Reflective Practice for Art, Design and Communication

Guide for Tutors

Version 1.0 Published: September 2018

Reflective Practice for Art, Design and Communication and why it matters.

Why is it part of the specification and resulting course and its relevance to student’s creative
practice?

On Reflective Practice…

“Its power lies in being able to help you develop your understanding of the way you learn,
the subjects you are studying and to define your longer-term goals. It can help to promote
critical thinking and problem-solving skills, both of which are key to academic success. But it
has further uses that relate to life skills: it is an essential part of personal development and
prepares you for the world of work, encouraging you to develop the habit of analysing your
actions or events and considering the consequences.”

(Gillett, Hammond and Martala, 2009, p.164)

Reflective practice has huge benefits in increasing self-awareness, which is a key

component of emotional intelligence, and in developing a better understanding of others.
Reflective practice can also help your students to develop creative thinking skills, and
encourages active engagement in work processes.

What is reflection?

“Reflection is part of learning and thinking. We reflect in order to learn something, or we

learn as a result of reflecting, and the term ‘reflective learning’ emphasises the intention to
learn from current or prior experience” (Moon, J 2004, Theoretical Foundations:
Using reflective learning to improve the impact of short courses and workshops.)

“Reflective practice is an active, dynamic action-based and ethical set of skills, placed in
real time dealing with real, complex and difficult situations.” Moon, J. (1999), Reflection in
Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice, Kogan Page, London.

Developing a functioning engagement of students with the practice of in action and on

action reflection i.e., the process of exploration and careful examination of work, actions and
experiences and ultimately learning, is an element that is threaded through UAL
qualifications and is reflective of all professional creative practices.

A sophisticated engagement with and understanding of reflective practices will ultimately

develop a deep understanding of self and work and support the developing understanding
of historical and contemporary practice. Once a student has developed a meaningful
relationship with reflective practice the act of planning and self-management will become
seamlessly woven through creative activity.

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More than merely summarising what happened in a descriptive manner, reflective practice
involves critically evaluating creative experiences, thinking about the connection between
theory (principles, laws, concepts etc.) and practice (the act of applying, doing, making etc.),
and linking these ideas with what has been learned from coursework. It then involves further
reading in order to move ideas forward with an informed understanding to develop creative
practice.

“Reflection goes far beyond just describing what we do, to thinking about why we do things
and to whether they have gone as we thought they would, why we think they may have
worked well, and how we might do them differently next time” (Brookfield, 1995).

How does reflection really work?

You do something

You plan to test the

You reflect
new ideas

You develop new

ideas

When does reflection happen?

Donald Schon (teaching theory) says there are two types of reflection:

Reflection IN action
You do this naturally when you are working, making decisions, planning what you need. It
helps you to think on your feet. Happening continually through the process.

Reflection ON action
This is when you think carefully about something you have done taking your time to
consider what could be done differently next time.

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The relevance of specialist language in communicating an understanding of
the subject and in supporting coherent in-action and on-action reflection.

The eloquence with which a student can communicate their thinking can have a huge
impact on meaning and understanding of developing practice. Students should be
encouraged throughout the delivery of the specification, at any level, to engage with and
use correct terminology associated with the field of study in any reflective activity
appropriate to the level. A consistent engagement and practicing of specialist language will
support understanding and ensure a developing sophistication and articulation of ideas and
opinions. [See terms of use: visual Literacy table at the end of the document]

Decision-making and IN-action reflection.

How much should be written?

How might this be communicated?

1. The act of making and incrementally changing image, form, material to solve
problems.
2. Active notations indicating selection e.g., arrows, circles, notes to self
3. Bulleted lists

Students should be encouraged to reflect through exhausting the creative possibilities

through making alongside driving concepts and theories. The practice of making and
testing supports visual literacy and a developing level of confidence in practice that writing
isolated reams of in-action reflective statements fail to achieve. A student has to produce
creative options and ideas in order to reflect. With in-action reflection, the synthesis of short
qualified comments and statements against creative output usually results in a holistic and
sophisticated engagement with process and decision-making. It can often feel somewhat
haphazard and not necessarily well defined and opinion can change quite dramatically from
one day/week to the next as the creative process and decision-making are worked through.
N.B. Of note here is the creative theorist who might write extensively about options and
hypothesise in order to propose a practical event/experiment through which to test said
hypothesis.

The creative process and the cycle of reflection, oscillating between research,
making, theorising, testing, reflection, research, testing, theorising etc. Eureka moments and
how reflection aids decision making towards an outcome. How is this activity, which can
often become an absorbed disassociated experience for the maker be recorded/mapped?
The visual record – series of works with commonalities that are evident in the visual echoes,
photo records, short notes to self, symbolic annotations as per a photographer assessing a
contact sheet, brief summaries or reminders of decisions made, lists of trigger
terms…………

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Extended reflective writing - On-action reflection (or in project evaluation)
during the creative processing in order to move ideas and work forward.

How might this be communicated?

1. Bullet pointed list
2. Succinct summary position statement
3. Extended in depth writing

‘Getting lost’ is in some ways inevitable - the student who doesn’t know what to do next will
need to stop, step back and reflect in order to move forward and this might require
reviewing all work to date or a recent period of developments in order to anchor and project
ideas forward.
Then there is ‘the snowball effect’ – too much to think about, too much to do and the
pressure of time. This calls for time out. Ultimately the short break will also require a more
in depth review of work in order to take stock and plan the next steps - reflect in order to
move forward.

Key throughout is to allow a point to step back and consider original objectives. The idea is
to work through the process in order to distil strengths and weaknesses in the creative
journey to the current position in order to make decisive decisions and move forward.
Depending on the extent of the ‘getting lost or feeling overwhelmed will depend on the form
the on-action reflection takes, i.e., list, short statement or extended writing. This process
should help synthesise ideas.

Where reflection takes place, can have an important impact on developing practice and the
relevance with which a student perceives this developing activity through the levels. By L3
ED and FAD Final Major Project, and developing through L4, there is an expectation that
students will have formed a position with regards to where and when on-action reflection will
take place, as they have become independent practitioners. There are no rights or wrongs,
but its value will be evident in its impact on progression and how it seamlessly enmeshes
with the practical work at appropriate moments in time.

Extended evaluation

Evaluation is analysis based on a set of original intentions and ideas, it happens in a lot of
different ways. It is often a synthesis of reflections to form decisions and make conclusions
– but it always aims to continue the process.
Evaluation is about progressing, improving and solidifying ideas and develops thinking. But
remember... It is never about an ending. It should always promote thinking that considers
next steps to keep moving forwards.

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A checklist for students:

Where can this happen? – studio, critiques, discussion, workshops, on the commute home,
etc.

When? – all the time in different ways and contexts. At its best, it is part and parcel of
working practice.

How? – lists, succinct statements, diagrams, extended writing etc.

Questions to ask yourself:

In order to check if you have actually reflected with depth, rather than merely summarised, it
may help to ask yourself the following questions: (not all may be relevant at every point)

• What happened? Have I provided detail about this? (Qualified commentary not
annotated descriptions.)
• Is it about the experience or me? What impact has this practical and theoretical
journey had on work and self? What changed and why? Successes and failures;
what have you learnt about yourself?
• What critical moments or events occurred? Enlightening discoveries and their impact.
Success and failures and their impact on your objectives – did anything change and
why?
• Were there any ‘light bulb’ moments, which led to learning? What are they and their
impact on developing ideas?
• What did I learn or get out of this experience? Experiences can be small e.g., the
testing of colour relationships or can be larger e.g., the completion of a complete
project to an outcome.
• What positives can I take out of the experience, even if objectives or hypotheses
weren’t realised? Why?
• What were the negatives? Why? What would I change next time?
• Was there evidence of theory in practice? What/How?
• How can I explain personal growth?

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Terms for use in designing practical sessions and formal critique of work – Visual Literacy Table

Elements Principles Adjective in Subdued

Line Harmony association with Short
Form Whole Balance …. (not exhaustive) Straight
Colour Actual Thick
Tone Balance Ambiguous Thin
Space Equalised tension Balanced Tacky
Texture Equilibrium Blurred Tertiary
Pattern Symmetry Broken Unified
Value Asymmetry Bumpy Vertical
Shape Radial Brash Velvet
Composition Overall Bright Wet
Controlled Wide
Hierarchy Curved Warm
Order Corrugated
Significance Calm
importance Cool
Dark
Scale/proportion Deep
Relative size Dull
Diagonal
Dominance/emphasis Distorted
Size Exciting
Position Freehand
Colour Flat
Style Furry
shape Garish
Geometric
Similarity … Gooey
Correlation Greyed
Continuity Horizontal
Organisation Leathery
Interrupted
and contrast Massive
Space Meandering…
Form Multi-coloured
Direction Muted
Structure Negative
Size Open
Colour Pale
Texture Positive
Density Prickly
Gravity Primary
Repeated
Rhythm
Ruled
Reversed
Rough
Soft
Sandy
Shiny
Simulated
Smooth
Sticky
Secondary