Argentine tango, swimming and reflection - spot the link!
Recently I was writing a tender proposal involving learning processes. So it was inevitable that my mind was buzzing with images and thinking on Kolb's Learning Cycle. This cycle describes how we learn - (1) by doing something (experience) (2) observing what we do and thinking about it (reflection) (3) then making connections with other knowledge and experience (abstraction) and (4) playing and applying our thinking to doing things differently (experimenting). What I didn't expect was to be landed with such a neat example of Kolb's cycle in action arising from my activities at this time!
I realized I had moved through all stages of Kolb cycle - (1) doing (swimming), (2) observing my poor performance and reflecting (3) making connections with my learning of tango and drawing conclusions, then planning (4) experimenting with the altered approach to swimming. And of course, by reflecting on the process of my learning, I was engaging in reflexive practice - looking inward and asking how my new-found learning came about. What was key to taking me on that path and what triggered connections and insights? But that's another story.............