I thought that after completing the ‘hard parts’ of designing an action, executing it, and gathering the resultant data it would be a simple and pleasant task of compiling this data and finding that discoveries simply jumped from the page. Obviously this was misguided, and I now find myself struggling to find ways to present the information I have gathered lucidly and in a way which reveals the secrets it holds.
I am dealing with both quantitative and qualitative information; the first comes from a set of questions which produced numbered responses. This is relatively easy to compile (especially because I only received responses from 22 students). The second is a set of written reflections from students where they comment upon their experience of group work. This is much harder to collate into a meaningful or measurable analysis.
I have turned to Edward Tufte’s Envisioning Information for inspiration in the presentation of quantitative data but although all of the examples have inspired me to be creative in my approach, I find that all I do is add unnecessary complexity for the sake of aesthetics, the complete opposite of what Tufte is advocating for. Therefore I have settled on very conventional graphs and tables which, although rather dull, give me the flexibility to ask questions such as “did the respondents feel they learned much from each other in a group context?’ or “did those who found group work enjoyable also feel comfortable speaking in the group?”
What I’m finding whilst viewing this data is that rather than answering questions it is tending to ask more. For example only one person appears to have had a particularly bad time with the group work, does this maybe suggest that group work was generally enjoyed? Or that those who felt positive about it also felt positive about giving feedback? Or that those who felt most confident felt most able to give feedback? (Many of the respondents felt very comfortable speaking in the group). I would also be interested to know if these people would have answered the same way at an earlier stage in the group work, or having presumably formed relationships over the project they found that by the end – when filling out the survey – they were very comfortable speaking to their new friends.
I may find answers to these questions and more when I get to the qualitative data as I will be able to mentally overlay this on the quantitative to see how they relate, though I suspect the visualisation of that data will prove far more challenging. However I can’t help but feel very acutely the spiral of action research at play here and am coming to realise that the PGCert is resulting in exactly what I was hoping for: the tools and drive to continually improve my teaching.
References:
Tufte, E.R. (1990) Envisioning Information. First Edition. Cheshire, Conn: Graphics Press USA.
I am using this as an opportunity to record my impressions of my students in their group work at different stages of the project. Although this data is more of a musing than scientific or quantifiable it is representative of the conditions which all teachers must respond to in their day to day practice. We continuously read the behaviour of our students, the atmosphere in the room or between one another, and adjust our teaching in response. Therefore although this is data which is not necessarily meaningful to anyone else, it is a useful exercise of reflection for myself and a way to revisit my experiences with a higher level view in order to adjust and improve.
Having now completed their group work I noticed the students effectiveness as a collaborative unit, their seeming enjoyment of the task, their responsiveness to feedback and their assessment of their own successes differed at different stages of the project.
The students were given the task of creating a ‘food play machine’ which would interactively and playfully educate pupils from a local primary school in the origin and preparation of food. They had three weeks to design and make their machines in groups of six or seven, then on the third week present them to the school pupils.
Initial design discussions
It was noticeable that in the early stages many students were working individually to develop ideas in their own interest then present these to the rest of the group. This felt more like a competition within the groups than actual group work as it was more about there being a winning idea that could be taken further than one which was developed collaboratively. It was very noticeable at this stage that some were working harder than others but also that those with more confidence were having their voices heard, disadvantaging those who might be having good ideas but weren’t so comfortable speaking up. There was a lack of effective communication at this stage which in one group led to two separate ideas being developed over the course of a week without knowledge of one another. Given the tight timeframes this was very inefficient and meant the project wasn’t benefitting from the skills and insights of everybody collectively.
Developing the design
I assisted each group in settling upon a design path to focus on. This muddies the waters somewhat in truly assessing their abilities to work collectively because it could be argued there was a reliance upon an outside body (me or other tutors) to make a final call rather than allow them to make it themselves. However truly removing myself from the situation would not be possible and the timescales dictated we as tutors gave a lot of guidance. I encouraged each group to name itself in the hope that this would form a level of unity amongst the members and ensure those who weren’t so confident felt a part of the collective. This was somewhat successful though I could perhaps have been clearer as the students named their proposals rather than their groups, I could perhaps introduce this sooner in future.
I also encouraged the students to discuss one another’s strengths together in order to divide up tasks with everyone working where they felt comfortable. This was good in that it helped the students understand one another’s skills and preferences better and I feel helped the process of them getting to know each other on a personal basis.
Overall this stage was still somewhat disjointed in that smaller groups within each group would form with distinct and visible disparities in engagement. I culminated the week’s session with encouraging students to first think about how they could help someone else before helping themselves.
Using their creation with the kids
On the morning before the school pupils came to play with the machines some, but not all, of the students were enthusiastic in setting everything up and preparing their welcome. It took a lot of work to ensure everyone was participating and I was very concerned about what would happen when the pupils arrived. However when presented with 30 very excited 8/9 year olds I saw an incredible transformation in my students. Every one of them without fail became enthusiastic, participatory and engaged. They worked incredibly well as a team, responding naturally to the unpredictability of the pupils and visibly enjoying themselves. For some it was a very stark contrast to the engagement I had seen from them in tutorials and it showed me that the energy the pupils were bringing was being reflected in my students, something which I can learn from in my own teaching practice.
Group reflection afterwards
After the school pupils left I gathered my students together for a session to critically reflect upon the successes of their proposals. It was noticeable that for many the rush of entertaining the children had taken a lot out of them and their engagement in discussion about the project was very minimal. Almost unanimously the students were extremely positive about how they thought they had done, in many ways stating that they had fulfilled the requirements of the brief and had nothing to be critical of. It was interesting to me that it appeared to the result of the positive experience with the students that they felt everything went perfectly, and I felt that I didn’t want to bring down their impressions of the event with the areas of improvement I had observed. I noticed that although some of the students were very unengaged at this stage they were very sociable. I consider this a success as the social aspect of group work is a key benefit I want to be facilitating in future.
Overall it was interesting to see the ebbs and flows of effort and engagement between the students but my impression was that through the whole process their relationships with one another consistently grew. If nothing else that is valuable and is the basis upon which I want to improve my facilitation of collaboration in future.
I began with the hope of addressing climate justice in my teaching and how to translate much of the difficulty, nuance and intersectionality present in how humanity is destroying the planet. However I always have difficulty finding ways to address this with positivity and hope. Many students I have encountered are already so burdened by society’s expectation that they are the generation to fix the issues created by everyone who came before them that they are overwhelmed to the point of resignation or apathy.
There are arguments that the best way to combat this apathy – or the resultant anxiety which many experience – is through action. This can take many forms all of which are helpful for the planet but which differ in their help to the individual based upon their needs. Activism, charitable donations, knowledge gathering, consumer decision-making or upskilling are all actions taken by many to ‘do their part’ but in considering such actions as genesis points for a piece of action research I found myself seeking something more fundamental which tied these things together. Ultimately for each of these things to be sustainable (both globally and for the individual) one must consider one’s attitude towards climate justice. If, for example, we are satiating our internal struggle with an occasional donation to Greenpeace, after which we feel absolved of our complicity in the climate crisis and carry on extracting from the earth’s resources a little while longer, we are not embodying a sustainable or regenerative attitude with regard to planetary wellbeing.
It is important I recognise that I write this from a position of complicity and benefit in this system. It is impossible in contemporary western society to fully remove myself from extractivism. If I were to do so I would not be able to write this for example. I would not be using a laptop containing materials and components taken violently from environments all over the planet, created through dubious labour conditions and with vast amounts of fossil fuel based energy. But within this system I can use my position to try to change it for those who do not have the luxury of the space, time, energy, support or safety to challenge the status quo.
We need to change our ways of thinking and operating, moving away from extraction and towards contribution as the fundamental driving force behind our actions. In their book On Connection Kae Tempest argues that if we continue to approach situations with ‘what can I gain from this?’ as a formative question the cycle of extraction continues, whereas ‘what can I offer?’ establishes a system of support for others which in turn will see ourselves supported (Tempest, 2020).
In returning with these thoughts to my teaching practice I realised the best thing I could offer my students is guidance on how to work collectively, in support of one another. In doing so (hopefully) establishing meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships based upon non-extractive thinking and behaviours. My own experience of architectural education, and arts education as a whole, showed me that it would have been next-to-impossible to complete without the support of my peers. In many ways this was more important than the support of my teachers because it came from kindness and therefore sincerity. Fellow students are not paid to offer advice on your work, comfort you when you are stressed, or exchange knowledge gained through experience. This offer of help is a tacit recognition of the challenge faced in any artistic pursuit and in that recognition manifests a sharing. It is an expression of non-extractive behaviour, one in which parties can offer something to one another and all benefit as a result. The outcome is more than the sum of its parts.
Another benefit to such recognition and support is an understanding of the identities one another hold. Allport’s Contact Hypothesis theorises that contact between members of differing groups, be that race, gender, sexuality or any form of difference, helps to establish understanding between them and consequently reduce prejudice (Allport, 1979). My students are varied, with a number of identities represented even in a small group, so there is an enormous amount they can learn one another that arguably makes their more formal and recognised education about architecture pale into insignificance.
Given the now widely recognised inter-relation between climate and social justice (Nakat, 2023), helping students recognise the difficulties faced by one other and work together to combat it, is microcosmic of the transformation we need to make globally to regenerate our ailing planet, and as a result feels like a good place to start.
References
Allport, G.W. (1979) The Nature Of Prejudice: 25th Anniversary Edition. Anniversary edition. Reading, Mass: Basic Books.
Nakat, G. (2023) Climate justice and social justice: Two sides of the same coin – Greenpeace International. Available at: https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/58334/climate-justice-and-social-justice-two-sides-of-the-same-coin/ (Accessed: 12 October 2024).
Tempest, K. (2020) On Connection. Main edition. London: Faber & Faber.
My intervention focusses on the presentation and format of feedback during in-person reviews. I have been teaching architecture for a number of years with a key component of the curriculum being formative and summative reviews or crits. Students have an opportunity to present their work, personally reflect upon it and receive verbal feedback from their peers and tutors. Each student will receive hand-written feedback from a tutor and a peer (Appendix Fig. 1). This must be produced during the review so it requires reviewers to simultaneously listen, reflect, write and speak in order to keep to the limited times each review is afforded. As a result the feedback is sometimes disjointed or illegible because it is based on the writers’ handwriting and ability to write quickly and logically whilst taking in and responding to stimuli.
The potential lack of clarity in the feedback places a disadvantage on students with dyslexia, multilingual students, and students with ADHD who may have difficulty keeping track of physical documents (NHS, 2017). I studied architecture myself and received feedback this way, even as a British person with English as my primary language and no diagnosed neurodivergence I sometimes struggled to interpret feedback if it wasn’t recorded clearly. I teach a broad spectrum of students with a variety of learning requirements so I recognise that it is necessary to recognise exclusionary practices and build anti-exclusion methods to accommodate the whole (Noel and Paiva, 2021).
I propose to change the feedback format from physical to digital. This would have a number of advantages:
It would enable me to write faster and copy universal feedback from other students therefore spending more time engaging with the student’s presentation.
The resulting text will be clear and readable.
Multilingual students will be able to easily copy and translate the text if necessary.
I could pass on the feedback in a way which makes it easy for students to find and hard to lose.
Prior to sending out feedback it would be easily editable.
I will be able to include links to references making them easy to find for students.
This could be a simple switch to using the same form as is used currently but writing feedback digitally, however the Universal Design for Learning Guidelines emphasise that, regardless of whether or not a students has diagnosed learning difficulties, every student will be suited to learning in a different way and giving options is important to cater to each individual (CAST, 2018). Therefore feedback could use other platforms/media such as Miro or Padlet, in which feedback can be presented non-linearly or more visually, enabling connections to be made between multiple sources and references to be easily seen (Appendix Fig. 2, 3). The use of these platforms is already supported by UAL so students would simply need to create a login and have access to a phone or computer. Given the majority of university correspondence is via email or Moodle it is safe to assume this would not be considered a barrier to access. Feedback could even be given as a recording, either a video/audio recording of the conversation in the review or as a follow up to the review which summarises the points raised. Although this might improve accessibility for some students it does not have the added benefit of interactivity that the other models offer.
It is also important to recognise that there is a correlation between being both multilingual and from an ethnic minority. The 2021 census found that 9.2% of the English population don’t speak English as their first language, with London having some of the highest concentrations of other predominant languages in the country (Office for National Statistics, 2022). Within the BA Architecture course 43.2% of students are B.A.M.E (the diversity terminology used for data measurement) and 39.2% are from the EU or Overseas (UAL Active Dashboards, 2024). This means that a number of students are both multilingual and from an ethnic minority establishing intersecting disadvantages which may contribute to the current attainment gap of 16% between home White and home B.A.M.E students in BA Architecture.1 In addition an intersectional understanding of race and dyslexia puts ethnic minorities at a disadvantage due to the embedded racism present in IQ testing which forms a part of dyslexia screening, something which in itself is financially inaccessible to many who don’t qualify for home student subsidies (Davies, 2022). Within my own context if I assume an ongoing average of 12 students whom I teach, statistically five will be B.A.M.E and two will have a declared disability, based on 18.2% of students declaring a disability in BA Architecture (UAL Active Dashboards, 2024) (Appendix Fig. 4). Changes in the presentation and format of feedback would therefore be of benefit to a broad spectrum of my students both now and in the future.
Freire advocates for a move away from the ‘banking’ model of teaching in which teachers convey information for students to absorb and towards a dialogic exchange of knowledge between student and teacher in which both develop the students work in collaboration and learn from the experience (Freire, 1970). Within the review itself I often ask students to give verbal feedback on one another’s work before I give my own in an attempt to breakdown the perception of hierarchy with the tutor as the only ‘expert’ present. This in addition to the written peer feedback is a move towards empowering student’s critical voices and giving them a sense of ownership over their education. However it comes with it’s own challenges in the social interactions between students and having the confidence to be critically constructive about something so personal as a peer’s project. By opening up the feedback format the aim would be to enter into a student/teacher collaboration that further empowers them as self-regulated learners (Nicol and Macfarlane‐Dick, 2006). A digital format in which students are able to contribute collectively could enable anonymity if that were preferred, and remove another layer of hierarchy between teacher and student or even within student relationships.
During the COVID-19 pandemic I was unable to teach students in-person so we used Miro to create digital platforms in which students could see one another’s work and attach comments to it. This established a continuously developing digital space for students to record their projects, reflect upon its development, view it in the context of other portfolios and produce drawn or written annotations to assist one other. Although this was arguably in a heightened atmosphere of collaboration given the pandemic and lack of alternatives, it showed that such digital formats were effective in establishing a non-hierarchical classroom structure which Freire advocated for.
I have not had an opportunity to test these forms of feedback with students as it is out of term time but drawing upon this previous experience I feel confident that a streamlined version of what was previously used could be of benefit. Prior to reviews with my next cohort of students I could give out a short questionnaire which asks students how they would like to receive their feedback to give a more tailored approach to each individual (Appendix Fig. 5). I could also ask them to reflect upon their own work – either privately or as part of the review – aligning with Freire’s definition of praxis as the “reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it” (Freire, 1970). Their feedback is then established as a collaboration between themselves, their tutors and their peers from early stages through to their final reviews.
In discussing my proposal with fellow design tutors as well as Language Development professionals at UAL they have generally agreed it would be a positive change. They confirmed issues with students misplacing physical feedback as well as understanding that handwriting is not always legible enough for everybody. Some suggested that it was their preference to work by hand as this made it easier to integrate sketches into the feedback which I agree is a barrier if one is required to scan sketches into feedback, though not insurmountable. One colleague said that they didn’t use a laptop because of physical difficulties, highlighting an allowance which I hadn’t anticipated. This could potentially be addressed by using a phone, tablet or university provided equipment. It was highlighted that it would be important to link feedback to Learning Outcomes in each feedback format which may be more difficult in less linear presentations. Finally several highlighted that this might create more work for tutors, something which I agree with and struggle to find a solution for without a change in feedback requirements or contracted hours from the university.
In my working environment assessment is a regular point of contention for Hourly Paid staff in precarious employment positions who across universities in the UK are already proven to be working significantly over their contracted hours. A 2021 UCU report found that when multiplying working hours up from fractional working weeks HPLs and those on zero hours or term-time only contracts worked an average of four additional unpaid days per week (UCU, 2021). The largest respondent demographic for this report were teaching staff in Humanities and the Arts. It is important when considering adaptations to teaching for the sake of student welfare and engagement to also consider our own. The improvement of teaching practices is essential in creating a fair and equitable environment for all students to learn, but this needs to be built upon appropriate support for staff and an institutional culture focussed on engaging all students if it is to be sustainable and effective in the long term.
1 This data does not take into account EU and Overseas students so I am unable to comment on how attainment would be affected by their inclusion.
References:
Bamber, V. and Jones, A. (2014) ‘Challenging students: enabling inclusive learning’, in A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 4th edn. Routledge.
CAST (2018) Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Available at: https://udlguidelines.cast.org/representation/ (Accessed: 1 July 2024).
Davies, M. (2022) ‘The White Spaces of Dyslexic Difference: An Intersectional Analysis’, in S. Broadhead (ed.) Access and Widening Participation in Arts Higher Education: Practice and Research. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 143–158. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97450-3_7.
Freire, P. (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Translated by M.B. Ramos. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
NHS (2017) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – Symptoms, nhs.uk. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/symptoms/ (Accessed: 28 June 2024).
Nicol, D.J. and Macfarlane‐Dick, D. (2006) ‘Formative assessment and self‐regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice’, Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), pp. 199–218. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600572090.
Noel, L.-A. and Paiva, M. (2021) ‘Learning to Recognize Exclusion’, Journal of Usability Studies, 16(2), pp. 66–72.
Office for National Statistics (2022) Language, England and Wales. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/ bulletins/languageenglandandwales/census2021 (Accessed: 5 July 2024).
UAL (2023) Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2022/23. University of the Arts London.
UAL Active Dashboards (2024) Student Profiles: Characteristics. Available at: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638557725396496203 (Accessed: 5 July 2024).
UCU (2021) Workload survey 2021. University and College Union. Available at: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/12905/UCU-workload-survey-2021-data-report/pdf/WorkloadReportJune22.pdf (Accessed: 1 July 2024).
Appendices:
Figure 1 – Currently used feedback form.
Figure 2 – Examples of Miro
Figure 3 – Example of Padlet.
Figure 4 – UAL Dasboards data (BA Architecture 2023/24)
The resources presented offer different standpoints and methodologies through which to view the presence of racism in education. The first addresses educational policy in the UK and reimagines it through a Critical Race Theory Framework. I found it eye-opening that policy emphasising the support of learners with English as an additional language (EAL) can reinforce disadvantage by labelling those students and thereby emphasising pre-existing stereotypes and biases (Bradbury, 2020). However I struggle to know how this can be avoided, it is obviously a generalisation but if trends indicate that these pupils do need more support then shouldn’t policy be in place to enable that? Perhaps it is an indication of the deeper issues within data-gathering as ethnic generalisations within data sets don’t accommodate the individuality of pupil’s backgrounds or abilities.
It was interesting to see how a privilege walk was used to show primary school pupils of the systemic racism they have each benefitted/suffered from (Heartbreaking Moment When Kids Learn About White Privilege | The School That Tried to End Racism, 2020). It really displayed that this is effective in visualising these issues but it was very clear that it was upsetting for those students being ‘left behind’ and verified criticisms that privilege walks reinforce perceptions of privilege and disadvantage.
The other academic text presented reveals how racist policy affecting school pupils has a knock-on effect in higher education, where there are shocking disparities between the number of people of colour and white people in professorship positions (Garrett, 2024). This is only compounded by intersectional disadvantage which establishes even less opportunity. By having very few people of colour in secure teaching positions students have less ability to visualise themselves in aspirational positions, something which is also discussed by Asif Sadiq. I was saddened to read accounts of black PhD candidates undertaking the qualification to prove their excellence to society as a whole, that they were having to make such an effort to overcome racial stereotypes and set an example for others (Garrett, 2024).
I am intrigued by Sadiq’s suggestion that diversity training should not strive for universal agreement but aim for a more localised and specific form of training that is relevant to it’s environment (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right | Asif Sadiq | TEDxCroydon, 2023). This goes against much current policy on the matter and would arguably strengthen arguments against ‘woke’ culture from those who don’t want to have to deal in specifics of identity and culture. However I can see the benefit of creating safe spaces for discussion that enable genuine conversation without fear of offence, something I can identify with as a white male.
I was fascinated and horrified by the Telegraph’s video about racism in the University of Cambridge. I perhaps shouldn’t have expected anything less from a news organisation widely accepted to be both significantly right-wing and anti-woke. There were innumerable tactics used to give the opinions presented veracity:
Using the University of Cambridge as an example – being one of the world’s oldest and most respected educational institutions.
Presented by one of it’s professors.
Interviews with other professors and students who are themselves people of colour – thereby “representing” their respective identities.
Terminology around things like white fragility as an “ideology” and policies relating to diversity as “bureacracies”. (Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke, 2022)
The video only served to reinforce the evidence of racism rooted within the university and it is incredibly troubling to see it presented so boldly by its staff members.
References
Alice Bradbury Profile | University College London (no date). Available at: https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/48643-alice-bradbury (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
Bradbury, A. (2020) ‘A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: the case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England’, Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(2), pp. 241–260. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2019.1599338.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right | Asif Sadiq | TEDxCroydon (2023). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
Garrett, R. (2024) ‘Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education’, Globalisation Societies and Education [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2024.2307886.
Heartbreaking Moment When Kids Learn About White Privilege | The School That Tried to End Racism (2020). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke (2022). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRM6vOPTjuU (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
This week I carried out summative reviews with my students, for this I am required to give both verbal and written feedback. The latter is a form which I write notes on during the review, then give to them afterwards. However by being required to reflect, speak and write simultaneously my notes are not always written clearly (both visually and grammatically) and therefore may be difficult for students to understand.
I propose simply to change the feedback format from physical to digital. This would have a number of advantages:
It would enable me to write faster and copy universal feedback from other students therefore spending more time engaging with the student’s presentation.
The resulting text will be clear and readable helping students with neurodivergence such as dyslexia.
I will be able to include links to references making them easy to find for students.
Prior to sending out feedback it would be easily editable.
I could pass on the feedback in a way which makes it easy for students to find and hard to lose.
Students with English as a second language (L2) will be able to easily copy and translate the text if necessary.
Using the Universal Design for Learning Guidelines I will explore methodologies of representation for the feedback to enable ease of access to all students. This could result in the creation of one or a number of alternative Feedback Forms to respond to different student requirements.
Key references:
Davies, M. (2022) ‘The White Spaces of Dyslexic Difference: An Intersectional Analysis’, in S. Broadhead (ed.) Access and Widening Participation in Arts Higher Education: Practice and Research. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 143–158. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97450-3_7.
Nicol, D.J. and Macfarlane‐Dick, D. (2006) ‘Formative assessment and self‐regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice’, Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), pp. 199–218. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600572090.
Noel, L.-A. and Paiva, M. (2021) ‘Learning to Recognize Exclusion’.
UDL: The UDL Guidelines (2018). Available at: https://udlguidelines.cast.org/ (Accessed: 24 May 2024).
The overriding sentiment across each of the resources is that ignorance backed up by generalisation of community groups contributes to an unhealthy understanding of religion and individuals’ position within it. I feel conflicted by Appiah’s argument that there isn’t such a thing as religion (Kwame Anthony Appiah: Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question), 2014) because it trivialises fundamental beliefs, however it does suggest that people of faith may have their own interpretation and therefore identity within the overriding belief system they adhere to. The conversational format of Appiah’s presentation is helpful in being able to establish common ground between differing identities and although this can result in flippant assertions it undoubtedly encourages thought, reflection and hopefully further conversation.
Interaction in particular is important in Singh’s description of personal methodologies for breaking down harmful stereotypes in his contact with people who don’t understand his faith (Challenging Race, Religion, and Stereotypes in Classroom, 2016). It shows that discourse and personal accounts are useful in helping others understand and contextualise identities in a relatable manner. On the contrary I found Rekis article very challenging to digest, it’s writing undoubtedly well-researched and informative but so academic as to be unrelatable. I am aware that is a result of my own difficulties with reading such forms of writing but it highlights that even in my own capacity as a well-educated person who is actively pursuing further knowledge in this area academic research and discussion can be too inscrutable and distant to be of much use to the majority of people.
Within the context of UAL the 2022/23 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Report states that 29% of students claim a religion or belief, with 12% preferring not to say (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2022/23, 2023). This means that over a quarter of students have an identity within their faith that should be accommodated by their learning environment. Art school is a place of self expression, especially for many who may be experiencing an opportunity for an individual exploration of their faith for the first time, and although many may not choose to explore this publicly they should feel safe and comfortable to do so. Jawad’s discussion of the intersectional difficulties faced by muslim women wanting to participate in sport is a perfect expression of the way in which an educational environment can empower students and overcome its own institutional ignorance (Jawad, 2022). In adapting to accommodate different forms of attire, requirements for modesty or segregation an institution is not undermining its own traditions and values, it is simply allowing a more diverse expression of values that ultimately results in deeper understanding and acceptance across the board. In discussion with my peers in the PGCert workshop many of us told accounts of celebrating after reviews or hand-ins in a bar or pub with tutors. We benefitted from a stronger relationship with those tutors as a result but I now recognise that this practice is exclusionary towards those who would find such an environment uncomfortable or contrary to their beliefs. Similarly long days of lectures, seminars or group activities do not necessarily allow for people to pray at specific periods, or to get home for a certain time during religious festivals. Better knowledge of such practices would hopefully garner more equitable practices in my teaching and more understanding between students of differing faiths.
References:
Challenging Race, Religion, and Stereotypes in Classroom (2016). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CAOKTo_DOk (Accessed: 17 May 2024).
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report 2022/23 (2023). University of the Arts London.
Jawad, H. (2022) ‘Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women’, Religion and Global Society, 22 September. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2022/09/islam-women-and-sport-the-case-of-visible-muslim-women/ (Accessed: 17 May 2024).
Kwame Anthony Appiah: Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question) (2014). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2et2KO8gcY (Accessed: 17 May 2024).
Rekis, J. (2023) ‘Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Account’, Hypatia, 38(4), pp. 779–800. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2023.86.
Research Insight: Religion and Belief in UK Higher Education | Advance HE (no date). Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/research-insight-religion-and-belief-uk-higher-education (Accessed: 17 May 2024).
Watching the three films for this task I felt Ade Adepitan was incredibly effective in concisely describing the intersecting difficulties of being both black and disabled. As an elite sportsperson the performance of one’s body is not only paramount but accessibility to infrastructure for the development of your abilities is also key. In discussing the simple lack of accessible transport around cities it highlighted to me the more specific problems which he must have had to overcome in order to gain access to adequate training equipment and facilities. The specialism of these undoubtedly comes at a high financial cost which is potentially harder to provide as a result of his ethnicity (Office for National Statistics, 2020).
Adepitan spoke of not being “allowed to shine” (Adepitan gives amazing explanation of systemic racism, 2020) by an oppressive society enforcing disability because of it’s lack of equity between disabled and non-disabled people, and I reflected that both he and Christine Sun Kim had used their disability as an opportunity to shine in spite of this oppression. The paralympics celebrates an incredible diversity of athletes, with recent advertising campaigns centred around them as ‘superhumans’ capable of determination and strength beyond human capacity (Innes, 2022). Not only is this a recognition of the unfair difficulties faced by disabled people but a celebration of their abilities. Sun Kim similarly uses her platform as an artist to visualise and contextualise the difficulties of being deaf, making artworks that are relatable to both deaf and hearing people. By enacting these at the scale of a city her work becomes unavoidable and therefore reflects the scenario faced by disabled people on a daily basis of having to address the needs of other abilities which non-disabled people perhaps don’t. She speaks of collaboration as being a positive consequence of her deafness which enables her to break beyond the comfort zone of a community formed around similar difficulties. I found this an interesting counterpoint to Chay Brown who refers to the LGBTQ+ community in a generally positive sense, though he references difficulties faced by being both trans and disabled within that sphere.
All three films however enforce the need for collective action and universal acceptance of the whole spectrum of disability. The points made by Chay Brown about not only physical accessibility but also with regard to hidden disabilities and neurodivergence made me reflect upon my own teaching situation; for example I conduct tutorials in a shared studio space which is often noisy and spatially cramped. For some people this may be sensorially overwhelming and so I should consider allowing students to work in other areas outside their tutorial slot. However this can reduce community between students, which I have observed over a number of years to create higher course engagement and therefore academic success. I am also aware the prescriptive outcomes of an architectural brief may not suit different neurodiversities. There are requirements for reading, writing, drawing, modelling and public presenting which undoubtedly force some students to adapt to practices which are difficult for them. Addressing this may form part of my Intervention for this IP unit.
References:
Ade Adepitan gives amazing explanation of systemic racism (2020). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAsxndpgagU (Accessed: 26 April 2024).
Christine Sun Kim in “Friends & Strangers” – Season 11 | Art21 (2023). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NpRaEDlLsI (Accessed: 26 April 2024).
Innes, M. (2022) 10 years of ‘Superhumans’: Inside Channel 4’s transformational Paralympics campaign, Marketing Week. Available at: https://www.marketingweek.com/super-humans-inside-channel-4-paralympics-campaign/ (Accessed: 26 April 2024).
Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month 2023 (2023). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc (Accessed: 26 April 2024).
Office for National Statistics (2020) Household wealth by ethnicity, Great Britain. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/ incomeandwealth/articles/householdwealthbyethnicitygreatbritain/april2016tomarch2018 (Accessed: 26 April 2024).
I come from a family of teachers, all of whom work in a primary or secondary school scenario where observation is a natural part of qualification, job application and ongoing development. It is therefore strange that after teaching in higher education for 4-5 years it wasn’t until the PGCert that I had an opportunity to observe and be observed in my teaching.
I can recognise the benefits of observation and feedback from an objective source; as a result of being observed by a peer and a tutor I better understand the positive aspects of my teaching practice and have been able to contextualise them within teaching theory, as well as understand those aspects where I could improve or place higher focus. I have gained confidence and feel empowered to improve, all from an observation aimed at creating a constructive and non-judgemental environment, built upon my own desire for personal growth (Loughran and Gunstone, 1997).
However I fear that the requirements for quality assurance in HE teaching can create an environment of hierarchical oversight and monitoring through the use of observation. Under New Labour education was linked to economic growth (Kenny, Ralph and Brown, 2000) thereby shifting the objective away from learning for the pursuit of knowledge and skills, towards becoming a quantifiable element of an economic machine. With rising tuition fees universities come under higher pressure to deliver teaching that is proportionate to the expense, and this pressure gets pushed onto teachers who are unlikely to have seen a proportionate pay rise.
Arts education is inherently unquantifiable given the subjectivity of teaching and student output. Arguably it therefore would benefit most from a collaborative and constructive observation system to create parity and mutual learning amongst teachers. However this subjectivity also puts it at risk of non-compliance with quality assurance guidelines, the definition of ‘quality’ within the arts being an age old debate. It would be possible to make an argument for using Learning Outcomes in clarifying teaching aims and ensuring quality, but as I discussed in Reflection 3 I feel these are so ineffective in an arts context as to be more of a hindrance than a help.
Ultimately I would like to continue observations, I want to organise them with my colleagues because I feel that we could all benefit from one another’s expertise, but I feel this should be self-initiated and kept clear of university level goals. By conducting observations in an atmosphere of trust, focussing on personal development, I believe as a group we could improve our teaching and confidence by learning from one another, without fear of comparison, but with increased certainty of competence and therefore compliance.
Kenny, M., Ralph, S. and Brown, M. (2000) ‘The importance of reflection in experiential learning with community and youth workers for the learning age’, International Journal of Lifelong Education, 19(2), pp. 115–125. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2000.10750064.
Loughran, J. and Gunstone, R. (1997) ‘Professional Development in Residence: Developing reflection on science teaching and learning’, Journal of Education for Teaching, 23, pp. 159–178. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02607479720105.
Shortland, S. (2004) ‘Peer observation: a tool for staff development or compliance?’, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 28(2), pp. 219–228. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877042000206778.
