ABSTRACT
This article uses an existing poem, Árvore (Tree in Portuguese), coupled with our diary entries, as a methodological innovation in poetic self-study. The self-study aimed to understand the aesthetic link in the development of being a teacher-researcher. This was a departure from positivist rationality and affirmation of an anthropoforming paradigm that connects research, action, and formation via a transdisciplinary systemic epistemology. The context of this self-study is a relationship between teacher-researchers from one high school and two higher education institutions in the Brazilian northeast. Using a reflective anthropoetic (an opening for ethical and aesthetic creation, critical possibilities and pedagogical reinvention) diary, two physical education teacher-researchers developed a critical friendship in a collaborative self-study process on the complexities of beginning teaching for one of them. We share our learning in a diary with excerpts organized in three lines of thought, or what we call reflective flyovers, regarding: life history, teacher education, and pedagogical practice of being initiated into the teacher-researcher profession. Thematic categories were represented by excerpts from the Árvore poem. The three reflective flyovers explored included the teaching knowledge of the teacher-researchers, which in turn converge and diverge, impacting the other, the methodology, and the context of practice. Our critical friendship contributed to the self-study process of initiating into the teacher-researcher profession through interactive and creative communication. This poetic self-study points to different paths of learning and professional growth, increasing the value and impact of using poetry to make sense of research findings.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Brazilian poet of the 20th century, born in Cuiabá in the Center-West region of Brazil, known for his regional verses that combined existential reiterations. The poem Árvore (Tree in Portuguese), chosen by us as a metaphor, was published in Ensaios fotográficos [Photographic essays]. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 2000.
2. https://sstepaerasig.wixsite.com/sstep/blank-page. Accessed 5 April 2020.
3. The image of the little bird is open source, not copyright protected under its Unicode 1F426, being described as a generic bird. Source: OpenMoji. Author: Selina Bauder. https://openmoji.org/library/#emoji=1F426. Accessed 14 April 2022.
4. The image of the strong tree is open source, not copyright protected under its Unicode 1F333, being described as a deciduous tree. Source: OpenMoji. Author: Hilda Kalyoncu. https://openmoji.org/library/#emoji=1F333. Accessed 14 April 2022.