Record of Observation or Review of Teaching Practice
Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: Y1 BA Fine Art Photography. Preparation session for Unit 2 crit
Size of student group: 47 max – expected closer to 25
Observer: Renee Odjidja
Observee: Claire Undy
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Part One: Observee to complete in brief and send to observer prior to the observation or review:
What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?
This is one of our weekly Year Meetings, where I would normally do briefings or prepare students for forthcoming events. It is a week before their first assessed crit, so the session is designed to help them prepare. The aim is to relieve anxiety and improve the standard of presentations by being clear about what to expect in the crit. I also hope to challenge the more capable students into being more ambitious with their intended display.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
I am first year leader and have worked closely with this group since September.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
- Students will be able to identify how different approaches to installation might support them to communicate their ideas through their work.
- Students should think through the practicalities and challenges of installing their work as they might in a professional exhibition space.
- Students will understand the requirements of the forthcoming assessment, and how to get the most from the experience.
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
Students will fill in a form at the end of the session asking a range of questions about the practical and conceptual implications of their intended exhibition. This is intended to provoke them into more detailed planning. They will be encouraged to discuss these forms with their peers and reflect on suggestions for improvement.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
Attendance is often particularly poor from the students that would find this session most beneficial. I will make sure the slides are available on Moodle and that students are aware of the importance of the meeting in advance. Information needs to be explicitly clear and written as well as spoken as often inaccurate hearsay amongst absent students perpetuates misinformation.
How will students be informed of the observation/review?
I will introduce Renee at the start of the session and explain why she is there.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
I am conscious that I am giving a lot of information and want to ensure I am doing so in a way that is digestible and not overwhelming for students. Any feedback gratefully received!
How will feedback be exchanged?
Email or in person.
-CU
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Part Two: Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
Thank you for having me observe your Year 1 Photography Year Meeting. Here is my feedback:
- Having a designated space for the meeting – often a rare find in termtime – was beneficial. I found your lecture-style arrangement with an aisle to be an inviting setup for students.
- Your manner was engaging and reassuring. I appreciated how you introduced the sections you would be covering, which set clear expectations. The section on Managing Anxiety was particularly thoughtful in acknowledging the pressures students face before assessments.
- Your willingness to listen and engage in students’ feedback, as evident in questions like “What can we do to enhance the experience from the Winter Show?” and “Did any questions come up?” demonstrated your commitment to student input.
- Introducing Installation Approaches and asking students to share their installation experiences from the Winter Show encouraged reflection and peer-to-peer learning was fantastic. They discussed technical challenges, such as issues with the SD card and projector, the decision to use headphones, and not using double-sided tape in future. It was evident that such an opportunity to learn from each other was highly valuable.
- I found the Unit 2 Assessment slides quite text heavy. It was challenging to stay focused on you as you spoke because my mind was simultaneously trying to make sense of the texts. I suggest highlighting the main points on each slide, so the information is easily digestible. I also liked your idea in the debrief about using the PowerPoint transitions feature in future to break down how much content shows up at one time. I also suggest a 5-minute break to ease the transition from the U2 Assessment section to the Installation Approaches section of your talk.
- The form and exercise you introduced to students to complete in preparation for the U2 Crit were brilliant in helping them consider the implications of their display. Some students could not participate initially because they did not have pens. I suggest having a QR code to access the form online could provide an alternative way to complete the exercise. Having said this, it was heartwarming to see a spirit of generosity in the cohort when you asked those who had finished to lend their pens to each other, allowing them all to participate.
- You were attentive to the students who needed individual support, such as the two reluctant students behind me or the student to my far right who was quietly working on her own. It was great to see them open up and participate in discussions with others through your prompts. Generally, the peer discussions were lively.
Thank you for having me observe your meeting. I have taken back valuable tips to BA Drawing, including your Assessment preparation forms, asking students to share their installation experiences to encourage peer learning, and strategies for managing anxiety. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
-RO
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Part Three: Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:
I found the experience of being observed by Renee very valuable. The knowledge that she would be observing the session made me expand my planning to consider what students of different abilities or states of preparation might take away from the meeting. I’m certain that this helped me to improve my delivery as it gave me a clearer idea of my intended outcomes and motivated me to produce resources that would support students after the meeting had finished.
Of the UAL courses, I think that BA Fine Art Drawing (where Renee is based) is the most similar to BA Fine Art Photography, so it was helpful to discuss where our approaches were alike or different when dealing with similar challenges within the group or timetable.
I would agree that the presentation was too text-heavy in places, so I will be amending it for next time to spread details over more slides and cut down the amount of information shown at once. Following this feedback I have asked a number of colleagues about the font and number of points they tend to use for presentations, in order to create ‘style guidelines’ for myself. The general consensus seemed to be no smaller than 18pt font and no more than three bullet points on a slide. In recent weeks I’ve adopted these guidelines, and I think this has had a positive impact on the clarity of my presentations.
The suggestion to provide a QR code so that students could fill in a form digitally was a good one and would provide added benefits for accessibility. In this instance I was keen for students to have a physical takeaway that they could stick on their studio walls to aid planning, but I did provide a digital version on Moodle for those that missed the session or who would like another go. I could certainly bring some spare pens for the students in future!
I was pleased that Renee appreciated the facilitation of peer-to-peer learning. I have observed that students are much more willing to listen to advice from one another, so try to adapt my approach from saying “Last time, some people’s media players didn’t work so you need to test them in advance” into asking “Who used a media player last time? Did you have any issues?”
I am grateful for Renee’s time and guidance and am looking forward to observing her in the near future. Hopefully we can continue to discuss comparable sessions between Drawing and Photography as an ongoing process of good practice.
-CU
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Additional links:
Presentation: Preparing for your Unit 2 Crit
Worksheet: Unit 2 Crit Preparation
