As part of the Topic 6   ‘Feedback for Learning’  I found the outputs from the University of Hertfordshire’s ESCAPE project useful, including in the video: (http://jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com/w/page/12458419/ESCAPE%20Project ) which has commentary from a member of staff and a member of student body regarding feedback. The feedback is given regularly due to there being a number of projects throughout the term/year. The projects are traffic colour coded deadlines, depending on the stake of assessment. Peter Stanbury (Associate Head of Department at the University of Hertfordshire) talks about in his view the best part of the ESCAPE project being; that due to a deadline being a few weeks after starting first year – the students are engaged and independent straight away and are therefore experienced in formative feedback.  The student’s view was positive, he discussed how regular and constant feedback helped improve assessments for him.

I currently do not work with students using assessments for formal feedback, but this is a model I would consider looking at again if the opportunity presented itself. As part of my current job we give students constant ‘informal’ feedback and advice when it comes to making in the 3D workshops. By informal I mean it does not directly relate to assessments – however the advice we give as technicians can easily determine the quality and execution of how the products/models/pieces/body of work is made and therefore can affect the students learning outcomes and assessments. Due to this fact it seems very important to understand what the students learning outcomes and assessment requirements are so we can support them in the right direction – however this is not always made available. I feel more communication between technical and academic staff when it comes to project briefs, learning outcomes and assessment requirements especially regarding  what they are expected to create in the workshops would be beneficial all round.

I watched the Ken Robinson TED talk (Feb 2006): ‘Schools Kill Creativity’ http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en
I found the TED talk by Ted Robinson very interesting with a humorous element, it left me feeling positive with a constructive attitude of embracing and encouraging creativity in the children of today who will be the creative, innovative and resourceful adults of tomorrow. Then I thought this was in 2006 and I’m not too sure what has changed except the cuts in Arts and Humanities funding. I feel as educators in a Higher Education establishment we are encouraging and hopefully inspiring the next generation of innovators and creatives and is this helped or hindered by assessments?

I feel the majority of the time assessments are necessary – they give the students guidance, structure and something to aim for. Without assessments, several questions can be raised such as; what are the students doing to achieve their degree , how would it be arbitrated whether they deserve the qualification and would it be a rather expensive 3 years (that would be better spent on a studio and materials) if no assessments/qualification was given? Although there a several holes in the concept and requirements of assessments eg: who assesses the work and why (art and design is exceedingly subjective), suitability for individuals (not everyone works and benefits from the same model of marking) and variations between different colleges. When I was a student I worked well to briefs – I felt it gave me an aim and direction. I preferred looser briefs that allowed your own style and creativity to shine through. I actually missed briefs when leaving education after 7 years, it is a large change having your own practise and not having briefs to follow and timed deadlines to adhere to.

This subject links in well with the debate I attended this week at Central saint Martins; Art School, Smart School? A Discussion hosted by Head of College (CSM) Jeremy Till and BA Fine Art Course Leader Mick Finch. The debate was in reaction to Radio 4 recently airing a one hour programme called Art School, Smart School? – it addressed some serious issues but not the whole context that arts schools now operate in – it presented a positive view of what the British art school once was and ended with an argument that all of this was being lost. The discussion which followed the Radio programme was thought-provoking – key issues which were raised by the students were; fees/finances, cross college access/red tape, lack of space, and a large topic was too many restrictions (assessments) a lack of rebellion and risk tasking. The discussion revolved around the current lack of the sense of what an arts school is meant to be – compared to what it apparently is and used to be in the 70s and 80s. The students said they are much more conscious of ‘financial issues’, ‘corporate feel’, ‘marking criteria’, ‘passing units’ and ‘pressures to get a job’ straight after graduating – that they do not have the freedom to take risks or have the same sense of ‘rebellion’ (that artists had in the 70s/80s arts schools discussed in Art School, Smart School?) that inspired change, creativity and a sense of unity. Between assessment units the students don’t have time to take risks – Ken Robinson is his Ted talk discusses how being creative and innovative requires risk-taking.

Image: Image: ‘Sculpture course at St Martins 1970s. Courtesy of the Central Saint Martins Museum and Study Collection’

I read Chapter 1 & 3 of Sterling. S’s (2013) Future Fit Framework: An introductory guide to teaching and learning for sustainability in HE.
Available at http://www.eauc.org.uk/the_future_fit_framework_an_introductory_guide_
I found the paper interesting and though-provoking. It considered ‘Sustainability’ in a much broader sense than I had considered before. Previously I had thought of ‘Sustainability’ as simply recycling and using materials and resources sparingly. I do agree that as the educators of the next generation, ‘Sustainability’ has to be high on our list of priorities; however I’m not sure if it is quite being achieved.
In the workshops, ‘Sustainability’, as in resources and use of materials, seems quite a relevant topic. Individually we try to educate students, but possibility not well enough eg we have offcut bins for wood, metal and foam – to save students just throwing away offcuts and it means students don’t always need to cut a fresh piece of material – we also have the college wide recycle bins.
In the workshops our primary courses have certain basic materials they can use eg, mdf, soft woods, aluminium, steel, and blue modelling foam (Styrofoam) other than that they have to buy materials. Unsurprisingly, they are often very frugal with the materials they have to buy and very wasteful with the supplied materials.
There does seem to be a sense of material entitlement in our workshops, which I believe is encouraged and partly due to the amount they pay each year – an example of this is when I recently overheard a ex-student say to a current student, ‘Yeh, you might as well take as much materials as you can you’ve already paid your material allowance’. To me it wasn’t that shocking and I understood what he meant, but it made me think that the ex-student’s point of view was slightly skewed with a ‘get as much as you can’ attitude rather than sparing a thought for ‘Sustainability’.
Some students are very aware of waste and others are really not, I think often it can depend on the student’s culture/background/upbringing and what previous education they have had on ‘Sustainability’. One situation I find most frustrating is the use of blue Styrofoam – the students can use copious amounts for model making (due to the speed in which you can model it – it is often used retrospectively to show ‘idea development’ long after the final design is made, in a desperate attempt to convince the tutors of their thought process) I see students walking out of the workshops with blocks piled high of blue foam – with the majority ending up in the bin. When I have previously tried to explain the waste – it seems something that is of least concern to the students and even a sense that I am trying to trick them out of their ‘entitled’ materials. It is definitely an area we can work on with the students…. although as of yet I am not too sure how.
Other students seem more aware than the academic or technical staff. In a feedback form we received this week, it was a main priority for one student (picture attached).
The reading of Sterling’s guide suggests to me that we could be a more aware of ‘Sustainability’ – however I think there needs to be more awareness, communication and liaising within the staffing departments eg Technical and Academic to help improve it. Chapter 3 ‘Graduates fit for the future?’ looks at graduates skills and attributes with regards to ‘Sustainability’, there are quite a few references to HE establishments that use ‘attribute’ lists that their students are expected to have when leaving. It made me wonder if we at UAL have a similar process (maybe as part of each courses Personal and Professional Development Learning Outcomes?).
‘Sustainability’ is a complex subject. Who does responsibility lie with? I guess the truth is with all of us: the university as a whole for having facilities and a culture of sustainability, the staff for encouraging good practise, educating the students and set by example and finally the students for carrying this into their own practise.
I look forward to discussing the subject of ‘Sustainability’ further tomorrow.

I particularly enjoyed the ‘Inclusivity’ discussion on Monday, I found it thought provoking and felt it addressed some very relevant but complex topics that I can relate to and see first-hand as a technician.

I read the Introduction of Grace, S. & Gravestock, P. (2008) Inclusion and Diversity: Meet the Needs of All Students. Routledge. I also had a look at Equality and Diversity for Academics: Inclusive Practice Factsheet and Equality and Diversity for Academics: Promoting Good Relations from Equality Challenge Unit as further reading.

The Introduction of Grace, S. & Gravestock, P. (2008) Inclusion and Diversity: Meet the Needs of All Students I found interesting. It discusses how the volume is to encourage members of staff that are new to Higher Education to think about their teaching and minimise the risk of any students being disadvantaged. I would consider myself to be early in my teaching career and having only worked in HE for a year (on Monday! :0) ) I think it would be useful to read the rest of the book.

What makes students feel included and excluded in your teaching? Share your experience. & How are student able to bring their own life experiences and gained knowledge into their learning on you course/workshop?

These questions made me think of the topic of Inclusivity in relation to experience I have had taking part in a Teaching Intern Scheme while doing my MA. I went to Glasgow School of Art for a 6 day, self-run and initiated project as a lecturer. I had about 25  2^nd years BA Jewellery and Silversmithing students to run my project with, ‘Powers of Objects’. The aim of the project was for the students to research, design and make prototypes of a ‘Modern Day Amulet’ for themselves. It was to get them to think more conceptually and create objects with meaning by putting a bit more of themselves into the work – bringing their own life experiences and acquired knowledge to their learning. To make sure all students were comfortable with the project and it didn’t conflict with any personal beliefs, the students could take it as literally or as far as they wished.

It was a fantastic experience and a learning curve that really made me want to teach in HE. However, while one student started to explain her idea in the seminar (it had changed from the previous tutorial) she began to cry.  She was a foreign student from China and explained that she was homesick, missing friends and family and how she felt she didn’t have close friends in Glasgow. It was a really sad situation, she had spent the last year and a half had been really lonely in the UK and I don’t think anyone was really aware of it. She was exceedingly shy and I think even if support was available I’m not sure she would have known about it or approached anyone about it. From experience I also believe such things are not normally openly talked about in her culture. I found this a difficult situation as I felt an enormous amount of guilt for initiating the situation by means of the project. I think it was something she was already upset about and announcing to the class that she didn’t have any friends actually made them instantly act differently towards her –  they became much friendlier. I think the rest of the group who had grown into friend groups or pairs realised her loneliness had gone unnoticed. By the end of the project she seemed much more part of the group as a whole. It could have ended differently but was a positive outcome in this situation.

I also notice a lot of segregation in the workshop space currently at CSM, especially in the general workshop area where we have woodwork, metal and air benches. The benches are spaced apart to maximise use and availability for students but this also encourages grouping and cliques of students. I have noticed and thought about it more since the ‘Inclusivity’ talk and the groups often seem to be of the same ethnicities or from the same country. I was surprised the other day when there was a group of 2^nd year students on one bench from one country and a student on the other bench from another country and they didn’t talk. The individual needed to borrow some equipment so I suggested she asked the group and she didn’t know any of their names. When I went to the group, they didn’t know her name either – after a whole year of being on the same course. After a bit of me going back and forth and feeling like I was in the school playground, the equipment was lent and a conversation was had. However I think this is an issue of cliques forming, (encouraged by the dynamic of the room) when people take comfort in association and what they are used to eg languages, common interests and backgrounds rather than being a discriminatory issue. Although unfortunately I’m sure discrimination is present in some cases. Dynamics and inclusivity seem to be working better on a long new table we have had put in which sits about 30 students at one time. It eliminates cliques forming as easily because students are sat in a continuous circle so it is more open and students face each other rather than just facing inwards in their small group as is the case on the other benches. However this is a problem of inclusivity vs practicality and health and safety and for now the latter wins – the woodwork, metal and air benches must stay separate to be able to accommodate the ever growing number of students.

I also think this is a problem with growing course sizes (due to government cuts). A certain course we supply technical support to has grown this year from 90 to 120 students and I think there is bound to be more groups forming and less inclusion in a course as a whole – which is sad. Therefore more effort is needed from staff to counter act the effect, which was also discussed in the Introduction, Grace, S. & Gravestock, P. (2008) Inclusion and Diversity: Meet the Needs of All Student. Routledge.

Picture of a Induction in the workbench area.

The text I read was ‘Team working and Peer Assessment: The assessment process as an aid to effective learning in creative group project work’, Richard G Sober. Which can be found at – http://www.adm.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/case-studies/team-working-and-peer-assessment-the-assessment-process-as-an-aid-to-effective-learning-in-creative-group-project-work/.

I found this a very interesting article and it got me thinking. Having studied a whole 7 years (Fnd, BA, BDes, MA) in higher education, I feel I have had the most experience in group situations as a student. My previous  student-self groaned internally at the idea of group work – the awkwardness, frustration, over politeness as not wanting to seem overbearing or bossy, with the inner you feeling other people aren’t pulling their weight or are working at a slower pace or even worse – the fear that you might be the one that gets left behind on the wave of knowledge and experience and therefore become shy and stay quiet as not to embarrass yourself.

The article by Sober is about ‘Team-working’-  a group project he runs with 45 2nd year Architecture and Interior Design students. It has given me hope towards group work. I already knew there can be significant benefits of group work of sharing workloads, experience, ideas, etc – but this article address a few of the concerns I would have of group work and puts steps in place to minimise negative outcomes, such as having roles for each student to take part in, minimising some students being too passive or not pulling their weight and adds more of a team emphasis. The peer and self-assessment also seems to give students a deeper understanding of learning outcomes and marking criteria which is a benefit. It is a model I would like to use if I was in the position in the future to write a project brief.

In my current role as a workshop Technician we have less/if any involvement in the dynamics of the students’ working behaviour, such as setting group project briefs. Last year we had a 1st year technical induction to the workshops project  with BA Architecture which was initiated, run and assessed by the Technical staff. The students were put into random groups of about 10 to make individual architecture models of London – ‘My Metropolis’. The groups were created in order to ease and manage the technical inductions for safety and practical reasons.

However, the students automatically used this group situation as a benefit. They might not have been with their friends, but over the two weeks  you could see friendships and working relationships form, despite only being a month or so into the course . They worked well ; encouraged each other and were answering questions if technical staff weren’t available. It added a healthy amount of competition and if their group became intolerable they could get breathing space by working in another part of the workshop – they weren’t tied to the group the whole time.

Our workshops supplying over 8 primary courses, equaling over 1000 students, the space is very dynamic with a flux of students coming and going. Therefore, I could not say that group work is essential in my discipline as a lot of the time students are working on their own individual work. But a variety of groups do come in; from self-formed friend groups wanting to do a project together, more rigid groups set by briefs, experienced groups like courses and the natural formation of a group all working in the same space. Although not essential, I believe  working in groups can provide students with valuable experience and give a more realistic idea of external working practices.

The two articles I read were, Carrol, J’s (2001) Writing Learning Outcomes: some suggestions http://www.brookes.ac.uk/services/ocsld/resources/writing_learning_outcomes.html

and

Davies, A’s (2012) learning outcomes and assessment criteria on art and design. What’s the recurring problem? http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/projects/networks/issue-18-july-2012/learning-outcomes-and-assessment-criteria-in-art-and-design.-whats-the-recurring-problem

When considering students’ reactions and understanding of Learning Outcomes, where else is better to start than asking the students? So I set out to ask students about their response to learning outcomes and asked roughly 70 2^nd and 3^rd year BA Jewellery Design students about their use/understanding of learning outcomes. After making some enquiries, I was kindly invited by the head of the course to join the private Facebook group of the 2^nd year students to post the question, ‘How do you as a student use/understand the learning outcomes listed in their course and unit handbooks?’ I gave the options for them to post a public reply or privately via email. After being introduced in a post by the head of the course saying I wanted to ask them a question as part of a PGCert assignment, there were two replies enthusiastically within minutes of her post, ‘I would like to volunteer to help!’ and ‘Me!’ – I then posted my question, after 3 days I have still had no response – and my post to date has been ‘seen’ by 24 students.

I could conclude several things from this:

• That maybe the students did not know me well enough to divulge their deepest and darkest thoughts regarding LO’s.
• Maybe there was suspicion – eg they thought a negative response could impact their relationship with tutors/marking of their work.
• They didn’t have the time.
• It was too short notice.
• They weren’t really getting anything in return for their time (it didn’t count towards assessment).
• They were enjoying the last few days of holiday before term started.
• They didn’t understand my question.
• Or they didn’t really know what learning outcomes were or what they thought of them.

And of course there could be, unknown to me, other reasons.

The later point/suggestion, ‘they didn’t really know what learning outcomes were or what they thought of them.’ is interesting and possibly a good argument that the learning outcomes are too confusing for the students to understand, hence a lack of reply – these are 1^st year students going into 2^nd year.  However you would hope they knew what learning outcomes had been introduced to them in their 1^st year Unit 1; Introduction to study in Higher Education and marked using them since. I have not had the chance/nor do I want to delve further into asking why they haven’t replied – especially as I was asking a favour. I would appear a bit intense! So I may never know the reason why.

I did have one response from a 3^rd year student, who kindly replied with…

‘How do you as a student use/understand the learning outcomes listed in your course and unit handbook?’

‘The learning outcomes listed for us are something I use as a check list, a list I go through when I reach the end of a project to gage whether I have considered everything, whether I have asked myself the right questions. From this I tend to write an evaluation with my own questions, whether I researched thoroughly enough, what I could have done differently, what materials I could have used instead, how I structured my time, and this is something I can of course refer back to as a record. I guess you could say the learning outcomes encourage me to analyse my work, force me to look back over a project in stages and pinpoint where I went wrong. From this, those mistakes can be avoided in future work.’ BAJD 3rd year student – I should also point out the student contacted me as she had heard that I needed a response to a PGCert question.

This student seems articulate and proactive and maybe that is a factor to take into consideration when reacting to students’ awareness of and responses to Learning Outcomes. So this is where equality might come into it – LO seems to give an equality across the board so that there is an equal footing with marking for all students. However not all students are as well organised or articulate and individuality must be recognised when it comes to discussing understanding LOs, for example dyslexia or English not being their first language. Although there is support in place to help and encourage such students, I believe it is part of the course tutors responsibility to ensure they receive/know where to find the right help – such things are built into the BAJD Unit 1 LOs.

Organisational skills or understanding of LOs are something that can be improved and worked on over the 3 years. I think this reply from a 3rd year student and the lack of replies from 2nd year students may indicate a development in maturity/knowledge and the repetitiveness of using LO adding to the understanding of LOs and recognition of the importance and use of them.  Therefore, there is possibly a later realisation of how much they are used/understood/appreciated and how they will inevitably have an effect on how a student’s work is marked and consequently what their final degree qualification is.

However, in the article by Davies, A. (2012) ‘Learning outcomes and assessment criteria in art and design.  What’s the recurring problem?’  (a paper on the critical reflection on the development of learning outcomes specifically in art and design) Figure 1 is a thought-provoking table that examines students’ understanding vs. whether LO’s are ambiguous or not and it concludes that students can still achieve and perform well if they do not understand the LOs  as long as they do have an understanding of what is expected of them on the course. Davies also comments how there is ‘no substitute for established learner support systems and other frameworks that help students understand what they have to do in order to successfully complete a programme of work.’[1] I strongly agree with this statement; LOs are useful in the teaching discipline as long as they are used correctly. The student should not be left to fend for themselves after being given the LOs, it should be a culmination of learning support and learning outlines that together give the student the guidance to head in the right direction with their own personal development and body of work to achieve a successful degree.

I asked for the LOs of BAJD and was thankfully sent Unit 1 and Unit 8. Unit 8 LOs are quite specific and are what the 3^rd year student who responded would have just completed. Unit 1’s learning outcomes are more generic for the whole of the undergraduates of UAL which is what the 2^nd year students who didn’t reply would have completed last Autumn Term. I could see similarities in the BAJD LOs layout to what was written in Carrol, J’s (2001) Writing Learning Outcomes: some suggestions, including the Learning Outcomes not just coming from the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (i.e. knowledge and understanding) but also verbs like analyse, evaluate, demonstrate, that you would expect to see in higher education.

While talking to a Senior Lecturer on the course about the learning outcomes, he commented that they try to link the learning outcome closely with the marking criteria so it is easy to understand the marking and feedback. When I had a look at the learning outcomes myself I found them easy to understand, very clear and well laid out. The LOs aren’t isolated on their own as they are often talked about – but in the setting of a Unit, sandwiched between an Overview of the specific unit and Study Programme which outlines specific requirements from the students eg tutorials, seminars, presentations etc. and added information including Essential and Recommended Study Materials, and what is required for Assessment Evidence. Before seeing the learning outcomes I was expecting to have to decipher a LO secret code and lots of academic speak when actually it was quite straight forward to understand.

In conclusion, I believe LO are essential for some learning. Not no learning as learning happens through using them as a guideline and not all learning as a majority is learnt is through doing/making, researching, creating, listening, experimenting.  It cannot possibility all be learnt from reading and abiding by Learning Outcomes. In contrast, I believe they are vital as a universal guideline for assessing learning, as long as they are used by the tutors and students as guidelines, and the tutors help the students to understand the LO and give them a framework and support system that develops and encourages the students understanding of what is expected of them to successfully complete the course.

[1] Davies, A’s (2012) learning outcomes and assessment criteria on art and design. What’s the recurring problem? [online] Available at:http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/projects/networks/issue-18-july-2012/learning-outcomes-and-assessment-criteria-in-art-and-design.-whats-the-recurring-problem[Accessed 25^th September 2014].

At the first unit workshop you will team up with other participants and discuss your responses to the different readings you have been given. You are advised to use the following questions to prompt your thinking and help you to structure your response:

1.If you had to summaries Dall’Alba’s article in three bullet points, what would they be?

• Theorizing teaching – focusing on transforming and enhancing ways of being university teachers, through integrating knowing, acting and being.

• The paper explores and illustrates how this focus on ontology is enacted on the course – ‘Epistemology is not seen as an end in its self, but rather it is in the service of ontology’.

• Several strategies of integration (knowing, acting, being) – eg promoting participants in a community, dialogue about educational practice, interrogating teaching with reference to educational literature, peer feedback/assessments – are outlined and analysed in the paper with the help of student feedback reports and literature references.

2. What connections can you make with this article and things you already know, have read before or experienced?

The connections I made are between the course we are currently about to undertake (UAL – PGCert) and the course mentioned in the article, there seems to be (from what I have read and heard) quite a few similarities in the strategies eg; promoting participants in a community, dialogue about educational practise, interrogating teaching with reference to educational literature, peer feedback/assessments.
3. How did the points raised in the article relate to your own thoughts and feelings about staff development in general, and your own forthcoming studies in particular?
A PGCert is something I very much wanted to do – to improve/develop/learn strategies to teach at this early stage in my career – and it is a benefit I can do it while working at UAL. While reading the article it occurred to me that people are doing it for a variety of reasons and are from a variety of backgrounds – which is interesting and will hopefully enrich the experience for all.
In relation to my own forthcoming studies, the article touched on some apprehension to online based activities and a colleague collaboration perspective to teaching rather than ‘the teacher as authority’ – this made me question my own attitude to this predominantly new way of learning for me. I am used to more contact with teachers in the past and this makes me slightly nervous – I think due to a slight lack of confidence (possibly from dyslexia) in my own ability and tendency to react well to encouragement – while I know may sound naïve there is an inherent fear of going ‘off track’ – and not knowing/having it realised until it is too late to recover.
In contrast I am also enthusiastic and excited to collaborate and build relationships with colleagues as I know that there is a wealth of knowledge, experience and creativity on the course and this could not only be beneficial for our current studies but possibly lead to exciting ventures in the future – which was mentioned as a positive by participants in the article, ‘participants as a source of knowledge’ and is something I could relate to.

I am currently in the student facing role of Technician at Central Saint Martins in the 3D Small Workshops and have ambitions to become a lecturer in the future. I would like to complete the PGCert as I believe it will give me the right implements and confidence to best facilitate learning and teaching currently in the workshop and later the studio.

In the workshops we supply over 1000 students with the practical advice and materials to aid the developments and manufacture of their work – which is a very creative position to be it . The workshops predominately cover model-making (wood, metal, plastics and digital manufacturing). The role varies significantly: one day could involve giving technical advice/demonstrations to a mix of student from different courses, years and abilities where as other days can be more structured with induction projects for specific courses and outcomes.

The teaching experience I have had  apart from technician include – Job shadowing ( BA Jewellery & Silversmithing CSM)UAL, a self-initiated project for Glasgow School of Art, Brighton School of Art, ‘Revival’ – ReachOut – Royal College of Art and Azzan Bin Qais International School, Oman.

I hope to gain a further understanding of teaching techniques, methods and ways of implementing them  in Higher Education and by doing so I hope to improve my professional development. By the end of the PGCert I would like to consider myself as being able to give informed and creative teaching while encouraging innovation in the students.

When I can I work on my own practise in jewellery and related objects, having graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2012.