Micro-teaching Reflections

Reflecting on my micro-teaching session and on the feedback from my peers I wanted to use this session to create a space of reflection and dialogue. 

I started preparing the session thinking how can I use this with my students and, being an artist my self, I feel it is so important to have time and dialogue with objects, being them found objects or something that we created.

Before formulating my ideas I watched a useful video on object based learning, Embracing Intercultural Dialogue in the Classroom: CPD, Methodologies and Methods: Practical Implications for the Classroom, Jo-Anne Sunderland Bowe, Heritec UK Limited (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BucOs-JfGTk).

In the video, it is mentioned that Object Based Learning is an opportunity to welcome the changes in the curriculum moving towards the concept of the 4C´s in ‘21st Century Skills’ which are Critical Thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, Communication. 

In there, there’s also a very inspirational quote regarding informal learning and objects: “we are constantly learning through our experiences; is this idea that we take new information, apply it to our personal life and to our experiences and construct new meaning from it.”

I also read The Slow Professor where I was particular interested in the chapter Time Management and Timelessness and I found this quote that resonated with me and I wanted to somehow incorporated in the session through a pause with the silence and contemplation: “Personal motivation is not enough. environmental factors facilitate or interfere with creative thinking. The major obstacle to creative and original thinking: Mainemelis found, is the stress of having too much to do;”

With this in mind, my first ideas to plan a micro teaching session took into consideration, for the first task, the creation of a space for silence and reflection, for visual thinking, for visual memory and assimilating of new meaning. For the second task, I was hopping that handling the object would “provide an opportunity for communal discussion” (read in Object-Based Learning and Wellbeing, Judy Willcocks, 2021), enhancing communication and collaboration.

Breakdown of the micro-teaching session: 

Task 1 : Looking at the object, I want you to observe it, to interpret it, to think about it. 

Bring a personal life experience or experiences that includes or relates with this object. You have 5 minutes of reflective silence. Feel free to write down notes or keep your thoughts to yourself. Afterwards I will invite you to share and discuss these experiences and how they relate to the object.

10 minutes: Sharing it with the group; 

Task 2: Discuss collectively what art form or media you imagine this story or experience and object being presented in. 5 minutes

With regard to learning objectives, I was interested to develop the following: observational skills, visual literacy (ability to ‘read’ objects, to find meaning from them), team working and collaboration, communication and inspiration. 

In this session I was particular interested in building skills on the following UAL assessment criteria: 

Enquiry – active learning and reflection, students can relate these skills to their own practice to build enquiry

Communication – how you share your learning with an audience, presenting and explaining your work to different people.

Knowledge – enhancing understanding (perceptions of others), explore diverse cultures and connections, and appreciate what you do in a wider context.

Feedback and reflection:

After looking at the object one student was reminded of her grandma pillows and the fact that some of the feathers would stick out of the pillow;

Another student thought about birds and connotations about freedom. The student also thought about the meaning in first world war when feathers were given to soldiers representing cowardice or conscientious pacifism.

One of the students thought about bedding and silk pillows. Also the way of the feather was designed made her think about body in water and how light our bodies are in water.

Sergio thought about joy, highness, and from his perspective he could see an old man with a white eye brown.

In the second task they discussed ideas how would they presented a feather and a combination of their experiences. They thought of making a mix media animation. The animation would be printed in a fabric that would have the feather as a pattern. The film would featured an old man called Robert, with white eye browns, looking like feathers. He had to go to war but decided instead to make a war with pillows. 

Very inspiring idea, indeed, in current times!

Upon feedback, I think that perhaps a more robust object would have been better, because no one handled it. Perhaps, the object was too sensitive or small. 

Regarding the silence, a student said that at the begging they felt quite uncomfortable with the 5 minute silence. But after a while they thought it was important. 

Sergio had doubts, at the beginning about the time in silence but he said that he understood the quiet process within the second task. It makes me think that I should have explained task 1 and task 2 at the beginning. Researching further in one of my readings Object-Based Learning and Wellbeing, Judy Willcocks writes “Almost all participants in our well-being workshops noted the importance of working to a brief with clear goals, points for reflection and deadlines.” .

Sergio also asked a pertinent question regarding if I would do this with first year students, for example at the beginning of the year, without us getting to know each other first. Questioning if they would engage with the task, or perhaps would be to open, and they would get lost, or distracted. 

I haven’t done this session with my students. I did said to my students though that it is ok to embrace silence and, for example, in a presentation if someone doesn’t reply straight away do not assume the worst.

Thinking about this feedback leads me back to my readings of Innovative pedagogies series: Wow: The power of objects in object-based learning and teaching by Dr Kirsten Hardie, when she asks ´first year students to select an object of their choice and place it in front of all their peers so that the example will elicit an instantaneous, authentic and audible response from the group: a wow (2008). Any object can be selected as long as it is considered to have the power to provoke a wow. Students are asked not to present or explain their chosen item: “the student’s voice is communicated by objects. Neither students nor teacher talk. Silence is only to be broken by the exclamation of ‘Wow! A genuine utterance of this single word ultimately confirms the success of the students’ work.” (Hardie 2008, p. 139). Discussion takes place after the wow.`

Thinking about other students sessions, I thought that Tracy’s session was very effective because she combined theory about jeans, a task and quiz. She helped everyone to learned the task if sowing a base for a mug made out of jeans. At the end, the quiz was run in an informal, and I thought it was a good way to sediment knowledge. 

I also thought that Abi´s session was really effective. She thought us about fabric materials. I really liked the touching the different materials, the smell. I thought it was really interesting that at the end she unveiled where the materials were from and their sources. They were all natural materials: from mango, pineapple, coconut, etc. We had previously tried to guess this and upon unveiling we were all surprised. 

It was really good to stay for almost the all day and see and learn from so many different approaches, I also had a lovely lunch with Abi and I thought that everyone gave good feedback to their peers.