3b - Critical reflection on theories relating to networking

This has been the hardest task to date for me. I think it is because the task and the reader really made you reflect on the content and you could not treat this task lightly. Although previous tasks have made me think about and reflect on my current practices, this is, as stated in the module guide, a task to make to look outwards at theories that are out there and other peoples thoughts on those theories. This made me take a critical look at these suggested theories and planted several seeds in my mind.
I have spent several hours reading the material provided as well as other Blogs and also trying to research the theories and discover other theories.

Looking at the concept of co-operation, I was initially intimidated by this. The first time I read through the reader the thought of competition or co-operation dependant on your individual needs at any given time was something that I did not think was ever applicable to me and my current or previous working roles. However, after more study  as well as playing the game "Prisoners Dilemma" a few times where I tried to manipulate the outcome made me have  more understanding of this concept.  Interestingly the research carried out by Robert Axelrod, the results of which are published in the "Journal of Conflict Resolution" (Axelrod 1980a and 1980b) showed that Game theory where  people gain mutual benefit form co-operation but can allow one person to gain an upper hand by competing or exploitation of their opponent, found that the most successful strategy was "Tit for Tat" where the you would simply copy your opponents move after your initial move of co-operation. When I  applied this to the "Prisoners Dilemma" game the opponent also chose co-operation every time so it ended with a tie!
As for my personal thoughts on co-operation, on reflection I have realised that I will have used both co-operation and conflict when needed.
As a professional dancer in the past I will have used conflict during an audition process as it is important to be selfish in order to be able to stand out as an individual. However in developing my teaching career I have found it vital to use co-operation in communicating with parents and other teachers to ensure that there is a good relationship established between us. However, the thought that I would co-operate to maximum benefit and then defect would not be of benefit to me as I would potentially lose my network of parents and clients.

The concept of  affiliation has a few variations in its theory. Having studied the reader and looked at all the theories, there seems to be a basic recurring theme that affiliation leads to social well being. The theories suggest that there is a basic psychological need to affiliate with other people, which I agree with. Even the youngest children will form affiliations with other children and adults. However, as an adult I find that the concept of privacy regulation is something that is very relevant to me. Altman (1975) I do not think that children have the ability to chose to regulate their affiliations. However, I think that I am a prime example of someone who uses privacy regulation on an hour by hour basis. I am often in a teaching situation in the gym for an hour where I am interacting socially with colleagues and clients, but as soon as I walk out of the door my privacy takes over!

As a professional I think it is important to be able to hold affiliations but also to balance privacy when necessary. This is particularly relevant in the teacher/pupil affiliation. You need to create an affiliation with your student, but in my mind it is imperative that this affiliation does not overstep the mark and invade into either the students privacy or mine as a teacher.

Interestingly the example given by my fellow BAPP colleague Katie Hurley in her Blog is referring to Girl A and Girl B for the concept of affiliation could also be a good example of co-operation as Girl A clearly uses Girl B until she has reached maximum benefit , but could then defect!

I like the theory of Hannah Shepherd relating to affiliation. Certainly in the type of business we work in there would be many people who would maintain an affiliation "just in case" they could be of use in the future.

The concept of social constructionism is also a concept that I had to read and study many times. Constructionism claims  that meanings are constructed by human beings as they engage with the world they are interpreting. In other words the human race has developed or constructed meaning to everything in their environment. However, one persons interpretation of a situation or an object may not be the same as someone else's, even though the object is no different.
The extract from Crotty, M (2005) talks about a tree being a tree to everyone, but the view of that tree being different dependant on the persons environmental situation i.e. someone living near a forest as opposed to someone living in a treeless slum.
I have found through researching that Social constructionism is used as a psychological therapy. I have found this website
http://socialconstructiontherapies.yolasite.com/what-are-social-construction-therapies.php
which discusses how social construction has been developed into psychotherapists interventions with families. It talks about the analyst working with the family rather than creating interventions about the family.
In the professional environment I can see that this concept relates to how a person may appear to you within the work environment, but may appear as a completely different personality within another environment.

Connectivism is the theory that is mostly referring to computer networking or networking over the web. However, in relation to professional networks it pertains to how networks provide the means for individuals to connect and learn. It states that the traditional method of teaching - i.e. teacher to pupil, should be abandoned or modified as modern methods of learning are from the pools of knowledge available on the Internet or in the classroom.

I agree entirely with Iona Holland on this theory in relation to teaching dance. The thought that the child would use the Internet as their learning tool for dance is a good idea for  maybe attempting to copy styles and choreography. However, from a teachers perspective there would be no-one to tell them exactly how the steps should be performed technically. If no-one is physically coaching and correcting you, how can you progress? There is no way a child would be prepared for an exam without traditional teaching methods.

Driscoll (2000) defines learning as “a persisting change in human performance or performance potential…[which] must come about as a result of the learner’s experience and interaction with the world”. This definition clearly states that learning results in a changed state in emotion, physiology and mentality bought about by experiences and interactions with content and other people.
One of the most current theories relating to connectivism is in relation to the shrinking half life knowledge. The fact that the amount of knowledge in the world today is double what is was ten years ago is staggering and is currently doubling every eighteen months according to he American Society of Training and Documentation. George Siemens (2004) wrote a paper on Connectivism and the Digital learning age which challenges current and ongoing learning techniques.

Lastly communities of practice is the final concept to reflect upon. This is the method of learning through socialising within a  community. It is establishing a learning environment where everyone can contribute and work together rather than one person being in charge and dictating the learning process.
On reflection in my current role as a dance teacher I would say that I use this concept occasionally with the older students to give them a feeling of inclusion in the decision making.  I will often say to a class whilst in the middle of choreography "what feels best to you" or " which leg do you naturally want to use next?" it gives the class a feeling of community.

Overall, on reflection, although this task was extremely detailed and difficult, it really made me think. I found that after the second reading of the reader I was thinking about the different concepts and how they relate to me and my current professional networks. It is probably the first task that has made me actually think about what I had researched and how all the theories actually interlink and cross over.