Contextual Background
As a tutor on the CCW Foundation Painting course, I often come across a wide range of students. For this case study, I will focus on how I plan to support students that I believe may fail the course
Evaluation
This is my second academic year of teaching on Foundation, and I have encountered a few tutees that I have immediately had concerns about whether they would pass the course. The reasons for these concerns have predominantly been student engagement and ability to learn:
- Students entering the college with below the required level of English (recruited from outside of UAL)
- Students encountering a new teaching model or style. For example, I often have students from an Eastern background who are used to a more practical/technical arts education which is not something that is offered in the same way at CCW and this can mean that these students do not hit all the required Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria’s. For example, I had a student that made fantastic anatomical drawings but did not experiment with trying a variety of mediums or styles of working.
- Students with learning challenges such as ADHD
My aim is to find ways to make learning more accessible for these students, to support them to engage with the course materials/projects and with their own internal worlds.
Moving Forwards
Personal connection
One of the ways that I would like to do this is by finding what makes the individual student “tick”, what makes up their own personal worlds – what are they interested in – what music do they listen to, what films/tv programs, where are they coming from (where is home/family), what work have they made previously that they are proud of etc. It is also important to note that we are all connected, if an international student is struggling, then this too will affect home students as Louise Hill and Maria Hussain say:
“If international students are having difficulties, then other students will possibly experience the same. Thus, by improving conditions for international learners, everyone will reap the benefits.”
It is important to foster awareness that they we are all connected to one another, as Paul Crowther states:
“We are bonded to the world and other people in a way which draws on all aspects of our embodied historical existence. This experience is integrative”
Diversifying references offered for students from outside of the EU
One of the ways that I plan to better connect with overseas students is by diversifying the references that I offer. Through this I would hope to be able to find more points of connection and to offer up a less Western centric model of teaching. I want to offer up more artists from Eastern contexts for example. I am doing this by learning more about non western makers and making a conscious effort to find, visit and offer to all my students contemporary galleries showing young artists from non western backgrounds. For example during recent tutorials, I was able to offer up the following current shows to students: Yu Ji at Sadie Coles, Yoko Matsumoto at White Cube and the current Union Pacific group show featuring Aya Higuchi, Shana Hoehn, Koak and Hikari Ono and of course Yoko Ono at the Tate Modern.
Offering different ways of learning to students with diverse needs
I have recently been working a with a student who has ADHD. This student struggles to read long texts and also finds it a challenge to follow through on ideas and to finish work.
I did some online research and found that learning via video was beneficial for those with ADHD. Since then instead of offering up books or texts, I suggest this student watches artists interviews from websites such as The Tate YouTube and MOMA Youtube. These Youtube channels are a really helpful and engaging resource that I will offer to all of my students.
Organisational and administrative support
I often find that the students that are on the threshold of a pass/fail are the students that have the most difficulty tracking course deadlines, knowing what is required of them for their Workflow (the online platform used for submitting your work) and what the assessment criteria is.
Moving forwards, I will continue to always check that students are aware of these dates and have checked their emails etc.
I am also going to start summarising tutorials via email for students with language difficulties and also sending them questions or points of discussion via email around their work before tutorials. I will see if this is helpful and allows the students and me to have better communication or if this adversely increases the pressure on both myself and the students.
Clarifying learning and assessment criteria
With students that are not in this pass/fail threshold, I do not concentrate directly on LO/AC outside of the Feeback sessions as I preference personal learning and growth over hitting marking schemes and feel that if a student is connected with the work they are making, this happens along the way. However, I think the LOs/AC is something which I will integrate more with students that may fail the course.
One of the ways that I will do this is by incorporating a clearly worded TPP checklist that I will go through with students to check and to ensure that students are aware of the LO’s and AC to engage with so they can also take control of their own learning and grading. I will used the UAL: Reducing referrals and submissions template as a guide for making my own and I will also run my own Making the grade workshop 3 weeks prior to the next submission deadline to check how students are coming along with things such as their workflow submissions.
Peer learning
When a student encounters a language barrier, I also want to encourage other students who speak the same language to help. This will encourage peer-learning and help students connect with one another and foster a learning environment.
This is also known as the Collaborative Learning Theory which comes from Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotsky advocates that learners who work together can complete tasks together that they would not complete individually. This creates connections between students, preventing students from becoming isolated and makes the studio a place of community and shared learning.
References
Paul Crowther, Critical Aesthetics and Postmodernism, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1996, page 20
Louise Hill and Maria Hussain, Creating a ‘sense of belonging’ for international students through intercultural Personal Tutoring: https://www.ukat.ac.uk/community/ukat-blog/posts/2021/february/creating-a-sense-of-belonging-for-international-students-through-intercultural-personal-tutoring, accessed 2 March 2023
Lev Vygotsky, Thought and Language, MIT Press, 1986
Bibliography
Decolonising Language and the Multilingual University, University of the Arts London, 9th March: available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oltALaTbQM
Terry Finnigan, UAL: Reducing referrals and submissions, University of the Arts London, 10th March: available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0021/190155/AEM-Reducing-referrals-PDF-304KB.pdf
Nicol, David J. and Macfarlane-Dick, Debra, Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: a model and seven principles of good feedback practice, Studies in Higher Education, pages 199 – 218, 2006