Anxiety of Learning

 I have just been reading a very interesting paper written by Russ Vince- 'Behind and Beyond Kolb's Learning Cycle' 

Kolbs Cycle is one of the most well know and highly thought of models of learning but this paper digs deeper, which is what I really enjoyed- its stripping back the layers- something that this module has helped me learn to do, and he starts to question a few of the elements within the model. 

The limitation that really spoke to me was Anxiety. Anxiety, fear and doubt are all things that occur at the beginning of a learning process- if we didn't have doubt we wouldn't be learning about the matter if the first place right? These emotions can then lead the learning to go one of two ways. The first promotes the learning and the second discourages it. 

Which way you will go is therefore very much dependant on the individuals character- In simple terms; If you are able to contain and control these emotions, the fact that you are holding in these emotions is one way of expressing an observation and reflective process. The learners are taking a risk to hold on to these emotions and remain in this uncertain state. This process of holding or risking the unknown generally leads to insight. Naturally our body would be telling us we shouldn't be doing the above as its causing us to feel a certain way our body doesn't like (anxious, unsure etc) but its actually the REJECTION of such defences that experimental learning can take place. 

Alternatively, the anxiety causes a defence reaction. The learner will be likely to run away from the situation or they will become defensive are put up a block.  This is know as the fight or flight mode, something our bodies have been programmed for thousands of years. Once this emotional reaction has been triggered the learner then moves onto willing ignorance- a coping strategy necessary to prevent self destruction. Basically the learner puts up a block to protect his or herself from the feelings therefore making it very hard to the experimental learning to continue.

This article has really spoken to me- before looking into the learning cycle I always saw myself as an experimental learner. I create on the spot, I don't really do research etc. HOWEVER after reading the article spoken about above its becoming clear to me that its becoming clear to me that perhaps I have been using the wrong learning method all along. Personally I have suffered from anxiety for many years but never did I think it could have been stopping my learning. That being said when I was at drama school- I was never confident with my choreography skills, it was something for some reason I always had a block over. When it came to choreography lessons I would sit in class and try to create but I would always have a block and end up getting upset with myself as I could never understand why. Using active experimental learning, as I thought this was my learning style, turns out this was actually what was causing my block- my body went into fight or flight mode because I couldn’t contain these feelings of anxiety and therefore I would shut down. 

If only I had known this back then I would have tried another style of learning style such as abstract conceptualism. Moving forward however I intend to be aware now of this block and therefore be able to switch up my style of learning so I experience such block again. 

Link to the article. 

Russ Vince- 'Behind and Beyond Kolb's Learning Cycle' 

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/105256299802200304