When given the task of Object-based learning, I was initially very worried having looked at some examples within the arts and design. How can I, an academic in the field of fashion marketing teach something remotely interesting within 20 minutes amongst some brilliantly creative peers – many of whom are very technical and work with their hands whether that is knitwear, pattern making, painting or other incredible practices? After reading up on the subject including the case studies on Advance HE, I swiftly cancelled my ambitious spot on January 31 and moved to February 7 as A) I was bogged down with LOTS of marking B) Block 2 teaching kicks off (*sigh* as PG students – or staff – don’t get a break between blocks!) And C) my data collection for my funded project was taking place the same week; meaning I would not be able to do this task justice without some breathing room.
Finally finding a few hours of freedom, I dove into the task at hand and reviewed the PG Cert materials. They offered new perspectives and ways of teaching but again I found it difficult to relate to my subject area. Of course I didn’t NEED to relate my session to marketing but I felt a push inside me to share my “expertise” as one of the best parts (thus far) of the PG Cert was learning about my colleagues disciplines so I felt responsible to give insight into my world.
I peered around the kitchen.
A pepper shaker? Houseplant? Cafetiere? I do drink a lot of coffee but I struggled to find any relevance. Drinking coffee provides comfort, wakes me up, acts like a social safety blanket as I enjoy having a cup in hand when teaching or meeting colleagues to discuss big (or small) ideas. Maybe this is an angle: sharing the theory of service dominant logic and the concept of value to my colleagues. You aren’t buying a coffee. You are buying the service of comfort as the theory is, there is no such thing as an “object” every “thing” is only a vessel which provides a service. Ok on to something. But maybe I should swap coffee to tea – this American is in London after all.
I tinkered around my slides and put together a session which combined context of theory with an abstract activity with a yellow balloon as my object – why not bring some humour into the session? I asked my colleagues to discuss the feelings, emotions, and connotations of a balloon as well as explaining it’s purpose to a Neanderthal family (we timetraveled. And yes the Neanderthals could speak English). We hit upon that a balloon is a droplet of sunshine bringing joy, surprise and celebration.
I was so surprised not just by the unexpected but deeply thought-provoking discussions which took place in my and colleagues sessions, but by how I truly came away from this TEAMS call with a sharped lens with out how view the world. Learning from my colleages was a masterclass in constructivism as we engaged with physical objects to build our own. understanding of concepts
My takeaways included “reading clothes”, “going into depth and detail” in mundane objects such as a simple candle – the more we know and appreciate objects the less likely we throw them away – and the process of coming up with new objectives informed by old.
The task was a 20 minute micro-teaching session, but ultimately through object based learning we experienced a lifelong learning workshop!
*POP* goes the balloon and until next time!
(See Object based learning slides below)