Session reviewed: Costumes Principles Two – Text Analysis
Size of student group: 12
Observer: Tanya Noor
Observee: Jess Curtis
Part One
What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?
This session introduces the concept of inclusive design in relation to Hair make-up and Prosthetics as a whole and also to their design work in this unit.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
I have worked with this group as a lecturer on a previous unit about four months ago.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
LO 1: Develop a range of research methods that inform your work and show an awareness of ethical responsibility (enquiry)
- Students understand the principles of inclusive design
- Students integrate these principles in their design thinking and consider their application in the context of hair and make-up design
- Students consider applying their design to a model from an inclusive agency
What are the anticipated outputs ?
The student will produce rough drawings that consider diverse models and the way they can tailor their HMUP designs to their needs and attributes. They will create, collaboratively, an environment that is inclusive.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
A discussion of discrimination may be potentially triggering for some students. I will try and signpost this possibility and lay out some ground rules to help students navigate this.
How will students be informed of the observation/review?
This is an online review of the planning and preparation stage, with a brief observation of the session. I warned the students that Tanya would be in the session and introduced her ( although she is familiar with them ) when she arrived.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
I would really welcome any feedback. I am interested to know if this feels accessible and well structured. What else could I consider to make this session appropriate to Hair and Make-up and Prosthetic students ?
How will feedback be exchanged?
An exchange of written notes and also via an online discussion
Part Two
Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
Thank you Jess for sharing a really useful and productive session.
The session was in a seminar room with the students sitting in a semi-circle quite close to Jess, breaking down any hierarchical barriers. The atmosphere was relaxed and it was a small group. There was a power point presentation by Jess which had a good balance of diverse images and text which highlighted focus points. The talk was relevant to the hair & make up context, with historical, cultural and social references. The students were a bit shy at first but Jess successfully encouraged them to communicate. As so often is the case there was one student who was more proactive and through conversation with him the rest of the group began to contribute. Jess manoeuvred the conversation cleverly to include relevant points and cover the LO’s. There was a practical element to the session which involved rearranging the space they were in, which was well received by the students. Encouraging the students to communicate and to be proactive. The practical was a bit difficult to start with, as they were a bit shy. However Jess motivated them without being intimidating or demanding and encouraged brainstorming of ideas. Jess did some role playing to engage the students in some deeper analysis which was successful and led to effective teamwork. The session effectively reflected the theme of inclusivity and its relevance within the industry. Perhaps moving forward you could include some prep for the session so students have to research an example of inclusivity within industry to briefly present to each other either in small break out groups or as a whole group. This could act as a bit of an ice breaker/warm up to get them a bit more proactive for the rest of the session as well as useful research. Overall this was a very successful session with good motivation techniques and relevant content.
Jess’ friendly approach and gentle encouragement built confidence among the students, the learning journey was clear and great to observe.
Part Three
Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:
Thank you, Tanya, for your insight and suggestions!
I am glad that the session felt relaxed and inclusive in terms of delivery and material: if you have an amount of material to share it is sometimes challenging to keep a steady pace and consider how to embody the very ethos that you are teaching. Seeing the arc of a session as a whole and trying to build in choices or options that mean that your students can receive your input in a way that suits them needs time which it can be hard to find within a taught session, so it is an excellent idea to include some pre-prep.
This also means that the session begins with an element that is personal to and reflects the interests of the student in relation to the subject. I will build this approach into my upcoming session on sustainability to help me engage the class and to get a sense of their understanding of how this looks in industry. Sharing and reacting to what they find will be a great springboard for the rest of the session, as well as helping us to build up a bank of research (as you say) that they can refer to again later!
Additional note:
I later read the chapter “From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces” ( Aroao B. (2013) The Art of Effective Facilitation Ch.8 London : Stylus Publishing LCC ) which I would use in the future to inform ways of enabling a” a learning environment that allows students to engage with one another with honesty, sensitivity and respect “. This session did not seem to provoke difficult conversations, but the potential could be there and possibly should be there in terms of challenging potential perceptions.
You can find the plan for this session here:
You can find the Powerpoint here:
