“What is it?” Harry asked shakily.
“This? It is called a Pensieve,” said Dumbledore. “I sometimes find, and I am sure you
know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my
mind…At these times I use the Penseive. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one’s mind, pours them into a basin, and examines them at one’s leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form.’ (Rowling, 2000).
Watton, Collings and Moon (2001) use the extract above from the Harry Potter book: The Goblet of Fire (Rowling, 2000) as an excellent example to illustrate and define reflection (discussed below).
From the 31st of August to the 2nd of September 2017, we at the CSSR attended our annual ‘Research Retreat’. We got the luxury of staying at Fort Governor’s Estate. This property is a staggering 12000 hectares and features wildlife such as buffalo, various species of buck, ostriches, wildebeest and giraffes. Not to mention the lovely pets, which include two beautiful Australian Shepherds, a cat called ‘Rigby’, and a habituated juvenile wildebeest named ‘Bubbles’. Bubbles (who thought she was a dog), was a highlight of the trip to many and I even overheard the title ‘CSSR Mascot’ being used… Some aspects that make Fort Governors special, other than its outstanding beauty, is it’s fully ‘off-grid’ and eco-friendly approach (solar and gas), the stunning, high quality and comfortable accommodation, and the food prepared and served is locally and ethically sourced (including delicious game from the property). My tummy rumbles when I think of all the delicious, gourmet food that the in-house chef created for us. Thank you to: Megan Reuvers who organised the retreat, Jo and Sean our hosts, Chef Lukhanyo, and the housekeeping and ground staff that keep the place at its finest. Some thoughts on the retreat:
Jabulile: ‘The retreat was great. I really enjoyed the wonderful food
(especially since we didn't cook any of it like we did in previous
years), the beautiful rooms, amazing and relaxing scenery, and the
guided walk we took on the second evening.’
Nontozamo: ‘The accommodation was beautiful. I loved it. It was a good working space and refreshing at the same time. I loved the food and how our chef was passionate about his job and he served us with love and passion.’
During the first day on the retreat after much excitement we liaised with our allocated partner for the retreat. This was in order for us to engage with a fellow peer’s current piece of work and provide feedback on it. This type of collaborative learning can be thought of as ‘peer learning’. Peer learning refers to “the use of teaching and learning strategies in which students learn with and from each other without the immediate intervention of a teacher” (Boud, Cohen & Sampson, 1999, p. 413). This use of reciprocal peer learning creates a ‘two-way’ type of learning whereby knowledge, ideas and experiences are shared between peers in a mutually beneficial manner (Boud, Cohen & Sampson, 2014).
Tracey: I have been struck by how much of what we do on retreats is based on the theories which support the notion of "peer learning". This quote (paraphrased here) encompasses what I value about retreats: "Critical thinking, problem-solving, sense-making, personal transformation and the social construction of knowledge... is the stuff of collaborative learning...the constructive conversation is the way students learn as they talk together and reach consensus or dissent...this is a necessary part of learning." (Boud, Cohen & Sampson, 2014).
Sarah-Ann: ‘The research retreat is a great opportunity to work collaboratively with likeminded researchers in a restful setting.
Afterwards, many of us settled down to work independently on the feedback we had received from our partners while it was fresh in our minds. On the second morning, partners again checked in with one another, to discuss the implementation and engagement of the feedback and possible ways forward. Some benefits of working in pairs:
Nontozamo: ‘I appreciated the support and constructive input from my partner and the rest of the team.’
Jabulile: ‘I enjoyed working in pairs – having a different pair of eyes looks at your work and pick up on aspects you hadn’t seen before, was great for my analysis.’
Sibongile: ‘I really enjoyed the fact that we were put in pairs to read each other's work and improve a particular section of something we were working on. That helps/helped with improving writing, spotting some of the errors you make when writing (e.g. things like repetition, your word choices etc.)'.
Research can be a lonely journey for many students and academics. That is why retreats like these are important in that they provide a space for everyone to bond and get to know one another as a larger group. Just the thought that there are people who are going through similar journeys to yours, the reassurance and comfort that come with this, as well as knowing you can reach out to these people in the future, goes a long way in creating a less-lonely and more supportive environment.
Nontozamo: ‘The nature of masters by thesis is lonely but the CSSR team makes it easier. Everyone is always willing to walk the journey with you.’
Sibongile: ‘I also really liked the fact that as the CSSR, through things like the retreat and the colloquium, we get a chance every once in a while, to bond with each other and catch up with each other about our work and how far we are - as this is something very rare. It also makes the research process a little less lonely.’
Tracey: ‘As postgraduate students, we are often warned that doing research will be a very lonely process. However, when you are part of a support group like the CSSR you realize that there are social practices which can make it less so.’
On the third and last day, the whole group came together to discuss ‘The place of theory in assembling the central argument for a thesis or dissertation’ by Adams and Buetow (2014). Some points that came out of the discussion (summarised) were:
- Theory can be difficult to come to grips with as it is often hypothetical, disconnected from real-life, and leaves one “immersed in an ocean of perplexing possibilities” (Adams & Buetow, 2014, p. 96). In this regard, it can be beneficial to view theory as a ‘tool’ that the researcher uses to uncover something in their data.
- Methods and theories are not inherently good or bad, but rather useful or not useful with regards to certain research aims.
- No theories are complete in and of themselves – there are always things they cannot do (and at times it may be necessary to augment/supplement these).
- Theory as an ‘identity’ – trying to think about a theory allowing you to do something that another theory wouldn’t allow you to do.
- Theory should not be limited to a specific chapter, but rather woven throughout a thesis (referred to as a golden thread). This provides a sense of continuity and grounds the research.
In summary, what I took from the discussion, is that theory is what grounds our research: it is what affords us a lens to see the literature through, it allows us to interpret our data in a specific way, and it guides our methods of collecting this data. In addition, that it is not just a discrete section of a thesis, but a thread that ties each section together in a coherent manner.
Another thing that I came to terms with on the retreat was the role of reflection. On the second day, my laptop charger died on me – this sent me into a state of panic as all my work and readings were on this dead laptop - what was I going to do?! FYI, I am currently working on my literature review. This turn of events left me without internet, without a computer and without my endless plethora of electronic literature. Instead it forced me to sit without distraction and read my theory book I had luckily brought along – Chris Weedon’s Feminist Practice and Poststructural Theory (1997). I have skimmed this book before, often going into it in attempts to find something specific, but never fully reading it cover to cover. Reading it slowly and from the beginning (as a whole) taught me two things: Firstly, that I should stop trying to read theory in the same way as I read certain literature (e.g. a quantitative study) – that jumping in and reading ‘for’ something in theory was leaving me without a broader understanding of the theory, and therefore quite lost and confused in it. Secondly, what I found myself doing was reading a sentence or paragraph and then stopping to mull this over in my head – either applying it to rememberings of literature or scenarios in real life. This form of reflection allowed me to begin to understand how this abstract theory could be applied to more specific phenomenon, and how to use it as a lens when reading for my literature review. I thought the extract from the Harry Potter book (above) captured the process and necessity of reflection beautifully, and I am grateful to have learnt the importance of taking the time to reflect on one’s own research in order to understand/see muddled thoughts, processes and ideas in a clearer and more connected light.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my first retreat with the CSSR. It provided me a collaborative, safe, constructive and peaceful setting to work on and reflect on my research. I also felt supported by my peers, whom I got a chance to know better, and it made the lonely research process less so.
Jabulile: ‘All in all a great experience.’
Tracey: ‘For me the highlight of retreating is having the space and time to talk with people who are grappling with the similar issues as I am. I am always grateful for the generous way in which my peers (very often inadvertently) help me by being willing to share their own struggles and talk and think through difficulties in their work.’
Sarah-Ann: ‘It [the retreat] provides invaluable time to focus exclusively on your research, away from everyday distractions.’
Sibongile: ‘So, in a way for me, the retreat really motivated me and also reminded me not to be so hard on myself. It also taught me about having patience especially when it comes to writing.’
Nontozamo: ‘Lastly, I was empowered and inspired by conversations I had with senior students about writing articles. I grew and learned so much as a future academic and researcher.’
Thank you to Jabulile, Sarah-Ann, Sibongile, Nontozamo and Tracey for your input for this article.
By: Megaera Jone
References
Adams, P. J., & Buetow, S. (2014). The place of theory in assembling the central argument for a thesis or dissertation. Theory & Psychology, 24(1), 93-110.
Boud, D., Cohen, R., & Sampson, J. (Eds.). (2014). Peer learning in higher education: Learning from and with each other. Routledge.
Boud, D., Cohen, R., & Sampson, J. (1999). Peer learning and assessment. Assessment & evaluation in higher education, 24(4), 413-426.
Rowling, J. K. (2000). The Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury.
Watton, P., Collings, J., & Moon, J. (2001). Reflective writing: Guidance notes for students. The University of Sheffield.
Weedon, C. (1997). Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theory (2nd Ed.). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.