Becky Allen PG CERT

I really loved reading Sara Ahmed’s book Whats the Use? On the Uses of Use. The book particularly resonated with my teaching practice because of the association Ahmed makes between ‘use’ and ‘storytelling’:

‘When something becomes blunt from being used, it is being shaped by use. Use offers a way of telling stories about things’ (Ahmed, 2019)

Elements of her writing connected with the themes that I explored in my micro-teaching session, as I wanted the students to observe the traces of marks left on each object as a way to develop narrative. The manifold perspectives from which she describes ‘use’ seemed an interesting text to read after learning about Object Based Learning as it questions not only what use means, but also how things ‘fall out of use‘, can be ‘in use’ and how the ‘politics of preservation‘ relates to people who use things (Ahmed, 2019). I feel that I could endlessly quote this book, for all the wonderful and poetic descriptions of use, and I have been thinking of ways I could use this inspiration to inform my teaching practice.

In my role as transition tutor, I have started to think about how students are identifying their own ‘use’, either in their functioning as practitioner (how do they use illustration in their practice?), or how they use skills to develop a project? It could be that they are ‘used’ for a commission or their ‘use’ in a group situation might be identified by a particular role such as working on the publication team for the degree show. To take this further, I want to develop a practical workshop to acknowledge a student’s use as a practitioner (illustrator) and how their past ‘uses’ have left traces that signpost a post-graduate direction: ‘use is an activity that leaves traces (more or less). These traces can become outlines for something: invitations to do some-thing, to proceed in a certain direction’ (Ahmed, 2019)

Initial thoughts on how this may be structured are as follows:

– Students attend a practical workshop in groups of up to 25
– Students reflect on their past 3 years in Illustration and make notes on their journey so far. This should include: All projects that were a success with details on project name, skills used, concept idea, techniques and materials and so on.
– Students make notes on any significant moments from past 3 years that brought a sense of accomplishment, for example, activities with peers, a part time job, exhibitions or trips taken. This can include university experience as well as accomplishments in other areas of life. These notes are to form ‘sign posts’.
– A peer task for students to reflect on each other’s sign post notes – Note down what commonalities occur within these lists – what is the ‘biography’ of their use’?
‘a biography of use might explore the different moments in which use happens in the life course of one thing or another’ (Ahmed, 2019)
– include options to use visuals, colours, drawing.

To support the development of this perspective, I have been reading Knowing from the Inside: Cross-Disciplinary Experiments with Matters of Pedagogy, in which Catherine Hasse questions ‘What is learning?’. She argues that learning ‘is an ongoing process of transformation whereby traces of what we have previously learned are mobilised in the course of learning something new.’ (Hasse, 2022)

References

Ahmed, S. (2019) Whats the Use? On the Uses of Use, Duke University Press, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/detail.action?docID=5969504. (Accessed 12th March 2024)

Ingold, T. (2022) Knowing from the Inside: Cross-Disciplinary Experiments with Matters of Pedagogy, 1st Edition, London Bloomsbury Publishing

Contextual Background: 

In third year on BA illustration there are interim presentations within tutor groups as a formative assessment point during the Critical Practice Project (Unit 9). These sessions aim to embody a professional presentation of students work. The challenge of this activity is the reliance on the engagement and responsivity of the students to provide group feedback through peer and tutor discussion in a situation more closely related to a real world context.

Evaluation:

Current strategies to provide students with a diverse range of feedback through enabling group discussion include:

• Pairing the students and tutor of two tutor groups to broaden feedback for group discussion. This is effective in providing different types of feedback and encourages differing views as constructive and authentic, particularly with the second tutor present. Encouraging a greater number of student perspectives could be addressed moving forwards.
• Students provide feedback to the presenting student directly, or as a result of the exchange of views amongst the students. This is effective amongst students who have greater confidence speaking up but less so amongst quieter students.
• Presentation to be approached in a professional manner by students with pre-prepared material such as a PDF slideshow.

Challenges to address that arise from the above include: 

• A reluctance or fear to contribute, lack of engagement or confidence in giving feedback
• Students not attending 
• Tutor feedback dominates when students leave silent gaps

Moving forwards: 

In third year, I think it is important to incorporate ‘authentic assessment’ in group situations when learning is assessed ‘through ‘real world’ tasks requiring students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in meaningful contexts’ (Swaffield, 2011). A Briefing on Self, Peer and Group Assessment supports the idea of group-based assessment being more ‘closely connected to real-life vocational situations’ (Race, 2001) and is further emphasised by the following quote, ‘In their careers beyond university, most students are going to be required to be able to work in groups or teams, and student group work is a valuable training ground.’ (Race, 2001)

After reading the QAA Collaborative Enhancement Project Belonging Through Assessment: Pipelines of Compassion I also want to include forms of compassionate feedback. As Paulo Freire said, ’Education is an act of love’ (Freire, 1974)

I can address the above in my approach to group assessment by:

• encouraging compassionate feedback amongst groups of students to promote the kindness of providing feedback for peers and treat each other as equals in a way that is more closely related to how feedback is exchanged in a ‘real world’ context. 
• Equip students with the assessment criteria during group assessments, to prepare and support students both giving and receiving feedback in ‘real world’ contexts:

It can be particularly useful to get students to self-assess their own presentations, using the criteria that are concurrently being used to peer-assess them. This can cause students to reflect quite deeply on what they think are the strengths and weaknesses of their approach and performance. (Race, 2001)

• Create time and space for students to reflect on their feedback before verbal contribution by providing materials with set questions and prompts that can be written down. This can then be transferred to the presenting student.
• Ask students to note-take for each other whilst discussion is being held to embody a sense of social responsibly.
• Allow silences in discussion to be filled with student contribution, stepping back tutor intervention with prompts.
• Develop activities where students can work in groups or teams that resemble a ‘real-world’ context, such as the different group roles required for their interim and degree shows.

I have already started taking this strategy forward in group tutorials and workshops by:

• Creating a sheet that students can fill out to both self and peer assess.
• This was successful in gathering feedback from everyone in the group, including students who frequently remain silent or unengaged. 
• Occasionally written feedback was minimal, which may be a result of writing not being as accessible for some students. I will address how to make this more inclusive moving forwards.
• A session was created for students to identify which groups they will be part of for the degree show to encourage a team working experience for an external context.

References 

Hill, V. (2023). Belonging Through Assessment: Pipelines of Compassion. QAA Collaborative Enhancement Project 2021. University of the Arts London, Glasgow School of Art and Leeds Arts University

Freire, P. (1974). Education for Critical Consciousness. New Edn. London: Continuum, (2008)

Race, (2001). A Briefing on Self, Peer and Group Assessment, LTSN Generic Centre Assessment, Series Number 9, York: LTSN Generic Centre

Swaffield, S. (2011) Getting to the Heart of Authentic Assessment for Learning, Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, Vol. 18, No. 4. DOI: 10.1080/0969594X.2011.582838

Contextual Background

In the final year of BA Illustration at Camberwell the Unit 9 project takes the form of a Critical Practice Project for which students can present their project in one of the following outcomes: Visual, Performative, Written or Audio. This provides a challenge as teaching methods need to support students development of criticality through a wide-range  of approaches to the brief. Students also need to demonstrate in-depth research through a critical lens to support their outcomes that encompasses a diversity of approaches.

Evaluation

Current strategies that support a broad-range of approaches to the Unit 9 Critical Practice Project include:

• A choice of 4 Critical Practice tutor-led workshops from a menu of varied themed workshops. Students bring their individual Unit 9 topic to the workshop to develop both a conceptual and critical approach through practical tasks. 
  The limitations of this approach include: students signing up to either too many or too few workshops, overwhelming choice leaving students feeling confused about their critical direction and students unable to apply criticality to their subject area.
  
• 4 Mandatory online Critical practice talks that unpack criticality through guest speakers and visual tasks. Some students benefit from online working whilst others do not engage as fully. Often follow up tasks from these sessions are not completed and students do not grasp how to be critical thinkers.
  
  The biggest challenge of this Unit is teaching a diverse cohort what criticality is and how to apply it to their thinking, learning and practical development.

Moving forwards 

‘The heartbeat of critical thinking is the longing to know – to understand how life works’ (Hooks, 2010, ch.1, p.7)

I have taken inspiration from Bel Hooks Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom and her suggestion of Engaged Pedagogy. When students arrive at this Unit, many are unaware of how to apply criticality to their work. ‘Students do not become critical thinkers overnight’ (Hooks, 2010, ch.1, p.8). Although there are critical practice projects in all three years of the BA illustration course, many students have a sense of fear or resistance to developing their work critically. Hook’s Engaged Pedagogy demonstrated how this approach ‘aims to restore students’ will to think’ (Hooks, 2010, ch.1, p.8) and a strategy I would like to take forward in my own practice. She outlines that through this that teachers ‘must be willing to acknowledge what we do not know’ and that teachers should show by example that ‘the shape of knowledge is constantly changing’ (Hooks, 2010, ch.1, p. 10). I want to reflect this idea with an introductory session in which tutors emphasise the importance of openness whilst demonstrating how to explore multiple viewpoints on a subject.

This could be introduced to 2nd years, so that students are gradually introduced to critical thinking as the course progresses.

An optional seminar series this year encouraged forms of critical thinking amongst students who felt confident in sharing their ideas, whereas attendance was low from quieter students. I would like to find strategies to create a more inclusive and safe space for these students to encourage this way of thinking.

Moving forwards, I have reflected on Critical Thinking: Why Is It So Hard to Teach? in which he puts forward the idea that ‘teaching students to think critically probably lies in small part in showing them new ways of thinking’ and essentially that critical thinking may not be a skill (Willingham, 2008, p.24) Critical practice workshops could be developed to directly address the development of critical thinking in new and original ways, whilst also being accessible or appealing to students with a more passive approach to their learning.

References 

Hooks, B (2010) Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom. Available at: VLebooks, https://r2.vlereader.com/Reader?ean=9780203869192# (Accessed: 11.3.24)

Daniel T. Willingham (2008) Critical Thinking: Why Is It So Hard to Teach?, Arts Education Policy Review, 109:4, 21-32, Available at: DOI: 10.3200/AEPR.109.4.21-32 (Accessed 11.3.24)

Self, Peer and Group Assessment by Phil Race

• What did you select and why? 
  I selected A Briefing on Self, Peer and Group Assessment by Phil Race as self and peer assessment is a form of assessment that I try to integrate into student’s learning in a number of ways. As a programme (Illustration) we are consistently striving to find ways that encourage both self and peer assessment that has mutual benefits for the student, their peers and their tutors. I could also include more group assessment, so wanted to address how I may develop this within my teaching moving forwards.
  
  
• What did you find interesting? 
  Race outlines that self assessment can cause deeper reflection from the student when presenting in front of peers. This is helped when they are given the same criteria that is being used at the same time as their peers to asses them. Students ‘tend to be more critical of their own presentations than their peers‘ (Race, 2001) which I find really interesting, and how this is beneficial for them as their peers will often be more encouraging about their performance and therefore create a confidence boost for the presenting student.
  
  After discussing this in the workshop, we further reflected on the role of Crits or Critiques as formative assessment within our own experience. In Illustration, we aim not have this historic style of Crit as mentioned in my earlier post, and rather create situations for kinder and constructive feedback. Talking with others in the group showed a similar perspective was shared based on our own experience and student feedback. We discussed ways to more accurately embody feedback situations from real-world contexts, such as our experience as lecturers in which we constantly review and assess our strategies within our departments in supportive yet questioning ways.
  
  
• What action has it inspired you to take? 
  I’d like to to incorporate more group assessment into my teaching as a Transition Tutor, reflecting on this statement by Race: ‘Group-based assessment can extend the range of assessment to include cooperative and collaborative skills, teamwork, and so on, and increase assessment validity by bringing into the assessment framework skills and competences which are more closely connected to real-life vocational situations than are traditional exams and essays‘
  In their third and final year, it is important to address ‘real-world’ contexts due to impending graduation and the need to apply their developed skills to the multiple pathways on offer for graduating students including career opportunities, freelance work and further higher education. In my transition workshops I will aim to create environments for learning in peer situations that resemble more authentic forms of assessment.
  

Doubting Learning Outcomes by Nicholas Addison

I also found Addison’s Doubting Learning Outcomes an interesting read, as it is a frequent topic returned to in our department. LO’s are consistently reviewed and always displayed on briefs for students, however, many of our students admit to not reading them and at times tutors have felt disconnected from them when marking. I was intrigued by how Addison comments on how LO’s may actually hinder student progress, and want to reflect on this moving forwards to address how we approach their definitions and use of these within feedback and assessment that is useful for students preparing for life past graduation.

‘LOs cannot hope to predict the situated and unresolved basis of learners’ motivations, their agency in ‘problem-posing’ (Freire 1972). LO systems thus limit and inhibit students’ input, particularly as students move towards self-initiated activities and objectives‘

References

Addison, N. (2014) Doubting Learning Outcomes in Higher Education Contexts: from Performativity towards Emergence and Negotiation, NSEAD/John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Race, P. (2001) A Briefing on Self, Peer and Group Assessment, LTSN Generic Centre, Assessment Series No. 9

Contextual Background 
I am a Transition Tutor for BA Illustration, and focus my teaching on supporting students with progression aims. As a programme we constantly reflect on how the practice of illustration is evolving and encourage peer working to support this discussion in relation to potential progression routes for illustration students.

Evaluation 
To support the diverse needs for our students and support their progression aims:

• 3rd year students attend a mandatory Concrete Future progression workshop. Students respond to tasks in the session interactively with tutors and through peer exchange. Engagement can be patchy depending on the student groups.
• Students are required to make notes and engage in group tasks to provide peer feedback. Again, engagement is varied with some students sticking to peer friendship groups and others less confident about conversing with students they don’t know.
• Students demonstrate individual progression aims in workshop outcomes in both their final units for summative assessment points. Not all students record these.
• 2nd year Students attend a year group workshop to support the development of their progression aims in year 3.
• Students are prepared for the next year’s units through interactive workshop and group tasks. There are varied amounts of engagement with interactive tasks depending on year group.
• Workshop outcomes are reviewed in their first year 3 tutorial through formative assessment.
  

Moving forwards 

After reading Embracing the silence: introverted learning and the online classroom, I have reflected on how some students may feel more inclined to attend an online version of Concrete Future. Currently, all the sessions are studio based, however a number of students do not attend. Therefore an ‘in-person’ and interactive element may dissuade less confident students. Harris describes how the online space for teaching may be more beneficial for some, as this may ‘mitigate the anxiety which might arise in a deathly quiet, nowhere-to-escape, real-life classroom’ (Harris, 2022). 

After reading ‘The Value of Silence in Schools‘ I also noted how supportive silent, reflective moments were for students in the micro-teaching session, which allowed time to generate ideas and promote confidence in sharing them.

To take these ideas forward I will:

• Add additional online sessions of Concrete Futures to engage with students who may find a less distracting and quiet space a more beneficial working environment.
• Allow more quiet/silent reflection points between staff and interactive peer tasks in the workshops to enable students to process the session without having to perform in front of others. 
• Develop strategies for peer feedback alongside verbal communication such as writing anonymous notes to relieve the pressure of commenting in peer situations. 

Reflection:

I have introduced more silent reflection points for students in group tasks before encouraging discussion. This has mostly proved effective and students have been interacting with more confidence.  

Asking students to provide written feedback alongside verbal comments was effective however less confidence was demonstrated. This highlighted that students with English as a second language may not find this a comfortable exercise, so considering how to make this more inclusive will be a strategy moving forward.

‘Offering opportunities for students to sit without distraction helps them absorb content and remember it and think about additional questions.’ (Weeks, 2018)

I want to continue to reflect on the above quote and create situations within my teaching practice for students to have time and space to engage more deeply with workshop content.

With further reading of Digital Pedagogies Open Studio’: disruptions, interventions and techno-empathy and Home sweet home: achieving belonging and engagement in online learning spaces, I hope will develop deeper insight into how to incorporate an online space for learning within Concrete Futures with focus on how to simultaneously connect students in this virtual environment.

‘Successful virtual environments are spaces where students feel a shared sense of connection and ownership. But it’s often what we do in a space that connects us to it‘ (Leewis, 2022).

References

Campbell, L. (2022) Digital Pedagogies Open Studio’: disruptions, interventions and techno-empathy, Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Volume 5, No.1. Available at: https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/167 (Accessed: 12.03.2024)

Harris, K. (2022) Embracing the silence: introverted learning and the online classroom, Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Volume 5, pp.101-104. Available at: https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/161/273 (Accessed: 10.02.2024)

Leigh Ross, S & Leewis L. (2022) Home sweet home: achieving belonging and engagement in online learning spaces, Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Volume 5, No.1. Available at: https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/172 (Accessed 10.02.2024)

Thompson, S, and Thompson, N. (2008) The Critically Reflective Practitioner. Available at ProQuest (Accessed: 04.02.2024)

Weeks, D. (2018) ‘The Value of Silence in Schools’. Available at: https://www.edutopia.org/article/value-silence-schools (Accessed: 10.02.2024)

The micro-teaching day was an inspiring session from which I was able to learn from 6 other students and experience their approach to teaching. The teaching sessions encompassed multiple subject areas including product design, ink-making, a sound piece and introduction to to camera obscura and digital technologies for drawing. Everyone had a unique delivery and content and it made for some interesting observations and reflections on my own teaching practice for BA illustration.

In one of the sessions, Beth presented the group with print-out’s from a film and asked us to arrange the images sequentially. I found this a very accessible way of understanding the information before me, and meant that the entire film didn’t have to be watched or played in front of the group, and instead could be replicated for a varying amounts of group sizes or even used in digital contexts. As a group we discussed how there was scope for this being used digitally but still having the same ‘hands on effect’ such as being able to move the images around on interactive touch screens or tables. This is an approach that I feel could work well on the illustration course, especially as sequential concepts and narrative are important elements of the student’s output. Asking students to play with sequence through print-outs as a preparatory exercise for developing storyboards for animations or publication could be very successful in trialling and testing ideas for our students.

I really enjoyed a more practical approach to OBL, and loved a session from Augusta that taught us about making ink. Practical elements were introduced and we were given the opportunity to make the ink ourselves. It gave us a sense of excitement and achievement that was great to feel in a learning environment. The whole group seemed captivated too, which demonstrated that practical tasks can encourage engagement and support students developing knowledge through making. As the ink can be developed in several different ways depending on ingredients, it also demonstrated that students could benefit from an individual and unique perspective from this type of task. This session showed me that practical development within a workshop setting may help with both individual and peer engagement, promoting creative risk taking and problem solving whilst using trial and error to come to a resolution.

In Georgina Orgill’s presentation from the cross programme lecture, she discusses OBL without having the object in the room, and exploring alternative ways for students to learn through this method. She acknowledged OBL in a digital context and ‘removing lack of touch as a barrier to engaging with objects’. I found this interesting in relation to Jesse’s OBL teaching session from the microteach day, as he presented an audio piece that could only be accessed and exposed to students through digital media . This evoked deep contemplation from the group and a fresh approach that would be able to reach many student’s in different situations – lecture theatre, personal headphones, both small and large teaching groups, as long as there was access to audio. This provided new insight in how we can work with sound in our teaching on illustration, especially as podcasts and audio pieces are gaining more relevance on our programme which we are developing our teaching to incorporate this.

References:

Willcocks, J. (2019) Museum & Study Collection: Judy Willcocks Copenhagen Presentation. Central St Martins. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3O7MM5WuFo (Accessed: 08.02.2024 )

For my Object Based Learning Micro-teaching session I wanted my peers to explore ‘Form and Function’ from an unknown starting point to question the meaning of objects. As an Illustration lecturer with a drawing practice rooted in storytelling, I wanted to encourage the students to build narratives together as they explored and understood the objects.

Lesson Overview

Aim: To visually explore hand-made/man-made objects through observation, storytelling and problem solving to find meaning.
Outcome: A series of words and drawings exploring the design and purpose of the objects.

• 0-5 minutes: Objects are presented and passed around the group, with students taking turns to hold and observe each object for silent reflection.
• 5 – 10 minutes: A range of questions about the objects are asked for one word responses on paper or sketchbook (no sentences). Prompts given to encourage alternative perspectives.
• 10 – 15 minutes: Student discussion of the objects, allowing space and time for thoughts to develop and problem solving as a group to evolve.
• 15-20 minutes: Drawing based activities are introduced for short periods (1-2 minutes) for students to explore the objects visually e.g. continuous line drawing.

Reflections

The group were encouraging and enthusiastic, providing a safe space to try Object Based Learning as a teaching session. This was a new approach in my teaching practice and provided me with a challenge.

As the session progressed, I picked up on how the group responded to the earlier sessions by working as a team which informed the way I delivered my own session. The group responded well to having personal reflection time when observing an object before open discussion, which allowed more confidence on sharing their ideas, and therefore I included this in my own session. I also came across this approach in my reading of The Critically Reflective Practitioner, and want to further explore the reflective spaces Thompson and Thompson mention such as ‘personal’, ‘dyadic‘ and ‘as a group or team‘ in order to promote different ways of critical reflexivity within my teaching.

The group worked out what the darning egg was by discussing a textile history or function may be part of it’s story- a reinforcement of the session in how it was aimed to build narratives around objects whilst problem solving. The group responded positively to finding out what the object was. Although not intended as a ‘mystery’ object, if this was the case there could be an element of peer learning as well as discovery which was demonstrated in another student’s session on making oak gall ink.

The drawing element was inspired by both my own drawing practice and my reading of ‘Drawing laboratory: Research workshops and outcomes’. These workshops were ‘aimed to use drawing as a research tool for developing thinking, improving concentration and enhancing memory‘ (Salamon, 2018). I wanted to build from this idea for the OBL micro-teach session to explore how teaching practical investigation through drawing may deepen learning. The students seemed quite adverse to drawing, so I made sure to introduce this element to my session gently to build confidence in their image making and suggest it as a method for learning rather than an exercise in skill.

That said, the drawing element was a bit rushed at the end, as the earlier discussion was flowing well and I didn’t want to interrupt this. I aim to better integrate the narrative element into the drawing aspect of my teaching as that felt like an area that could be improved from my feedback.

Student Feedback 

• The group approved of the gentle and conversational delivery with low pressure on the drawing outcomes. The back and forth engagement through discussion benefitted the interaction within the session.
• The session allowed space for the group to create a narrative around the objects and develop a story together.
• Different kinds of observation were encouraged and the introduction of the drawing halfway through the session changed the level of attention in a positive way. Changing the format of a workshop halfway through may be a good technique moving forward to keep students’ attention and include varying approaches to the content.
• To improve, I could incorporate the drawing element earlier, and connect the narratives around the objects into the drawing.
• The ‘mystery’ around the delivery of the objects was also noted as a positive and the ‘reveal’ mid way was a highlight.

References

Salamon, M. (2018) Drawing Laboratory: Research workshops and outcomes. Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Volume 3, Issue 2, pp.131-141.

Thompson, S, & Thompson, N. (2008). The Critically Reflective Practitioner, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. (Accessed 12th March 2024)

To prepare for the Micro-teaching sessions I watched Judy Willcocks video on Object-Based Learning in the Modern Art School Curriculum. I found a sentiment that had great impact on the significance of OBL and resonated with my own understanding of what this means. Judy references Scott G Paris who coined the phrase Object-Centered Learning to address objects engagement in museum setting. She explained his perspective on this as the following:

“The meaning of an object is not held within the object itself, rather a transaction between the object and the learner allows a space for meaning construction.”

(Willcocks quoting SG Paris, 2019)

I used this as a focus for my micro-teaching session plan, with the aim of allowing room for the students to take on their own meaning from the objects presented, with no introductory contextualisation given. As an Illustration tutor, the importance of narratives and how these can be explored from different perspectives is a focus of my teaching. In the session I aimed for the students to read the objects like they were detectives, looking at them from multiple angles to investigate what they could be. The objects would be able to give back to the observer in a way that echoes Paris’ idea on ‘transaction’, by revealing clues within its appearance. For example, the wooden darning egg that I presented was scoured for marks that gave indications on its use, such as the pin pricks in its surface and the initials scratched with pen. This reinforced my aim for students to construct meaning in through narratives surrounding the object. They also approached the deciphering of the darning egg to suggest it might be an artist tool or guide that could be used as a measurement for accurate drawing. I loved how the meaning was attributed in a way that offered some kind of help or reference to whoever used it and that within the session all students seemed to be keen to identify further opportunities for learning tools. The wooden house presented as a second object was approached in a similar way, but instead it’s use was suggested for a younger audience as a toy.

This idea on the Model of Personal Reflective Space from David Clutterbuck mentioned in the The Critically Reflective Practitioner also resonated with what I learnt from delivering my session and I will continue to reflect on this within my teaching practice. Providing both personal and group space for the students to reflect during the micro-teaching session encouraged problem solving and dynamic group discussion. Further reading of this can be found in his article Learning Alliances: Tapping into Talent’ from the Journal of Communication Management.

“An important factor here is the creation of reflective space – time to focus on thinking, understanding and learning instead of doing. Reflective space is important at three levels: personal (quiet thinking time on one’s own); dyadic (one-to-one); and as a group or team.”

(Clutterbuck, 2019)

References:

Willcocks, J. (2019) Museum & Study Collection: Judy Willcocks Copenhagen Presentation. Central St Martins. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3O7MM5WuFo (Accessed: 08.02.2024 )

Clutterbuck, D. (1999), Learning Alliances: Tapping into Talent, Journal of Communication Management, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 108-111 (Accessed: 19.02.2024)

Thompson, S, & Thompson, N. (2008) The Critically Reflective Practitioner. Available at: ProQuest Ebook Central. (Accessed: 08.02.2024).

For my first blog post, I wanted to reflect on a discussion my group had surrounding the ‘Crit’ and it’s place in creative learning. As part of the reading requirements, I learnt about signature pedagogies in art and design, which includes a section about the Crit. The Crit is described as ‘shared by many art and design subject areas‘ which ‘helps students to develop a critical and evaluative approach to creative work‘ (Orr & Shreeve, 2017).

My own experience of the Crit as a student was that the pressure and vulnerability these created had a negative effect on my learning. As a lecturer, I have found that Crits continue to have a problematic effect on both student’s well-being and development as practitioners due to the similar circumstances surrounding the Crit. The Crit as both a term and practice has been removed entirely from our course handbook and they are no longer employed as a method of teaching and evaluation. I wonder if there is room to embody this practice in a different way to feels more inclusive and a safe space for students to recieve more critical friendly feedback? On further discussion with the other students, there was a mutual agreement that Crits have historically been ‘terrifying’ and ‘humiliating’ experiences, and most agreed that the experiences did not enhance their learning experience or aid professional development. This is interesting because Orr and Shreeve acknowledge that the crit ‘is probably not practised in design studios outside the academy‘ (Orr & Shreeve, 2017) and therefore what benefit or purpose does this serve in art and design education? How can we develop ways to further critical thinking and evaluation in a way that supports students in an inclusive and safe space to express their work?

On discussion with another student, their reading of ‘The Design Critique and the Moral Goods of Studio Pedagogy’ (Macdonald & Michaela, 2019) clashes with Orr and Shreeves indication that Crits or Critques do not resemble a specific professional practice , by stating that they can ‘provide a framework around which novice designers can develop their professional identity’. (Percy, 2004)

My question on this statement is: has the Crit previously been used as a device to prepare students for unexpected responses or feedback to their ideas in life post university? and therefore the use of uncomfortable situations to simulate ‘real life’ seems to me quite problematic. I acknowledge the benefits to students presenting their work and receiving feedback, however the context and history surrounding the Crit is complex and should be addressed due to their potential to reduce a student’s confidence in their work and ideas, rather than enhance their creative voice. To continue questioning the use and benefits of the Crit I will read further into discussions on it’s history, and how it has not been adapted or ‘reshaped’ (Storihle, 2022) to accommodate changing attitudes towards this practice in contemporary arts education in Parse Journal and Peter Day’s article for University of Brighton’s ‘Networks’ Journal ‘The Art Group Crit. How do you make a Firing Squad Less Scary?‘.

References:

McDonald, J. K., & Michela, E. (2019). The Design Critique and the Moral Goods of Studio Pedagogy. Design Studies, 62, 1–35. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2019.02.001. (Accessed 1.2.2024)

Orr, S, & Shreeve, A (2017). Art and Design Pedagogy in Higher Education : Knowledge, Values and Ambiguity in the Creative Curriculum, Taylor & Francis Group, Milton. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. (Accessed 1.2.2024)

Storihle, S (2022). On Crits and Games – and Crits as Games: A Conversation between Sille Storihle and KEC. Parse Journal, Issue 14. Krabstadt Education Center. Available at: https://parsejournal.com/article/on-crits-and-games-and-crits-as-games/ (Accessed 21.2.2014)

Hello, I am Becky and I teach on BA Illustration at Camberwell College of Arts. I am a Transition Tutor for the course, and work with students developing their progression aims from year 2 into year 3 and throughout their final year. I am hoping to reinforce my teaching skills and learn new things from doing this course.