Investigating Learning Transfer: Reflexivity in Action - Essay Example

Investigating Learning Transfer: Reflexivity in Action Part One The idea of being reflexive, not just reflective has beendefined by Donna Qualley in some parts of her book, wherein the two terms may have some certain similarities but are not entirely mirrors of each other. Having defined reflexivity as “a commitment to both attending to what we believe and examining how we came to hold on to those beliefs while we are engaged in trying to make sense of another” (Qualley 5), this gives an idea of a process much more encompassing than reflection which is mostly about thinking about the self but without “explicit awareness of the implications of our display” (13). In using the definitions of two terms, I have come to realize that in everyday encounters with just about anything, I personally observe myself switching from a reflecting mindset to a reflexive mindset, depending on the situation. More often than not, after learning the differences between being reflexive and being reflective, I became much more aware on why being reflexive weighs a lot more than being simply reflective or critical. As a personal example of being reflective, when being asked about the seemingly-unending wars that the country has been into for the past few decades, I most often think that efforts in maintaining peace by using violent methods were simply a waste of time, efforts, money, and human capital, especially since more often than not issues do not become resolved, and things remain just as before. In my opinion, putting so much into aggressive measures for making others submit to demands not only taxes the people, but also induces a fear of future retaliation or an eventual defeat through other means. However, using my sense of reflexivity, while my stance against the use of violence in settling differences remains the same, I also have to take into account reasons why the wars still keep taking place despite the measures being made in order to suppress terrorist activities in various hotspots around the world. For instance, the wide cultural and economic differences between this country and theirs were already huge blocks which, while not entirely impossible to overcome were certainly difficult to dissolve since not being able to understand how others think and where their minds come from certainly would be barriers both in understanding the other party’s predicament. A situation that involves two factions that only war due to unresolved differences and being unable to accept the validity of these differences entails creating a conversation that would help in making each other have a better understanding of both situations, in culminating a link that encompasses all differences and instead working out the similarities, and eventually coming up with a viable solution that, while still requiring the creation of a compromising agreement that both parties would be amiable with, maintains a respect of individuality that the two parties would most certainly not let go of. While this option seems to be better than endlessly sending troops to control momentary uprisings, the cultural context of the wars must still be taken into consideration, and properly identifying who the benefactors are, helping them reach long-term solutions to their problems, and fully-assisting them in the process till they become proficient in maintain this kind of productive and self-sufficient mindset still entail a considerable amount of capital for proper execution of these plans. Aside from the misunderstandings happening in the act of giving aid or assistance, traditions are some of the most difficult gaps to bridge, since these were shaped through contexts not easily understood by most from outside such cultures, and must therefore be translated in a way for them to understand why things are like what they are and why some still believe in such practices despite the modernization. In economics, technological advancement was deemed to have a major role in the rise of fast-paced lifestyles and cultures, and most industrialized countries can be traced to their roots of rapidly accepting and implementing changes and limiting ties to traditions and practices which otherwise hamper fast and efficient output. While not all of these industrialized nations adhere to the notion of letting go of age-old traditions, it can be safely said that these countries were able to adapt to a period of rapid growth, which in turn made them highly-industrialized, modernized, and efficient. It can be characterized that the cultures and mindsets of these nations shifted from a community-wide mindset to just within the family or the self within a span of a few centuries. Such ideas may be acceptable to most people, but these may not be the case in other nations which are still tied up to the ideas of maintaining clan ties and loyalty to traditions. Age-old cultural practices are rather hard to change, and in addition, most solutions created were more often than not against these ingrained traditions that people would mistake such assistances and help as a form of brainwashing and of being a traitor to one’s own culture which these people hold on dearly with their lives. This idea of why some cultures do not let go of old ideas may not occur to some, but in reality this kind of problem has been one of the roots of most problems, and can be traced to the misunderstandings of both parties in expressing what they wanted to happen. Thus, my vision of using a lesser means of violence is not guaranteed to happen in the near future, since mainly the hurdles of creating cost-effective solutions that include the cultural context of the people receiving the help would need considerable planning and execution while keeping these people’s traditions in mind. Based on what I learned, while possibilities for reconciliation of people with different cultural backgrounds may happen in this lifetime, I am open to the possibilities of an increased awareness and open-mindedness of succeeding generations to help create much more cost-efficient solutions in the future, and these people may eventually decrease the need to use violence in maintaining peace and order somehow, if not entirely. Part Two The idea of learning transfer has not occurred to me as something possible until I have experienced it for myself in this writing course. After reading Brent’s accounts on some students who have their own experiences in learning transfer, in a way I might have already encountered the process, but mostly due to the need to finish some academic requirement in certain class courses. In my case, I was able to both transfer and transform what I learned based on who the readers might be, and it can be comparable to the case of Amy who uses references from the internet and revising them as needed by those who would be reading her works (Brent 569). Initially, I had qualms in writing since I believed that books mostly contain sufficient information for all readers to learn what they would have needed. However, the idea of subjectivity never occurred to me as I was not fully aware that despite similar ideas being given equally among people, there can be differences in their own interpretations as listeners can only react based on what they know. It is expected that even a group of people having similar subjects or course programs may have slight differences in terms of how they understand the lessons, but if their experiences and the other things that they might have learned outside of their own specializations were all taken into account, these things can all add up and make the differences even more profound. This is something which I have not experienced prior to taking this course, as I have much more practice with making assignments based on my own understandings, and I mostly do not interact much with people in most classes. Thus, after having to initiate speaking to others about how I understand things, and in hearing others talk about how they see lessons based on their own terms, I have finally understood the idea of subjectivity, and how it validates Brent and Qualley’s arguments about the variances between most people and how these affect how they interpret and use the information as needed. Other than having to transform what I know into something much more generic but most people can understand I have no other experiences in learning transfer in terms of utilizing either rhetorical writing or technical writing for that matter. This is due to the fact that I have much more use with things concerned with performing methodologies and adjusting them according to what is needed. For example, working as a student assistant part-time entails some simple instructions which must be followed and done in a sequential manner, in my case returning used library books and replacing them to where they should be, according to call numbers. While at first I simply followed the usual task of getting the books, piling them up in carts, then returning these at the end of the day, after a few days of doing the same thing, since I had some idle time while no returns were being made, I simply decided to divide the books according to category first, and after a few more days, by the first letter of call numbers. I tried to arrange the books according to how the numbers arranged in the shelves, and after learning the trends I simply piled up the books based on how the call numbers would be arranged in each library section, so as not to keep on rummaging each time a book needs to be shelved. In addition, I also found trends in what hours mostly borrowed and returned the books, so I also timed returning the books in the shelves so I would have lesser books to arranged before my work time ends. Since I learned that being efficient with time can make or break work, I might have unconsciously adopted this way of thinking even in something as mundane as arranging book titles, but I guess I have been able to perform a kind of learning transfer since I translated what I learned into something that I do, and this helped me cut down my time in returning and arranging books in half, allowing me more time for myself and not having to rush returning the books before my shift ended. While I only initially thought of making my work faster by arranging the books and returning a certain number of books immediately back to the respective shelves, I was not fully aware that doing these things were actually simplified versions of some economic concepts such as economic efficiency. Thus, I could say that in my case, my learning transfer and transformation processes were much more related with how things are done rather than how papers are written. In the process of having to adapt what I learned into changing some methods in how to do things, I have mostly focused on finding the best methods possible in making sure that my time in the library has been spent well and without too much idle time. I’m still unsure whether this experience can be considered to be a part of the process of learning transfer and transformation, but judging from Brent’s comment on the processes involved, not all learned skills become an integral part of a student’s way of thinking, but rather only a few ones which were deemed useful in most situations were imbibed to come up with practical solutions that “cross relatively easily over the boundary between the academy and the workplace” (Brent 588). In addition, sufficient knowledge of general procedures and being able to branch out from these instructions by being flexible enough to accommodate certain changes as the need arises is also deemed an important component of learning transfer, as it is this conscious analysis and rewiring of meta-cognitive processes which allow for the transformation of acquired knowledge into a form which is mostly based on what a person knows, and becomes actively deliberated on along with an “individual’s sense of self or social position” (590). Part Three Coming from a perspective of someone who has more experiences being objective and exact, being a reader that has to integrate not just concepts but also other alternatives and options to come up with a view that has enough substance to cater readers beyond my field has been a very challenging task for me. In writing concepts that I am most familiar with, as well as doing these while keeping in mind people that might think like how I do only makes me a bit anxious, as I worry much more on whether the content might be as accurate as I have perceived the lessons, or if I might interpret something which has a different meaning than what I have originally understood. Writing for people that know little or none of the basic ideas of economics gave me a greater challenge, as I have to interpret the most fundamental concepts into something that most can relate to, without losing the original thought of the concept or theory. In a way like how I have experienced writing for a wider audience while explaining the importance of economics in certain people’s perspectives, being a reader that has to incorporate reflexivity, along with enough reflection of various ideas made me much more aware that what has been written or said by most people may not entirely be correct. Rather, their reactions or criticisms are the products of what they have encountered over the years. These various feedbacks may also show whether or not they have enough unlearning to do to accommodate new information in their already saturated minds to transform what they already know into something much more up-to-date or at the very least, a bit less archaic than their predecessors. In my case, I had to downgrade what I know and, explain things through a way that they can relate to, for example the economic factors that could affect the nature of employers in changing their criteria for hiring, as well as the number of employees to keep while at the same time keeping the business efficient and thriving, among various other things. I could keep rambling on and on about how market trends can affect the patterns of spending among different societal strata, but if I do not simplify or transform these kinds of information into something that a child could understand, then I might as well say that I do not fully know how to transfer what I know, and that what I know has become locked into its own realm, where only people who learned the same things as I had could understand. In doing so, I have failed to analyze things using both critical and ethical perspectives, becoming much like Qualley’s grandmother who was “introspective and reflective, but not reflexive” (Qualley 17). In my opinion, being a reader must not simply rely on the written words alone, but also think where the writer is coming from, and trying to deduce what kinds of situations could bring up the things that the writer talks about, as well as assessing whether those things can be applied to my own experiences, as well as in seeing whether these things are universal or only for certain kinds of people. Aside from the need to have enough experiences in order to read between the lines as most people say, I think being a reader also means to have enough integrity to allow the influx of new ideas while at the same time remaining steadfast to what one truly believes in. It might be unwise to be both at the extreme ends, of either being too flexible to simply believe in things without having to think about other alternatives, or being too stiff that nothing is acceptable except things one commonly holds constant. In becoming a reader, there must be sufficient screening of content, the use of assimilated knowledge, making sense of things, and the verification of claims, while assessing whether these things coincide with personal opinions, beliefs, or knowledge. Discretion plays a key role in becoming a successful reader, for one who is able to digest information and transform it into something that contains both new and old elements is a true reader. Even better is the ability to transform this integrated information into something which others can easily digest as well, thus making reading and writing for a specific discourse community or for a wider audience spectrum similar in terms of information assimilation and effective communication. In the course of the term, while I was expecting to learn a great deal about writing, creating sound arguments, and incorporating technical aspects to written works, I have also learned other things which I might have otherwise not expected to learn from a writing course. For instance, instead of repeatedly reading for the sake of gaining information, in a way I have unconsciously ingrained the method of trying to understand written work based on what the author’s perspectives and experiences are, and not just trying to rely on what I actually know. This not only makes me appreciate what the author wishes to convey, but also allows me to retrospectively assess my own beliefs and ideas, and at the same time screening enough information that would increase my views but not necessarily sway my thoughts about my personal values. In addition, there is also the extra challenge of trying to make sense of things that I need to learn by trying to make connections with what I know with what I need to know, which while having to deal with additional efforts makes up for a better way to understand more ideas rather than simply running onto these things head on without any kind of mental preparation. Putting one’s self in others’ shoes and then coming back to my own self with new and improved perspectives basically sums up what I learned in this course, alongside other technical aspects of writing and reading between the lines. Works Cited Brent, Doug. "Crossing Boundaries: Co-op Students Relearning to Write." College Composition and Communication 63.4 (2012): 558-592. Print. Qualley, Donna. "Understanding Reflexivity." Turns of Thought: Teaching Composition as Reflexive Inquiry. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc., 1997. 8-30. Print. Read More