Dave and the bandits A Creative Learning Team Story
BILLY - INTERESTING STRENGTHS Varying forms of classroom management, all very effective: Dave - music playing before the session, then vigilant and actively engaging students in a very large A&D space Steve - leading from the front with students not ‘gathering,’ all paying attention and lots of contribution Tim - Theatrical performance like command of the lecture space at Tavistock Place
BILLY - EXPERIMENTAL SESH Flipped a film session entirely on its head. The students saw the final outcome, then, as a group, were responsible for designing and then democratically voting on: -
What they needed to produce / the concept How they will produce it / techniques involved Group numbers / filming timeframes Deadline time / final end product
They were then responsible for filming and editing the final work, organising the end product as a group and teaching each other the skills needed to make it work.
OUTCOME
BILLY - BIGGER PICTURE Q’s The post-observation session had by far the most thought-provoking discussion ever received as part of an observation process - but once we raised some great pedagogical questions, they were never explored again due to time. How do we change this? How does it become more than just a process, but inherent in our thinking?
STEVE - PROMINENT FINDINGS Dave: No computers - increased communication & interaction Billy: Current subject knowledge - inspires and sparks curiosity Tim: Have more fun
Risk Taking Session: SPIN THE BOTTLE Risk taken: Have more fun Why: Tim’s theatrical delivery style Strategy: Spin the bottle print crit Response: Positive effect overall but could have been taken further. Students took a while to warm to the activity and could have engaged further. Questions raised: How can we create a classroom environment where an activity like this will slip right in? How much fun is too much fun?
Questions: ● I found observing others the most beneficial aspect of the process. ● How would teaching in other spaces raise awareness of alternative strategies? ● It seems any scrutiny of practice I engage with drags me out of the day-to-day teaching mindset and forces me to refocus on what it is we’re ultimately trying to achieve. ● More frequent consideration of practice through this critical lens is key. But how can we adapt our practices to facilitate this?
Dave - Slide 1 - pick out some strengths observed overall All bandits used different forms of questioning Billy used a thought provoking question as an Icebreaker which “Kick Started” the lesson. Steven uses questioning a quick fire delivery. Students are constantly having answer prompts. This works in terms of engagement and maintains student focus and engagement. Tim sets up an installation of objects and asks the FAD students “Is this art?” This provokes critical perspectives and conceptual thought.
Dave - Slide 2 - 10 second description of experimental session My experimental session was based on Futurist performance evenings. The original performance evenings were designed to annoy and agitate the audience. I set out to annoy my students through giving them poor materials, constant noise, a cluttered environment and a difficult observation drawing task. I then asked for feedback from the session on the back of their drawings I spoke to them about Futurism and that I intended to irritate them. I spoke to them about my intentions of provoking an emotional response from them This process was highlighted as relevant to 7.1 of Unit 13 Explore strategies to present a personal project
Dave - Slide 3 - put 1 or 2 big questions that came out of this process Is there an opportunity to develop a Google Classroom, Google Drive or digital forum for us to share experimental practice. I found the experimental session an inspirational teaching experience. I would to share the lesson with a wider range of colleagues and receive feedback. I would be interested in delivering experimental sessions with a group of students I don’t normally work with.
What do we like about the process? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Supportive team based togetherness More friendly More learning takes place Removes the fear factor from observation grading Encourages risks and experiments
What would we like improved next year in terms of the observation process? ★ More time to engage with it ★ 1 or 2 less ‘steps.’ ★ Can we see more of each other’s induction processes? This is never observed, and we rarely get a chance to see what other people do in this vital timeframe