UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 15 Norham Gardens, Oxford OX2 6PY Telephone: 01865 274018 POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN LEARNING AND TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION PORTFOLIO COVER SHEET MT 2015 This sheet should be completed, signed and used as the cover sheet for each of the two copies of your portfolio. It should be returned to the Examinations Secretary at the Department of Education not later than noon on Monday, 12 October 2015. Surname:

SCHMUECKER

Other names (in full): (Please use block capitals)

MARTINA

Title of Portfolio:

INDEPENDENCE FOR THE ART STUDENT

Word count:

14750

Your Department:

RUSKIN SCHOOL OF ART

Discipline or Field of Study

FINE ART

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2014-2015

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IndependencefortheArtStudent

Self-RegulatedLearninginArtSchool

MartinaSchmuecker

September2015

Themuseumopens at 11am.Michael (15), Anya (14), Joby (12),Janina(11),Paul(9)andDaniel(5)arestandinginfrontoftheglassdoors.Thewhiteconcreteblockbuildingisquiet;thereisnobodyelsehereyet.Janinausesthesmoothpolishedconcreteentrancetopractisecartwheelsandflicksheadoverheels3timesinarow.Danielwatchesherwithhismouthopen,thencriesout:Janinastop!Thedoorisopen!Hepointstowardsamanbehindthedoor,handlingalargebunchofkeystoopenthefrontglassdoor.

Introduction

TheRuskinSchoolofArtisasmallartschoolwith80undergraduatestudents,an

establishedgraduatecourseandalsofrom2015onwardsamastersdegreecourseinFine

Art.IhavebeenteachingFineArtontheundergraduatecourseattheRuskinforthelast8

years.ThecurriculumattheRuskinputsgreatemphasisonindividualtutorialsandthe

Ruskiniswellknownforahighstafftostudentratio.Thisallowsstudentsgreataccesstoa

verydiverserangeofpractisingartistsasteachers.Formyownteaching,thisallowsgreat

freedoms,butasavisitingtutorinamoreremotepositionfromthefacultyitalsomakesfor

aslightlyisolatedpositionwithintheschoolstructure.ThroughmyexperienceattheRuskin

aswellasteachinginotherartschoolsintheUK,Ihavedevelopedmyownwaysofteaching

artwithinthestructuresusedatartschoolsinthiscountry.Ihaveusedgroupwork,

individualtutorials,leadingofgroupdiscussions,lecturesandworkshopsinmyteaching.I

havealwaysseenthediscussionwithstudentsontheirowncreativeworkinprogressin

tutorialsandingroupsasthecentralpointofmyteachingattheartschool.

AsapractisingartistmyselfIknowthatanygoodartresistsdefinitionastoitsexactnature.

IalsoknowthatwhatandhowIcommunicatewithstudentsintheartschoolispartofa

discussionthatgoesonbeyondthestudiowalls.Themaindistinctionbetweenteachingon

aFineArtdegreeandteachingonanyothercourseatdegreelevelthatisalwayspointedto

isthe‘creative’natureofart,whichaskstheBAstudenttoshowacapacitytoworkfrom

theirownideasandformulatetheirownquestionsandareasofworkrightfromthestartof

thefirstyear.Thisparticularaspectofarteducationisusedbymanyartteacherstoreason

thatarteducationneedstobetreateddifferentlyfromothercourses,andtaught

differently.

Therearetwocentralaspectsoflearninginartschool.Thefirstoftheseistheworkinthe

studio;makinganddevelopingtheworktakesthemosttimeandthoughtofanystudent.

Thiscanbeaverysolitaryactivity,andtutorsdoregularlyencouragestudentstoworkon

theirowninthestudio.Studentsaretoldto‘shutthedoor’and‘concentrate’,toimmerse

themselvesintotheirworkandholddialoguewithit,ratherthanwithfellowstudentsor

eventutors.Thesecondaspectistheprocessofreflectionandvaluation,ofquestioningand

definingwhattheartist’sworkisandwhat‘itdoes’.Thisprocessofreflectionisdonebythe

studentaloneincontemplation,inonetoonetutorialsandingroupcrits,small

presentationsandcasualconversationwithinthestudioenvironmentaswellasmore

ambitiouspresentationsinindependentstudentledexhibitionsoutsideoftheschool.The

linebetweensubjectiveandobjectivefeedbackandassessmentinartschoolisalways

contested,andthedebateonhowtogivegoodfeedbackinasubjectthatreliespartlyon

intuitionandfeelingisalwayspartofanydiscussiononstudentswork.

AttheRuskinSchoolofArt,Iseeareluctancetosetoutteachingandlearningstrategiesas

wellasdefinelearningaimsandoutcomesclearly,forfearofimposingontheindividual

tutorsteaching.Thismakesthecourseoverlyreliantonthepersonalrelationshipbetween

theartistteacherandthestudentinlinewiththe

academysystem1,whichI,throughmyownlearningexperience,findtooopaqueand

hierarchicalforthecontemporaryartschool.

1Academyteachingiscomparabletothetransmissionmodelofteaching.Themodeloftheacademyisbasedonamasterclasssystem,inwhichagroupofstudentsareassignedtooneteacherforthedurationoftheircourse.ThissystemoriginatedinFrance(EcoledeBeaux-Arts)andinmodernisedformisstillinplaceinmostEuropeanartschoolsexemptfromtheBolognaprocess,whichestablishedtheBFA/MFAmodelinEuropeanartcollegesanduniversities.

TakingthePGDipLATHEcourse,Ihopetodevelopabetterunderstandingofmyown

teachingapproaches.IalsowouldliketodevelopapartoftheteachingIhaveresponsibility

forattheRuskinfurthertoincreasethelevelofgroupworkattheRuskinSchoolofArt.

Throughmyresearchintopedagogictheory,Ihavelearnedaboutarangeofdifferent

approachestoteachingandlearning,whichcould–maybeinadaptedform-behelpfulfor

teachingatanartschool.TheteachingstrategyIfindmostfittingwiththerequirementsof

theartschoolisSelf-RegulatedLearning(SRL).(Zimmerman2010)

MartynKingsbury(2014)describeseffectiveindependentlearningas‘theessenceofhigher

education’and‘thekeytolifelongandprofessionallearningandpersonaldevelopment.’

Thisisallthemorefittingwithfinearteducation,asthecreativeaspectoffineartdemands

learningasalifelongpartoftheprofessionfromthestart.2

IwilldescribethemodelofSRLandreportonthelevelofSRLintheartschoolfurtherinthe

contextofthePGDipLATHEresearchassignmentinthesecondchapterofthisportfolio.In

chapterthreeIwillshowSRLasacentralabilityforartiststomakeacareerbeyondart

school;andinchapterfourIwillshowwaysofimprovingthefeedbackandassessment

withintheartschooltohelpstudentsbecomeself-regulatedlearners.InchapterfiveI

introducetheartgroupcritasateachingandlearningstrategy,whichappliestheSRL

frameworkinagroupsetting.ThroughmyresearchongroupcritsconductedintheRuskin

SchoolofArtduringtheacademicyear2014/15Iwillthendevelopaproposalonhowthe

2Kinsbury(2014)makessomedistinctioninhiswritingbetweenIndependentLearning(autonomous),Selfdirectedlearning(inthecontextofandragogy)andSelf-regulatedlearning(cyclical,withguidanceandwithinstructure)butacknowledgestheconfusionoftermsintheliterature.IwilltousethetermSelf-regulatedlearningthroughouttheportfoliotodescribethelearningofstudentsattheuniversity,butthetermindependentlearningtospeakaboutthelearningactivitiesofstudentsandartiststakingplaceoutsidetheinstitution.

offerofgroupworktotheRuskinstudentscanbeimproved,inordertofurtherhelp

studentstobecomeself-regulatedlearners.

IampleasedtosaythatatthetimeofwritingSeptember2015,someofmyproposalsfor

changeattheRuskinhavebeenimplemented.TheRuskinBAstudentswillhavegreater

accesstogroupworkovertheirthreeyearcourseattheRuskin.Iwillreportonthechanges

tothecurriculum,specificallyontheorganisationofonepartofthecurriculum,thegroup

critiques,inchaptersix,‘ChangingtheSchedule’.

Phases and Sub-processes of Self-Regulation (from Zimmerman, 2010: 67)

TheInvigilator:Youarethefirstvisitorstoday,soyouwillhavethemuseumtoyourselfforabit! Excuseme,howoldisthelittleone?I:Danielis5.Itoldthemtheycan’ttouchanything,theywillbehave,Ipromise.TheInvigilator:Itisimportantthatyoustaywiththemthewholetime.Wehadparentswanderingoff,youwouldn’tbelieveit,andthenthekidsgetuptogodknowswhat..I:Iwillstaywiththem,don’tworry.Daniel:Thiswoman3lookslikeamermaid!Isthisplastic?CanItouchit?Paul:Thereisamovieinhere,canweseeit?

Chapter1

Howtogetthere.

Arteducationinthecontextoftheuniversityisalwaysinapositionofbeingstretched

betweentheacademicandhistoricalcontextononeside,andontheother,educating

studentstobecomeself-sufficientcommerciallysuccessfulartistsandcreative

entrepreneurs(Balletal,2010:9).Thisdivideiscomparabletothedivideexperiencedin

otherareassuchasthesciences,betweentheapplied(professionaltraining)andthe

theoretical(academicinquiry)field.AttheRuskinSchoolofArt,thisdivideisbridgedby

puttingthestudiopracticeatthecentreofthecoursecurriculum4,whilststilldemandinga

highlevelofacademicresearchfromstudentsthroughessaywritingandafocuson

individualtheoreticalresearchalongsidethepracticalpartofthecourseduringtheterm.

TheRuskincurriculumincludeselementsofall5ofEisner’sorientationstothecurriculum

(Eisner1979).Thedevelopmentofcognitiveprocessisformetheonemostapplicableto

theRuskin,asitemphasisesprocessandinquiry,bothimportantelementsintheprocessof

makingart.Elementsofacademicrationalismandpersonalrelevancearealsopertinentat

theRuskin.Themakingoftheworkandthecriticalreflectionofittogetherwiththe

3JeffandIlona(MadeinHeaven)polychromedwood167.6x289.6x162.6cmJeffKoons19904WeightingofcourseelementsonassessmentattheRuskinSchoolofArt:Prelims:Practicalwork60%HistoryandTheory25%HumanAnatomy15%;Finals:Practicalwork75%HistoryandTheory25%(TheRuskinHandbook,2014/15:21and23)

communicationoftheworktoawideraudiencearethemainfocusofmyteaching.

AccordingtotheTPI(PrattandCollins2001;AppendixA)mydominantareasinteachingare

thatofapprenticeship,followedbynurturinganddevelopment.Alltheseareasareator

abovemyaveragescoreof32.Thisresultalignswithmyintentionsinteaching,andIfindit

mirroredinthecognitiveapprenticeshipmodel:

‘Incognitiveapprenticeship,oneneedstodeliberatelybringthethinkingtothesurface,tomakeitvisible.Theteachersthinkingmustbemadevisibletothestudentandthestudentsthinkingmustbemadevisibletotheteacher.’(Collins,Aetal1989)

Iguidethestudentsinunderstandingtherelationshipbetweentheirinitialideasandthe

realizationandhelpthemtoreflectcriticallyonbothtechnicalandconceptualaspectsof

theirwork.InmyteachingIusemyownexperiencesasaprofessionalartistandthoseofmy

colleaguestodemonstratetherangeofpossibilitiesavailable.Mymainobjectiveistohelp

studentstobecomeindependentlearners.Toachievethis,Ipredominantlyusethemodel

ofSelf-RegulatedLearning(Zimmerman,2002)butalsoelementsoftheCognitive

Apprenticeshipmodel(Stalmeijer,2009)

Challengeshereare:

• Studentsneedtodevelopconfidencetofollowtheirowncreativeideas

independently

• Studentsneedtolearnpractical/vocationalaswellasacademicskills

• Studentshavetolearntocommunicatetheirideastoanaudience.

• Studentsneedtolearnhowtodevelopprofessionalrelationshipsimportantfortheir

workafteruniversity

Inordertoteachstudentstobecomevisuallyintelligent,independentprofessionalcreative

peopletheemphasisinteachinghastobeonabroadrangeoftransferableskillsaswellas

theindependentdevelopmentoftheirownartisticwork.Mostelementsofthecoursegive

studentstheopportunitytolearnarangeofskills5.Othersarenotclearlydefinedor

communicated,orhavenotbeengivenenoughspaceinthecurriculum.Iwilladdressthis

furtherinchapterfive,‘FeedbackandAssessment’.

IntroductiontotheRuskinGroupCrits

AttheRuskin,I’mresponsiblefortheorganisationandguidanceofthetwice-weeklygroup

critiques.Isetupthetimetableandcreatetheoverallstructureofthecritiques;writeyearly

guidestostudentsandstaffandtakefeedbackonthecritiquesfromstaffandstudents.

Thesediscussions,inshortcalledgroupcrits,aregroupdiscussionsinvolvingstudentsand

tutorsonindividualstudents’workduringasettimeframe.Inthesegroupcritiques,one

studentpresentstheirworktoagroupof20studentsfromall3yearsoftheBAcourse,

followedbyatimeddiscussionofthework.Thediscussionscanrangefromthevery

personal,tothepractical/technicalaspectsofit;totheacademicandtheoreticalresearch

connected.Theteacher’sroleinthesediscussionsisthatofamoderatorandguide.The

discussionsshouldconcentrateonthework,butcanbranchoutontophilosophicaland

politicaltopicsaswell.Duringthesediscussions,thestudentslearntoarguefortheirwork,

articulatethewidercontextofthework,speakinfrontofagroup,andarticulateconnections

betweentheirworkandthatofotherartists.Theyalsoaddressthetheoreticalcontextin

whichtheyseetheirwork.Thecritsareafocussedonself-reflectionoftheindividualstudent

withthecriticalsupportofthestudentgroup.Thecasestudy24.2(Fryetal.,2014:368)-

‘Howtomakeafiringsquadlessscary’(Day2013)-providesaninterestinginsightintohow

artschoolgroupcritswork.However,Idonotsharethecriticismtherethattheformat

doesnothelpstrugglingstudents.Ithinkthatifclearguidelinesarefollowedandthecritis

5RuskinSchoolofArtHandbook2014/15:7anexamplehereisthesuccessfulworkplacementprogramattheRuskin

anintegralpartofthecurriculumattheartschool,allstudentscangetalotofvaluable

supportfromcritsasaformofcollectivelearning.Idefinethespecificlearningoutcomesfor

critsasfollows:AftertakingpartinthecritsthroughouttheBAcoursestudentsare

expectedto:

• Confidentlypresenttheirworkandideastoagroupoftheirpeers.

• Identifyquestions,concernsandmediarelevanttothedevelopmentoftheirown

practiceandthatofothersindiscussion.

• Identifyintentionsandcriteriafortheirownworktoevaluatethework.

• Giveconstructivefeedbackandengageinjointreflection.

• Reflectoninterpretationsoftheirworkanddevelopwaystousethediscussionof

theirworkintheirongoinglearningprocess.

MyaimsteachinginthesecritsarealignedwiththedescriptiongivenintheTPIexplanations

ontheareaof‘Nurturing’.Imakeclearthroughoutthegroupworkthatthepersonaland

theintimateinthecontextofstudents’workisvaluedandprotected,butitcanbe

discussedopenlyandfreelyinthecontextofthecritique.Otherthanthemodelofself-

reflectivelearning(Zimmerman,2002)themodelofreflectivejudgements(King,2000)can

beusefultolearnthediscourselanguage,asitpromptsthestudentstodeveloptheirown

viewsandhelpstodevelopcriticalreflection.

TheSRLcycleinartschoolfortheindividualstudent.(AdaptedfromZimmermann,

2010:67)(AppendixF)

Paul:Isthisartaswell?Whatisthis?Paulpointstoalong,white,heavylookingpieceofbentmetalonthefloor.

I:Yes,that’sasculpture.It’sreallyheavyIthink,it’spaintedsteel.Idon’tknowwhomadethat…there’snolabelforthishere.Paul:Itlookslikescrap!Justthecolour,it’ssocleanlikethis.So,isthisexpensive?I:Paul,whydoyoualwayswanttoknowhowmuchsomethingcosts?Paul:BecauseIwanttobeanartistandmakethingsandsellthemforlotsofmoney!

Chapter2

TheextentofSelf-RegulatedLearningattheArtSchool

MTInvestigationNovember2014

StudentsatOxfordareimplicitlyexpectedtomanagetheirlearningindependentlyi.e.toself-

regulateallstagesofthelearningprocess,andthisexpectationisevenmorepronouncedin

a Fine Art course. In this chapter, I will report on the findings of the MT investigation

conducted during the PGDipLATHE together with Ruth Herbert (Music) and Alex

Pitcher(Medicine).IwillconcentrateontheFineArtstudentsinterviewed.Fortheinterview

protocolpleaseseeAppendixB

‘Studentstypically‘navigate’theirlearning(andthesupportandresourcesrequiredforindividualisedprojects)andareunlikelytobeengagedinaprogrammeoflearningthatiscommontothegroup.’(Fryetal,2014:362)

Therefore theapplicationof theSelf-regulated Learningmodel to FineArtundergraduate

studyexperiencesappearstargetedandrelevant.Thefollowingresearchquestionsinformed

thecross-disciplinaryinquiryreportedhere:

ResearchQuestions

1.Towhatextentarethestudentsself-regulatedlearners?

2. Do students develop an increased capacity for self-regulated learning as they

progressthroughtheirstudiesatOxford?

3. Are certain aspects of the courses we teach/facilitate associated with particular

aspectsoftheSRLmodel

4.AretherecommonfeaturesregardingaspectsofSRLacrossdisciplines?

TheoreticalFramework6

Priortothe20thcentury,intelligencewasviewedasaninherited;problemsinlearningwere

theorisedastheinevitableconsequenceofalimitedintellectualcapacity(Zimmerman,2010:

65). With the subsequent development of psychology - notably research into individual

differences ineducational functioning-understandingsof learningasprocess, ratherthan

finite capacity emerged. In particular, metacognition, defined as 'awareness of and

knowledge about one's own thinking’ (Zimmerman, 2010: 65) has been acknowledged as

being central to enhancing learning skills as it facilitates self-regulation, defined as 'a

multidimensionalprocesswherebyindividualsattempttoexertcontrolovertheircognition,

motivation, behaviours and environments in order to optimize learning and performance

outcomes' (Cleary et. al, 2012: 1). Social cognitivist and educational psychologist Barry

Zimmermanhas(fromthemid1980s)developedwhathasbecomeawidelyusedmodelfor

both studying and operationalizing self-regulated learning (Zimmerman&Martinez Pons,

1986; Zimmerman & Martinez Pons, 1988; Zimmerman, 1989; Zimmerman, 1990;

Zimmerman,2008;Zimmerman,2010;Clearyetal.,2012;Zimmerman&Kitsantas,2014).

ZimmermanconceptualisesSRLasathreestagecyclicalprocessofthoughtandaction:

‘Forethought (i.e. processes that precede efforts to learn or perform), performancecontrol (i.e. processes occurring during learning efforts), and self-reflection (i.e.processesoccurringafterlearningorperformance)’(Clearyet.al.,2012:2

Currentextentofself-regulatedlearningattheRuskinSchoolofArt

6ThispassagewastakenfromtheMTIassignmentwrittenincollaborationwithmycolleaguesRuthHerbertandAlexPitcher.(2014)RuthHerbertwrotethisparticularpart.

StudentsinterviewedontheFineArtcoursehadeachdevelopedtheirownstrategiesto

learnindependently.Itshouldbenotedthatallstudentsinterviewedhaddoneaone-year

FoundationcoursebeforecomingtotheRuskin.7Allthreeintervieweeshaddevelopeda

capacityforself-regulatedlearning,thoughStudentBemergedasthemostadvanced

learnerintheforethoughtphase,ashemeticulouslyplannedhisworkandtimetabledwell

inadvance:

‘IthinkIdefinitelydealwiththat[timetabling]butprobablytoomuch,itwasalmosttothepointthatIoverpreparedforit,tothepointthatthefewdaysbeforeIdidn’treallythinkaboutitwhatIhadtodobecauseIalreadydonethat,whichis,I’mveryaware,ifI’mshowingworkImakesurethateverythingisdone,IthinkIfinishedthecostumelike,aweekbefore.’StudentB

Therewasalsoahighdegreeofself-awarenessinlearning,asstudentswerereflectingon

thelearningprocessasitoccurred:

‘ItisreallydifficulttoprocessanyofitbecauseIhavejustdoneit-andyouhavelikesomuchadrenalin,Isangthesongwithoutanymusicandhadthatkindofstageadrenalin,Iwaswritingsomestuffdown,butIthinkI’mstillprocessingit.’StudentB

‘IsaidbeforethatIwantedtochangemyworkkindofquiteradically.SoImadethosedecisionsinadvanceknowingthattheamountofworkingtimethatIhadwhenI’dcomebackknowingthatIwouldbereadytotakethoseideasforward.’StudentC

StudentAdeliberatelyadjustedhertimetablingtothestructureofthecoursethroughthe

year:

‘It’snotsomethingwhichIwantedtodoinmyfirsttwoyearsofthecoursebecauseIfeltthatwouldbequiterestrictive,oratleastthatrestrictioncouldhavebeenaformofplayinthatIcouldhavemadesomethingveryquickly,inthefirstyearI

7OnaFoundationcourse,studentsworkingroupsoraloneonsettasks,learntechniques,andgetassessedastotheirstrengthandweaknessesinartanddesignsubjects.TheymightcomeintoaFoundationcoursewithadesiretostudyfineart,butmightdevelopapreferenceforfashion,designormorespecialisedsubjectssuchasceramics,printmaking,vehicledesign.Allofthestudentsgoingthroughfoundationhavebeenexposedtoarangeofmanualcrafttechniquesusedinartanddesign,andtoartcriticismandtheorytoacertaindegree.StudentscomingtotheRuskinwithoutafoundationdegreehavemuchgreaterdifficultyadaptingtothecourseanddevelopingtheSRLtoolsnecessarytodeveloptheirpractice.Thisisalmostequallyobservedinbothstudentscomingfromstateandpublicschooleducationpriortostartingadegree.

madealotofthingsveryquickly,IkindofsetalimitlikeifIhaven’t-ifI’vebeenworkingonthisfor2weeksandit’snotworkedoutthenI’llleaveitasanunfinishedpieceandmoveon,andinsecondyearIdidn’tparticularlywanttofollowthatbecauseIfeltlikeIdidn’tknowwhatitfeltliketotakealongtimeoversomething.’

Thisshowsthatthecoursegavesomeguidanceasa‘scaffolding’structure(Stalmeijer,R.E.,

etal2009)tothewaystudentslearn,butthatthestudentsdevelopedtheirowntoolsof

SRLwithinthiscoursestructure.

‘ButIthinkthethingthatmotivatesmeisreallychallengingandengaging,butinthecontextoftheartschoolthereisacollectiverhythmthatpeopleworktowhicheveryonekindofproduces,andwiththewaythetutorialsandcritsarestructured,thereisthisinvisiblepunchholingsystem,likeclockinginandclockingout,IthinkIdon’tknowwhatelseI’dratherbedoing,andifI’mworkingatsomethingIreallywanttofinishitandseewhatitdoes.’StudentB

Allstudentssawthetutorialsystemandinparticularthecritsystemasawaytoreflecton

theirworkandgetfeedbackandinspirationtoopenupnewareasoflearning,however,

theyalldevelopedtheirlearningtoolsmoreorlessselfguided.Therewassomesenseof

collectivelearning-thisinvolvedthecritsasfeedbacksessions,butalsoself-organised

learninggroups:

‘Wehavethewrittenexamcomingup,andalotofusaretalkingaboutsharingouressays,organisingrevisionsessions,sostufflikethatandthatisgoodtohavelotsoffriendsintheartschoolbecauseyoudolearnsomuchfromeachother.’StudentB

IncreasedcapacityforSRLasthecourseprogressed

AllFineArtstudentsinterviewedstartedtheirstudieswithsomecapacityforself-regulated

learning,andallhaddevelopedtheircapacityforSRLasthecourseprogressed.Theysaw

theartschoolasapreparationforprofessionallifeasanartistintheformofatesting

groundwithdifferentrules,ratherthanaprecursorof‘therealthing’.Therewasan

awarenessoftheirresponsibilityfortheirownlearning,sofarthatadditionallearning

experiencesoutsideofthecollegewereused:StudentCwentonaselforganisedresidency

abroadtoprepareforher3rdyear.Theplanningandforethoughtphasetookupalotof

time:inplanningforprelims,veryearlyonStudentBhaddevelopedatechniqueof‘taking

picturesofeverything’,buildinganarchivethatheneededtodevelopasaportfoliofor

Prelims.Heabandonedthistechniquedeliberatelyinthesecondyearto‘allowforthingsto

develop’.ThePerformancePhase(PP)wasshorterthantheForethoughtPhase(FP)orthe

Self-reflectionPhase(SRP)andhadmoreformal,solitaryandmechanicalaspects,asit

involvedcarryingouttechnicaltasksandorganisationofpresentations,thetechnicalmaking

oftheworkitselfintheworkshopandtestingofideasintheirrealisation.Studentsmainly

useonetoonetutorialstoreflectontheirprogressduringPF.Theself-reflectionphasewas

againtime-intense,andthisinvolvedthemostengagementwithpeers,tutorsandthewider

Oxfordenvironment.SRPhappenedthroughcrits,tutorialsandalsoexhibitionsheldoutside

oftheRuskininvarioussemi-publiclocationsincollegesorprojectspacesroundOxford.

Here,IcouldseeforthefirsttimepartsoftheSRLcycleappliedinacollectiveway,

especiallythroughreflectionviathegroupcritasaformofcollectivelearning.

Alsonoteworthywasthedifferencebetweenstrategiesemployedforthepracticalpartof

thecourseandthetheoreticalpart,asthesewereseenasfairlyseparateentities.Students

employeddifferentlearningapproachestotheirpracticalworkthantothetheoreticalside.

8Consistently,allSRLtechniqueswereselfdevelopedbuthelpfromthetutorswas

acknowledged.

‘IthinkI’mmuchmoreenthusiasticaboutbeingmorerigorousaboutresearch-Ithinkthatmightbethekindofkeything…andmorecuriousaswell.’StudentA

8Thepracticalsidewasseenasmoreimportantduetotheweightingintheassessmentprocess:60%versus40%forPrelims,75%versus25%fortheFinals.

‘WellinrelationtopracticeIseeoverthethreeyearsarealprogressioninthatI’vebecomemoreindependentwithmylearning,towhatkindoffeedsmywork…partofitisconfidence,andinthefirstyearyouaretryingtotakeonboardeverythingwhateveryonesays,andyourealisethatifyoudothatyoujustgomad-overthespanofthecourseyoudobuildafoundationforindependentlearning.’StudentB

‘IguessovertheyearsjustknowinghowIneedtobefordifferentkindsofthingsI’mdoing,whatkindofenvironmentisbestforme.’StudentC

‘Ithinkthewaythecourseissplitbetweenpracticeandtheoryisactuallyverygoodforencouragingyouforfindingstrategiesofindependentthinking,becausetheyaresoseparate,youcanallowthemtofeedintoeachotherandthatisveryhelpful,buteachonedoesn’tkindofbabysittheother,intermsofliketutorsupport,ifthatmakessense.’StudentA

AspectsofthecourseassociatedwiththeSRLmodel

TheRuskinHandbookstatesaspartofthelearningstrategythatstudentsare

‘offeredconsiderablefreedominhowtheyinterpretthecurriculum,aswebelieveintheimportanceofallstudentsprogressivelyachievinganindependenceofthinkingandfreedomofchoiceinthewaytheyapproachboththeorganisationoftheirstudiesandsubjectmatter’(TheRuskinHandbook2014/15:7)

Therealsoisagreatemphasisplacedonacquiringtransferableskills

‘Althoughthecoursestructureandcurriculumisorganisedtoenableourgraduatestomakearapidcontributiontothecontemporaryartworld,weareawarethatmanywillnotwishtopursuethiscareeroption,sogreatscoreisplacedonourstudentslearningtransferableskills’(TheRuskinHandbook2014/15:7)

However,therearenospecificstrategieslaidoutintheHandbookwhichcouldbeusedto

teachstudentshowtolearnindependently,andthetutorialsystemisplacedas‘attheheart

oftheircontinuousassessment(TheRuskinHandbook2014/15:8)’thereforegivingastrong

indicationoftheimportanceoftheindividualrelationshipbetweenstudentandtutor9.The

studentsthemselvesarequiteawareoftheimportanceofindependentlearning:

9 Studentsgetcurrentlyassignedonetutorperterm,changingeveryterm.

‘Idefinitelyliked[that]therewasaveryselfdirectedapproach,weweregiveninourfirstyearalotofautonomytoexplorewhatitwaswewereinterestedinandtherewaskindofafreehandsapproachinthatwe’dseeourtutorsonceeverytwoweeksorsoand[it]feltastherewasverylittleimpositionontohowwewoulddirectourownlearningorourownpractise.’StudentA

‘IthinkthereisahighlevelofencouragementtouseyourresourcestofeedyourowncuriosityandIthinkthereisalotofencouragementtobemorecurious-andIthinkthatissomethingwhichyourtutorsdoforyou…atutorisagoodpersontoopenyouuptowiderrangeof ideasorwaysofapproachingthingswhichyoumaynothavethoughtofIthinkthewaythecourseissplitbetweenpracticeandtheoryisactuallyverygoodforencouragingyouforfindingstrategiesofindependentthinking,becausetheyaresoseparate.’StudentA

‘Partofitisconfidence,andinthefirstyearyouaretryingtotakeonboardeverythingwhateveryonesays,andyourealisethatifyoudothatyoujustgomad-overthespanofthecourseyoudobuildafoundationforindependentlearning.It’sjustbeenakindofslowprocesstounpickorpickwhatIdowanttolearnfromandwhatIdon’t.Andalsowhatkindofmethodsyoudowanttouse?’StudentB

ItisclearthatthestudentsareteachingthemselvestouseSRLmethods,ratherthanrelying

onthecoursetoteachthem.Forexample,oneofthestudentsinterviewedspecifiedthat

sheexpectedOxfordparticularlytobeaplacewellsuitedtobetaughtSRLmethods,but

thatthecoursehadsofarfailedtodeliver:

‘IthinkoneofthereasonsIwantedtocomeherewasthatIthoughtitwouldbeoneofthebestplacesintermsofinnovativelearningstrategies,wherestudentsareaskedtothinkfreely,andaregiventhekindoftoolsthatallowthemtodothat,andIdon’tfeelnecessarilythatthat’skindofthestrengthofthisplace.Tobeabletoaccesssomuchknowledgeisgreat,butifpeoplearen’thelpingyouinordertodevelopthetoolsthatyouneedinordertousethosethingstoagreaterdepth,andtouseyourself,Ithinkthat’skindofashame.’StudentC

Conclusion

Inall,thereisnoconsciousapplicationoftheSRLmodelorelementsofitvisibleinthe

coursesetup.Elementsofthecoursestructure,suchasthecritandthetutorialareuseful

fortheapplicationofpartsoftheSRLmodel,butrelyontheindividualtutorsapproachto

teaching.Thecritmightbethemostaccommodatingelementofthecoursetomakevisible

elementsofSRLinapplication.AsanobservationIcansuggestthatpartsofotherteaching

frameworkssuchastheCognitiveapprenticeship(StalmeijerandDolmansetal,2009)-to

showexperiences-andtheProductiveDisciplinaryEngagementframework(Engle2012)-

providingchallenges-mightbeusedwithinthecoursetoguidestudentstowardsbecoming

self-regulatedlearners.

TheSRLCycleinartschoolforthestudentgroup(groupcritiquesituation)

(adaptedfromZimmermann,2010:67)(AppendixF)

I:Paul,ifyousaysomethingyoumadeisart,thenstillotherscancomeandtalktoyouaboutitandsayitmightnotbeart.Whatwouldyousaythen?Paul:ButifIdrawitreallywell,thenitisart!I:Ofcourse,butwhatifsomeonejustdoesn’tlikeit?Paul:Idon’tknow.ButIdon’tlikethis-PaulpointsattheLichtenstein-anditisstillhereinthemuseum.Soitisart.I:Soeverythingthatisinamuseum,isart?Paul:No…thedinosaursarenotart,andtheyareinamuseum...

Chapter4

TheGroupCritattheArtSchool:CollectiveSelf-RegulatedLearning

Historicalcontextofthegroupcrit

Informalandformaldiscussionsofstudentsworkhavealwaysbeenapartofarteducation.

Thesechosenhistoricalexamplesasprecursorsofthecritasaneducationalstrategymight

helptoexplainthecurrentformofit.Therearewidevariations,dependingonteaching

historywithinindividualcountriesaswellasindividualapproachesatspecificartschools.

BeuysRingdiscussions

JosefBeuysstartedteachingattheDuesseldorfArtAcademyduringthesixties.Duringhis

time,heradicallychangedtheteachingattheAcademyfromveryformaltraditionalcraft

basedassignmentteachingreliantontheMaster/Apprenticemodeltoanindividualisticand

selfinventivebutalsocommunalandcollectivewayofteaching.Inthehistoryofthe

GermanAcademysystem,Beuyshasbeencelebrated-orblamed-fortheradicalchanges

theteachingofartinGermanyunderwentduringthesixties.Thehumanisticapproachto

pedagogyandthespiritualismofthephilosopherRudolfSteinerhadabiginfluenceon

Beuys’teaching.In1966,Beuysestablishedthe‘RingDiscussions’withintheArtAcademy

asaforumtodiscussallmannerofpolitical,socialandartistictopics.Healsocausedgreat

institutionalfrictionasheadvocatedfreearteducationforallandabolishedallentry

requirementstohisclass.

‘ThetopicalityofthethemesdiscussedinBeuys’classattractednotonlyotherstudentsoftheArtAcademy-suchasSigmarPolke,forexample-butalsovisitorsfromoutside,withtheresultthatBeuys’classsoonbecamea‘PodiumandActionCentreoftheExtendedArtConcept’.Thesediscursive,introspectivediscussionswerealtogetherinkeepingwithBeuys’conceptoftheparallelismoftheoryandpracticeand,in1966,ledtotheinstitutionalisationoftheso-called‘ringdiscussions’which,inthefinalanalysis,weretobecomethe‘nucleus’ofthepoliticalactivitiesofBeuys’students.The‘ringdiscussions’wereconcernedprimarilywiththeconceptofartandfreedom,universityandcollegeeducationpolicies,theroleofthestateanddemocracy,andalsowiththe‘socialsystemasawhole,basedonBeuys’artconceptandRudolfSteiners’‘ThreefoldSocialOrder’.’(Richter,2006)

MichaelAsherPostStudioGroup

MichaelAsherwasanAmericanconceptualartist.HetaughtattheCaliforniaInstituteofthe

Artsfrom1973-2008.HisPostStudioArtcoursewasacourseconcentratingintensivelyon

groupcritiqueofindividualstudentsworkoutsideofthestudioenvironment.Someofthe

discussionswouldlastforlongperiodsoftime,andasinglediscussionofoneworkcouldgo

onfor5hours.Thediscussionscanbeseenintheframeofconceptualartasinstitutional

critique,withthesetupandlengthofthecoursedeliberatelydesignedtorevealthelimits

ofthecurriculumforarteducation.

‘Inoppositiontotheartist’sstudio,whichhecametoseeasasitethatdictatesthemanufactureofdiscreteobjectsfatedtocirculateascommodities,Asherdevelopedafree-floatingartpracticethatengagedcriticallywithart’ssocialandinstitutionalcontexts.Heappliedthesameprinciplesinhispedagogicalmethod.The“Post-Studio”seminarthathetaughtfordecadesattheCaliforniaInstituteoftheArtsinValencia,Calif.,islegendary.Thecourse’sintensive,hours-longgroupcritiquesencouragedstudentstodeeplyassessthefactorsthatmotivatetheirart.’(Alberro2012)

Partlyoutofthesehistoricalformsthathadapioneerfunctionasexperimentalandradical

teachingformsthecurrentformofthegroupcrithasevolvedintoateachingstrategywell

integratedintothecurriculuminmostartschoolsinEuropeandtheUS.Therearefurther

examplesofexperimentalgroupteachinginartschool,butthesemaybetwoofthemost

influentialoneswithinwesternarteducation.

ThecritasacollectiveformofSelf-RegulatedLearning

The2007paper‘TheStrengthsandWeaknessesoftheCrit-adiscussionpaper’(Blythman,

Orr,andBlair,2007)givesageneralandcomprehensiveoverviewoftheliteratureoncrits.10

Themainfindingsofthispaperarealignedwithsomeofmyviewsonthecritasa

functioningeducationalstrategyinkeepingwithgoodpracticeandconstructivealignment11

buttheyalsoconfirmsomeofthedifficultieswithit,asIwillexplainbelow.Thecritatthe

RuskinisalignedwiththeeducationalpurposesofthecoursestatedintheHandbook,asit

fulfilsvariouselementsofthelearningoutcomesthatcanbedrawnfromtheassessment

criteria(RuskinHandbook2014/15:18-19).Teachingandlearningtowardsthesecriteriacan

bedonewellintutorialsandlonestudiopractice,butmyargumentisthatacurriculumthat

usesthecritasawellintegratedpartofstudentlearningprovidesthestudentwith

constructivecriticismfromtheirpeersandanexperienceoffeedbackfortheirworkthatwill

bemoreusefultotheirprogressinlearningthanacurriculumwithafocusononetoone

tutorials.

Groupcritiqueisateachingandlearningstrategythatfocusesonprocessandself-reflection

forstudentsandtutorsalike.Thelearningfromthecritdependsonthediscussioninthecrit

formingthelearningcontent,thusthecritisalearningsituationwherecontextandcontent

cometogetherinacreativeprocess.

Inacrit,theperformancepartoftheSRLmodelisliteral,asthereflectivelearningprocessis

‘performed’infrontofagroup.Therefore,thecritcouldbedescribedasthegroupversion

oftheSRLmodel,fittingwithinZimmermann’s(2002)critiqueontheviewoftheSRLmodel

asasolitarypractice:

10Thispaperisbasedonresearchondesigncritsaswellasartcrits.Additionally,theauthorshavedevelopedasetofguidesforstudentsandpractitionersbasedontheliteratureandtheinterviews.11seethechapterFeedbackandAssessmentonconstructivealignmentattheRuskin.

‘Contrarytoacommonlyheldbelief,self-regulatedlearningisnotasocialinnatureororigin.Eachself-regulatoryprocessorbelief,suchasagoalsetting,strategyuse,andself-evaluation,canbelearnedfrominstructionandmodellingbyparents,teachers,coaches,andpeers.Infact,self-regulatedstudentsseekouthelpfromotherstoimprovetheirlearning.Whatdefinesthemas“self-regulated”isnottheirrelianceonsociallyisolatedmethodsoflearning,butrathertheirpersonalinitiative,perseveranceandadoptiveskill.Selfregulatedstudentsfocusonhowtheyactivate,alter,andsustainspecificlearningpracticesinsocialaswellassolitarycontexts.’(Zimmerman2002)

ThecritgoesbeyondtheindividuallearningsituationinSRL,andincludesthegroupinthe

self-reflectiveprocess.Itprovidesthecollectivelearningprocessinreflection,whilstalso

givinganoutlooktothefurthermakingandlearningprocessoftheindividual.Artworkin

thecontextofthecritistreatedaccordingtoawidercontext-thiscanincludeitsrelevance

inenhancingculturalcapitalinsociety.12Thisisasociologicalapproachtolearning,in

contrasttothepsychologicalapproachtolearningviaSRLasasolitaryactivity.Inthissense,

thecritsformaparticularpartoftheartschoolthatinit’sformisacollaborativegroup

activity,butstillforegroundstheindividualisticnatureofartproduction,furtheringthe

developmentoftheindividualstudentsworkthroughthecollectiveactivity.

PositiveAspectsofthecrit

• Feedbackfrompeersenhancingtheirownlearningactivity

‘Anopportunityforstudentstosharepracticeacrosstheirpeersandseeavarietyofsolutionsandwaysofthinkingaboutthesameprojectorproblem’(Blythman,OrrandBlair,2007)

ThisaspectcameoutaspositiveaswellinmyresearchwithstudentsoftheRuskininMay

201513andconfirmsmyobservationswhileleadingcrits.

12Theexchangeofculturalcapitalinthecontextofthecritissometimesseenasproblematic(Horton,2007),astherelationshipbetweenstudentandtutorsinacritisunequal.Icanconfirmthisopinionincasesofschoolswhereacriticaldiscoursedominatedbytutorsandfixedtheoreticalcontexthasalreadybeenestablished.ThisisnotthecaseattheRuskin,whichmakesitpotentiallymorecapableofestablishingamoreequal,positivecriticaldiscoursebasedonstudentlearningandpeerassessment.13seeResultsoftheRuskinGroupcritQuestionnaireAppendixD,SummaryAppendixE

• Thecritasformativeassessment

‘Thecritisavaluableopportunityforformativeassessmentespeciallyifitisheldataninterimpointintheproject.Thiscanallowthestudenttotryoutideas/conceptsandgetfeedbackwithinasafenonprofessionandnonsummativeassessedenvironmentfrombothstaffandotherstudents.’(Blythman,OrrandBlair,2007)

ThestudentsoftheRuskinconfirmedinthequestionnaire(AppendixD)thattheyfoundthe

feedbackhelpful,however,asthecrittimesattheRuskinareassignedtostudentsrather

thanthestudentschoosetheirowntimeforthecritaccordingtotheirprojects,theyfound

thetimingsometimesunhelpfulandwouldprefertopresenttheirworkatatimewhenthey

couldgetthemostusefulfeedbackforit-i.e.towardstheendofaproject.

‘Funelementbecauseitiscommunal…andhumancontact.Critscanalloweveryonetoseeeachothersworkandsharepractice…Aseventstheyhavemorepotentialfordialogueandarelessjudgemental.Itbuildsrelationshipsbetweenthestaffandthestudentsandcanbealeveller’

(Blythman,OrrandBlair,2007)

Students’responsesattheRuskinhavementionedtheimportanceofseeingeachother’s

workasapositivepointforthecrits,aswellasthevarietyofinputfromthegroupand

tutors.

Negativeaspectsofthecrit

• Participationofallstudents

Studentshavearrivedatthecrittopresentworkatthelastminute,orleavingthecrits

beforetime,thereforenotengagingwiththediscussioninthecrit.Thestudents

themselvesseethisasaproblemfortheircrits:

‘Thereneedtobeclearconsequencesforthosestudentswhodon'tshowup,atthemomentthesystemistoorelaxedandsomepeoplenevergetadecentcrit.’(AppendixD)

Thisunwillingnesstoparticipatemayalsohavetodowiththefeelingsrelatedtopresenting

inacrit,soexcusestonotshowupatthecrithidethefearofpublicpresentationinfrontof

thegroup.

‘Somestaffhadthefeelingthatstudentswhofeeluncomfortablewiththecritformatdonotturnupandthishasnegativeimpactontheirwork.Lackofparticipationcouldbeaself-protectivestrategyonthepartofsomestudents.’

(Blythman,OrrandBlair,2007)

ThroughmyresearchwithstudentsoftheRuskinonthecritIcanseethatwhilethe

studentsoverwhelminglyseethecritasapositiveexperience,theyareawareofthestress

factorthepresentationbrings.

‘Althoughitisimpossiblenottofeelverymuchonthespotduringcritsmoreoftenthannotthecriticismisconstructiveanduseful’(AppendixD)

Thelownumberofrespondentsofthequestionnaire-22outofastudentbodyof70-also

makesmethinkthattherearepossiblyhiddenconcernsaboutthisteachingmethodnot

beingvoiced.However,oneofthemostpressingfactorswhystudentsmightnot

participate,accordingtotheiranswersandconversationswithstaffandstudents,istime

managementintheconstraintsofan8weekOxfordtermandthenon-compulsorynatureof

thecritsattheRuskin.

‘Pleasemakecritsshorter!Wehavesolittletimeinthestudiothatsacrificingthreehoursfeelsliketoomuch’.(AppendixD)

• FearFactor

Negativeoutcomescanincludefearofpersonalexposure,feelingsofridiculeandshame,

thedestructionofself-esteemandlackofpowerinthefeedbackprocessitself.

‘Additionally,thenotionofbeing‘respected’orthesenseofbeingactivelydis-respectedisattheheartofthefeedbackissuefortheCrit.’(Day,2013)

MyresearchwithstudentsattheRuskindoesnotmirrorthehighemphasisonstressorfear

associatedwiththecritinotherplacesandinresearchsuchasquotedabove.(AppendixD)I

dosharehowevertheconcernfortheimpactonlearning,andI’mawareofthe

psychologicalfactorsofthecritthatimpactonthelearningofthestudents.

‘Thelearning,whichtakesplace,isnotalwaysasmightbeexpected,justdependentonthenatureandqualityofthecurrentfeedbackgiven.Thestudents'perceptionoftheirroleinthecritandofselfcandistractthestudentfromthetaskinhandandalsoblockanylearningexperience.(Blair2006)

Research(Blair2006)hereshowsthattheemotionalstressmighthaveanimpactonthe

abilityofstudentsfordeeplearning(Fryetal2014:66),(MartonandSäljö1984/1997)

duringthecritaswellastheirperceptionofselfandgenerallyselfconfidenceand

perceptionoftheirplaceinthestudentgroup.14Students’answersattheRuskinshowed

thatthemajorityofstudentsareawareoftheemotionallychargedsituationthecritcanbe,

seecriticismashelpfulandcandivideconstructivecriticismfrompersonal,emotionally

chargedcomments.

‘It'shardnottotakecriticismpersonallybutprovidedthecriticismisclearandhasclearexplanationandsuggestedsolutionitisapositivething.’(AppendixD)‘Imanagetoremainfairlyobjectiveandhaveevenparticipatedinthecriticismofmyownworkduringacrit.Ifindcandidresponsesmorehelpfulthancompliments!’(AppendixD)‘Ifinditquiteokay,abitnerve-wrackingaswehavesofew,soeachonebecomesverysignificant.Iamaperfectionistsoonecritayearbecomesquiteapressuredsituation.Ialwaysfindthemhelpful.’(AppendixD)

AttheRuskin,studentsrankthecriticalqualityofthediscussionsaseithernotcritical

enoughordependingonthetutorsandpeopleparticipating;andaskformorecritical

engagementwithandmorerigorousquestioningoftheworkdiscussed.

14Researchfortheperceptionofselfofstudentsduringacritthisisbasedonisoneresearchpaper,(Kluger/deNisi1996)whichisasfarasIcanseetheonlyonequotedanywhereinresearchoncritsasanargumentforthethesisthatdeeplearningisaffectedbythestressfactorparticularincritsatartschool.Itstatesthatstudentsmightnotlearnwhatisintended,butmaylearnsomethingthatimpactsnegativelyontheirfurtherlearningapproaches.Althoughitsoundslogicalthatstressaffectslearningnegatively,it’snotsoconvincingifthereisjustthisonereferenceusedintheliteratureoncrits.

Skillsacquisition

Thepaper‘TheStrengthsandWeaknessesoftheCrit-adiscussionpaper’(Blythman,Orr

andBlair,2007)andmyownresearch(appendixB)showsthatskillsacquisitionincrits

focusesspecificallyontransferableskillsratherthanskillsprimarilyassociatedwiththe

courseaims15Thetransferableskillspracticedandlearnedinthecritarefocussedon

presentation(Blythman,OrrandBlair2007),includingtechnicalskillssuchasframing,

installation,organisationoftechnicalsupportandskillssuchastimemanagementor

speakingbeforeagroup.

ThecritattheRuskin-peerreviewanddiscussion

‘Thesixthreasonisthatcritiquesareveryemotional.Thecritiqueisnotasituationwhereyoucanbedetached,becausetheartist,ofcourse,isveryclosetotheirwork.Itstruckmeacoupleofyearsagothatoneofthewaysyoucouldthinkaboutacritiqueisthatit’slikeaseduction.Thestudentistryingtogettheirartworktobeseductive,butyoualsodon’treallywantthattohappenbecausewhatyouwanttodoisgetacertainamountoffeedback.Youwanttolearnsomething.Itisalwaysnicetosellawork,butwhatyou’rereallylookingforthenisanarcofimmediateenthusiasticacceptancefollowedbyanamicableseparation.’(Elkins2005)

Duringspringterm2015IwasaskedtoprovideaPLTO16teachingsessionforDPhilstudents

attheRuskinonhowtoleadgroupcritiques.Agroupof4DPhilstudentsobservedacrit

with3studentsshowingworkandagroupof15studentsdiscussingthework.Afterthecrit

IconvenedwiththeDPhilstudentstodiscusstheirobservations.

Iaskedthemforfeedbackonhowthecrithadbeenledaswellastheirobservationon

students,andthenaskedthemabouttheirownexperiencesofthecritsituationbothas

15intheRuskin’scasetheassessmentcriteria.(seeRuskinHandbook(2014/15page18/19)16PreparationforTeachingandLearningatOxford

studentsandteachers.TheD-Philstudentswereconcernedthatthecritwasnot‘critical’

enough,sothatthestudentswerenotchallengedenougheitherbythetutorsortheir

fellowstudents.Thecritwasseenasarelaxedsituationwhere‘notmuchwasatstake’for

thestudentshowingthework.AninterestingsuggestionwasmadebyoneD-philstudentto

changethestartofthecritbystartingthediscussionwithaverysimpleverbaldescriptionof

thework:material,size,form,colourandanyimportanttechnicalaspects.17Theadvantages

ofthisapproachcouldbeverygrounding,allowingstudentsatthestartofthecrittonot

immediatelygointointerpretation,butremindingeveryoneofthematerialbasicqualities

oftheartobjectinfrontofthem.

TheD-Phil’sfurthercomparedtheundergraduatecritsituationwithaD-Philseminarand

sawsomeparallels,howevermoredifferences:TheD-Philseminarwasseenmoreasan

exchangeofideasfocussingonveryparticularissuesofthework,andoftenreferringback

topreviousseminarsandthestudents’theoreticalresearchinvolved.Thiskindofcontinuity

issomethingthattheundergraduatecritattheRuskinreallylacks,asatthemomentthere

aretoofewcritsituationsforthestudentsavailabletoshowtheirworkin.

Asapositive,theD-Philstudentsobservedthatthecritsituationseemedtobeasafespace,

withthestudentsrelaxedandapparentlyconfidenttosaywhattheywantedtosay,and

moststudentsparticipatingintheconversation.Thiswasseenastheresultofgood

moderationbythetutor.Theyalsosawasapositivethatthediscussionofideaswasmostly

ledbythestudents,withthetutorsnotdominatingtheconversation.Theyobservedthat

althoughthediscussionwasslowanduncriticalinthebeginning,the‘ideasgotthere

eventually’.FromthefeedbackoftheD-PhilstudentsIcandrawsomeconclusionsformy

17ThisformofstartingthecritisusedatthePietZwartInstituteinRotterdam,ontheFineArtMAcourse.

ownteaching.Thepartsofmyteachingthatarealignedwithgoodpracticeandarehelping

thestudentswhileIleadcritsare:

• Theprovisionofasafespace

• Goodmoderationofthestudentgroupsoeveryonecontributestothediscussion

• Motivationofstudentstoleadtheirowndiscussionandideas

WhatIcouldimproveonwhileleadingcrits:

• Providemorecriticalquestionsonthework

• Givemorereferencesandopenupadditionalareasofideastodiscuss

• Instigateamorecriticaldebate

• Introduceformalmethodsofstartingthecritandofrecordingofthecrit.

Ialsohaveopportunitiestointegrategroupworkintomyownteachingwithstudents

allocatedtome.Ihavebegunseeingstudentsingroupsaswellasforindividualtutorialsin

theirstudios.Furthermore,Iwilltrytointegratemoreonlineconversationwiththe

students,openingupinformationandreferencesgiventoparticularstudentstothegroup

asawhole.Ialsocouldintegratemoregroupdiscussionsintomyteaching,byseeing

studentsasagroupandlettingthemtalkabouttheirworkinfrontofthegroup.The

downsidetothisapproachisthatthegroupmightbetoosmall,asitwouldjustinclude4-5

studentsandme.

Joby,MichaelandAnyaarestandingtransfixedinfrontofasmallmonitorshowingthefilm‘DerLaufderDinge’18.Itshowsaburning,foamingwhitesubstanceflowovertwotraysandigniteafusetoacanon,whichshotsoutaball,knocksoverabottleblowingupaballoonstucktoit…Michaelturnsaroundandgrins.Canwetrythisathome?Inthekitchen?Ifwedothisatschoolwegetintrouble.Isay:youcouldshowthemthefilminschoolandasktheteacheriftheywouldallowsomethinglikethis?Michael:ButIdon’thavethatfilm.I:Ibetit’sonYouTube.Michael:Ha?IsitstillartifitisonYouTube?I:IthinkthereisalotofartonYouTube.Michael:IsanythingyoumadeonYouTube?

Chapter5

AssessmentandFeedback

Inthischapter,Iwilldescribemyownassessmentpractices.FurthermoreIwillanalysethe

aimsandlearningoutcomesandassessmentcriteriaasstatedinHandbook2014/15ofthe

RuskinSchoolofArtaccordingtotheprinciplesofconstructivealignment(Biggs,2002)and

principlesofgoodpractice.Iwillmakesomesuggestiononhowusingmoreformative

assessmentwithinthepracticalpartofthecoursewillimprovestudents’capacityforself-

regulatedlearning.IwillsummariseimprovementsIcanmaketomyownteaching

regardingfeedbackandassessment.Adescriptionofthedifferencesbetweenthe

18DerLaufderDinge,film,30min,Switzerland1987,PeterFischliandDavidWeiss

assessmentcriteriaappliedinthesciencesandinartstatesaparticulardifferenceina

‘criteriaofexactness’:

‘Inascientificdemonstration,theparticularappearanceofwhatisshownmattersforthevalidityoftheexperimentonlytotheextenttowhichitissymptomaticofthefacts.Theshapeofthecontainers,thesizeofthedials,theprecisecolourofasubstancemaybeirrelevant.Similarly,theparticularproportions,angles,coloursofadiagrammaynotmatter.Thisisbecauseinsciencetheappearancesofthingsaremereindicators,pointingbeyondthemselves,tohiddenconstellationsofforces.Thelaboratorydemonstrationandthediagraminthetextbookarenotscientificstatementsbutonlyillustrationsofsuchstatements.Intheartstheimageisthestatement.Itcontainsanddisplaystheforcesaboutwhichitreports.Therefore,allofitsvisualaspectsarerelevantpartsofwhatisbeingsaid.’(Arnheim,1969:301)

Thisdescribesverywellthedifficultyforstudentsaswellastutorsin‘whattolookoutfor’

inassessmentofcreativework;whattoarticulatewhengivingfeedbackinadiscipline

whichinpartsreliesonsensoryandtacitknowledge(Fryetal,2014:366).

SinceArnheimwrotethis,thedefinitionof‘criteriaofexactness’invisualartmighthave

shiftedsomewhatfromthefocusontheformalcriteriaofmodernismtotheapplicationofa

postmodern,contemporaryculturelens,throughwhichartisviewed.VisualArtists

increasinglyemployscientificorpseudo-scientificmethodsofresearchtotheirwork,and

theexhibitedresultofthatresearchmoreandmoreimitatesthesetupsofscientific

presentations,suchaslaboratories,documentaries,workshopsetups,lecturesand

performances.Itcannowbethecasethatinthevisualarts,exactlyasArnheimstatedas

givenforscience,the‘appearancesofthingsaremereindicators,pointingbeyond

themselves,tohiddenconstellationsofforces.’(Arnheim1969:301)However,theproblem

thattheimageitselfcarriesthemeaningandcontentoftheworkwhichishardtoputinto

wordsstillapplies-andthereforethedifficultytowritecriteriaofassessmentforthevisual

artsstillisthesame,asthedifficultytoarticulatethevisualimageintextremains(Brown,

2014:366).JustasArnheim,Eisner(2002)analysesthecognitiveprocessesnecessaryand

appliedbystudentstocreate,toimagine,aswellasheshowsthelimitsoflanguageto

communicateandjudgeworksofart.Arnheim'sapproachhereistoincludeimagesaspart

oftheconversationoncreativity,moreradicallyaspartofscienceeducationaswellto

communicatewhatcan’tbearticulatedinlanguage,whereasfurtherresearchinart

education(Blair2000,Orr2010,Shreeve2009)pointstoasharedlanguageofpractitioners

instead.Thisisimportantinthecontextofthecrits,asthisisthespaceinwhichthe‘shared

language’onimagesandobjectscanbedeveloped-consequentlythenthisisthespacein

whichtermsofassessmentofstudentsworkcanevolveindiscussion.19

LearningaimsandobjectivesattheRuskin

TheHandbookmakesreferencetotheoverallaimsofthecourse;however,itremains

uncleartome,whattheseare,asthereisnodistinctive‘missionstatement’whichcouldbe

recognisedspecificallyasaguidetooverallaimsandobjectives,otherthanthefirstandthe

lastsentenceoftheintroductionpageoftheHandbook(2014/15):

‘FineArtattheRuskinisthepracticalandtheoreticalstudyofcreativevisualintelligence…Weencouragestudentstotaketheirowninitiativeandtomapanindividualcoursethroughwhichtodevelopadistinctivevoice.’

TherearetwoteachingformatsIuseattheRuskin:thetutorialandthegroupcrit.Iholda

minimumof4onetooneorgrouptutorialsatermwiththestudentsassignedtomeforthe

term.Duringthesetutorials,Iguidethemontheirownchosenprojectsandresearchwork

inthestudio.DuringTrinityterm,thetutorialsincludeguidanceontheproductionofa

portfolioofwork,bothinthe1styearpreparingforPrelims,andinthe3rdyearpreparingfor

theFinalexam.20TheCourseHandbookdescribesapast/present/futureapproach(2014/15:

19SeealsoDrewandShreeve(2005)‘assessmentasparticipationinpractice’

20Theassessmentofthefinalshowinportfolioandfinalshowpresentation-intheoryadivisionofformativeandsummativeassessment-hasbeencriticizedattheRuskinasthemarkingofbothpartsisaddedupto

9)tobetakenbytutorswhileconductingtutorials.Theworkofthestudentshouldbe

discussedinthetermsofwhathashappened,whatthatmeansnow,andwhatimplications

thishasforfuturework.

DiscussionandanalysisoftheFeedbackandAssessmentattheRuskin

Whengivingfeedbackduringatutorial,Itrytogiveconstructivefeedbackonprocess.I

guidestudentsinself-reflectionontheirworkingprocess,forthemtobecomeindependent

intheirlearningandnotrelyonmyjudgementbuttheirexperienceforcreativedecisionsin

theirwork.Thisisonepointwheremyassessmentofstudentsdeviatesfromthe

recommendationsintheHandbook,whichstatesthatattutorials‘valuejudgementsare

applied’(2014/15:8)totheworkofastudentforatutorialdiscussion.Adefinitionofgood

studentperformancecanbeextractedfromtheHandbookonlythroughtheassessment

criteriaforPrelimandFinalexams.Thereisnoexplicitmentioningoflearningoutcomesin

theHandbook,soIhavetoconcludethattheassessmentcriteriaformthelearning

outcomesforthestudents.

Assessmentcriteria:Prelims:(TheRuskinHandbook2014/15:18)

1 Effectivelyengagedinindependentlearning2 Creativelyengagedinexperimentationanddevelopmentofvisualand

conceptuallanguage3 Beguntodevelopandarticulatewithintheirworkagoodunderstandingofthe

theoreticalandhistoricalissueswhichunderpinapracticalstudyoffineart4 Demonstratedabasicunderstandingandinventiveuseofmorethanonemedia,

andshownflexibilityofthoughtbetweendifferentprocessesFinalexamination:(TheRuskinHandbook2014/15:19)

1 Developedanindepthunderstandingthatisarticulatedwithintheirworkofthetheoreticalandhistoricalissueswhichunderpinthepracticalstudyoftheirstudiopractice

2 Developedagoodpracticalunderstandingandaninventiveuseofthecraftskillsandmaterialsoftheirstudiopractice

accountforthefinalgradeinthepracticalpart.Thisisproblematic,asstudentshavenoindicationduringtheyearonhowthedivisionofportfoliomarkandfinalshowmarkaffectstheirgradeintheend.

Myowndefinitionofgoodstudentperformancealignswiththedefinitionextractedfrom

theassessmentcriteria.Idefinegoodstudentperformanceinoriginalideas,curiosity,

independentinitiativewithoutprompting,astudenthastheabilitytoreflectonthework,

cantakeoncriticismwithouttakingitpersonally,isinterested,makesconnections,talksto

otherpeopleaboutwork,asksinterestingquestions-allontheirownparticularareaof

work.

‘Assessmenthasanimportantparttoplayinthelearningprocess.Itshouldnotsimplybeamatterbetweenteacherandstudent;itisatleastasimportantthatstudentsaregiventheopportunitytoassesswhattheythemselvesandtheirpeersachieve’.(Lindström2006)21

MymainpointofcritiqueonthecurrentformofassessmentcarriedoutattheRuskinisthe

omissionoflearningoutcomesinthecoursedescriptionintheHandbook.Ithinkthereisa

reluctanceheretodefineoutcomesforthecourseinordertoaccommodateindividualistic

teachingmethodsofadiversestaff,butalsothefearofpossiblycuttingoffcreative,

unexpectedoutcomes.(Csikszentmihalyi,1997)Theimportanceofconstructivealignmentin

coursedesignasafoundationforvalidityandhencethequalityofassessmentstrategyis

discussedintheliterature:

‘Sothefundamentalmessageisthat,whateverelsewedoregardingassessment,wemusthaveclearexplicitlearningoutcomesandwhateverassessmentmethodwechoosemustvalidlyandtransparentlyassesswhetherthoseoutcomeshavebeenmetornot.’(Rust2005:1)

Hebasesthisargumentonamodelofconstructivealignmentinthreestages(Biggs1999):1. Whatarethedesiredoutcomes?2. Whatteachingmethodsrequirethestudentstobehaveinwaysthatarelikelyto

achievethoseoutcomes?3. Whatassessmenttaskswilltellusiftheactualoutcomesmatchthosethatare

intendedordesired?(Fryetal,2014:81)

21InthisSwedishstudyonarteducationinsecondaryschoolIcanseeoneimportantpartinmyviewonassessmentconfirmed:theimportanceofself-assessmentandpeerreview.IseetheimportanceofthecommunalaspectofassessmentoratleastthediscussiononassessmentwithstudentsevenmoreessentialinHigherEducation,asthisstudyinsecondaryschooleducationhasfoundintheirstudentslearningprogress.

AccordingtoRust,theestablishmentofclearoutcomesandthedesignofacurriculumthat

arelikelytoproducethedesiredoutcomestothesetaimsgohandinhandwiththe

assessmentmethodsrequired.Theseassessmentmethods,inturn,havetobetransparent

andcommunicated.IntheabsenceofwrittenordiscussedlearningoutcomesattheRuskin

SchoolofArtitisdifficultforstudentstotranslatetheassessmentcriteriaintohowtolearn.

Rustarguesforavarietyofassessmentmethodsatvariousstagesofthecourseormodule.

Here,theemphasisisonformativeassessmentformingapartofthesummativegradeat

theendoftheyear/module.ThecurrentassessmentpracticeattheRuskinisnotalignedin

thesenseofthiselementofconstructivealignment.Themainassessmentofstudentsonly

takesplaceattwopointsattheendofthefirstyear-Prelimsexam-andtheendofthethird

year.Formativeassessmentsofstudentsviathetutorialreportsfeedinformationintothe

assessmentsattheendofyear1and3,butasthereportsarenotgradedtheydohaveonly

limitedinfluenceonthemarkingprocess.Thecritsareatpresentnotpartoftheassessment

processatall.OntheassessmentinArtsandDesign,RoniBrown(Fryetal,2014:367)states

ontheresearchofChowdroyandWilliams(2006)andOrr(2010)ascreatinga‘pedagogy

aroundassessment’tomakeit‘accessibleandmeaningful’forthestudents,andalsoto

‘developthepedagogicliteratureofstudents’,whichinturnletsthestudentparticipatein

assessment.Thissharingapproach,whichinotheraspectsofarteducationthrough

discussionsofexperiencesalreadyisthecommunityofpractise,shouldbeextendedto

assessmentofstudentpractice.AttheRuskinthiscouldbecreatedthroughanengagement

ofthestudentsintheiron-goingassessmentthroughfeedbacksessions,groupcritsreports

andthroughthetutorialprocess.Partofthisisalreadydonethroughendofyear

questionnairesandtheJCC.Therealsoissomeemphasisonthestudentsingeneralto

engagewiththecoursestructureandaddressissuesofteachingandassessmentwiththe

teachingstaff,butIfeelamorecoherent,structuredapproachthatrelieslessonindividual

teachingmethodsandincludesgroupdiscussionofassessmentmethodswouldbebetter

forthecourseandprovemoreeffectiveforthestudents’progress.

PossibleimprovementstotheFeedbackandAssessmentattheRuskin:

Inlightoftheloosedefinitionof‘goodpractice’derivedfromtheliterature,includingself

regulatedlearning(Zimmerman2002)involvementofstudentfeedbackinthecurriculum

(NicolandMacfarlane-Dick2006),peerlearningandtransparencyinthemarkingprocess

andthesenseofconstructivealignmentasarguedbyC.Rust(2005)followingBiggs(1999)

threestagesofconstructivealignment,thefollowingchangesmadewouldimprovethe

assessmentandfeedbackattheRuskin:

• Tostrengthentheelementofformativeassessmentasonepartoftheassessment

processasawhole,theon-goingassessmentdonethroughtutorialscouldbeusedto

feedintothemarkingprocessattheendofthefirstandthirdyear.Thiscanbedone

usingapercentagepartofthefinalmarkforassessmentthroughtutorials.

• Thegroupcritsshouldbewrittenintothecurriculumaspartoftheteachingand

learningstrategytopromoteindependentlearning.

• Thecritsshouldbemadepartoftheon-going,formativeassessmentforthe

practicalpartofthecoursethrougheitherself-assessmentbystudentsortutorled

assessmentthroughtheyear.

• Theportfolioofworks,presentedaspartoftheassessmentatPrelimandFinal

exams,shouldbegivenaclearlyunderstandableweightingwithintheassessment

criteria,allowingstudentstoself-assessduringtheyear.

• Feedbacksessionswithstudentscanformonepartoftheon-goingassessment:Self-

assessmentonprogressforstudentscouldbedevelopedwithinthetutorialsystem

throughencouragingstudentstoreflectinwritingontutorials.

ImprovementstomyownFeedbackandAssessmentPractise

Myownassessmentpracticecanbeimprovedbysimplemeasuressuchasmoreextensive

notetakingduringtutorialsandcollaborativemeasuressuchastheintroductionofaction

plansdevelopedwiththestudentstomonitortheirownprogress.22Whileassessing

students’progressandgivingfeedbackduringtutorialsIcangivestudentstheopportunity

toworkouttheirownprogressfromthetutorialonwards.Imaymodelcertainpractical

tasksandaskthemtopracticecertaintechniques(Stalmeier,Dolmans,Wolfhagenand

Scherbier2009),Icandiscusssettingsmallgoalsforthenexttutorial,andgiveadviceon

howtotimetable.Inthenexttutorial,Icanaskthemtoself-assesstheirprogressagainst

theagreedtimetableandsetgoals,anddiscusstheirprogresswiththem(Nicoland

Macfarlane-Dick2006).Thisapproachwillhelpstudentstoselfregulatetheirownlearning,

andthereforegainmoreownershipandindependenceontheirownlearningprogress

(Zimmerman2002).Myteachingintutorialsfocusesonthediscussionofthestudents’

progressonaparticularpieceofwork.Here,Itrytoletthestudentsreflectontheirworking

process,andgivesupportintermsof‘how‘toworkandlearnratherthan‘what’tolearn.

(Zimmerman2002)Thisisespeciallyimportantpointtomeregardingmyownpractice

influencingmyteaching.Myownpracticeisbasedontheformulationsofquestionsrather

thananswerstoparticularproblems,thequestions‘WhathappensifIdothis?’or‘What

happensifIdothisaparticularway?’arealwaysmoreimportantformyownprogressthan

22seealsohttps://vimeo.com/26758350reportontheintroductionofself-assessmentintutorialsatLCF.

theactualcontentoftheworkandtheexecutionintheend.Inthissense,thediscussionsin

tutorialswithstudentsarediscussionsonquestionsandprocess,whichareimportantfor

themintheiron-goingwork,butitisalsoimportanttometoletthemknowwhatmyown

questionsare,thuscreatingapeertopeerdiscussionwithinthetutorialthatfocuseson

progressioninworkratherthanonjudgementofresults.Myadvicetostudentsexpanding

ontheirworkbeyondwhatthecoursecanaccommodatetimeandresourceswisehastobe

tousethemoretimeintensiveprojectasageneratorforadditionalproductionofartwork,

whichcanfeedbacktotheworktheyarecurrentlydoingonthecourse.Thiswillgivean

outlookontheirtimeaftertheartschool,wheretheirabilitytolearnindependentlywillbe

crucialtotheirfurthercareer.23

Icanformalisebeginningandendoftermtutorialsasgrouptutorialswithadiscussionof

studentsindifferentyearsontheassessmentprocess,andincludecollectivefeedback

sessionsinthis.Toalignmyteachingbetterwiththeaimsderivedfromtheassessment

criteriaIcanaddprovisionalmarkingtomytutorialreportsattheendofeachterm,and

discussfeedbackonthereportswithstudents.

Anyaissittinginfrontofavideo24byUlrikeRosenbach.Thevideoshowsasleepingwomaninthemiddleofaroom,thecameracirclesendlesslyaroundher.Anya:Whyisthissobadqualityvideo?I:Thiswasmadesometimeago;therewerenodigitalcamerasthen.Anya:Sheisnotdoinganything.Thisisboring.I:Justwait.Watchittotheendandthentellmewhatyouthink.

23ThiswayIcanpromoteindependentlearningtothestudentinregardofthetime‘afterartschool’,whilestillkeepingwithinthestructureofthecourse.I‘mnotsurehowgoodthisistothestudents’progressintheartschool,however,Ibelieveareflectiononthepositionofthe‘artstudentatschool’isimportanttokeepinmindforthefurtherdevelopmentofthestudentasanartist.ThisalsohelpsenforcetheSRLcycleinstudentlearning,particularlyintheSRphase.24ZehntausendJahrehabeichgeschlafenvideo20minUlrikeRosenbach1976/77

TenminuteslaterAnyacomesaftermeandsays:Itwasstillboring.ShejustgotupandwrotesomethingonthefloorandIcouldn’treadit.Toldyou,boring.Canwegonow?Iwanttomakesomedrawingathomeandfinishwritingmystoryonline..

Chapter6

ChangingtheSchedule

LeadershipattheRuskinSchoolofArt

Onanorganisationallevel,theRuskinhasacollegial(Gibbs,Knapper,Piccinin2008)model

ofleadership.InorganisingthecritscheduleattheRuskinIhavetakenonresponsible

leadershiproleatamesolevelasacoordinator.TheRuskinreliesonindividualinitiativeof

tutorsthroughdistributedleadership‘bottom-upandhorizontalinfluence’(Bolden,Petrov

andGosling2008).Changesarecoordinatedthroughmeetingsandconversationsbetween

staff.Thisisnotalwaystransparentandappearssometimeschaotic.TheRuskincanstill

affordtoworkininformalstructures,astheschoolitselfissmall.However,ifthestudent

numbersincreaseandwiththecurrentchangestoaddanMAcoursetotheRuskinitis

moreandmorelikelythatsomemoreformalstructurewillhavetobeintroduced.

ThecontentofwhatistaughtattheRuskinisverymuchtheresponsibilityoftheindividual

tutor.Diversityofviewsonthesubjectiswelcome,andthereisemphasisplacedonthe

importanceofvarying,evencontradictingadvicetostudents(RuskinHandbook2014/15:

10).Thetheoreticalcontentofthecurriculumissetbythelecturersandagreedin

conversation,butthisconversationhappenswithinthegroupoflecturersresponsiblefor

thetheorypartofthecourse.Tomyknowledge,thereislittlecommunicationonthe

contentofthetheorypartofthecoursewiththevisitingstafforthepermanentlecturerson

thepracticalpartofthecourse.Inthefollowingpart,Iwillusetheresultsofastudent

questionnaire(AppendixesDandE)toproposechangestotheRuskincritsysteminorderto

increasethelevelofgroupworkattheRuskinandargueforthevalueofgroupworktothe

students’academicprogress.Then,IwillreportonhowItrytoimplementthechanges

throughtheleadershipstructureattheRuskin.

CurrentsystemofgroupcritsattheRuskin.

Atthemoment,thecritsareheldtwiceaweek,supervisedby2tutors,indesignated

studentgroups.Studentswillhavetoattendthecritsoftheirassignedgroup,meaningthey

attend4critsperterm,eachstudentwillshowtheirworktothegrouponceayear.

Thenegativeaspectsofthissystem:

• Theoneoffeventsituationofthecritforeachstudentperyear,whichcreates

higherlevelsofpersonalanxiety.

• Nofollowupontheprogressoftheworkasthereistoomuchtimebetweencrits

fortheindividualstudentpasses.

• Nocontinuityinattendanceofthecritsweekbyweekasthegroupsetupmakes

forlongbreaksinbetweenmeetingsofeachgroup.

• Personalanxiety,butnorealurgencyofthesituation,asfeedbackfromcritshas

noimpactongradesandattendanceisnotcompulsory

Proposedchanges

Thechangetothescheduleandmyargumentsforitarebasedonthestudentquestionnaire

answers(AppendixD)andonargumentsofgoodpracticeandconstructivealignment,as

alreadyaddressedinchapter4.Forasummaryandfurthercommentonthestudent

answerspleaseseeAppendixE.

Allyeargroupsarepooledtogether.Attendanceofacertainnumberofcritsperyearwillbe

madecompulsory.Thismightbeariskasitwillbedifficulttoachievelevelnumbersforall

crits.However,Iseethisasanopportunityforstudentstodeveloptheirowndiscussion

groups,andgivingthemtheoptiontoattendcouldleadtostudentsattendingmorecrits

thantheyhavebeforeinordernottomissoutonanon-goingdiscussion.Myintentionis

tomonitorattendanceclosely,andchangethesystemifneeded.Studentswillhaveto

showtheirworktothegrouptwiceayear,doublingthenumberofcritpresentationseach

studentdoes.Thediscussiontimeforeachstudentisreducedfrom45minutesto30

minutes.Theoveralltimeforthecritsisshortenedbyonehour.Anincreaseintutor

provisionthroughmoreinvolvementofthetheorytutorsinthecritsystemwillbe

encouraged.Studentscanchoosetoshowmoreworkinprogressratherthanhavingto

presentfinishedworks.

Theguidestostudentsandtutorswillberewritten,andincludeclearlysetoutlearning

outcomes.Inthesummaryanalysisofthestudents’responsestothequestionnaire

(AppendixE)Ishowhowthesechangeshavebeeninfluencedbythefeedbackreceived

fromstudents.I’mhopingthesechangeswillhavethefollowingeffectonstudentlearning:

• Improvedcontinuityindiscussionontheworkthroughmorecrits

• moreopportunitiestolearntransferableskillssuchaspresentation,argument,

preparation,organisation

• Fosteringfurtheron-goingpeerdiscussionofworkofstudentsinthestudio

• Thecritisseenlessasafearedone-offsituationperyearandmoreofan

opportunityforanon-goinglearningprocess

AsummaryofthechangestothecritsystemwillbepartoftheRuskinHandbookfornext

year.Ihavewrittenthesummary;correctionshavebeenmadebyHannekeGrootenboer,

HeadofDepartment.(seeAppendixI)Thetimetableissetfor80BAstudents.Thisnumber

includesallyeargroups.Studentsmustshowtheirworkintwocritsperyear.Increasingthe

numberofcritsperstudentperyearwillallowforaformativereviewofprogressandgive

studentsanopportunitytoadjusttheirpractice.Studentswillalsohavemoreopportunities

forpeerlearningandself-assessmentinlinewithgoodpracticeandconstructivealignment

ofthecurriculum.

Critsrunfrom3rdweekinMichaelmastermextendedtotheendof4thweekinTrinityterm

insteadofendingafterHilaryterm.Thisgives36Critslotsperyear.Thelengthofthecritsis

reducedto2hoursintotal,givingeachstudent30minutestopresenttheirworkin

discussion.Thistimechangeisduetostudentdemandforshortercrits.If4studentsare

showingworkineachcrit,thisgives152placesavailable.Studentnumberssetat80,this

meansthatinanumberofcrits5studentshavetobeaccommodatedinsteadof4.The

timeslotforthesecritsisextendedby30minutes.Attendanceincritsiscompulsoryfora

yettobedeterminednumberofcritsperyearforall.Thestudentsfavouredcompulsory

attendancetoincreaseparticipation.

Studentscandecidewhentohavetheircritduringtheterm.Signupsheetsfortheyearare

onlineandwewillusetheweblearnsystemoftheuniversityasasignupsystemforthe

crits.Studentsmustsignupforthefirst2weeksofMichaelmasfortheirfirstcritduring

MichaelmasorthefirstweeksofHilary.Swapsareallowedwithinreason.

Thischangewasmadeduetostudents’commentsonthetimingoftheircrits.(see

AppendixD)

Critschedule:

Tuesday10am-12pm

2Tutors4studentsshowingwork

Space:ProjectspaceBullingdonrd.

Thursday10am-12pm

2Tutors4studentsshowingwork

Space:MezzaninespaceattheHighstreetandtheOldMastersStudio.

Forcritswith5studentsshowingwork,thetimeisextendedby30minto12.30pm.

Reportonthechangeimplemented.

Toaffectthechangesetoutbefore,Iproposedsomechangesverballyforthefirsttimein

thedepartmentmeetinginMarch2015.Colleaguesdismissedsomeofthechanges,suchas

startingthecritsonlyinthesecondyearandleavingthefirstyearsoutofthecritsall

together.Iworkedthroughtheproposalsagain,changedsomeelementsonthem

respondingtothefeedbackfromcolleagues.FurtherIdesignedaquestionnaire(Appendix

C)forthestudents,startedthequestionnaire,andreportedbacktothenextmeetingin

May.IsetoutbeforethedepartmentmeetingtherolecritsplayattheRuskin,andalso

reportedbackthepreliminaryresultsfromthequestionnaireIhadstartedwiththe

students.Arguingfromtheresponsesofthestudents,IsetoutthechangesIwantedto

make.TheissuewasdiscussedatthedepartmentmeetinginJune,andtherewassome

consensusthatthechangesseemedpossibletoimplement;however,novotewastaken.

FurtherinJuneIinitiatedcontactwiththeheadofdepartmenttoreportbackthefinal

resultofthestudentquestionnaire,provideherwiththeresultsanddrawupthechangesI

wantedtomakemoreindetail.Inconversation,wedrewupaplanthatwould

accommodatethechanges.Iwroteupthefinalproposal,andsenditouttodiscussiontoall

membersofstaff,withthesummaryofthequestionnairetogetherasbackground

information.Iaskedcolleaguesforfeedbackontheinformationandtheplantofurther

workthisoutindetailandtobemadeawareofanyclashesinschedulingandconcernsover

thesechanges.ThefeedbackIreceivedpointedouttherelianceontheWeb-learnsystemas

asignupsystemforthestudentstotakepartinthecrits.Themainpointherewasadded

workloadtothetutors’schedule,aswellasthepossibilityoftheWeblearnsystembeing

toorigidtoaccommodatethespecificneedsofthecritsystemandthestudentssigningup

toit.

Outlookonthenextacademicyear.

TheRuskinhasareputationofputtingalotofemphasisontheindividual,asitoffers

studentsgreataccesstoone-to-onetutorialswithadiverseteachingbodyofprofessional

artists.ThismightbeacontrasttothechangesI’mproposingforthecurriculumatthe

Ruskin,asthisproposalintroducesmoregroupworkintheschool.However,inlightofthe

nextyearintroductionofthenewMAcourseandgreaterstudentnumbersontheBA

course,Ithinkitistimelytomakesomechangestothecurriculum,whichcouldcontribute

togreatercooperationandcommunicationwithintheschoolasacollective,positive

learningenvironment.

MyhopeisthatthechangesIproposetothecritsystemwillimproveconstructive

alignmentwithassessmentcriteriaandthereforethelearningaimsattheRuskin.Staffand

studentsalikeshouldusethecritsasanintegralpartofthecreativeprocess,alignedwith

theoverallcourseaimtofostertheindividualstudentslearningprogress.Asthecollective

formoflearningthecritscanformacentralelementtothecurriculumwhilealsoproviding

anopportunityformoreformativeassessmentwithinthepracticesideofthecourse.They

furthercouldprovideachancetoincludethestudentsintoreflectiononlearningand

teachingattheRuskin,whichwouldhelpinidentifyingproblemsinthecurriculumand

solvingthemwiththestudents.AtthetimeofwritinginSeptember2015theproposed

changestothecritsystemattheRuskinwillbeimplemented.TheHandbookhasbeen

amendedtoincludeasectiononthecrits.(AppendixI)Theguidesforstudentsandtutors

havebeenrewritten(AppendixesGandH)andcirculated.Evaluationoftheeffectschanges

willhavetobedoneduringcontinuousfeedbackduringtheyearaswellasmoreformal

feedbackattheendofthenextacademicyear,possiblythroughanadditionalquestionon

theendofyearfeedbackfrom.Lookingfurtherahead,Iwouldliketoworkontheinclusion

ofthecritsintotheassessmentforstudentsasaformativeassessmentontheirpractical

partofthecourse,asexplainedinchapter5FeedbackandAssessment.

Conclusion:

ThePGDipCoursehashelpedmeprofoundlytoarticulatemyknowledgeonteaching

andlearningandgivenmealanguagetousefortheworkIwanttodo.Ithasfurthershown

mehowtouseacademicresearchmethodsinmywork,howtoanalyseaproblemfromall

sides,howtoconnectwithotherresearchersinmyfield,andmostimportantly,howto

speakwithgreaterconvictiononwhatIknow.TheRuskinisaveryinterestingplacetowork.

Theschoolissituatedinaresearch-intenseuniversitywitharigidadmissionsprocess,which

ithaslittleinfluenceover.Thereforeithaslimitedchoiceonwhichstudentsitwantsto

educate.TheRuskinplacesgreatemphasisonthecloseandpersonalrelationshipsbetween

studentsandstaff,andthediversityofapproachestoteachingisoneofitsmainattractions,

butwithsighttothefuturealsooneofitsmainweaknesses,asitpresentsasalackof

structureanddirection.Theartschoolteachesitsstudentsacriticalliteracy,butIthinknow

moretheneverithastoapplythatsamecriticalityandself-reflectiontoitsown

mechanisms.Thereluctancetobuildmoreformalstructureandtransparencyinregardto

teachingandassessmentmethodswithintheschoolisarguedforfromavalidplace,asit

placestheacademicfreedomandthepossibilityforcreativespaceandinventionatthe

heartoftheartschool,buttheconsequencesofthisoncurriculumdesigndon’thelpthe

studentslearning.TheRuskinhasgreatfreedomtodefineits’ownsenseofpurposeand

howiteducatesits’students.Thisfreedomshouldbeusedwithagencytogiveartan

integralpositionwithinsociety,andtoequipitsstudentswithskillstodevelopand

strengthenthatposition,aswellastheirowncreativeidentity.Myargumentthroughthis

portfolioisforthetransparent,consciousandcollectiveapplicationofself-regulated

learningstrategieswithintheschoolandmoreemphasisongrouplearningandpeer

learning.Thiswillgivestudentstheskillsfortheirprofession,butalsoallowsforthe

developmentoftransferableskillsnecessarytodivertintoartsassociatedprofessions.I

hopethatIwillbeabletoevaluatesomeofthechangesthatwillbeimplementedaccording

tomyproposalsthisacademicyear.Further,Iwouldliketocontinuemyon-going

conversationwithotherpractitionersandtherecordingofinterviews(AppendixK)on

teachingandlearninginartschools,whichIhavestartedduringthiscourse.

After2hours,thekidshaveenoughandwanttoleave.Athome,Anyaretreatstoherbed,gluedtoherphone.Paulimmediatelysitsdowntomakeadrawing:rowsofmostlynumbersandlinesonanA4pieceofpaper.Itlooksabitlikeachild’ssketchforHanneDarboven.Ittakeshimfiveminutes,afterwhichheisinstantlyoutthedoor,togetherwithJoby,Janinaandthekidsfromupstairstoplayfootballintheyard.Michaelsitsdownandstartsplayinghiskeyboard.Ihavetostartmakingdinner.

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