I thought it was a good idea at this stage, with of course suggestions from my supervisor, to map out my entire research. I want to create a visual map to describe my journey and more importantly my learning succession from my projects. Starting from Florence, Italy where I begun my research part-time to where I am now, busy after a penultimate, I tried to show my learning and deep knowledge through a “river” or line.
Take a look:
I found that any horizontal movement represents time that I was really learning something. Gaining knowledge. Although at the same time during this period I also felt I was doing nothing. In reality these time I was usually in “reflection” mode and during those times, quite often you don’t realize what you have learned until a bit after or quite awhile after! This is why after periods of reflection the line dips (representing deeper learning or understanding). Got to go more later…
Let’s start again.
Throughout this mapping process, I learned about my progression, knowledge, and learning throughout this research. At first I included all the projects and what I learned from each project as well as comments from GRC panels and successive shifts in my research question. Papers were pasted up on my wall, from acceptance letters and rejections…to first skype meetings with my supervisors. I tried to remember what I was thinking during that time, what was I researching and why.
Here’s an excerpt on some of my thoughts then.
After filling up my wall, I tried to connect various projects with/within others, grouping, eliminating and really reflecting on what may have caused the shift of knowledge which I described in my last iteration of my map. To my supervisors and to myself it may be obvious of the progression but now especially wrapping things up I want to try and make this learning and knowledge explicit. In the last shift I tried to express major shifts in my research and thinking by placing horizontal dotted lines. But back to the progress…
Here is the one the first drafts:
I first tried to represent my learning by suggesting and linear vertical movement. I have not seen this time as a linear horizontal movement because that limits depth. The problem with this map is that it does not take into account for periods of learning, just depth. There were many times where I was reflecting on past projects, assembling fragments of discussions, activities, reading, sketching that needed to be accounted for visually. It seemed like a stairs going down, at each rise there was a project then (space) which was the step. Reflecting back on this (learning) space, at the time, I didn’t think I was learning. For the most part I was struggling with concepts and thinking about how to develop the research further (asking new questions). The space led to deeper learning and then another project. If I look that time now I see I was progressing my research by reflecting, reading, teaching and mapping. At one point on the map I pinpointed collecting material, reading literature surrounding educational structures and models. At the time I didn’t think much of it but now I find that information gave me the starting terminology to commence my deep reflection excersise where I wrote about my past teaching experiences. I started to introduce a lexicon into my writing through my previous research. That’s cool!
Other learning phases also consisted of presentations. For example my presentation at New Views 2 in London where I was locked up in a room with experienced educators from all over the globe! Here was the first time I felt very different opinions about design research, practice based research and the future of graphic design education. After my presentation I reflected on comments about my research and comic and I tried to begin to understand who my audience really was and how I could sculpt my narrative to engage educators. I also started to think about the use of the comic medium and graphics in general and how they may be better in communicating pedagogical theory. I didn’t know why yet but it definately laid a foundation.