As an icebreaker during our first PGCert workshop session we used a ball of string to track who had spoken in a conversation between four people. It was noticeable how it changed the rhythm of conversation – it slowed it down, in some ways making it less natural, but also made sure everybody engaged fully and on a relatively equal basis. It would be interesting to try at early stages with my first year undergraduate students, many of whom approach studio engagement tentatively particularly when it comes to giving opinions, but peer-to-peer feedback is a crucial part of their development on the course so I want to introduce it as early as possible.
By tracking the geography of a conversation it illustrates someone being left out or choosing to isolate themselves. As a tutor in that scenario it can be an opportunity to promote some discussion with those people hopefully reassuring them that their opinion matters and their engagement with others is valuable.
I am aware people feel different levels of comfort towards giving feedback on one another’s work but from my own university experience, and anecdotally from many others I studied with, it was invaluable to discuss work with peers, gaining feedback and support when a tutor wasn’t available.
I recently read a blog post from 2014 in which the writer described a school teacher who used a similarly simple exercise to map and understand the social situation between her pupils (Doyle, 2014). The context for this exercise was far more serious than any difficulties I have within my own studio, but it fundamentally sought to ensure the inclusion of everybody within the class and in doing to create deeper understanding between them. It highlighted to me the power of social interaction and has redoubled my confidence that it is a key factor in creating a successful learning environment.
A university course is a challenging undertaking for anybody so being able to establish mutual support amongst fellow students provides opportunities for social and academic encouragement on a daily basis throughout one’s studies.
Doyle, G. (2014) ‘Share This With All the Schools, Please | Momastery’, 30 January. Available at: https://momastery.com/blog/2014/01/30/share-schools/ (Accessed: 8 March 2024).