Reflection on session
Today’s session was somewhat introductory. That said, it was insightful to talk about issues and methods that often go unquestioned. It was great to meet other people undertaking the course and hear of their experiences, issues and ways of thinking.
What is striking yet unsurprising is the amount of questions that were posed. The group maintained a level of open-mindedness by providing suggestions but not responses.
There were a few moments that I found extremely helpful:
- We had a conversation regarding the provision of pastoral support to students. There were questions around how to perform it, what are the limitations of such, and who decides when, where and how it takes place, as well as how does it relate to other university services such as Student Support, Chaplaincy etc. I found particularly curious how opinions varied in the room and the motivation of different peers. One person mentioned that if they go the extra mile it is due to their appreciation and respect towards their teaching team, rather than student well being, something with which I resonate. Another was the fact that students should be creating support networks amongst themselves, that would take away some of the pressure towards the university, which I also agree with (however, it is worth recognising that not every issue will be able to be supported through such).
There were also comments on how to support tutors when performing such by asking from a peer to be present. I must say, I am not sure that is productive in the same way, as it might be intimidating for a student to have two tutors present when opening up about issues beyond learning. In addition, it was mentioned that students as young adults should be taking responsibility of themselves. Lastly, someone mentioned that the university benefits from leaving that area undefined, which I had never thought was done purposefully. Such made me consider my own current process.
Having dealt with challenging circumstances in my little time teaching, the provision of pastoral support has been an issue of concern. What has been extremely helpful is the support of a tight knit teaching team and attentive line managers. My current process entails suggesting to students to access student support, letting them know that I may need to share this information with my line manager so they can be aware of the situation, as well as asking them to speak to the Year Leader or Course Leader directly in a 1-2-1 setting. I then, check up on if they have attended such meetings and if they have managed to access the support they need. I also believe its part of my role to acknowledge the fact that they might be dealing with issues that affect their learning, while holding them accountable as to the progress of their work. I take care of how I phrase support both in spoken and written language and acknowledging the presence of the rest of the teaching team thought the process as a way of diminishing personal involvement and highlighting the professional aspect of the educational context. - I very much enjoyed today’s session. It feels like there is camaraderie between the people in the room (even if we don’t know each other that well), and I am sure that some of these conversations will lead to mindful knowledge exchange. My biggest issue however, is that the limitation once again seems to be the institution. It feels like we are preaching to each other, reflecting on all the exciting possibilities of something that could be, experimenting with ways of teaching / learning within a structure that has an incredible amount of limitations. Whenever structural issues arose in the conversation, it felt like everyone in the room knew that there is nothing that can be done. Yet, it is the teaching staff performing the labour of self reflexivity, agility, resilience and so on. How do we teach self initiated study without studio space? How does the university deal with large numbers of students trying to access mental health support? How are teaching staff meant to cover all bases in depth when working with humongous cohorts?
It would be helpful to know in what ways the university is performing such processes.
Notes from session
Ice braker: Discuss the following quote:
Teachers like students need to love the questions, as they come to realise that there can be no final agreements or answers (Green, the Dialectic Freedom)
Discussion:
—asking the questions
—not having to perform knowledge as there are no answers // I am not the expert, embody the practice (being a learner alongside everyone else rather than pretending tutor)
— loving the questions: do you have to love the questions? Whose responsibility is it to ask the right questions?
—how could everyone become a learner rather than tutor / student dynamic
—maybe its okay to ask questions that one hates: the difficult ones / the hard ones/ the ones that are boring as it is them that being debate
Love / risk / fear (Teaching with Integrity) What is their relationship?
Love as wanting something to grow > how can that begin the risk tasking?
When is it possible to make risks? What are the conditions that allow it? Trust / Time
Building trust: writing projects that are not assessed?
Creating trust: the idea of a safe space looks different for everyone
Learning Design Workshop:
Feedback
Collaboration: does it get marked
Maybe don’t need to add an extra thing because its interesting> to reflect on learning outcomes and see how they work together
Collaborative work and marking // how to
Level of critical reflection > how is that presented
Design a poster
Feedback from poster:
-glossaries
-play / journeying
-documenting process as outcome
-finding the balance between defining something as research or practice
-role play / gamification
-finding a physical object that you pass round to wake students up and ask them to pitch quickly
-priming: what are you asking a student to do before the session? (Pre-session activities) vs. How much are we asking of students to do outside the studio
-creating continuity before and after sessions
-who do we ask feedback from? run focus groups with students in order to understand if changes are useful >>>
Other tutors / external examiners / tutors from other similar courses // co-creation..
-constructive alignment
-research journeys/ especially written, can it become visual // documenting process
-tie a brick to your phone
Teaching Strategies
- Large Teaching:
Lecture / seminar / workshop / briefing
Delivering information /making sure is understood / demonstration
Starting with an easy question > what does someone else think > making something that has no right answer
Changing the language so its less academic
Ask someone engage the silliest question
Talking in smaller groups
The value of individual rather than group interaction..how to bringing back value into the shared experience
Splitting lots of content into smaller sections
Students brining snacks so they are more relaxed / distracted
Humanising the person delivering the lecture // why are you delivering
Asking students to make something throughout the lecture
- Teaching in small group
Easy changes
Lots of comfort / trust / accessibility to tutor // issues are easier to raise accessibility
Get to know others
Easier Changing dynamics
Challenges:
Parity? How things happen at other groups?
Isolated from the rest of the groups
Small groups and cliques
Familial with students // may lead to multiple emails outside of working hours
Limitations on how many people can access information
- 1-2-1 teaching:
Pros:
Bespoke / personal / tailored feedback
Pastoral side: being able to raise issues about accessibility / resolve problems
Less intimidated
Need to respond: cannot hide behind a group
Self confidence / trust
Blurred boundary between tutor/student
You either benefit from the specialist knowledge
Duty of care as a professional responsibility: letting line manager know
Sign posting boundaries
Sending email as a document >> duty of care
Letting students know that information will be escalated
Challenges:
Time consuming
Lack of parity
Lack of peer learning
Knowing when to schedule them: when are they useful throughout a term? Beginning / end?
Blurred boundary between tutor/student
tutor does not have specialist knowledge
- Crits:
Pros:
Good opportunity to celebrate outcomes / closure
Different ways of designing crits
Brining external voices
Peer learning
Multiple perspcetives
Familiarise themselves with assessment criteria
Exercising presentation and communication skills
Cons:
people just give feedback that are not thought through
Feedback can be irrelevant / or too harsh
Tutors can develop ego