Guided Reflection

A salient component of my role was to find ways of nurturing pupil autonomy, and to be what Vygotsky (1978) called a ‘significant other’. While I viewed moments of pupil silence, uncertainty, or enquiry as open invitations to assume such a role, many situations needed creative manoeuvring on my part. Pupils’ responses primarily fuelled the FAP process, but when they did not suggest areas to explore, missed important issues, or if their investigation stagnated or derailed, I adopted the roles of model, corroborator, or guide. Through these roles I could prompt or encourage pupil reflection in order to steer them towards making discoveries themselves.

A clear example occurred in Z5’s lesson in week two. As she analysed her film, Z5 identified general improvements in line with what she had written on her practice map, but being so intently focused on these areas Z5 kept missing what I thought was an area

Journal entry

week 7 – …some commentaries that pupils are providing are underscoring their lack of knowledge in some areas…perhaps they are no longer aurally engaged when they miss obvious intonation errors, but centred only on the visual…these moments are becoming useful opportunities for me, to subtly redirect their attention through simple questions, but I am noticing that it does need care on my part no matter the personality or ability of the pupil…

of concern in her performance. Setting the film to loop on a particular section, I used very simple and direct questions in conjunction with the video that guided Z5 to establish the missing link herself.

T.R. – Tell me what else you see.

Z5 – I think the vibrato is improving, because it’s like a good swing on it. Like there was wide moving in it…

T.R. – Yeah... that top note?

Z5 – Yeah that’s about… [a long pause and then silence. The film loops a section containing the error]

T.R. – What did you hear with the vibrato on the top note? Z5 – It’s not, it’s that… that it doesn’t have enough vibrato. T.R. – Ah… so what do you have to do for that?

Z5 – Uhm… pick it out and... [silence] T.R. – What did you hear on that note?

Z5 – It wasn’t as… it skidded a bit. T.R. – Ah! That wasn’t your vibrato.

Z5 – It slid as well. T.R. – It did? What slid?

Z5 – My finger.

T.R. – Was it your finger? [still repeating that section of the film]

Z5 – Oh, my bow!!!! OOOooooooo, oh my gosh! [repeating the section again]… It’s gone right over the bridge!

The simplistic approach and significance of guiding Z5’s discovery is exposed in the transcript, but perhaps the stronger narrative here is that this approach allowed me to model reflective enquiry by continuing to probe and ask questions.

While it was important for pupils to recognise troublesome areas, it was equally important for them to recognise, explore, and talk about why things were good. I wrote in my journal entry on week two about ‘seizing every opportunity to model this form of reflection in the hope that pupils would begin to understand that greater awareness and deeper understanding is more likely to grow from exhausting all possibilities’, even in areas not immediately considered troublesome. The opportunity to model such reflection occurred moments later in this same session with Z5.

quite well.

T.R. – Are you talking about this part? [I find the section in the film] Z5 – Yeah.

T.R. – Lets hear it again. [letting that section loop over and over] What did you do to make such a nice contrast?

Z5 – I changed my attitude towards it?

T.R. – Watch, and something else [section of film continually loops] Look at your technique. There is something about your technique that totally supports it. Z5 – It’s very kind of ‘Airborne’ a bit.

T.R. – Yeah, but what makes that?

Z5 – Lighter? [Z5 leans closer to watch the film] T.R. – Who makes it lighter?

Z5 – My bow.

T.R. – And look at your bow. What does she do? [Z5 sits silent watching this section loop several times without making the connection to what is going on with her bow] You can see it. [Suggesting that it is a visible movement to identify]

Z5 – I don’t know [a long pause] Oh, it’s near the fingerboard?

T.R. – Yes, it’s your sounding point. Look at her! It’s so beautiful. What does she do?

Z5 – She just moves up a bit. [Spotting the change of bow placement towards the fingerboard]

T.R. – Yeah, why does she move towards the fingerboard? Z5 – To achieve an effect of, kind of quieter.

T.R. – There you go… you are in total control of the colour you want by your sounding point, your placement. Actually, actually look at the tilt of your bow. [The same section still looping]. Did you see it?

Z5 – Oh yeah it just kind of, tilts.

T.R. – Tilts away, so you have less hair, so you have a softer sound...

While both of these scenes, highlighted in my reflective journal, show different moments of learning, they reveal the utility of both the video and my role as corroborator, model, and guide in encouraging Z5 to reflect beyond the obvious. Adapting my role in this way right across the study encouraged pupils to reflect deeper, in more detail, and embrace the possibility of taking full ownership of their learning.