NVV’s Blog

Thank you so much for sharing this session with me Joao! I really enjoyed learning about a subject I do not have experience in. I feel like I have a newfound appreciation for colour and the relationship with fabric and I wish if I had more time I could sign up to your course!

Your students are very lucky to have you as it is so obvious how much you care about the subject area and helping them embed these lessons into their practice. Your slides were very carefully formatted – clear and engaging. The examples you included were contemporary but also I enjoyed the foundation of connecting to history. This may be me as an aged millennial (!) but perhaps reducing the amount of text on some of the slides could be helpful to emphasise the key words.

The pace of delivery was very good and you speak in a very warm, articulate way meaning your session can be understood by a variety of learners. Teaching online can however come with its own challenges and in order to keep attention it may be worth animating your voice slightly when it comes to a key takeaway to highlight “make sure you listen/remember this point!”? Also it may be interesting to invite some interaction from viewers e.g. a mini quiz or an activity to reflect on a subject at the end? Additionally, you may consider turning on your camera (maybe you did and I didn’t see on Panopto!) as it may make the session even more personable and engaging.  A final point to think about is I obviously know your brilliant practice and I would have loved to hear more about your own reflections from your designer point of view and gain more insights into your process with colour/fabric. Being able to hear from someone on their experience (the good/bad!) is extremely useful – you probably do this anyway but selfishly I would have loved hearing more in this session.

Overall, it was such a pleasure to take part as a learner and as a non-designer I found this very useful and interesting. Thank you!

I really enjoyed this conversation about our Block 2 unit Advanced Applied Strategy which has allowed me to reflect on current practice and certain elements can be improved upon; especially in regards to inclusivity. I really appreciated how Carys provided such encouragement and positive comments on how the unit was structured and developed. Having taught on this unit for 4 years, I am constantly trying to improve content, format and assessment and it can be frustrating at times as there is never one perfect solution! As a course team, the direction we are heading is to lead a proactive student body who are using workshops to research, engage in activities and as said “flip the classroom” to arrive at an answer opposed to myself purely lecturing. Through my reflection and engagement with the Fellowship and Senior Fellowship process last year, I have a newfound appreciation for a constructivist lens when teaching and do see myself as an activity organizer more than telling learners “truth”. One comment made which was particularly helpful was a point on assessment and how to make this more inclusive. I agree entirely that a 3,000 word case study is limiting and disadvantageous some learners. Also in a world which prioritizes imagery and concise presentations/verbal communication one needs to ask if a written output is preferred. This discussion on types of assessment outputs allows me to question and challenge our current re-approval process in order to cater to our student body and the needs put forward by industry. Thanks so much Carys for a fantastic discussion and helping me on the journey to improve teaching practice!

Being in the middle of the re-validation process for my MA course I am often thinking about what are appropriate Learning Outcomes and also the relevance of them. It was valuable in our PGCert Workshop 4 to discuss and debate them and to understand how other academics and schools approach them. In our breakout group we created a SWOT board and analysed Learning outcomes from my course in the Business School with a course in the school of design. Both sets of LOs seemed ambiguous and had considerable overlap – if tutors find them confusing how can students understand them! Also they are often very prescriptive and restrict more creative methods and unique ways of thinking. It is a shame that we “grade” often 1 route versus encouraging a more constructivist practice based on co-creation. One of the key issues was how especially some action verbs can mean a variety of things, connecting to an argument put forth by Davies (2012): 

“To insist on using terms such as ‘identify’, ‘explain, ‘analyse’ and so on does not make the task of assessment any easier since explanations and analyses, etc, are discipline specific and are likely to be equally ambiguous for students who have not been yet been inducted into the language of the discipline.”

This made me think about emphasising the noun outputs e.g. [identify] drivers of global fashion marketing versus the action as we all will have different “journeys” to the “destination”. Our conversation also is encouraging me to really simplify language and be as straightforward as possible to accommodate a variety of learners and language abilities. Not only does this make expectations clear for students, but more importantly for tutors who can then more effectively provide support and feedback. I was particularly impressed by Pg Colleague Luke who coded a very effective format of providing feedback and I hope this can be adopted and implemented across the university. 

This process has allowed me to challenge and refine LOs in future and create a more holistic learning experience!

Davies, A., 2012. Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria in Art and Design: What’s the Recurring Problem. Networks, 18(9).

Contextual Background:

Following Case Study 1 which centred on the challenge of diverse English written and verbal communication skills in the classroom, the challenge I will focus on for Case Study 2 builds upon opportunities with how to solve this. This new problem however highlights the differences amongst the academic team, regarding background and expectations which in turn impacts student experience and the quality support we should aspire to give as 1 unified voice.

Evaluation:

To address this challenge of a unifying a team, I have embedded various approaches including working with Digital Learning Teams to create a digital infrastructure, weekly team check-ins, and providing supportive resources which are intended to ease team member workload and add to efficiency. By creating a Course and Unit TEAM and Sharepoint page, I am able to easily organise digital resources and ensure that all team members can contribute from an equal position. This foundation and transparency helps us communicate and stay up to date on important information, although weekly check-ins are not always well attended (mostly due to teaching clashes) and there is often a struggle in power dynamics. As many of our PG units are shared across courses, some units involve 3-5 Course leaders each with different personalities and approaches to leadership.

Moving forwards:

Currently when preparing for a unit to begin, my leadership style is to begin by sharing unit materials, including the scheme of work, assessment brief, key readings, and a timetable well in advance with my chosen team before the term. Next, I ask team members to contribute adding their perspectives and comments on their allocated sessions. Then we have a meeting as a team at the start of the Unit, mid-way through the unit to understand tutorials, formative and summative assessment expectations, and a final meeting to review feedback and have a blind marking parity session. The team is told my availability in advance and is encouraged to drop in on Wednesdays to discuss any outstanding issues. I also launch a mid-block review allowing students to feed forward any comments suggestions which can be implemented within a block.  

Moving forwards, I plan to create a shared “glossary of terms” to support staff writing feedback to students with subject specific terms and positively constructive feedback terminology, an idea inspired by a fellow colleague from the PG Cert. I will also speak individually with each team member prior to sharing unit materials in order to understand everyone’s expectations, goals and priorities. It is important to create a strong sense of rapport (Rowan and Grootenboer, 2017) amongst teams in Higher Education but also to manage expectations when delivering on a unit as some members may be stretch across upwards of 5 units! Emphasising content ownership will also be a focus moving forward opposed to teams “following” prescribed unit content (Bergmark and Westman, 2016). This will hopefully create more intellectual stimulation and commitment to students on the unit. The principles of co-creation apply not only for students but for the team offering content. This reflection has allowed me to think more about my leadership style and the importance of relationships and empowering team members. There is a domino effect leading from staff experience to student experience and hopefully by targeting a positive and effective work culture, students will feel more supported.

References 

Bergmark, U. and Westman, S., 2016. Co-creating curriculum in higher education: Promoting democratic values and a multidimensional view on learning. International Journal for Academic Development, 21(1), pp.28-40.

Rowan, L. and Grootenboer, P., 2017. Student engagement and rapport in higher education: The case for relationship-centred pedagogies. Student engagement and educational rapport in higher education, pp.1-23.

Background: The MASFM course is one of UAL’s largest Postgraduate courses with roughly 80 students from over 20 nationalities. Most students do not have English as a first language which greatly benefits the course with vibrancy, diverse perspectives and rich cross-cultural exchange which I would argue is the course’s USP. However, as assessment is in English (as are seminar discussions and lecture content) it has become a challenge for me and my team to best support students who lack certain communication skills in this English context. It is difficult to offer appropriate support to individuals without discouraging, demotivating, or making them feel as if they are lacking.

Evaluation: Through the social constructionism lens (Kim, 2001), my teaching practice sees the act of learning to be cocreated and based on the integration of students into a knowledge community. As I am not only responsible for the content and organisation of the PG course, but responsible for student’s well-being and development, I aim to create a supportive environment for learning – without judgement or pressure from peers or academic staff. I strive to provide a safe space where students feel comfortable with their strengths and weaknesses, and feel a desire to reach their academic potential.

Moving forward: My role within the classroom is to create a collaborative culture of learning and encourage conversation and peer feedback within the classroom which ultimately is built upon trust. The term ‘trust’ often refers to a willingness to make oneself vulnerable when relying on others (Baghramian, et al., 2020). To create an atmosphere of vulnerability and trust, I have engaged a range of activities including 1) setting up a Padlet page where students introduce each other at the start of the academic year 2) bi-weekly “open office hours” encouraging students to be transparent with any dilemmas they are facing and 3) even small gestures such as writing all 73 students a handwritten Happy Holidays card!

The language I use is purposefully inclusive focusing on “team”, “us”, “we”, and “colleagues” opposed to “us and them”. This atmosphere of trust allows us as a Learning Team to engage with collaborative activities and for me to better understand student’s diverse talents and areas for improvement.  Once I can assess this, I note this onto an Excel sheet which I update throughout the year but is particularly useful during 1-1 tutorials where I encourage students to attend Language Development or Academic Support sessions. These activities and tutorials, ultimately lead to assessment feedback where the academic team and I can see how progress was achieved especially in terms of communication and can note success points and what can be improved. Here is also a good opportunity to signpost Language Development and Academic Support. This has largely been a successful exercise however when working with multiple markers (also from diverse backgrounds from around the globe) language varies where some written feedback can be blunt and more direct versus more nuanced. This can be a challenge which is why moving forward I need to work more closely with my team on creating and sustaining a shared culture and shared language which can improve in turn the student’s learning experience in a positive manner.

To conclude, the purpose of being a student (even a student of life!) is to continue our development but sometimes it can feel belittling or demotivating if it is perceived that peers are striding ahead or “better” or receiving direct, negative feedback. By focusing more on collaborative culture in the classroom and within the academic team which helps create more purposeful individual support, I hope the motivation to improve English language will be instilled; resulting in a better student experience and academic results.

Referencing:

Ackermann, E., 2001. Piaget’s constructivism, Papert’s constructionism: What’s the difference. Future of learning group publication, 5(3), p.438.

Baghramian, M., Petherbridge, D. and Stout, R., 2020. Vulnerability and trust: An introduction. International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 28(5), pp.575-582.

Brookfield, S., 1998. Critically reflective practice. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 18(4), pp.197-205.

Kim, B., 2001. Social constructivism. Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology, 1(1), p.16. 

In response to How Art became a Force at Davos (2019)

Written by Carol Becker, Dean of Columbia University in 2019, the article discusses the ongoing evolution of art’s role and presence at the Davos World Economic Forum. As a practice and output, art helps shape and trigger conversations about global issues; relevant arguably even more so today than 2019 given our macroenvironment. With the forum initially lacking a strong arts presence, the author spotlights efforts led by figures including Hilde Schwab and Nico Daswani who have invited and thoughtfully integrated various artists and cultural leaders to Davos, ensuring their participation in discussions on societal challenges alongside business and political matters. These efforts have resulted in significant cultural programming, including exhibitions, performances, and discussions, showcasing the intersection of art with grand challenges such as social justice, sustainability, and innovation. Through initiatives like the Cultural Leaders dinner and the Crystal Awards, Davos has been able to recognise the vital role of artists in addressing these complex global issues and fostering cross-cultural dialogue across borders and demographics. The article also suggests that the inclusion of arts and culture at Davos reflects a broader recognition of the diverse perspectives needed to tackle contemporary challenges effectively and with an openminded lens. The efforts highlighted underscores the potential for art to inspire meaningful change and bridge divides in society needed today.

The article encourages me to think of my own practice in fashion business education which has traditionally been focused on non-arts focused industry reports, case studies and a positivist approach. This way of presenting information and knowledge arguably lacks the constructivist approach of allowing learners to create their own meaning as focus is placed on “here is the problem and here is the answer”. Being able to learn from PgCert colleagues and their more creative practices greatly inspires me to teach through the art and objects to, like Davos, helps shape and trigger conversations about global issues.

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)

What a joy to wear the student hat once again and being on the other side of the camera. For the past 5 years it has been me preparing content, running lectures, seminars and workshops so being able to undertake the activities myself felt like a real luxury. With our jobs melting into all corners of life at times, we sometimes forget the value of stopping to read, reflect, and further our own practice and perspectives.

When first opening up my pre-workshop reading, An a/r/tographic métissage: Storying the self as pedagogic practice (Osler et. al., 2019) I was worried. What is métissage?! What does it mean how this article posits the self-in-relation to theory and practice!? What do we mean by opening spaces?! This called for my phone switching to “Do not disturb” mode as the impatient chorus of Outlook dings would not compliment my journey in deciphering the article’s key purpose.

With a coffee – ok multiple coffees – in hand over a course of a couple hours, I visited the auto-ethnographic experiences of Trish, Isabelle, Ariana and Sandrine; 4 artist/researcher/teachers reflecting upon their roles. Each voice opened windows into their daily lives and in turn sparked questions, reflections, and lots of scribbled notes in my new sketchbook (a sweet Christmas gift from my parents). I like how my reflections were next to the page of a sketch I drew earlier that morning of our Labrador Archie.

Some of the notes I made included:

• Seeing the artist (or teacher! or researcher!) must be cast aside for the “magic to happen”.
• Self-reflective research is always in the middle of constant movement – never a begining or end.
• Life writing and creating deepens theory and practice
• We are ALL learning from each other.
• It is never about determining an absolute truth but creating assemblages of transformation. (what a great notion by Isabelle. It reminds me of puzzle pieces coming together but those pieces are contsantly shape-shifting leading to new and exciting images).

I received a lot of comfort and confidence from this article as through other’s reflections it helped reassure me how there is never an “end” (to research/a project etc…) and that wearing 3 hats (artist/researcher/teacher) does not mean that you HAVE to spread yourself thing. Different roles merge together and you cannot have 1 without the other 2. I sometimes worry that I am doing too much and lack directly because I am not “just” a researcher but of course that is not the right (or only) way to look at it. Also life isn’t about crossing off something from the to-do list.

It is always in “constant movement”.

“Hello world!” I’m delighted that at this stage – knock on wood – Moodle is working! Email is working! The blog is working! And I’m excited, but also slightly worried, to be starting the PgCert advnenture which I have committed to for 2024.

To be honest, I, like most have a lot on my plate.

I am the Course Leader of LCF’s largest post-graduate course MA Strategic Fashion Marketing with 80 students, I’m involved with various research and international knowledge exchange projects, some externally funded, I am writing a book which is targeted to be complete in March 2024 and on top of it all I am getting married in August! To see a little more about my work, please see HERE. It is a BIG year but I am so passionate about teaching and student experience as it is my biggest ambition to create a positive impact on the largest amount of students (or what I say leaders guiding the future of fashion) so I look forward to progressing my practice. I hope to learn more creative, inspirational, co-creative seminar activities which fall under the social constructionism school of thought. Higher eductaion is rapidly changing and I hope to be proactive and learn new ways of inspiring students.

Am I worried about my time management due to my teaching at our new Stratford Campus? YES! Am I worried about finding my student hat on after years of teaching, research, and completing my PhD and SFHEA? YES! Am I excited to challenge myself and learning something I didn’t expect? YES!

I started my career in fashion as a blogger using WordPress so this is a true throwback but sometimes to move forward and excell, you need to go back and build upon those ever-important foundations!

Onwards!