What does equal participation look like in the classroom? (10th Jan)
Today’s session introduced me to many different things – New people and some friendly and intense discussions.
One of the provocations for the day was “What does equal participation look like in the classroom?”
Being sat with a group where everyone had a different background, we quickly identified that the word “classroom” seemed limiting, as learning happens in many different places: in studio, lecture theatres, online, in galleries, outside etc. We discussed observations and strategies that people used in their own teaching environments that could be seen being towards “equal participation”
Firstly, not all participation looks the same. Some students might be participating to their full capacity by simply being present and that sometimes peer to peer participation is more valuable than being engaged with the tutor as such. In Enabling inclusive learning, Bamber & Jones argue that engagement can be facilitated though building community early on:
“Building community, identity, belonging and social interaction. Quite apart from making the most of social learning, belonging is a key factor in student retention” (Bamber & Jones, 2015)
Someone mentioned they like to use movement and specially the “walking tutorial”, where a conversation about the work happens not sitting down facing each other but walking around, removing the formality that interview-like setting. Engaging students can
With the Associate Lecturer I work with, we personally like to think of the studio as a flexible space – we arrange tables in different ways depending on the session that will happen (in clusters of people, in a long table at the centre of the studio, only chairs like a lecture theatre and once, my AL removed all the furniture to make spatial drawings with tape using walls and floor. He reported that the look students gave him when they entered the empty room was priceless – it built up anticipation to the session ahead and increased engagement)
We discussed that as a tutor, especially in art and design education, how important it is to adapt and balance to meet diverse needs. Many of our students have English as a second language and / or are neurodiverse, and this are things to balance when delivering a session. One of the reasons I like teaching illustration at Foundation level is because it allows for many ways to solve a brief, evidencing to students that there is more than one way to do something.
I leave the session with many takeaways – from a fun exercise where participants pass a ball of string as they take turns to talk, mapping the flow and frequency of conversation (which I would like to try with my own students) to a reflection on UAL education as a whole and how fees can impact the cohort of students. Something that I do think about is how I wish I could see how other people teach a lot more within the college. UAL is such a big institution that good practices often go unnoticed – and I think I’m probably missing out on good stuff!
References:
Bamber, V & Jones, A (2015), Enabling inclusive learning, ch 11, pp 154-168