March 2023 – PG Cert

Theories, Policies and Practices

It has been a journey this term. Returning to education myself after 14 years has been challenging whilst working full time. Being a student at UAL (again) has had its ups and downs. The face to face classes were engaging and enjoyable, but I do struggle to focus during the online classes. The politics of having to get an ISA and DSA 14 years after my dyslexia diagnoses has been traumatic (3 months and still no one to one support in place), and it is eye opening to see what my students go through. The first few weeks I really struggled. Terminology that I did not understand, yet everyone else seemed too. Keeping up with the reading due to my learning difference. I generally felt like I was always behind everyone else and struggled to understand let alone apply theories to my own practise. I felt like I wasn’t good enough to do this course and that I was not learning anything.

That was until this week.

I was asked to be on a panel for interviews this week for 2 new costume technician positions. During the interview and asking the questions, I suddenly felt an “ah ha!” moment. I found myself answering the questions in my head and wondering why the candidates were giving the answers they were instead of what I was thinking. I realised how similar my answers were during my own interview 2 years ago and how differently I would answer them now. “How do you measure the success of your teaching?” Easy, formative assessments, student feedback forms, questions and answers in classes about previous sessions. Although I have been doing most of these things in my classes, I didn’t realise just how significant these things we do are. “Arguably the most powerful enhancement to learning is feedback during learning”. Biggs and Tang (2011 p64)

I have gained more confidence in my teaching this term, thanks to being observed by a peer and tutor and the microteaching session. Gaining really lovely feedback has been such a positive experience. I consider myself a self-taught technician, having come from industry instead of education, and to hear feedback such as “You are a natural teacher” made me feel really proud of myself and the journey I’ve been on to get here. I love my job, and I love teaching these practical skills to these future costumiers and I can’t wait to continue developing my knowledge on how to do this better.

I may not be the best student and the reading and writing will remain a challenge for me. But I know I am a good technician and I finally feel like I can do this.

References

Biggs, J. and Tang, C., 2011. EBOOK: Teaching for Quality Learning at University. McGraw-hill education (UK). Accessed (12/03/23)

Object based learning.

“Objects have the power to inspire, inform, excite and educate; they can be used to acquire subject
specific knowledge as well as more generic transferable skills such as communication and teamwork.” (Chatterjee, 2011)

I have always enjoyed the use of objects and artefacts to engage and inspire students to learn through my teaching. Particularly in my practice, to be able to have costumes to show students a physical example of their learning outcomes. I teach technical workshops on how to create a boned bodice and I am lucky enough to own an original Victorian bodice myself. Every year I bring this into the class and allow students to touch and examine this garment (with gloves) so they can see how it was originally constructed by hand. This is usually the first time these students are exposed to a garment that is 150 years old, and the level of excitement is always high. The gasps and smiles are an indicator of how engaged they are, and a memorable event is made.

“The ‘wow’ of an item can create rich, important and fun learning.” (Hardie, 2015(

I ask students to compare the original garment to a costume remake to see how historically accurate we are, or are not and ask them to discuss why there may be these differences. Creating meaning and context of an original historical garments and that of costume remakes which have a different purpose. The aim of bringing this into my workshop is to create a fun, engaging and memorable event and help students to retain the practical part of the workshop.

“…Our aim was to explore innovative teaching approaches which would provide students with an alternative way of connecting with subject-related material. It was important to create a learning environment that invites participants’ subjectivities and lived experiences, and builds on the latter, helping them navigate the process of enquiry, thus leading to a deeper, meaningful learning experience. We were also keen to use an approach that had potential to ignite participants’ sense of exploration and curiosity, and reinforce the enjoyable nature of critical and creative thinking.” (Kukhareva, Lawrence, and Koulle, 2020)

Due to our location at Lime Grove, having access to the LCF archives and borrowing items for classes can be challenging. With the upcoming move to Stratford, I hope to include more original objects within my sessions. The impact of OBL on the students is clear to see through their engagement, enquiry and joy of seeing original artefacts.

References

Chatterjee, H.J., 2011. Object-based learning in higher education: The pedagogical power of museums. Available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315596471-17/object-based-learning-powerful-pedagogy-higher-education-leonie-hannan-rosalind-duhs-helen-chatterjee [Accessed] 20/03/23

Hardie, K., 2015. Innovative pedagogies series: Wow: The power of objects in object-based learning and teaching. Higher Education Academy, pp.1-24. Available at https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/kirsten_hardie_final_1568037367.pdf [Accessed] 20/03/23

Kukhareva, M., Lawrence, A. and Koulle, K., 2020. Layers of interaction: Object-based learning driving individual and collaborative active enquiry. Innovations in Active Learning in Higher Education.

Employability.

After having a discussion about my previous blog post about employability of students, my line manager informed me that the university was changing its stance on this topic. She had attended meetings where employability was being discussed and said there is a new focus on this. Educational secretary Damian Hinds (2019) said “I want universities to be brave and ask themselves if they’re running courses that really help students gain the skills they need for the workforce of tomorrow – if they’re not they should improve them or end them. But if universities think other options like apprenticeships or technical education are a better fit for a student, they should give young people that advice rather than put them on a course that isn’t providing what they need for a bright future.” Just a few months later the Government released their “Rethink. Reskill. Reboot” poster campaign. One poster featured a Ballet dancer with the slogan “Fatima’s next job could be in cyber. (She just doesn’t know it yet) along with reports that funding to art courses that were deemed low value could have their funding cut by 50%.

HM Government Rethink. Reskill. Reboot advert.

After looking through UALs Creative Attributes framework and the 22/23 Strategy, it is clear this focus of employability has become a major focus, maybe due to the UK government making these statements. This is a positive change that I feel I can support to the fullest. We work so hard to teach skills and knowledge about our subjects areas and embed UALs core values within the curriculum. But it is our students who are the next generation that can make changes for the better. Be innovative, improve sustainability, champion climate justice. But for them to really make a change, they need to be employed in their creative industries to do this. The number of times I have been told in 5 years that we are here to get students a degree and not a career was demoralising. The next time I here this, I will say “our students will have the careers they want and go on to build a better world.” and I would like to be involved with the “Redesign our curriculum, in partnership with staff, students and external specialists, to improve vocational opportunities, and our graduates’ skills and employability.”Guiding policy 1 (2023)

I have unknowingly (until the PG cert) adopted a narrative pedagogical approach in my workshops. Telling relevant stories and experiences in industry in hopes to make the processes memorable and prepare students for industry practices. Getting them excited about the future careers that they will have and give them the skills and knowledge required to succeed in it.

References.

Hinds, D (2019) Education Secretary calls for an end to low value degrees. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/education-secretary-calls-for-an-end-to-low-value-degrees (Accessed 15/03/23)

Swain, M (2020) The government’s attitude to Fatima and the arts will put them on the wrong side of history – they just don’t know it yet. available at https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/cyberfirst-advert-rethink-reskill-reboot-fatimas-next-job-coronavirus-arts-b992467.html (Accessed 15/30/23)

University of the arts (2023) Our Strategy 2022-32 Guiding policy 1. available at https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/strategy-and-governance/strategy/guiding-policy-1 (Accessed 15/03/23)

UK Professional Standards Framework and employability blog 3.

Continuation from previous post.

Blog 1. https://sarahmasters.myblog-staging.arts.ac.uk/2023/03/05/uk-professional-standards-framework-and-employability/

Blog 2. https://sarahmasters.myblog-staging.arts.ac.uk/2023/03/15/uk-professional-standards-framework-and-employability-blog-2/

It was raised during our discussion on 24^th February 2023, if we
felt that the university were purposely being deceitful to potential students.
My belief is yes, and this is what I’m uncomfortable with. If the framework has
changed, and we are required to give the students the skills they need to pass
the course, rather than getting a job, then why not be more transparent and
open about this? Will students still apply if we focused more on the sense of
creative self-discovery rather than employability, at the cost of
£10,000-£20,000 a year?

Having studied the course I teach on; I can see how it has changed in 15
years. Specific skill-based classes have reduced significantly and been
replaced with units such as Better Lives which is a different subject entirely,
other unrelated workshops implemented only to fulfil unit briefs. Changes should
be made to make the courses better, but this doesn’t need to be at the cost of
employability. Why can we not be a university that promotes creative
exploration and personal growth as well as giving the students the skills
required to increase job certainty after graduation?

I understand we are not a trade school; we are a University, but do students
really know the difference? On the BA costume course, the 2022 NSS scores show
in the free text comments last year that there was a clear expectation to have
more skills by the end of the degree than they did. This was a big contribution
to our very low score and shows that the students have a lack of understanding
about what we deliver in terms of practical employable skills for industry.

References

Advance HE. Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting
learning in higher education 2011 (2023) available at https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/ukpsf-2011-summary-document
(Accessed 5/03/23)

Advance HE. Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting
learning in higher education 2023 (2023) available at https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/teaching-and-learning/psf#psf2023
(Accessed 5/03/23)

Trust for London (2023) available at https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/
(Accessed 5/03/23)

LCF course website (2023) available at https://www.arts.ac.uk/subjects/performance-and-design-for-theatre-and-screen/undergraduate/ba-hons-hair-make-up-and-prosthetics-for-performance-lcf
(Accessed 05/03/23)

UK Professional Standards Framework and employability blog 2.

Continuation from previous post. https://sarahmasters.myblog-staging.arts.ac.uk/2023/03/05/uk-professional-standards-framework-and-employability/

A study by Trust for London (2019/2020) shows that Tower Hamlets is the
poorest borough in London, with Newham coming in 3^rd, Hackney and
Waltham Forest only slightly further down the list. Tower Hamlets has 39% of
the residents living in poverty with Newham close behind with 36%, with 49% of
the boroughs children living in these conditions. This has made me question,
why are we trying to recruit disadvantaged poverty-stricken youths to apply for
a course that is not designed to help them gain a career, instead get them into
debt? So they can find themselves? This may be an option for students who have
come from a privileged background but not for many locals in East London. Of
course, it is up to the student to decide why they are applying to study a
degree at university. But I feel it is the universities responsibility to be
transparent about what we are delivering. Browsing through the UAL website for
prospective students, I found no mention of the purpose of studying being to
“find yourself” or “explore your own creative practice”. However, I found
countless references to “employment opportunities” “careers” and “industry” at
every turn. Looking at one course that I work alongside, BA Hair, Make up and
Prosthetics for performance as an example. The webpage for the course states in
the title “BA (Hons) Hair, Make-up and Prosthetics for Performance teaches the
specialist skills to enter the performance industry working as a make-up /
prosthetics artist as well as hair / wig dresser and maker.” This clearly
implies to prospective students that we are giving them the skills for a
career, when in reality we are not. Most of the graduates are struggling to
find work in industry due to skill gaps, skills that were once taught on the
course but were removed.

Screen shot of LCF BA (hons) Hair, Make up and Prosthetics for performance course page.

Real life experience working together in a professional theatre, with a professional cast was removed several years ago and replaced with the Personal Performance Project. A unit where they now have twice as long, to produce half as much.

Continue to Blog 3. https://sarahmasters.myblog-staging.arts.ac.uk/2023/03/15/uk-professional-standards-framework-and-employability-blog-3/

References.

Trust for London (2023) available at https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/ (Accessed 5/03/23)

UK Professional Standards Framework and employability.

UKPSF 2011

V4. Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice

UKPSF 2023

V4. Respond to the wider context in which higher education operates, recognising implications for practice.

When looking at the UKPSF during our class on 24^th February, I noticed one word missing in the V4 2023 update compared to the 2011 edition, “Professional”. This sparked an interesting conversation with my peers in two different situations. Many of us, myself included have been told countless times that our purpose is to get students a degree, not a career. The removal of “professional” from this part of the framework enforces this idea that degree’s are not for the purpose of making students employable, but to encourage students to learn for their own personal practice.

This got me thinking about LCF’s move to Stratford. Living in the area myself, I have seen several initiatives set up by LCF to integrate into the community. Fashion studios for locals in Leyton, outreach projects for schools in Newham, Waltham forest, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, open days at Stratford Circus and projects such as East summer school. All targeting young people aged 13-18 since 2018. These projects are welcomed in this area of East London, and I was proud that the college were encouraging young locals to become prospective students in time for the new campus opening in 2023. That was until seeing the change in framework.

To be continued at https://sarahmasters.myblog-staging.arts.ac.uk/2023/03/15/uk-professional-standards-framework-and-employability-blog-2/

References

Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in
higher education 2011 https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/ukpsf-2011-summary-document
Accessed 5/03/23

Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in
higher education 2023 https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/teaching-and-learning/psf#psf2023
Accessed 5/03/23