cultivate superficial professional friendships to benefit me (see my blog on cooperation). This creates a problem for me because as I don’t practice it socially, I am not good at it professionally. I have realised that a person’s desire to affiliate is not necessarily the same as their ability to affiliate. I now have a desire to make professional connections but, as I have mentioned before, I am rubbish at doing so. This must be the case for many people and there must be many factors that affect people’s ability to affiliate, for example social upbringing. A person who has had an abusive relationship as child, may desperately want a secure relationship as an adult, but may not know how to maintain it.

Thinking in more depth about how, where and why I affiliate, I have noticed that I am moving into a new phase. As well as still needing to create and maintain relationships with teachers, directors and more experienced professionals, I am beginning to give back to students and younger performers more than I ever have before. The question ‘If experienced and influential individuals are likely to be at their preferred level of affiliation, why is it common for them to still assist younger, less experienced individuals?” really interests me and I think I am now beginning to understand the answer. I think what it comes down to is motivation. What motivates us? The same things that motivated me ten years ago do not motivate me now. I am now inclined to help people who before I may not have done, and receiving a favour in return is not my goal because career advancement is no longer always of primary importance to me. Other things take precedent, such as my desire to be a generous person, or my belief that it is important to nurture talent to keep the industry I am still a part of strong, or the fact that I take enjoyment from watching people improve and succeed. As you can see I have lots of different reasons for doing things and I think these reasons could apply to more experienced professionals too, as well as a host of others. It is not just a case of doing something nice, it is the fact that doing something nice makes you feel good about yourself and is therefore a positive motivation. The chances are, even if it was nice, if you completely hated it you wouldn’t do it, unless you were a saint.

References:

Durrant, A. (2010) The networked professional reader

Crisp, J & Turner, R. (2007) Essential social psychology. London: Sage

Iles, M. (2010) Cooperation http://markgraemeiles.blogspot.com/2010/12/cooperation.html accessed 5 December 2010

Cooperation

At first glance I thought the idea of cooperation was a simple one. You assist someone for mutual benefit, or ‘TIT FOR TAT’ as Robert Axelrod defines it (Axelrod, 1984). You do something with the understanding (or at least the hope) that you will get something back. It may not be the same thing you have given but it will be of equal benefit for you. This is something I know I do and I mentioned a specific example in my blog on Current Networks where I did some recording for an MD friend in the hope that later I would receive a favour back.

The more I think about this idea the more it makes perfect sense in a business environment. It is a bartering of information the same as you would barter goods. You need it to progress but you also need to make sure you are getting a ‘fair price’ so that others don’t advance too far ahead of you.

I like Ross’ assertion that people sometimes withhold valuable information, for example an audition, because they don’t want you as direct competition. This has been my experience too. I suppose there are two ways of dealing with this. The first would be to make sure your networks consisted of people in the same field as you but not in direct competition with you so that the problem would never arise. I don’t think this option is particularly realistic though and I think would a lot of the time lead to you missing information that is specifically related to your ‘type’ of performer. I think the second, and more professionally astute way to deal with someone withholding a piece of information you want is to work out what they want and do a trade. The main problem I find with this is it all seems very calculated. As I have mentioned before a lot of my professional network I also consider friends so I am not sure ‘TIT FOR TAT’ is always how I operate.

Joanna talks in her blog about ‘Altruism’, which I think is a very important concept. Sometimes I cooperate with someone for no personal gain. For no other reason that because I can and it will help them.

I began to consider what determines when I cooperate for mutual benefit and when I am altruistic. I suppose what it eventually comes down to is how well I know or like the person. There are some people within my network who I would do things for if I thought I might get something back. I think these people would usually be less well known to me. Perhaps, directors or choreographers, or people I would consider acquaintances. I suppose cooperating here is a calculated risk as there is no guarantee that you will end up benefiting. Then there are those people in my network who I would help without any want of something in return, as long as it didn’t cost me too much (i.e. too much time/ effort/money, or cost me a professional opportunity for myself). This group would mainly consist of friends and close professionals that I have worked. There is then an even closer part of my network that I would cooperate with irrespective of the cost. For example my boyfriend and best friend are both performers. I would help either of them in any way even if it caused me to lose out. This is truly altruistic because they would be benefiting them at my expense.

I think understanding these things about myself gives me an important insight in how to cultivate my networks. If I would be more willing to cooperate with a friend without expecting something back in figures that others would feel the same. It therefore seems beneficial to get as many people into the ‘professional friend’ bracket as possible. This puts me in mind of a comment Emily Rose left on my Changing Practice blog. She wrote, “I think people remember you easier if they have met you in person”. I am now really aware of the truth in this statement and it makes me even more determined to improve at ‘face to face’ networking. By meeting people in person and building a rapport with them I can hopefully succeed in increasing my network of 'professional friends'. As Emily Rose quoted “It's not what you know or who you know but who knows you!” (Susan RoAne, 2006).

References:
Durrant, A. (2010) The networked professional reader

Axelrod, R. (1984) The evolution of cooperation. London: Penguin

Dunning, R. (2010) Critical reflection on the networked professional course reader http://rossdunning.blogspot.com/2010/11/critical-reflection-on-networked.html accessed 4 December 2010

Adeyinka, J. (2010) A critical reflection on professional networking theories 
http://joanna-adeyinka.blogspot.com/2010/11/critical-reflection-on-professional.html accessed 4 December 2010

Iles, M. (2010) Current networks http://markgraemeiles.blogspot.com/2010/11/current-networks.html accessed 4 December 2010

Iles, M. (2010) Changing practice http://markgraemeiles.blogspot.com/2010/11/changing-practice.html accessed 4 December 2010

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