Contextual Background

As the CSM Museum & Study Collection’s Curriculum Development Curator, my main responsibility is to develop and deliver object-based learning workshops. According to Chatterjee, Hannan and Thomson (2015), object-based learning is a student-centred, experiential learning approach that “involves the active integration of objects into the learning environment.” In the last six months working part-time, I have delivered 18 workshops and taught more than 500 learners across CSM, UAL, the Courtauld, Chanel, and the V&A.

Evaluation

I would summarise the needs of my students using the following three words: inspiration, information, and inclusion. The primary reason course leaders contact me to arrange object-based learning workshops is to give their students multi-sensory inspiration for upcoming projects. In this scenario, I meet with the course leader to understand the project brief and curate my object selection and methodology accordingly. On two occasions, when I contributed to Chelsea BA Textiles’ collaboration with Trade Charity and CSM BA Fashion Print’s collaboration with Balenciaga Museum, the course leaders thanked me afterwards and said that their students couldn’t stop talking about the objects they handled. Second to that is information – course leaders are keen for their students to develop their knowledge and acquire historical and contemporary references. On average, I spend one day per workshop to do object research and write notes. Recent feedback shows that students love the curator’s object reveal at the end, so I have begun sharing my object notes with them. Given the broad range of students I teach, many of whom are neurodiverse and face language barriers, inclusion is critical. I always run enough repeat workshops for large cohorts, offer individual support during object-based learning activities, and encourage introverted students to speak during group discussions. The observation feedback I received attest to the effectiveness of my approaches above.

Moving Forward

Supporting Foundation Lecturer, Chris Kelly, during the installation of his CSM Museum & Study Collection window display, Neurodiversity and the Creative Mind, made me aware of the breath of learning difficulties that impact many of our students. Kelly’s project showed me the power of having conversations about neurodiversity and using creativity to bring affected educators and learners together. This was a transformative experience that inspired new ideas I have already begun to implement in my teaching practice.

At the end of January, I created a short online feedback form with the guidance of my senior colleague, Judy Willcocks, to understand what students liked and/or disliked, if they received adequate support, and whether they have suggestions to improve the workshop experience. Since I delivered a lot of teaching in February, I have already received over 70 responses and am proud to say that feedback has been incredibly positive. Nobody reported feeling inadequately supported and the only suggestions for improvement so far have been to run longer workshops with more objects and capacity for students. Our team would like to leverage this feedback to request more space and resources to deliver object-based learning experiences.

From March onwards, I will also begin to ask course leaders to inform me about their neurodiverse students, so I can try my best to meet their individual learning needs during the workshops.

References

CSM Museum & Study Collection (2023) Museum Exhibitions. Available at: Museum exhibitions | Central Saint Martins (arts.ac.uk) (Accessed: 29 Feb 2024).

Willcocks, J and Mahon, K. (2023) ‘The potential of online object-based learning activities to support the teaching of intersectional environmentalism in art and design higher education’, Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education, Volume 22 Number 2, pp. 187–207. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1386/adch_00074_1

Kelly, C. (2023) Christopher Kelly Design. Available at: Christopher Kelly design (Accessed: 29 Feb 2024).

Tohidi, D. (2024) CSM Museum & Study Collection Feedback Form. Available at: CSM Museum & Study Collection Feedback Form – Google Forms (Accessed: 29 Feb 2024).

Over the past week, my peer, Danielle Radojcin, and tutor, Kwame Baah, observed two different object-based learning workshops I delivered. Danielle observed a one-off session for the Courtauld BA History of Art students, while Kwame observed one of four sessions for CSM BA Fashion students. Their feedback has been really informative and influential on my teaching practice.

I liked how Danielle meticulously assessed each aspect of my workshop and gave actionable feedback for areas I expressed concern, such as tardiness. Going forward, I will apply Danielle’s suggestion of telling students that my class starts 15 minutes earlier than planned so I have a reasonable buffer. I will also send an email to all my students one day before their workshop is scheduled to communicate key information and reminders that cause miscommunication or delays at the start of some of my workshops. Moreover, I will edit my workshop plans and presentation to remove information I can give in a post-workshop email to save me time and give students more time to engage with the objects during the workshop.

Kwame’s feedback was really validating as a new and young educator in the museum sector. I am proud to hear I managed the various risks associated with getting students to handle different objects simultaneously, while ensuring there was a constant facilitation of knowledge and guided visual thinking. Based on my follow-up tutorial with Kwame, I would like to implement more boundaries when scheduling workshops, so I have a better balance between my various responsibilities beyond teaching. Once my current set of workshops are complete at the end of February, I will dedicate up to two days a week to be onsite and teach workshops and use the other two days to catch up with admin and do collections care work.

Observation Forms and Workshop Plans

For my microteaching session, I originally planned to choose an object from the CSM Museum & Study Collection and use the emotional reading object-based learning methodology since I was inspired to trial it after Judy Willcocks’ lecture. The object I planned to use was a prosthetic nipple that was created by Graduate Award 2023 winner, Arianna Pezzano. I thought it would trigger interesting emotional responses within the short time frame I had to deliver a session. However, after speaking with Willcocks, I realised it would not be worth travelling to CSM before and after the microteaching just for the sake of collecting this object.

Therefore, I decided to challenge myself and think outside the box with the objects I had at home. As an British-Iranian woman, I felt compelled to design my session around my culture and heritage, so I ended up showing two pendants and one cosmetic case that were handed down to me by my mum and grandma. The pendants had religious connotations as one featured an Arabic prayer and the other featured a design of Mecca, while the cosmetic case had a handmade decoration on the front made using a traditional Iranian craft. Given the emotional connection I had to these objects, I decided to adapt my plan and create a simplified version of the emotional reading for my activity. After laying my objects on the table, I asked my three peers to spend five minutes analysing them and writing down their initial thoughts, feelings, and reactions. When their time was up, I asked each peer to give me one word that summarised their interaction with the objects to lead into group discussion. In the last ten minutes of my session, I revealed the context behind each object and their personal connection to my family and heritage, and opened the floor to questions.

Interestingly, I enjoyed the more relaxed and spontaneous approach to object-based learning, both as a tutor and as a participant. It was fascinating to see my peers pick up on the religious and cultural connotations of my objects so quickly and to take such genuine interest in them. The comment that stood out to me the most was one of my peer’s choice of the word, departure. It made me reflect on the positive and negative feelings I have towards these objects, given they represent my family history, but also represent loss of a loved one, my grandma, and complicated ties to religion as a consequence of the fall of the Shah after the Islamic Revolution. I didn’t receive any constructive feedback from my peers to action going forward, but in hindsight, I could have directly asked for some.

With regards to my peers’ sessions, I was really impressed that one of them created their own object-based learning activity worksheet. I took a copy home as it inspired me to design custom worksheets for my own workshops. I also admired how one peer chose a very controversial and globally recognised object, Maison Margiela’s tabi boots, for us to analyse because it led to entertaining and humorous group discussion.

My tutor, Kwame Baah, praised my microteach approach of giving my participants an opportunity to develop their own opinions, associations, and emotions about my objects, without any prompt at the start. He said I did a good job of using the collective judgements of my participants to then provide cultural, religious, and relational notions that intersected with all of the key participant associations. The only critique Kwame gave me, which I agree with, is that I should have offered a reference for any contested representation. To aid me with this, Kwame provided me with two articles – one about the monetary value of gold jewellery and the other about document collections from the Reza Shah Period – that I plan to read before my final tutorial for Unit 1.

References

Dezeen (2023) BioProsthesis uses human hair to create prosthetic nipples for breast cancer patients. Available at: BioProsthesis uses human hair to create prosthetic nipples (dezeen.com) (Accessed: 17 February 2024).

Ettehadieh, M. and Bayat, K. (1993) ‘The Reza Shah Period: Document Collections Recently Published in Iran’, Iranian Studies, Vol.26, No.34, pp. 419-428. Available at: The Reza Shah Period: Document Collections Recently Published in Iran on JSTOR (Accessed: 08 March 2024).

Oakley, P. (201n) ‘Is Gold Jewelry Money?’, The International Journal of Anthropology, Vol.61, No.4, pp. 17-30. Available at: Is Gold Jewelry Money? on JSTOR (Accessed: 08 March 2024).

Vogue (2018) Why Margiela’s Tabi Boots Are Still Dividing Opinion, 30 Years On. Available at: Why Margiela’s Tabi Boots are Still Dividing Opinion, 30 Years On | British Vogue | British Vogue (Accessed: 17 February 2024)