Contextual Background

In my role as the Curriculum Development Curator of the CSM Museum & Study Collection, a key challenge I have with regard to assessing or exchanging feedback is that I rarely teach the same group of students. Therefore, I only have one opportunity to do this with them, which is usually during and at the end of the workshop. While students engage in the activity, I ensure there is a continuous and supportive dialogue exchange. This approach aligns with Brooks, K (2008) findings that students appreciate one-to-one discussions as “they motivate and engage you emotionally.” However, the key exchange is actually from students to me so I can assess how to improve the overall experience of object-based learning for future students.

Evaluation 

Over the last six months, I have identified various physical cues that help me understand whether students are engaged and enjoying the workshops. The main ones are: remembering object handling instructions, not checking their phones, and actively participating in group discussions. In the feedback my peer, Danielle Radojcin, wrote for the workshop she observed with Courtauld BA History of Art students, she said that my object reveal at the end “pleased students to the extent that, on several occasions, they broke into spontaneous applause” and that the “questions from the students at the end were manifold,  and surprising in their number, thoughtfulness and range.”

However, my curiosity and the reflective nature of the PgCert encouraged me to establish a formal way to request and record student feedback while students were still in my workshops. In the last month since creating and implementing my short online feedback form, I have recorded over 100 responses. This strategy has helped me identify strengths and areas of improvement in my teaching, some of which are outside of my control.

Moving forwards

As an educator at the start of my career, the feedback form has been a great tool to validate my teaching practice, boost my confidence and reflect on my object-based learning approaches, which I don’t typically find the time to do. For example, I now send a list of key reminders to students one day before their workshop to prevent common issues arising and share my written object notes afterwards so they can be present and focus on listening and handling objects instead. Another key success of this strategy has been acquiring anonymous quotes to incorporate in an exhibition we have pitched about the significance of object-based learning in art and design institutions.

The only limitation I can identify for now is that the majority of constructive feedback requires action beyond my control. For example, I am not able to run longer workshops because this would prevent me from teaching a large cohort in one day. Moreover, I am not able to have more than 15 students during a workshop because we have very limited space in the study room. However, my senior colleague, Judy Willcocks, has decided to leverage the feedback I have accumulated to persuade the college to give us more teaching space and resources in order to meet the increase in demand from students.

Following what I’ve written in case study 2, I will also try to evaluate the effectiveness of my workshops and students’ learning according to constructive alignment theory (Biggs, J. and Tang, C, 2011).

References 

Biggs, J. and Tang, C. (2011) Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 4^th edition. Maidenhead: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press. [e-book in library]

Brooks, K. (2008) ‘Could do Better?’: students’ critique of written feedback’, Networks, pp. 1-5. Available at: Brooks 2008 – Students critique of feedback in AD (1).pdf (Accessed: 15 March 2024).

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

Contextual Background

In my role as the CSM Museum & Study Collection’s Curriculum Development Curator, it is both an opportunity and challenge to teach object-based learning workshops for such a broad range of students of varying ages and disciplinary backgrounds. In the first half of my year-long maternity cover contract, I have already taught foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate students across the majority of courses at CSM and other UAL colleges. As the primary educator in the team working 4 days a week, coupled with the increasing appetite for object-based learning, this means I have very limited time to develop and satisfy a lot of learning outcomes.

Evaluation

Most of the time, course leaders approach me to deliver 1 hour object-based learning workshops with a specific learning outcome in mind. When planning these workshops, I usually curate my object selection according to the brief and choose the most appropriate methodology to achieve the learning outcomes (Chatterjee, H. and Hannan, L, 2015), which is usually by Jules Prown or Gillian Rose. In some instances, course leaders want to collaborate with me for the entire duration of a project, such as Foundation’s Heterotopias project and MA Culture, Criticism, and Curation’s archive unit. These requests are much more time-consuming as they have higher stakes and require a greater level of attention to detail and careful planning. Given that the Heterotopias project was my first experience of this request, it was a significant learning curve that required an experimental and reflective planning approach.

To begin with, I had a couple of meetings with the project lead, Gabriel Birch, to understand the brief and intended learning outcomes from my object-based learning workshops. Together, we reflected on the effectiveness of the pilot that ran last year and identified areas of improvement for this iteration. We decided to drop 1 theme (gender) and update the object curation for the remaining 4 themes with new items acquired through the Graduate Award 2023. Overall, this was a successful strategy as it led piques students’ interest and led to them creating diorama models inspired by new objects for the subsequent window display. However, the drawback was that the planning took considerably more time which was sometimes stressful to manage with my other teaching and curatorial commitments.

Moving forwards

Since being introduced to constructive alignment theory by my PgCert tutor, Dr Kwame Baah, and after doing further reading on the subject (Biggs and Tang, 2011), I would like to use the upcoming MA CCC archive unit as an opportunity to formally implement this approach in the planning and delivery of my teaching. This will require me to read the unit brief carefully and holistically plan each session to ensure that my teaching aligns with the unit’s learning outcomes and assessment methods. For example, as my group will focus on the museum’s jewellery collection and have been allocated the 3D scanning digital outcome, I ran my object shortlist past my senior colleague, Judy Willcocks, to ensure the pieces are suitable for 3D scanning. Willcocks approved most of the objects, but flagged a couple that were too fragile or reflective to achieve the desired outcome. Moreover, like with the Heterotopias project, I created a comprehensive object fact sheet document for my students to facilitate their independent research which will later be integrated to produce the group curatorial intervention.

References

Biggs, J. and Tang, C. (2011) Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 4^th edition. Maidenhead: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press. [e-book in library]

Chatterjee, H. and Hannan, L. (2015), Engaging the Senses: Object-based Learning in Higher Education, London: Routledge.

Paris, S. G. (2002), Perspectives on Object-Centred Learning in Museums, New York: Routledge.

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)