Different Ways of Knowing: An Overview of a Reflective Arts-Based Assignment

Authors

  • Christine Van Kooten Memorial University of Newfoundland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18733/cpi29365

Abstract

In the fall semester of 2015, third year social work students at an Atlantic University were given an assignment that would have them picking up scissors and paint brushes. They were tasked with creating an arts-based project related to a professional encounter they had experienced within their first practicum placements. The process created a space for students to experience a new way of learning with consideration to Heron’s (1981) theory of extended epistemology and the four ways of knowing: experiential, propositional, presentational, and practical. Some students chose to reflect on interactions with service users, individuals, families, groups, local communities, or interdisciplinary teams, as an example of their experiential knowing. They were asked to focus on an encounter that involved significant power differences with the subject being an area of concern for themselves or those involved. Students then identified a range of factors in their chosen situation, including: the setting and environment; the social and emotional context; their varying perceptions and expectations; and the role of power.  These factors connected the theory with the students’ encounters in the field. 

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Published

2018-10-01