A professional network is 'a work related community held together by either close
working affiliation or more distant but common work interests or needs’ (Cited in BAPP Reader 3). In my opinion, in all professional practices the professional network is a very important tool which can be used positively to encourage positive outcomes, such as; 'your success, promotion and development, your sense of worth and
fulfilment, and even enjoyment in your working life' (Reader 3). Within the idea of the professional network there are five different concepts which I will now reflect on a analyse their worth in relation to my professional practice.
Cooperation:
The concept of cooperation is one which looks at the rewards and gains available to an individual or all parties within a working relationship. The concept of cooperation works in relation to Game Theory, a theory based on the idea of two participants working with each other but resulting in the gain of one participant at the loss of the other. Robert Axelrod states a question within his writing that on reflection I have realised faces every individual every day, 'When should a person cooperate, and when should a person be selfish, in an ongoing interaction with another person?' (Axelrod, Cited in Reader 3). As society we are constantly questioning what we are being subjected to and the tasks that are put before us. The one reason that tasks are completed by the individuals is for a personal gain. That gain could be something that only enhances the life of the individual, or a gain which also enriches the lives of others.
There is a game which links to the Game Theory called 'Prisoners Dilemma'. In this game the individual plays 'against' the computer choosing between two choices, one of which is to 'cooperate' or the option to 'compete'. If both parties choose to cooperate both parties will gain 3 coins, if both parties choose to 'compete' they will only gain 1 coin each and if one party chooses to 'compete' but the other chooses to 'cooperate' they will gain 5 and 0 coins respectfully. The system is set up in a 'tit for tat' methodology, as long as the individual is willing to 'cooperate' then so is the computer, but as soon as the individual decides to 'compete', the computer will 'compete' in the following test. Therefore, the only way to beat the computer is to only 'compete' before withdrawing after selecting to 'compete'. This game holds strong links with the ideas presented by Axelrod as he presents the idea that there are only benefits in cooperating with others until one reaches their highest point of benefit (Reader 3).
In my current professional practice it is important that I undertake the concept of cooperation with all of the other staff that I work with. An example that I have had recently of cooperation in the workplace is in the trading of expertise with another member of my department. I offered to take a practical workshop with my colleges class whilst she took a theory session with my class. This benefited the both of us as we both experienced gains by the reward of our classes being taught by the most capable teacher. When I offered to take the practical session which I knew my college wasn't keen on delivering I put myself in a position where I could loose out as she could have taken my offer but not given me anything in return. This would not of been a good idea for my college to carryout as although should would have had an instant gain, she would not be able to 'defect' in the way that Axelrod suggests as she still remains part of the establishment after the 'deal' has been carried out and therefore if she had of defected leaving me as having lost out her reputation would have then gone down amongst all the staff and her reputation tarnished, thus, removing all possibilities to cooperate in the future.
This aspect of professional networking has made me realise that there are people that are continually looking at different situations strategically rather making a decision based on emotions, something that I think I will now be wary of within my professional practice.
Affiliation:
The second concept within the area of professional networks is the concept of affiliation. The concept of affiliation in relation to professional networks is that of having a support network described by Crisp and Turner as 'a network of support that will help us when we are in need’ (Crisp & Turner 2007 pp266). To affiliate with someone is to associate one's self with another due to a common interest. I believe that affiliation isn't only created for professional gain and support but is also an ingrained instinct that is established within us from an early age. In their writing, Crisp and Turner cite research presented by Larson, Csikszentmihalyi and Grief in 1982 which stated that 'it was found that adolescents spent about 75 per cent of their waking time with other people. Such sociability appears to yield benefits' (Crisp & Turner 2007). As children we are constantly with others from an early age, mainly due to the fact that we are dependant, from their we start to affiliate with others similar to ourselves throughout education before then moving into adulthood and affiliating with others.
In my current professional practice I am affiliated with others that working within my department and then my school as a whole, but I do find that I support my expertise through the use of other individuals who I have previously been affiliated with, such as individuals that I trained with. I often will bring these individuals into school to speak to my students, in a way providing a guarantee to my students of what I have said to them in relation to my professional training or my knowledge of the industry.
Having just writing the last two sentences I have just started to question my understanding of affiliation, once you have become affiliated with something or someone can you then become unaffiliated? I have suggested that these professionals are people that I once was affiliated with, but does affiliation die or get removed? If so, by what?
Looking at affiliation has allowed me to create challenges to me viewpoints, something that until this point I have been less comfortable with doing. In life it is important to be able to look for another point of view, especially in relation to the concept of cooperation, as it is important to be able to make balanced and secure judgments on occurrences and situations that are presented.
Social Constructionism:
Like some of the other students on the BAPP course, this is the concept that I have found the hardest to establish a concrete understanding of. In essence I understand that it is a concept of creating meanings for the justifying their social interactions. In my professional practice I engage with multiple people, both staff and students, and through my experiences I have found that I have established, constructed and justified these interactions and therefore been presented with a meaning for them.
In my opinion, all interactions within the workplace commonly hold more relevance than that of a social interaction as they are always prompted by the working environment which is pushing for a result from the interaction and therefore it is easier to establish understanding from them. It could be argued however that affiliations that are constructed in the workplace are not solely there for work related interactions and support which then opens up a whole new argument counteracting my previous statement.
Social constructionism is a concept that I need to expand my understanding of and in my opinion is an area that I will be able to gain a greater understanding of now that I am aware of it alongside carrying out my professional practice.
Connectivism:
Connectivism is something that has been thrust into light in the recent years to acknolodege the change in the wy we learn, change caused by social environment. In essence, connectivism is a learning theory, focusing on the social and cultural context of the information which is being taught and being learned by the individuals. It focusing on learning being a cycle of practice and reflection on the practice rather than to be taught directly in the more 'traditional' way. I have witnessed teaching change from being teachers reciting the method, the process and the answer to students doing. In my current teaching position, independent learning is something that we are encouraged to include into our lessons, letting students do, learn and teach, with minimal teacher input. Cited in Siemens, Driscoll relates to this idea by acknowledging that 'learners create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences' (Driscoll in Siemens, 2004), and thus the learners are creating their knowledge themselves and it is not being embedded in them by their classroom teacher.
I am a strong believer in the fact that it is our experiences that we grow from and we are constantly learning and developing everything in our lives on a daily basis as we inevitably strive for perfection. Acknowledging the change in a approach and the change in the social context of learning is something that I feel is very important not only for those who teach to undertake but for everybody to reflect upon in their lives. As I stated, I am a strong believer in the power of experiences and undertaking the reflection upon these concepts is beginning to make me justify and analyse my development and my professional practice.
Communities of Practice:
Lave and Wegner define a community of practice as 'a set of relations among persons, activity, and world, over time and in relation with other tangential and overlapping communities of practice' (Lave & Wegner, 1991). After reading the section of communities of practice within Reader 3 I have come to form the opinion that this concept places ideologies from the other concepts and puts them together to form a way of learning, doing and developing. One of the main key functions for a community of practice is the fact that it needs to be community orientated, cooperation must be present amongst the community members with each taking on their opportunity and responsibility to develop the community. The process encourages the social interactions amongst it's community, finding meaning within these interactions and developing from these. The fact that these communities of practice are present in professional and social 'situations' makes links with the changes of learning that is expressed through the idea of connectivism.
By all means I may be misunderstood or wrong, it may be that as communities of practice was the last concept that was presented to me, but what I have come to realise in my mind and the opinion that I have formed of the communities of practice theory is that it is a group of people that are confident in their social context, willing to put in an equal amount of work and are within the blurred boundary between professional and social, but above all, working within a network which they feel supported and confident within to enable them to develop.
To Conclude:
On looking back at my work it would be easy for me to suggest that the concept that I have found myself drawn to the most is the cooperation theory, and in some aspects that is correct, but from what my mind is now telling me, I believe that I could assosiate with all of these concepts within the ideas of development and networking. Networking is something that until recently meant to me attending occasions that I didn't necessarily want to be at to talk to people that I didn't necessarily want to speak to, but now I have realised that a network is far more than this. Within the influx of Web 2.0 and social media, networking has spread into all fields across social, professional and cultural. Networking is as much there for support as it is for opportunity. The different concepts above hold a huge amount of relevance in relation to the opportunity of development but I have decided that in my opinion, the best for of support network is one which you have to give into as much as you take out and therefore confirming my trust in cooperation theory, or is that social constructionism, or affiliation or it could even be the formation of a community of practice.
You decide.
Cooperation:
The concept of cooperation is one which looks at the rewards and gains available to an individual or all parties within a working relationship. The concept of cooperation works in relation to Game Theory, a theory based on the idea of two participants working with each other but resulting in the gain of one participant at the loss of the other. Robert Axelrod states a question within his writing that on reflection I have realised faces every individual every day, 'When should a person cooperate, and when should a person be selfish, in an ongoing interaction with another person?' (Axelrod, Cited in Reader 3). As society we are constantly questioning what we are being subjected to and the tasks that are put before us. The one reason that tasks are completed by the individuals is for a personal gain. That gain could be something that only enhances the life of the individual, or a gain which also enriches the lives of others.
There is a game which links to the Game Theory called 'Prisoners Dilemma'. In this game the individual plays 'against' the computer choosing between two choices, one of which is to 'cooperate' or the option to 'compete'. If both parties choose to cooperate both parties will gain 3 coins, if both parties choose to 'compete' they will only gain 1 coin each and if one party chooses to 'compete' but the other chooses to 'cooperate' they will gain 5 and 0 coins respectfully. The system is set up in a 'tit for tat' methodology, as long as the individual is willing to 'cooperate' then so is the computer, but as soon as the individual decides to 'compete', the computer will 'compete' in the following test. Therefore, the only way to beat the computer is to only 'compete' before withdrawing after selecting to 'compete'. This game holds strong links with the ideas presented by Axelrod as he presents the idea that there are only benefits in cooperating with others until one reaches their highest point of benefit (Reader 3).
In my current professional practice it is important that I undertake the concept of cooperation with all of the other staff that I work with. An example that I have had recently of cooperation in the workplace is in the trading of expertise with another member of my department. I offered to take a practical workshop with my colleges class whilst she took a theory session with my class. This benefited the both of us as we both experienced gains by the reward of our classes being taught by the most capable teacher. When I offered to take the practical session which I knew my college wasn't keen on delivering I put myself in a position where I could loose out as she could have taken my offer but not given me anything in return. This would not of been a good idea for my college to carryout as although should would have had an instant gain, she would not be able to 'defect' in the way that Axelrod suggests as she still remains part of the establishment after the 'deal' has been carried out and therefore if she had of defected leaving me as having lost out her reputation would have then gone down amongst all the staff and her reputation tarnished, thus, removing all possibilities to cooperate in the future.
This aspect of professional networking has made me realise that there are people that are continually looking at different situations strategically rather making a decision based on emotions, something that I think I will now be wary of within my professional practice.
Affiliation:
The second concept within the area of professional networks is the concept of affiliation. The concept of affiliation in relation to professional networks is that of having a support network described by Crisp and Turner as 'a network of support that will help us when we are in need’ (Crisp & Turner 2007 pp266). To affiliate with someone is to associate one's self with another due to a common interest. I believe that affiliation isn't only created for professional gain and support but is also an ingrained instinct that is established within us from an early age. In their writing, Crisp and Turner cite research presented by Larson, Csikszentmihalyi and Grief in 1982 which stated that 'it was found that adolescents spent about 75 per cent of their waking time with other people. Such sociability appears to yield benefits' (Crisp & Turner 2007). As children we are constantly with others from an early age, mainly due to the fact that we are dependant, from their we start to affiliate with others similar to ourselves throughout education before then moving into adulthood and affiliating with others.
In my current professional practice I am affiliated with others that working within my department and then my school as a whole, but I do find that I support my expertise through the use of other individuals who I have previously been affiliated with, such as individuals that I trained with. I often will bring these individuals into school to speak to my students, in a way providing a guarantee to my students of what I have said to them in relation to my professional training or my knowledge of the industry.
Having just writing the last two sentences I have just started to question my understanding of affiliation, once you have become affiliated with something or someone can you then become unaffiliated? I have suggested that these professionals are people that I once was affiliated with, but does affiliation die or get removed? If so, by what?
Looking at affiliation has allowed me to create challenges to me viewpoints, something that until this point I have been less comfortable with doing. In life it is important to be able to look for another point of view, especially in relation to the concept of cooperation, as it is important to be able to make balanced and secure judgments on occurrences and situations that are presented.
Social Constructionism:
Like some of the other students on the BAPP course, this is the concept that I have found the hardest to establish a concrete understanding of. In essence I understand that it is a concept of creating meanings for the justifying their social interactions. In my professional practice I engage with multiple people, both staff and students, and through my experiences I have found that I have established, constructed and justified these interactions and therefore been presented with a meaning for them.
In my opinion, all interactions within the workplace commonly hold more relevance than that of a social interaction as they are always prompted by the working environment which is pushing for a result from the interaction and therefore it is easier to establish understanding from them. It could be argued however that affiliations that are constructed in the workplace are not solely there for work related interactions and support which then opens up a whole new argument counteracting my previous statement.
Social constructionism is a concept that I need to expand my understanding of and in my opinion is an area that I will be able to gain a greater understanding of now that I am aware of it alongside carrying out my professional practice.
Connectivism:
Connectivism is something that has been thrust into light in the recent years to acknolodege the change in the wy we learn, change caused by social environment. In essence, connectivism is a learning theory, focusing on the social and cultural context of the information which is being taught and being learned by the individuals. It focusing on learning being a cycle of practice and reflection on the practice rather than to be taught directly in the more 'traditional' way. I have witnessed teaching change from being teachers reciting the method, the process and the answer to students doing. In my current teaching position, independent learning is something that we are encouraged to include into our lessons, letting students do, learn and teach, with minimal teacher input. Cited in Siemens, Driscoll relates to this idea by acknowledging that 'learners create knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences' (Driscoll in Siemens, 2004), and thus the learners are creating their knowledge themselves and it is not being embedded in them by their classroom teacher.
I am a strong believer in the fact that it is our experiences that we grow from and we are constantly learning and developing everything in our lives on a daily basis as we inevitably strive for perfection. Acknowledging the change in a approach and the change in the social context of learning is something that I feel is very important not only for those who teach to undertake but for everybody to reflect upon in their lives. As I stated, I am a strong believer in the power of experiences and undertaking the reflection upon these concepts is beginning to make me justify and analyse my development and my professional practice.
Communities of Practice:
Lave and Wegner define a community of practice as 'a set of relations among persons, activity, and world, over time and in relation with other tangential and overlapping communities of practice' (Lave & Wegner, 1991). After reading the section of communities of practice within Reader 3 I have come to form the opinion that this concept places ideologies from the other concepts and puts them together to form a way of learning, doing and developing. One of the main key functions for a community of practice is the fact that it needs to be community orientated, cooperation must be present amongst the community members with each taking on their opportunity and responsibility to develop the community. The process encourages the social interactions amongst it's community, finding meaning within these interactions and developing from these. The fact that these communities of practice are present in professional and social 'situations' makes links with the changes of learning that is expressed through the idea of connectivism.
By all means I may be misunderstood or wrong, it may be that as communities of practice was the last concept that was presented to me, but what I have come to realise in my mind and the opinion that I have formed of the communities of practice theory is that it is a group of people that are confident in their social context, willing to put in an equal amount of work and are within the blurred boundary between professional and social, but above all, working within a network which they feel supported and confident within to enable them to develop.
To Conclude:
On looking back at my work it would be easy for me to suggest that the concept that I have found myself drawn to the most is the cooperation theory, and in some aspects that is correct, but from what my mind is now telling me, I believe that I could assosiate with all of these concepts within the ideas of development and networking. Networking is something that until recently meant to me attending occasions that I didn't necessarily want to be at to talk to people that I didn't necessarily want to speak to, but now I have realised that a network is far more than this. Within the influx of Web 2.0 and social media, networking has spread into all fields across social, professional and cultural. Networking is as much there for support as it is for opportunity. The different concepts above hold a huge amount of relevance in relation to the opportunity of development but I have decided that in my opinion, the best for of support network is one which you have to give into as much as you take out and therefore confirming my trust in cooperation theory, or is that social constructionism, or affiliation or it could even be the formation of a community of practice.
You decide.
Hi Anna, trying to make my 10 comments as per task 3d requests. How are you getting on with your Critical reflection essay? I've got to start mine this weekend and I must say I'm feeling very nervous about getting it all into 750 words but like all tasks I'm sure it will be ok once I get going! How have you found the journal writing process? Have you been able to stick to it? Do you think it has been effective when you look back over past entry's? :)
ReplyDeleteHi Katie. I've planned what i want to say in my Critical Reflection but will be writing it this bank holiday weekend ready to send in my first draft. Yeah, the limit of 750 words is very daunting, just need to make sure it's presise and those words are used wisely. I've tried my hardest to continue the journal writing and so far am finding it very useful with my professional practice, how about you? In research for my Critical Reflection i've started to look back over my blog and journal entries, something that has been really interesting. Let me know how you're getting on.
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