Article in question: Teaching practices for creative practitioners Orr, S, & Shreeve, A 2017
Initial thoughts
It is strange to see practices and methods which you have been unknowingly using described in such detail. It was a very insightful look into what pedagogy is and how it is utilized in the arts teaching environment. For me this article was clear and provided useful breakdowns and naming conventions to common arts teaching practices. The part I found especially interesting when they mulled on the interaction between being a teacher and practitioner. As well as this idea of internal higher education views on the ‘how it’s done industry’. Something I have come across for years (and do myself) but never given any thought too. This idea that the education sector feels subservient to the arts industry was such an insightful view to me, and I’ve found this idea echoes into many conversations I’ve had around UAL.
Current model of my workshops
As a media technician my workshops range from either teaching how to operate a piece of equipment or how to physically manifest a technique/idea (how to light a film set, or how to correctly operate a camera/dolly individually or within a team etc).
Current model for most workshops:
- Set goal/objective of the lesson – (LV4 with be a single part usually, LV5/6/7 can become multiple sessions)
- Introduce some background use of the item or technique – depending on time/subject matter I will try to give some context for the students as to why they need to care about this.
- How to build/how to use/what to do – Then usually following the show and tell method the students will build and feel their way through how to safely operate the given equipment. Or I’ll show them the technique and an example of how it can be utilized for helping to create their work.
- Exercise/development – I will then give them some kind of exercise for the students to undertake to practice using this kit. If it is technique they will have an exercise which is recreation/challenge for them to undertake.
- Conclude/Reflect – When this has been developed enough by the students we’ll conclude with some reflections on the session/what they have learned.
An example of one of my workshop plans can be found here:
Workshop:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/17neFYYR5SzwLMYqMEdzld9PC9bYWp_FCYv9De3-6_ug/edit?usp=sharing
Slides for workshop:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YPsXOjouRCEndtMW-LFlohs0D3oSmfYJDZ372k4E-xk/edit?usp=sharing
In general my workshops would be following an example of object based learning (need a ref?) I have found that what I am often tasked to do by my academic colleges is quite basic. Often little guidance or scope of how the students need to use these artifacts isn’t given to me. With this in mind I have tried to incorporate some kind of context of its use within the industry in my briefs where possible.
Improvement and implementation of my workshops
For me the main areas which fall behind are, providing relevant context to why the students should care about this artifact/technique. As well as actually managing to fit student reflections upon the process into my workshops. Due to many material quirks or issues with some of the current set up at LCC, often the reflection I set out in a workshop plan is missed due to time constraints.
From looking to these signature pedagogies and teaching strategies there are some areas I plan to adapt in my teaching practice:
- Reflective activities – This I plan into the structure of the session but is often missed, I must re-write my workshops to ensure there is enough time available for the scoped reflective activities. This is largely a logistical issue but could be having issues with the retention of information for the students after my workshop.
- Increase peer to peer reflection in the development stage – Write down more of the exercises that I plan to deliver and review them. Currently a lot of this is created ad hoc or on the fly due to how much planning time I have available. I will redesign these activities so they promote more dialogue and exchange between the student groups, encouraging exploration of the topic between their peer group.
- A broader understanding of how the skills I’m delivering applies to the module – This requires effort from myself and the academic team to work more collaboratively, so we are in agreement of how these sessions can support the module. By communicating our desires and mapping out the structure of when the students gain these skills. We will maximize the time the students can practice using the artifact or skill we are teaching them and help cement this knowledge in doing this. Look at this again
I hope through these improvements to my workshops and planning the students can begin to act on the notion that knowledge is embedded in the experience of their work (Amulya 2004, p 4). Through improving how much the students can reflect on their own learning, I hope they will become more aware of the learning process. This in turn can help them to approach my workshops with an active and engaged mindset to keep them present in their learning.
Thoughts on how students reflect during my sessions
Something I often see in my workshops when students are presented with a problem is what most of us do. I present a problem to solve, so they refer back to their past experience and rack their brain for a previously used solution (see fig.1, Raelin, J.A. (2002). They rely on the standard answers and assumptions which they have previously used to solve a problem. This, unless pointed out to you, I feel could be how we might solve problems forever.
A way in which I hope to get around this possible stagnation is to address my use of language and my verbal approach in my workshops. I often jump the gun when I feel time pressure if I feel like a set of students aren’t ‘getting it’ after my explanations. This almost anxious feeling (usually coming from the session’s time pressure) may lead me to jump in and provide the student with an answer so they can move on with the allotted session.
Instead of this, I believe working towards incorporating methods of Reflective skills (Reflections, Joseph A. Raelin, 2002) into my workshops will improve the students and my own takeaways from each session. Firstly the idea of ‘being’ which I read as being present in a situation, not allowing yourself to become side-tracked, or bogged down in unnecessary details that aren’t paramount to the subject in question. To achieve this I intend to be as present and engaged with the students as possible, to actively listen when in group and one to one dialogue in class.
Also when ‘speaking’, this is centered around the idea that how I address the given subject should incorporate an open social space and attitude. Ensuring I am thinking through my language and any examples given are helping the student to understand. I need to be clear and articulate my meaning concisely, not being overbearing or too quick to jump in, allowing students the space to interpret my meaning for themselves.
In conclusion I wish to improve the structure of my workshops, to allow more time for students to reflect on the skills I am delivering to them. In addition to this, I plan to change the pace of my delivery to help create an environment where the students can better process this new knowledge and cement this in their own minds.
References for Blog post 2
Ashwin, P. (2018). Orr, S., and Shreeve, A. (2017). Art and design pedagogy in higher education: knowledge, values and ambiguity in the creative curriculum. Routledge. Higher Education, 78(1), pp.183–184. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0336-0.
Raelin, J.A. (2002). ‘I Don’t Have Time to Think!’ versus the Art of Reflective Practice. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240275477_I_Don%27t_Have_Time_to_Think_versus_the_Art_of_Reflective_Practice.