Peer Review:
Thank you for inviting me to review one of your sessions. I really enjoyed delving into your course through the online brief.
You asked for feedback on the communication style, clarity of delivery, and the structure of the session. Overall, I found the session to be clear, objective, and engaging right from the start. Your friendly and warm tone set the perfect atmosphere, and the icebreaker on how everyone was feeling using metaphors and familiar examples at the beginning was inviting and humanizing. It created a positive space to kick off the session.
The agenda slide at the beginning was helpful in providing direction for the session and giving clarity on what to expect. Your slide presentation was well-designed with a good font size, and the use of bold text effectively highlighted core elements. Your clear introduction to the main unit documents was beneficial. The use of Padlet for students to ask questions anonymously was encouraging and inclusive, particularly for those who might not feel confident enough to come forward. To enhance engagement further, you might consider showcasing some responses to the brief from previous students and incorporating images to break up the text-based presentation.
Additionally, mentioning the availability of a checklist for students to review their work before submission, along with further unpacking of the learning outcomes and criteria, could be valuable. When discussing the topic slide, providing examples to students could be insightful. Before diving into the criteria, a pause to allow students to brainstorm potential topics they’re excited about could be beneficial.
Your mention of academic support reassures students that additional assistance is available. However, submission information may not be necessary at this point; a brief mention that submission will take place online and that more details will be provided closer to the date might be enough. Unpacking highlighted statements on each criteria to demonstrate them in practice when discussing learning outcomes could be helpful. Incorporating examples and images can break up the text-focused delivery as mentioned before.
Streamlining the text when discussing the relationship with supervisors or encouraging students to review the document in their own time for accessibility could be considered. While the mandatory documents are well-presented, a change in pace might be beneficial, perhaps through another contemplation exercise or visual to refresh the session before jumping back into the explanation.
Lastly, the idea of groups of writing is excellent, and the list of common problems is invaluable. When discussing practice-based projects, showing examples on screen can enhance accessibility and illustrate how others have responded to the brief.
My Response:
Thank you so much for your kind and supportive feedback! You have also offered some really important constructive feedback which I will implement into my evolving practice. As an early career researcher I am learning about opportunities to become a better and more focused contributor to my field, but I think this also applies to my teaching practice and communicating in a more meaningful way. I appreciate firstly how you acknowledged my efforts in creating a personable and humanized atmosphere even in an online setting. This is a challenge for students to feel involved (and entertained!) and I think there is so much co-creational learning we have yet to explore in online contexts.
You include a really good point on breaking up text with more imagery and less text. It is so interesting being paired with someone from a more “creative” field like design and having this observation from a “business” subject matter. There is room to be more creative and attention grabbing, which has also been a takeaway from my Object based learning experience in the PG Cert.
Also your point about allowing students to be proactive and brainstorm topics themselves within a session is valuable. As Davis et al. (2015) suggest teacher and students co-create knowledge and possess an ecological mindfulness which is responsive to others’ beliefs and actions. If I fail to allow these moments of pause this erases meaninful co-creative learning for all stakeholders.
Comments on delivery pace and what information is shared when is also really beneficial and a valuable question to raise. When is it too soon to provide submission information? Does this push students to focus more on the submission logistics and checklist criteria versus the often messy but rich learning journey? How can we pivot away from prioritizing one dimensional grades towards embracing education for educations sake in an environment which pushes a culture of grades?
Perhaps this is something I can consider in upcoming course development but for now I will focus on my students being proactive learners opposed to passive vessels for information.
Thank you!