Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: ‘Aesthetics of Repair’ Workshop
Size of student group: 15
Observer: Rosaline Love
Observee: Ella Belenky
Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.
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?
The Graphic Design Graduate Diploma students are currently engaged in their third brief of the year. This project is a collaborative effort with the Textile Graduate Diploma, focusing on creating a graphic design campaign that addresses issues surrounding textile waste.
This session is the second half of a two-part workshop on banner making. The first session introduced historical and cultural examples of banners and flags, followed by hands-on work where students used recycled textile scraps to craft banners reflecting their individual project research.
The focus of this session is the aesthetics of repair and mending. A slideshow presentation will introduce examples of how artists, designers, and theorists incorporate ideas of repair into their work. Students will then apply this inspiration to complete and ‘mend’ the banners they began in the previous session.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
I have been working with this group since they began the course in the fall. As an Associate Lecturer, I run weekly tutorial sessions and occasionally lead workshops such as this one. The Graduate Diploma is a one-year course, and this workshop is an integral part of their third brief.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
- Encourage collaboration, communication, and hands-on creative problem-solving.
- Introduce students to practitioners, theories, and processes that explore repair and sustainability.
- Develop students’ ability to visually communicate an intended message.
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
By the end of the session, students will have completed a collection of five textile banners. These banners will be displayed in a collective parade into the college courtyard, showcasing their creative responses to the project brief.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
The workshop involves textile scraps, needles, and thread. Given that the students are primarily from a graphic design background and may be more comfortable with digital processes, there could be some initial hesitation. However, I am confident that they will find the challenge productive and engaging.
How will students be informed of the observation/review?
These students have already met Rosaline Love during a visit to the special collections in the library. Before the start of the session, I will make sure to reintroduce Rosaline to the group, and explain the observation process for the PGCE. I will make sure that all the students are okay with having her sit in on the session.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
I do not have any specific requests for feedback but am interested in hearing any observations or insights that arise.
How will feedback be exchanged?
Written feedback would be preferred. Thank you!
Part Two
Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
The workshop was structured in roughly two parts: a presentation with slides and then a practical making workshop.
Presentation:
The presentation was about the ‘aesthetics of repair’ and provided the students with an outline of how the session was structured, introduced concepts and theories to support the making element of the workshop and with inspiration for the students.
Some elements I really liked about this part of the workshop:
- There was a range of access points and examples for students to engage with. Ella introduced conceptual examples (such as the example of Japanese textile repair) and specific artists who worked with repair, mixed media and collage.
- The examples used in the presentation were well referenced to enable students to look into further and were also varied in terms of format, for example, Ella introduced books, films, podcasts and exhibitions. This demonstrated a great awareness of allowing students to engage with content with a lot of different access points.
- You could tell that students were engaged in the information which Ella was showing, with many of them taking photographs of slides to follow up on later and taking notes.
Practical making workshop
This was the second workshop in a project where the students were organised into groups and were making banners with mixed media, textiles and with different techniques of repair.
Ella had provided a huge amount of material and tools for students to use and students gathered in their groups around tables to work together. The group work was largely self-driven and all students appeared to be engaged in the project through the contribution of ideas and with practical skills. Ella circulated the room asking students if they needed help, sharing ideas, asking students what they had done so far whilst also maintaining a good balance of letting the groups get on with the work.
Ella was sharing her expertise, lending lots of time to each group, encouraging playing with ideas and experimenting with outcomes. She was also experimenting with some of the materials and tools on offer to see how they work and I think that this is a really important thing for students to witness: their teachers also willing to try things out, experiement and explore what might happen.
An element which I really loved that hugely contributed to the laidback feeling of the workshop was the fact that there was some jazz and instrumental music in the background of the workshop.
Suggestions:
- As this was a follow-on session with students continuing group work, it might have been great to ask the groups to share what they had done so far in the previous session and what they hoped to add to the project during this workshop. This might have been a good place to gage whether they could incorporate anything that Ella had spoken about in the presentation aspect of the workshop.
- I wasn’t completely sure if the outcome of the workshop was to finish this project by the end of the session, it which case it would have been good to clarify this for students at the beginning of the session.
- (N.B. I only stayed for the first 1 hour 30 minutes of the workshop so this could have happened at the end of the session when I wasn’t there!) Similar to the above, it would have been great to get the groups to share their finished outcomes and maybe if they have any concepts that they plan to incorporate into their assessed work.
- The workshop was 3 hours long and although the making portion of the workshop was self-driven by the students, it might have been good to integrate a scheduled break half-way through.
Other notes:
There was a part of the workshop where a student questioned whether the content of the project has anything to do with their overall course as this particular project was not being assessed. Ella answered clearly about how this workshop served as an opportunity to introduce new skills, contribute to their reflective practice and to collaborate with others.
Ella has an approachable and kind presence with students; a gentle tone of voice with students that was encouraging with their suggestions and ideas whilst also offering her own suggestions for techniques and how to elevate their work. The making element of the workshop felt relaxed and calm allowed students to get on with the specific project aim of the workshop whilst also allowing for conversation about wider parts of their assessment and briefs. In this way, it felt like a cohort which had a good supportive environment around them.
Part Three
Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:
First, I would like to say how grateful I am to receive this feedback. Thank you so much, Rosaline! I felt that the session went quite well overall, so I am pleased that you thought so too. Also, I very much agree with all of your suggestions – and will make a point to incorporate these into my next workshop sessions.
- One thing that I really enjoyed about this workshop was that it was spread between two sessions, allowing the students to pick up from where they left off. I agree that it would have been helpful to begin with a reflection, as a way to transition from the slide presentation to the making aspect of the workshop.
– The suggestion about making the objectives of the workshop clear from the beginning is really helpful.
– The workshop did indeed end with a group reflection – each group presented their banner and spoke briefly on the thinking behind certain design decisions. However, I do wish that we had spent a bit more time on this section, and I agree – asking how they envision incorporating aspects of the workshop in their assessed work would have been really good.
– And yes! This is a very good point about ensuring that there is always a scheduled break.