9th January.
I was nervous for our initial session but the breakout activity was interesting & made me feel relaxed. It was wonderful to meet such a diverse & interesting group of academics with impressive credentials I look forward to sharing this experience and know I will learnt a lot from them. Areas of particular interest to me included Ben Hirt who oversees year one BA (Hons) Animation at LCC. He proposed the importance of a customised, unique experience with tailored content for students that becomes impossible once course numbers increase. Reflecting on the relevance of students learning from each other. Dr Francesco Mazzarella discussed the values of critical thinking, participatory & interdisciplinary place based learning in the local community. Kyinat Molta lived & worked in Pakistan before teaching at Ual, she was interested in story telling & cultural narratives, curating a fascinating project ‘Unlearning transitional spaces’, questioning & exploring how creatives utilise the studio space they work in. Another discussion point was the pragmatic effects of our beliefs and behaviour on our teaching. Believing in potential creates potential, if we encourage everyone to work together, all will create better work. High expectation = motivation = retention = confidence. The importance of confidence and self belief in learning, how encouragement sticks with you.
I spoke about my own professional experience working as a graphic designer for more than 20 years, specialising in retail design for most of my career. My passion for compassionate pedagogy aligned with the group. I introduced the work of Dr Theo Gilberts micro skills of compassion and the educational developers Vicky Hill & Liz Bunting at Ual. As mother of 3 and an insulin dependent diabetic pastoral care & inclusivity influence my work as a teacher. I feel if you aren’t in the right head space it is impossible to be creative. I had positive feedback on my presentation, being reminded that some disabilities are invisible and how our position can impact our practice, we must acknowledge and leverage that.
Questions asked;
Kyinat Motla Does the formality of a traditional classroom space really work within creative courses?
Ben Hirt On customising the learning experience for large student numbers: How can we facilitate each student and their unique learning experience in order to maximise their creative output and outcome? How can education enhance a more customised learning experience when implementing a pedagogical approach?
Dr Francesco Mazzarella How could fashion design education address European colonialism. economic and environment exploitation and social injustices?
Having posted our specific areas of interest interest – mine were voted fourth out of the cohort, the first three were selected. We then split into groups for further discussion, This was led by myself and Ben as I felt a connection in our interests & concerns for students. We discussed the importance of creating a sense of belonging through social events, cultural visits, movie nights, Christmas parties and individual tutorials so that students feel heard & cared for. This feels particularly relevant post Covid and the displacement that some students now feel in their education & university experience.
https://compassioninhe.wordpress.com
https://belongingthroughcompassion.myblog.arts.ac.uk
https://tle.myblog.arts.ac.uk/compassion-in-higher-education-vikki-hill-with-dr-theo-gilbert/
