WOW ... that's what I call information overload! Reading "Reader 3" for the first time was like reading something in a foreign language I've never heard before. I literally didn't understand at all what it was actually about! But after reading through it again and again, I feel like I understand it much better and therefore, I'm giving it a go to discuss the different concepts and what ways I am using them in my own professional practice.
Cooperation
Thinking about Cooperation, a group of people that works together, all of them giving and taking, discussing ideas, etc. to achieve a certain goal comes to my mind. This is very much related to the 'Game theory'. Here, people work together strategically so that one player succeeds but always at another's expense. Axelrod (1984) explains this with the 'Prisoner's Dilemma'. He states that it's important to 'cooperate fully until maximum benefit and then to defect' and that there are always bigger results achieved if you consider patterns in all our interactions and networks.
Axelrod questions: "Should a friend keep providing favours to another friend who never reciprocates?" This question was one my mind for when I first read it. Looking at it objectively I would say no. A relationship shouldn't be based one person just giving and the other one taking all the time. But then again, I'm somebody who tries to help as much as I can even if that means not getting anything back. I do believe that at some point in my life I will getting something back for what I've given that one person .... Personally, I think 'Tit For Tat' is a safe way to get through life.
I do believe that living life under the principles of 'Game theory' would make many things much easier. Last week I went to an audition with a couple of my friends. While we were still learning the choreography, we all help each other and made sure we all know the routine. But when it came to performing infront of the panel, it was everybody 'against' each other. Obviously, each and everyone in that room wanted the job, so you can't think of your friends in there but you have to contrate and focus on yourself. I think cooperating with others is necessary, healthy and needed in a certain dosage but when it comes to essential events in life you have to think of youreself first. Just like Charles Darwin said "Survival of the fittest".
Affiliation
Affiliation is a concept in the field of social psychology. Crisp & Turner (2007 pp266) explain it as a social process that provides us 'with a network of support that will help us when we are in need'. It's human nature to want to connect, bond, network and build relationships with other people. Each and everyone of us affiliates in all areas of our life, professional and personal. As we are all different, we all decide on the preferred level of social stimulation and on the balance of social interaction ourselves (O'Connor & Rosenblood 1996 pp267).
Affiliations in both your personal and professional life are essential! Personally, I think they are what keeps me focused on what I try to achieve aswell as putting everything into perspective. For instance, whenever I'm cut from an audition my friends and family help me see it from a different angle and get me to feel positive about auditioning again and they help me to keep going. Personal affiliations are like a bouncy castle. Whenever I fall there is always somebody there I can bounce off and start again. After reading about affiliation in greater detail, I realised how important all the relationships we have are and I came to realise that they are the base of our society.
Social Constructionism
According to Reader 3 Social Constructionism is a set of related explanations about how meanings about the world are made. One of the key principles is that we construct meanings of the world through social interaction.
Crotty states that all knowledge is contingent upon human practices and is, therefore, based on interactioin between humans.
We need to network and communicate in order to be able to construct meaning and to be able to develop new networks for the future. I find it very interesting that Crotty says that "...meaning is not discovered but constructed". You have to think about and discuss everything new in order to be able to find meaning in it. Through socialising, discussing and developing new theories, we give meaning to things and that's how we learn.
Before reading about Constructionism I didn't even know it existed let alone that I 'use' it but now, I am aware that most things I've learned and the experiences I had where through Social Constructionism.
Connectivism:
Reading about Connectivism, I'm not sure I entirely agree with it. In relation to Professional networks, Connectivism explains how networks both learn and provide the means for individuals to connect and learn. It is also very closely connected to 'network theory' and Web 2.0.
I don't agree with the idea that the traditional way of learning should be modified or rejected. Of course, thanks to the BAPP course I learned a lot about Web 2.0 and how to use it and it gives us the opportunity to stay in touch via blogs, facebook, etc. But I don't think we should rejected the traditional way of learning. Even though Gonzalez states that the "half-life of knowledge" is shrinking and that the amount of knowledge in the world has doubled in the past 10 years I still think that we have to keep the traditional way of learning in mind. Generally, it's never good to just forget about the traditional/original way of doing things. I would say a mix of both, traditional and modern (in this case virtual technology) is the way to go.
Communities of Practice:
This is a topic I have discussed in previous blogs and tasks and I have to say it's the one theory I can relate the most to.
All of us are part of different communities, privately and professionally. Being part of social groups is essential nowadays because you meet people that share the same interests or profession as youwhich helps you in hugelyin your professional life. It's a great base to communicate with people that are in the same industry which helps you with auditions, jobs, vacancies. Socially, we can stay in touch with friends and share are thoughts and ideas on f.i. films, music, food, etc. In my point of view, we learn through the social groups. Chatting to other people or reading through other people's blogs helps us see thnigs in a different way and teaches us new ways of thinking. Lave and Wenger state that the communities of practice define possibilities of learning. I find thought that once we learn from other people, we can deepen that knowledge by combining it with our own thoughts and ideas and therefore broden our professional practice very intriguing. Being part of a 'community of practice' such as the BAPP group is amazing because it gives me the opportunity to learn from my peers and to share my interests, thoughts and ideas with them.
I was never aware of how important networking is in our industry and how many ways of networking there are. Reading the theory has made me much more aware of it and helped me see some things in a different light. Even though I don't agree with all of the theories, I did find it very interesting to read and it has helped me to learn from others.
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