Shape Shifting – Autobiography as a tool for exploring boundary practices: A GTA’s perspective

Abstract

This autobiographical paper sets out to discuss the value of introducing new practices to established discourses around teaching. Drawing on my background heavily influenced by the creative arts along with my present-day role as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) for a world-leading Faculty of Education, I will present a discussion that explores the impressions made by various professional encounters (Clements, 1999) and how they may spillover to inform a learning context.

Taking from my hatstand the roles of Artist and GTA, I will devise a reflexive commentary outlining the relationship between these identities, taking into account the theory of multi-membership (Wenger, 1998) and communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991). The autobiographical method has been proposed in this reflective article as a valuable tool for GTAs to support the exploration of the meanings of their multi-memberships.

As we progress through life’s many stages our portfolio of roles may grow, as might the number of professional titles we are assigned. While these can oftentimes be interpreted as conflicting (Ibarra, 2003), they can also present opportunities for collaboration or transfer of knowledge across boundaries (Martin et al., 2014). With these roles, we implement various styles of communication in various environments. The GTA has been known to act as a bridge in between, facilitating knowledge delivery through shared behaviours and familiarity with various community norms (Compton & Tran, 2017).

Reflection on these practices has provided points of departure concerning the crossover of learning environments and creative academic activity. Qualitative methodologies have begun to reveal a growing body of creative research methods and means of presenting data within the formal academic landscape (Hakanurmi, Palonen & Murtonen, 2021; Mittelmeier et al., 2021). This has inspired me to inquire into the tools that practitioners employ and hence share across our discourses. Arguing that these needn’t be considered context specific, I exhibit a brief discussion of information exchange in the classroom and the gallery.