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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2. I understand that I am the owner of this portfolio and that the copyright rests with me unless I specifically transfer it to another person.
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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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