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Record of Observation or Review of Teaching Practice

Session/artefact to be reviewed: Fashion Styling and Production, Year 3 unit, Personal and Professional Project

Size of student group: 66

Observer: Karen Matthewman

Observee: Danny Treacy

 

Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.

Part One
Observee to complete in brief and send to observer prior to the observation or review:

What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?

This session was part of the scheme of learning, in a Year 3 unit, Personal and Professional Project. It was titled ‘On set Role Play’.

How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?

3 months, as a member of staff that teaches on the unit.

What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?

The intended learning outcomes were aligned to professional practice, as this is integral to the unit’s ethos. Specifically, one of the learning outcomes for the unit is – Critically evaluate and articulate reflections of personal working methodologies, and the application of your findings to the processes that govern your practice

What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?

The students observe a live role play, that is presented as a (flawed) situation of a professional scenario that the students can expect to encounter (a photographic shoot, with producer, photographer, stylist, and designer.

The students are then asked to remark on their observations, to comment on ‘bad practice’ and to offer suggestions that would turn the role play into a successful situation.

So the learning becomes reflective.

Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?

If no-one offers any solutions or has any observations of the bad practice enacted by the actors.

How will students be informed of the observation/review?

N/A (observer not available for the role play session).

What would you particularly like feedback on?

The structure of the session, the idea/concept itself, as this is new.

How will feedback be exchanged?

Verbally, in a Teams meeting, and in the form of notes taken.

Part Two

Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:

This was an interesting discussion about an unusual and innovative area of practice written about and discussed by Danny and me on Teams.

The dialogue focused on a group of third years. There was a recognition that third years needed more knowledge about real life aspects of professional practice in the fashion industry. A professional practice tool kit has been /is being created across 7 sessions of the course. 

Under his leadership, Danny and his colleagues wanted to represent aspects of the industry they had encountered, and to problematise them through a role play for the students as a provocation for discussion. This took place in a ‘theatre in the round’ type of set up with students sitting in a circle and the ‘performance’ with actors comprising members of staff performing in the middle.

We discussed the way having students in a circle can really democratise a space, and how the nature of space can really change interactions and power relations. The size of this room allowed for interactions which would have been very difficult in a small seminar room.

We also explored the ideas of tutor vulnerability, one of Danny’s interests. These were staff performers and not professional actors, so they were exposing themselves personally and professionally. Danny described his role as a flaky but egotistical photographer, acknowledging it was a stereotype but one many of the teaching team had come across while working in industry. Each part worked together to show different aspects of how poor professional practice can disrupt and challenge a team. Students were then asked to comment and reflect on that and think about their own professional practices and their responses.

We discussed what an interesting and provokingly creative activity this was. We acknowledged that it is very resource heavy so might be hard to sustain or grow year on year. We suggested that in addition the resource could be recorded by video and used more widely. It could also provoke different discussion as could be broken up during the video to ask students questions at different points.

In terms of engaging students as active learners, we also discussed how students could be more part of the actual performance rather than being an ‘audience’. One thing that we were both interested in was possibly stopping at different points and giving students choices as to what should happen next, or possibly taking on roles themselves in the role play.

I found this conversation extremely engaging and creatively challenging. With workload and other pressures as they are for staff, it was really inspiring to hear of Danny’s team really pushing the boundaries in terms of engagement with students for such a fun, unusual and real-life task with so many future possibilities to be built on. I would encourage Danny to think about writing a proposal with his team for this year’s educational conference.

Part Three

Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:

Karen provided some very helpful and insightful suggestions during our conversation. Reflecting on the session, and on Karen’s feedback, it would have been beneficial to record the session, so that it could be utilised next time more widely, or a as recording, if it turns out that the team are not available, as it is resource heavy.

I very much want the activity to happen again in the future if possible, and I think that Karen’s suggestion (which also aligned with that of my other observer, Rory Parnell-Moody), was that of creating a more interactive space. This could be where the student audience is invited to intervene at several pauses in the performance, offering their suggestions of how to avoid conflict or unprofessional behaviour that is acted out in the role play. I will certainly work on this with my team, in the next iteration of the role play session.

Record of Observation or Review of Teaching Practice        

Session/artefact to be reviewed: Fashion Styling and Production, Year 3 unit, Personal and Professional Project

Size of student group: 66

Observer: Rory Parnell-Mooney

Observee: Danny Treacy

 

Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.

Part One
Observee to complete in brief and send to observer prior to the observation or review:

What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?

This session was part of the scheme of learning, in a Year 3 unit, Personal and Professional Project. It was tiltled ‘On set Role Play’.

How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?

3 months, as a member of staff that teaches on the unit.

What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?

The intended learning outcomes were aligned to professional practice, as this is integral to the unit’s ethos. Specifically, one of the learning outcomes for the unit is – Critically evaluate and articulate reflections of personal working methodologies, and the application of your findings to the processes that govern your practice

What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?

The students observe a live role play, that is presented as a (flawed) situation of a professional scenario that the students can expect to encounter (a photographic shoot, with producer, photographer, stylist, and designer.

The students are then asked to remark on their observations, to comment on ‘bad practice’ and to offer suggestions that would turn the role play into a successful situation.

So the learning becomes reflective.

Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?

If no-one offers any solutions or has any observations of the bad practice enacted by the actors.

How will students be informed of the observation/review?

N/A (observer not available for the role play session).

What would you particularly like feedback on?

The structure of the session, the idea/concept itself, as this is new.

How will feedback be exchanged?

Verbally, in a Teams meeting, and in the form of notes taken.

Part Two

Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:

The On-Set Role-Play workshop, delivered by Danny along with other members of staff from his team, provided an engaging and thought-provoking session aimed at broadening students’ understanding of the conflicts that can arise on set between different creative roles. The session posed important questions regarding best practices, conflict resolution, and the necessity of clear communication and thorough preparation in professional environments.

The observation took place remotely via Microsoft Teams. Danny provided an overview of the workshop structure and shared the teaching materials, ensuring clarity on the session’s aims and content. A group of academic staff enacted various on-set roles—such as Photographer, Stylist, Producer, and Designer—each performing specific examples of “bad practice” to illustrate common professional challenges. Students were then encouraged to critically engage with these scenarios, identifying problematic behaviors and proposing alternative approaches.

The decision to have academic staff perform these roles in front of students was particularly effective in breaking down hierarchical barriers, fostering an open and interactive learning environment. This approach allowed students to observe professional dynamics from a safe yet realistic distance while maintaining an active role in critiquing and responding to the scenarios presented.

The accompanying slides, which served as a comprehensive lesson plan, were well-structured and provided strong scaffolding for the session. This level of detail was particularly beneficial when managing a large group of students and ensuring that discussions remained focused and constructive. However, if the materials were to be used by another group of staff to replicate the session, incorporating visual elements—such as a room plan and photographic references of the original session —could be helpful.

One potential area for development could involve a more interactive conflict resolution component. For example, rather than solely identifying issues, students could be given an opportunity to actively intervene within the role-play, directing how the scenario unfolds in real time. This could involve a pause point where students discuss and vote on possible resolutions, then watch two diverging outcomes play out based on their suggestions. Such an addition would further immerse students in problem-solving and negotiation techniques, making the learning experience even more dynamic.

The workshop’s relevance and applicability suggest it could be beneficially integrated across different year groups within the course. A simplified version could be introduced to first-year students to establish foundational knowledge, while a more in-depth and collaborative iteration could be delivered to third-year students, potentially incorporating industry professionals or alumni to simulate real-world interactions.

A valuable addition to the workshop could be a structured reflective element, allowing students to assess their own experiences on set and their personal conflict resolution and communication skills. A post-session journal entry or guided discussion could encourage students to relate the observed scenarios to their practice, fostering deeper self-awareness and professional development.

Overall, the role-play workshop was an innovative and effective learning experience that encouraged students to critically engage with the complexities of on-set dynamics. The use of staff-performed role-play successfully leveled hierarchical structures, facilitating open dialogue and analysis. While the session already provides a strong foundation, incorporating elements of live conflict resolution, expanding its implementation across different year levels, and integrating reflective practices could further enhance its impact and long-term value in preparing students for professional set environments.

Part Three

Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:

Rory provided lots of insightful feedback, which I am very grateful for. I will consider recording the role play session in future, as it can be used as a resource for other year groups, and for those students who may have missed the session.

While the idea regarding the student’s ability to intervene as the role play unfolds, and vote on possible resolutions is excellent, I will work on ways in which we can develop this idea as a team.

The idea of recording the student’s entries, in allowing greater reflection is also excellent. We use Padlet at times, and so in this case, Padlet could be a great way for the students to generate structured reflective observations, that can then help with their own approaches to professionalism in their practice.

Contextual Background:

I am Course Leader on the BA (Hons) Fashion Styling and Production course at LCF. My values inform who I am as a practitioner, I plan sessions where students are encouraged to speak openly, with the intention of developing trust and confidence.

One of my main priorities in increasing inclusive practice as a form of social justice.

As a practitioner who regularly conducts assessment and feedback, I care very much about the quality of feedback and try to ensure it is inclusive.

Evaluation:

Formative Assessments can be a difficult space to navigate, students often feel anxious and nervous, while tutor feedback can sometimes be perceived as critical, rather than supportive. I want this to change, I want the students to fully understand that our feedback is supportive and comes from a place of compassion. I want to include students more in the process of receiving feedback, giving them choice, and empowering their own criticality as Race states “an alternative way to diversifying assessment is to increase the range of assessment approaches, by bringing in at least some self-assessment, peer-assessment and group assessment”.(Race, 2001, p. 8)

Currently, students are not offered an option on how they receive feedback. However, for upcoming Year 3 formative assessment presentations scheduled on 11 March, I will be applying research and findings to improve our current model of formative assessment. Before the students commence their presentation, they will be asked by the panel to choose which type of feedback they would prefer. The options are ‘Coaching feedback’ or ‘Sandwich feedback’. The teaching team will also be encouraging the students to offer their response/summary, as peer feedback, following each presentation.

The reasoning behind this is aligns to Race’s research on self-assessment, which is integral to feedback, particularly during presentations. “There is learning payoff associated with receiving feedback from one or more fellow students, but perhaps even greater learning payoff in formulating and giving feedback to other students. It is the person who explains who really deepens their learning, rather than the person being explained to.” (Race, 2001, p. 22)

Moving forwards:

I view the changes I am implementing as an attempt to create more compassion in the student experience. As Hill states “formative feedback is a key moment where compassionate approaches can be enacted.” (Hill, 2023, p. 89))

Furthermore, there is a noticeable strain on tutors during formative assessment, as they are often required to ‘hold the space’ when leading feedback, while the students in the group of presenters usually sit in receptive mode. I envisage the above changes as addressing this imbalance in feedback, by inviting the student audience into a more central role as peers. I hope that this will enliven and create a more inclusive space, particularly relevant for Year 3, as Race states “it can be argued that these forms of assessment help students to develop skills invaluable in later lifelong learning contexts, and their own ongoing continuing professional development as graduates”. (Race, 2001, p. 23)

References:

Race, P. (2001) A Briefing on Self, Peer and Group Assessment. LTSN generic Centre.

Hill, V. (2023) Belonging through assessment: Pipelines of compassion. QAA Collaborative Project.

Contextual Background:

This role play session was developed to encourage professional practice awareness and increase employability for final year students. As Reid, A., Rowley, J., & Bennett, D. (2019, P. 1) state “the employability of graduates is of concern across further and higher education, but is particularly problematic in the creative and performing arts disciplines”. (Reid, A., Rowley, J., & Bennett, D. 2019, P. 1)

My values inform who I am as a practitioner, I plan sessions where students are encouraged to speak openly.

Evaluation:

The concept behind this was that members of the teaching team replicated a fashion shoot that students could expect to encounter in an industry setting, performing roles that were familiar to them, while incorporating ‘bad practice’. The session was designed to develop student confidence, culminating in audience members suggesting ways in which the scenario could have been better navigated in the future, based on their observations and perspectives.

Before the role play, the audience were asked to:

‘Observe the role play and make notes about any behaviour that you see as being professionally problematic’.

Once the role play had finished, we offered the audience the space to provide their observations on the role paly session, based on the behaviour of the players – photographer, stylist, producer, designer.

This was followed by the prompt:

‘Can you think of any measures to prevent this in the future?’

The session was highly successful from a teaching perspective, the students/audience had many observations, they also had thoughtful suggestions on how the scenario could have gone better, in terms of professional practice, collaboration, and respectful behaviour.

On a pedagogical level, I wanted to explore the notion of shared vulnerability, so as a member of staff, I could make myself vulnerable, in performing a familiar and stereotypical persona; to use humour, to temporarily disrupt the hierarchy of the classroom. As Watkins states “attempts at breaking the petrified and institutional standards seem even more precious; they not only excite interest in students, but also personally empower them and lead to formation of certain intellectual maturity.” (Watkins, 2019, p. 13)

To achieve vulnerability, the classroom was re-designed, from teacher at the front, the chairs were reset around the performers, in the centre of the room. I observed that student engagement was instantly activated. The following text resonates, “This means that it is necessary to “[make] the classroom a democratic setting where everyone feels a responsibility to contribute,” and this “is a central goal of transformative pedagogy”. (hooks, 1994, p. 39).

The session had a ‘conclusion’ in which the teaching team had listed best practice solutions for avoiding the problems that occurred in the role play session. This was to provide a document, for any student who was not present or has diverse learning requirements.

Moving forwards:

When I teach this again, I plan to record the role play, so that it is available for those students who were not able to participate/attend.

I will also consider the ways in which the students can be active participants, perhaps by offering resolutions while the role play is taking place.

References:

Reid, A., Rowley, J., & Bennett, D. (2019). Higher education and sense of self in the creative and performing arts. Music Education Research, 21(4), 399-413. doi: 10.1080/14613808.2019.1632279.

Watkins, G J. (2019) Teaching to Transgress: Subjective Educational Experience in the Model of Engaged Pedagogy of Bell Hooks. CULTURE – SOCIETY – EDUCATION NO. 1 (15) POZNAN.

Hooks, B. (1994) Teaching to Transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. London: Routledge.

Contextual Background:

I believe a vital part in which students learn is by creating a space for unpacking the brief of a given unit. At the beginning of a unit, I unpack the connection between the Learning Outcomes for the unit and how these are aligned to the scheme of learning and assessment that are part of the unit. I often summarise my presentations with a slide titled ‘why we are doing this’, which helps the students to understand that there is a vital connection between the design of a session, and the unit requirements.

Evaluation:

I find that an effective way to visualise a unit brief is to present a best practice example of previous student work, further illustrating to students how the unit structure leads to fulfilling the learning outcomes. Students then come to value the structure of a particular unit and can visualise the impact of it in the case studies, so a student “co-constructs meaning” (Weller, S. 2015) and knowledge via the activities within the unit.

Furthermore, in referencing successful student projects, I find inclusive ways of teaching and bringing contextual knowledge into the teaching environment. For example, one of UAL’s principles is social impact. I recognised that an understanding of the term was proving hard for some students, they fed this back during tutorials and in class. The confusion seemed to originate from the term itself, which is rather abstract when put into the context of project development.

Moving forwards:

I came to understand the importance of creating a space to discuss and celebrate aspects of social impact, including ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class and nationality. Also, I observed that at times, students who felt that they were evidencing social impact, were at times being quite reductive in their use of the term, for example in their model casting, which at times was at risk of becoming tokenistic due to their assumption that attaining social impact is a simple formula that one can achieve via more diverse casting for example, while actually it is much more nuanced. I wanted to introduce a wider framework and understanding for the term and to unpack what this can mean for the students by recognising that social impact may already be present in their own work, without having to force a connection. I gave a lecture on diversity and ethics; one such example was a previous student’s work surrounding the theme of Welsh identity. In the lecture, I communicated the difficulties that the student had experienced in organising a fashion shoot in Wales, due to the perceived ‘remoteness’ of a London centric fashion industry. At one point, the project almost failed because of this perception. Following conversations during tutorials, the student overcame this by casting her friends as models. In doing so, the outcome was much more successful in dealing with Welsh cultural identity. The casting of Welsh subjects was successfully diverse and inclusive of the communities that are usually excluded from the fashion system, thereby culminating in a project that visualised social impact.

References:

Weller, S. (2015) Academic Practice: Developing as a Professional in Higher Education. Sage Publications.

Aim:

I have mentioned in blog #3, my aim was to discover if it is possible to encourage an emotive response to an item of unfamiliar clothing, and whether the emotive response could be empathy. The session was part inspired by the work of Anthropologist, Daniel Miller. It was also influenced by the writing of political theorist, Jane Bennet. Bennet’s book, ‘Vibrant Matter, a political ecology of things’ is a fascinating look at the ‘life’ of objects. Bennet questions the human worldview of objects and encourages a reconsideration of the relationship that humans have to the world, in the hope of creating a relationship that is more linear, as opposed to hierarchical. Bennet states “to begin to experience the relationship between persons and other materialities more horizontally, is to take a step towards a more ecological sensibility.” (Bennett, 2010, p. 10)

Bennet relays a moment when she noticed a collection of debris in a storm drain one morning. The debris was not in any way unusual, but it was in the act of noticing the debris that led to a consideration of “stuff that commanded attention in it’s own right, as existents in excess of their own association with human meanings…stuff exhibited its thing-power: it issued a call, even if I did not quite understand what it was saying.” (Bennett, 2010, p. 4)

Therefore, my intention, by slowing the participant’s movements on the street, and by encouraging observation through increased intimacy, was to encourage active observation, followed by active imagining, and then, hopefully an activation of the emotions, particularly empathy.

This was something of a test, as I had not done this before. It was new territory for me and for the participants. Therefore, the activity became a form of primary research. As a research method, I would align this to an object orientated process. However, due to the time constraints, it was more object orientated interview as ‘speed dating’; which I found to be quite effective.Due to the limitations of the word count in this reflection, please refer to the teaching prompts handed out in the images below, to gain an insight into the questions that the participants were asked and the session timings.

Feedback:

“I really found your session particularly inspiring”.

Conclusion:

I was pleasantly surprised that, in the participant responses (recorded in the images below), some found that through slowing down, they were able to notice a previously unseen object, and that by reducing distance, empathy could occur.

Learnings from feedback:

Provide clipboards, for students to lean on, helping with their response writing.

Give further contextualisation following the activity, perhaps in class with additional slides, where the session could be unpacked further and connected to wider socio-political issues, such as transit migration, forced migration, fast fashion, waste colonialism, the climate crisis, the list goes on!

• I intentionally did not want to do this before the activity, as I did not want to give any ‘clues’ as to what the significant object (clothing) was.

I am using this fourth blog post as a final reflection on the Theory, Practices and Policies unit, with particular regards to the Learning Outcomes. I have been inspired by many of the materials delivered during the unit, and I found the micro teaching to be particularly rewarding. As a result, I have adapted my teaching practice, because of critically engaging with the policies and practices that were embedded in the unit. Overall, the first unit has been a very rewarding, and reflective experience. I have come to appreciate, by being a student again, how nothing is ever completed, there is always space for positive change, and to thrive on the change.

This new learning has inspired me to change my approach as an educator. As a result, I have adapted recent Formative Assessment presentations with Year 3 students. This was implemented on Tuesday 11^th March, with very successful outcomes. At the core of this change was enabling the students to choose their preferred style of feedback model, which positively impacted on the student experience. Without the inspiration of the Theory, Practices and Policies reading material, this would not have happened.

Furthermore, I have developed new teaching processes, as outlined in the teaching observations. These processes seek to disrupt the traditional hierarchy and passiveness of the teaching space. I have embraced risk taking and fostering a sense of shared vulnerability among the staff and students on the course that I lead. The positive results of this are evident in the student and staff feedback following the session.

The course handbook for the PgCert states that I would consider implications for my own practice. In conclusion, I do see this now, and I have a revived confidence in my approach as an educator, while I am also very much looking forward to the next unit on the PgCert.

As soon as I learned that we would be conducting a microteaching session, I was very much looking forward to it. The reason for this is largely based on some internal questions that I have been considering, regarding my teaching practice. While I view the micro teaching session as an opportunity to experiment with my approach to potentially working on these questions in class, at some future point.

To shed some context in this area, I want to introduce the importance and relevance of clothing as an integral part of my teaching practice. I work at London College of Fashion, so of course clothing is a central aspect to the teaching here. Furthermore, I work on the Fashion, Styling and Production course. As a course, we encourage our students to use clothing as the primary mode of expression, of communication and storytelling, in the projects that they work on.

I am interested in the emotive qualities of clothing, of clothing as a vehicle to communicate not just how we wish to look, be that style, trend, identity with a ‘tribe’, but to communicate how we feel, and how clothing can expand on this emotive aspect. In turn, I am very much interested in empathy; can clothing, by way of its emotive connotations, be used to trigger empathy? And in doing so, can it connect people who may not share the same experiences, but can nevertheless empathise?

A key text is the book Stuff, by Anthropologist, Daniel Miller. The text is important because it highlights the inconsistencies in the widely held presumption, from a Western/Eurocentric perspective, of clothing’s ability to only reveal the ‘surface’ – and in doing so, to be inherently superficial. Miller highlights that in many cultures, what and how people wear clothes, is in fact a highly nuanced language that describes how they feel, as part of a particular group within society. According to Miller “Clothes are our most personal possessions. They are the main medium between our sense of our bodies and our sense of the external world” (Miller, 2010, p. 23).

One frustration I have with the typical (Western) approach to clothing in many student interactions, is that the interaction stops short of the emotions. Miller states “After all, the aim of anthropology is understanding, in the sense of empathy” (Miller, 2010, p. 22). Therefore, I want the micro-teaching to be part influenced by ethnography, a branch of Anthropology. While I recently re-watched the documentary, Paris is Burning. (Paris is Burning, 1990) In this, the protagonists discuss how, when performing to an audience, they use clothing to communicate how it might feel to be a rich, white American, with career prospects and unlimited opportunity, while they have none. So, they are using clothing as a form of empathy, while at the same time, highlighting the glaring lack of equal opportunities to black and Latin American communities in 1980’s America.

So, in the microteaching session, I would like to explore clothing, as a path to observation and empathy.

References:

Miller, D. 2010. Stuff. Polity Press.

Livingston, J. 1990. Paris is Burning. Off-White Productions.

Since starting this unit, an occurring theme that I have been considering and reflecting on in my teaching practice, is that of shared vulnerability. It strikes me that vulnerability is very much part of the practice of teaching. In my experience, on the PgCert, and in the first time for a while, I have considered my own vulnerability as a practitioner. This has led me to consider more acutely the vulnerability of those I work with on a daily basis, the students.

I discussed my interest here with my personal tutor, Karen Matthewman. Karen kindly suggested that I look further at “embodied experiences…particularly about bell hooks, and how she talks about the importance of being vulnerable in the classroom”.

This enquiry led me to an article titled Teaching to Transgress: Subjective Educational Experience in the Model of Engaged Pedagogy of Bell Hooks. The article unpacks bell hook’s 1994 seminal book, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom.  This book is from the position of a black feminist critique, which highlights the importance of social constructs such as race and gender as being implicit in affecting student’s ability to feel included in the education system.

I was particularly interested in understanding more on the model of engaged pedagogy and understood from reading the article, that, according to Watkins how a subject acts in the social environment, such as education, are never neutral, but are, as the author highlights, “filled with mechanisms for solidifying and transmitting specific inequalities” (Watkins, 2019, p. 12).

hooks posits that it is through inclusive teaching, including students in the process of teaching, that a transformation can take place, through a subjective experience of education. This, as I understand it, is about trying to connect with students, understanding their individual positions, asking them to participate in the teaching, so teaching ‘with’ them as individuals, rather than teaching ‘at’ them, as a homogenous group. This, according to hooks “is a central goal of transformative pedagogy” (hooks, 1994, p. 39). So, to be more inclusive, teachers need to consider how to create spaces for shared vulnerability, so that there is an opening up of the teaching space, where students feel more included. This is something that I want to work on, as a test, in a teaching activity that I will refer to in my case studies. The reason behind this, is that I feel that there is a void in how tutors continually push students to perform (in assessments, both formative and summative), to take risks, to question their own intentions, and to be open to feedback in tutorials, while tutors take no risks. I would like this to change, by creating a space for more inclusive practices in the teaching space.

References:

Email conversation with Karen Matthewman, 03/02/25.

Watkins, G J. (2019) Teaching to Transgress: Subjective Educational Experience in the Model of Engaged Pedagogy of Bell Hooks. CULTURE – SOCIETY – EDUCATION NO. 1 (15) POZNAN.

Hooks, B. (1994) Teaching to Transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. London: Routledge.

The first workshop session in the Theories Policies and Practices unit, was interesting to me as a teaching practitioner. Firstly, it was interesting to observe the groups’ responses to the readings that we had been allocated. It was comforting and funny, to hear that many in the group felt as I did, that the texts, at times, were hard to access.

The article that I was allocated was titled An a/r/tographic metissage: Storying the self as pedagogic practice. According to the article, educational discourse for artists, researchers and teachers would be broadened through considering “the self-in-relation to theory and practice”(Osler, T, Guillard, I, Garcia-Fialdini, A and Cóte, 2019, p. 109). This at first seemed like a perfect article for the unit, as it appeared to be aligned with the inner reflective process of considering one’s values and processes as (art) practitioners and aligning them with a teaching practice. I immediately felt, as both an art practitioner and teaching practitioner, that I could relate to this.

However, on reading the four case studies in the article, I found there to be several issues with the texts that I found quite frustrating. I don’t want to single out any one text, but I found there to be a combination of inaccessible ‘academic’ language, that quickly became alienating. While there was a presumption in the text that the reader would/should know what the term ‘a/r/tography’ was, without any contextual explanation or unpacking. I was also disappointed that the writing in the articles at times felt highly cliched and romanticised approach to art practice, bordering on Victorian romanticism. As a practitioner, both artist and teacher, I realised that I actively try to reduce my use of overly emotive language. I try to speak in plain English. I value this, as I think it is important in teaching spaces to keep language accessible to all, particularly when teaching on a very large cohort, with many international students, and with many students who do not come from privileged backgrounds.

When faced with an article such as the one we were given, I found the result of this was one that can result in an undermining of my confidence, with academia, and writing in general. However, on reflection, and in a form of new confidence gained from the shared experience of how the group responded to the article that we read, I understood that perhaps I am not ‘bad’ at academic writing, I just don’t like badly written academic writing.

On this point, I am drawn to the writing of bell hooks, whose work, according to Watkins “intentionally appears far from intellectual elitism, and much closer to the modes of expression typical for lower social classes”. For hooks, the intention was to “look at other forms of speech, linguistic practice and rhetoric than exclusively characteristic for the academic discourse.” (Watkins 2019, p. 10)  In doing so, she disrupted and critiqued the hierarchy of academia, from a position of feminist theory.

References:

Osler, T, Guillard, I, Garcia-Fialdini, A and Cóte, S. (2019) Journal of Writing in Creative Practice, Volume 12, numbers 1 & 2. Concordia University.

Watkins, G J. (2019) Teaching to Transgress: Subjective Educational Experience in the Model of Engaged Pedagogy of Bell Hooks. CULTURE – SOCIETY – EDUCATION NO. 1 (15) POZNAN.