First cohort session, 25.02.2023, placed in small groups we were asked to review and select quotes presented to us from well know academics, writers and practitioners. We selected:
8. While risk-taking is central to the critical thinking process, this behaviour is unlikely to occur unless those involved have no sense of fear
Macfarlane, B. (2003). Teaching with integrity: the ethics of higher education practice. RoutledgeFalmer: London. P.59
Our interpretation centred around Ken Robinson’s How the classroom kills the creativity, “we are educating people out of their creative capacities”. It was fascinating to hear from those from other backgrounds reflect on teaching n the UK. Japan & Serbian experience found students modest but ambitious, looking for the answer not the the process.
How can we listen to what people are feeling in a way that drives learning?
How do we avoid turning ‘process’ and ‘experimentation’ into another performative task that students do to tick a box rather than to really explore the projects they are developing?
Bruce Macfarlane argues teaching with integrity is crucial for ensuring the quality of higher education, ‘teachers have a responsibility to promote ethical behaviour among their students’. We questioned what that meant in ourselves, trust from our students and the discussion revolved around passion, to take risks that lead to experimentation and invention.
In advance of the session, we were asked to select and have to hand a unit brief, session plan, teaching artefact or details of a learning activity from our course . Print out to stick on the wall. We considered approaches to designing and planning for learning across a number of levels (e.g. whole courses, sessions, and individual activities), and approaches to teaching that address the challenges and capitalise on the opportunities of different teaching modes, aims, and environments.
My revision of a previous brief for a student’s response to my own home design to their own DREAMHOME. Originally set with strict deliverables and information to be evaluated in a crit. I was conscious of the text read prior to the task, Davies 2012: Learning Outcomes & Assessment Criteria in Art & Design. In it Davies argues “Tutorials and crits are a great environment for students to gain understanding on what is expected of them….However, these supportive scenarios tend to focus more on the project themes and physical outcomes, rather than the communication of these ideas. Many students leave these supportive scenarios not understanding how the application of these skills can be utilised to improve their work for assessment”.