Learning: the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.

Knowledge: facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.

Learning: the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.

Information: facts provided or learned about something or someone.

Questions taken from Dr Helen Kindred's blog. 

Where are you now in your MA journey? 

At this exact moment I am in the roundabout. I feel as though there are several different routes I can go, each with a destination that is unknown, yet I can't quite decide which off-ramp to take. I have been circling a few common themes and ideas about the inquiry and now just need to let those sit and percolate before I decide which one I will dive into. I am feeling more confident in my academic writing and understanding of where to access the research, and have enjoyed almost all of the texts I have read thus far. I am still continually confused with the school website and the various tabs of "my learning" and "Unihub" but lucky for me I have so many amazing people in this program who continue to point me in the right direction whenever I text them a confused emoji. 

How do these words resonate with your experiences? 

I have been learning a lot about myself and my practice. Through the reflective process a lot came up for me that I did not realize before about how I operate within the various roles I hold within my practice. For me this is the learning, the ideas that come to light, the various opinions of others that I get to explore, and the view of my practice. The knowledge includes the theories and research I have come to understand through the learning. There were quite a few interesting journal articles that pertained to certain aspects of my RPL which were very interesting and have stuck with me, that to me is the knowledge gained as well as the knowledge about my own practice. It is the knowledge that I will take forward into other areas of my life as it holds space within me that is deeper than that of information. The information for me is more task based. It's the bullet points of the MA journey for me. The key words, the bolded texts, the fact vs exploration. 

What theories have you engaged with around any of these words, how are they discussed in other (beyond dance/arts) contexts?

How do you see your Practice / your Self in relationship with these constructs?

I feel that my practice when I first began was very much set by information. As an exam teacher it was the information I was given that I was then paid to give to others. It often felt forced and I don't feel that that specific part of my practice is where I am growing or moving into. The learning is what I gain each time I engage in my practice. Through reflective practice, I am able to continue to learn while simultaneously leading others or creating, it is the learning that I love most about this line of work and path. The knowledge is my understanding of how bodies move in space which is gained from the academic environments I have learned in paired with my own experience in a variety of capacities within my practice.

What examples can you draw on from your practice to illustrate these experiences?

Information is what I have gained through various lanes of educational settings. My undergraduate degree was half movement-based and half science and business. A lot of these classes were informational and examined in the traditional way of a 2 hr multiple-choice exam. From many of these classes the learning happened through the task of memorizing the information, the learning of how to study with others, how to work within group projects, how to access various resources, how to write in academia, but this learning was not necessarily the information that was being taught. The knowledge gained from this experience is what I have brought forward into my MA and I hope that through this new journey I continue to gain more knowledge through the learning that is happening within this program.