A1 Designing and Planning
In my role on the BA I am responsible for delivering the majority of STG 1 sessions – either as a lead or supporting. Some of these sessions are built on from previous years lesson plans and
others are new and my own.
Reflecting on the previous years assessment, I create notes on what went well, what students understood, what they liked, what they didnt pick up and what didnt work well. This is from conversations with the year leader and other members of staff who have worked on the unit. I
write down comments as we go as well as during and after assessment. The following year Ireturn to what I wrote and begin to plan changes.
Last year for the Fashion Project – Unit 3, I supported with the event but did not work on the unit. This year was my first year working on the unit, so I didnt have my notes to build from. However I knew from conversations with students and staff that some key areas were missing so set about focusing my attention to bringing this in.
Staffing, rooms, and workshops at all ready been set, so i felt i was joining the unit at quite a late stage and was unsure of how i could bring in the needed support with quite tight limitations. At a
student feedback session i has attended i heard students discussing their desire for more set tasks to be working on whilst waiting for a tutorial on tutorial days. A previous cohort of students would have wanted to set their own pace and assign themselves their own autonomous tasks, but we are seeing a new body of students at chelsea who are much more diverse in their education backgrounds, including around a 3rd of the group who need a lot more direction to keep up momentum in a project.
Wanting to support these students whilst still allowing for others to develop in their own ways, I planned optional activities that students could independently work through in the studio. This included small group activities where students played with scale through collage and fashion illustration as well as providing mannequins in the studio for students to drape and pin on to, photographing their work as they went. Students naturally started to discuss each others work
having seen it in the studio and mini peer-peer tutorials popped up around the room
This provided students with a wider range of samples and possibilities, as well as warming students up to discuss deeply in their tutorials with specialist tutors. Their initial reflections with
their peers allowed them to build up to critical reflections, practice communication and engage in feedback exchange.
This then led to students styling each others final looks – something that has always been reserved as a staff task. I wanted students to take a more hands on approach – learning through doing, experiencing collaboration and being open to new ideas. I designed a styling workshop that emphazised the community group they were in, allowing students to practice team working and story telling.