Living the experience of learning: embodied reflexivity as pedagogical process

Abstract

As theatre practitioners we are always doing, acting, speaking and moving. Our world is one of lived experience, where we physically embody moments of knowledge creation and transformation. Through these interactions and transactions of learning, we reflect and ‘reflex’ our understanding of experiences. But how might we develop an approach to pedagogy that recognizes the primacy of relationships, enabling a sharing of an embodied and reflexive approach about our pedagogical practices? How might we experience these relationships in a way that enables learning processes to occur for ourselves and those we teach? These are questions we explore in this article, using our experiences and research. We identify how principles based on the Indigenous concept of 4Rs (relevance, responsibility, respect and reciprocity) that underpin embodied reflexivity could open up the possibility for new ways of knowing and understanding. We do this through presenting two research projects, one in Canada on using theatre games to explore well-being with Indigenous youth and one in Scotland on story and re-storying using an approach with educational professionals to develop embodied reflexive practice. Embodied reflexive processes as collective experience become opportunities for complex learning to occur where participants gain potentially transformational insights into practice through their symbiotic interaction with others.

Keywords:

• embodied learning
• reflexive practice
• theatre games
• storytelling
• reciprocity

ORCID

Warren Linds http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6379-2338

Notes

1. Chris Argyris and Donald Schön (1974) use the term ‘triple loop learning’ to distinguish between deepened forms of reflection. This idea in part is based on Gregory Bateson’s (1972) notions of ‘levels of learning’. Also see Tosey et al. (2012).

2. The term ‘First Nations’ refers to people registered under the Indian Act of Canada. ‘Indigenous’ is the inclusive term from the Constitution Act, 1982 that refers to registered Indians, Métis and Inuit First Nations people live both on and off reserve. Reserves are tracts of land governed under treaties with the Crown. Our research team also uses the term ‘Indigenous’ in our work to refer to a collective of distinct cultural groups worldwide that have experienced the damaging processes of colonization. We acknowledge that we are speaking about our work here of our experience with these particular Canadian Indigenous youth and not applying it to Indigenous people in other contexts.

3. We acknowledge the work of the Co-Principal Investigator Jo Ann Episkenew, who suddenly passed into the spirit world in 2016 and Linda Goulet, who reviewed this article and gave permission for publication. They were the other Co-Principal Investigators along with Warren in the research. This research has received ethics approval from University of Regina Research Ethics Board, Certificate 56R1011and Concordia University Human Research Ethics Committee, Certificate 30003801 along with ethics approval from the Director of Education of Lac La Ronge Indian Band and Senator Myles Venne School.

4. As per doctoral programme requirements, ethical clearance was requested from the participants to undertake and publish the research. All participants agreed to this.