Ravin Raori’s Blog for UAL PGCert

Ethical Action Plan Draft
Ethical Action Plan – Approved
Action Research Cycle

Focus Groups
Naturalistic Inquiry, Observation and Ethnographic Research

Based on Reading:

Why Citation matters: Ideas on a feminist approach to research.
Christina Templin (SoSe 2021)

Reflection:

I picked up this reading as part of the pre-task for Workshop 2 and its one that stuck with me for days to come. What struck me in particular is when Hill (2000, as cited in Templin, 2022) talks about this idea of dialogue and collective experience/wisdom as a form of alternate knowledge when referring to the experiences of Black women and further Black feminist scholars. The article positions itself within the world of citation and how knowledge is generated or gate-kept in a white heteromasculine (academic) context (Templin, 2022); highlighting the institution barriers that prevent alternate knowledge from entering the academic domain.

It got me thinking about how I want to set up this project and more than anything, what the ethos of this project should be. If we’re talking about things like friendship and belonging, these are lived experiences that are both individual (to each student) and communal/shared (within each cohort or even across cohorts). As such, I believe that the collective wisdom of these cohorts must be fore-fronted within the search for answers to the questions I will be asking through this work.

It’s not to say that I will be ignoring or not considering the relevance of work that has already been done in this field; around creative communities, critical friendship, belonging and other aspects important to this world. But rather, that I hope to place equal importance on the data I collect from students as knowledge itself rather than the validation of existing conclusions.

References:

1. Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.
2. Ahmed, S. (2017). Living a feminist life. Duke University Press.
3. Templin, C. (2022). Why Citation matters: Ideas on a feminist approach to research. Blog ABV Gender-und Diversitykompetenz FU Berlin. https://blogs. fu-berlin. de/abv-gender-diversity/2022/01/10/why-citation-matters:-ideas-on-a-feminist-approach-to-research/(10.10. 2022).

Reflections from 1st Rotation:
-Students didn’t necessarily understand the point of the obliquiscope.
-The connection between the object and peer-based learning was not clear.
-Students were fascinated with the aesthetic qualities of the obliquiscope.

What needs to be addressed?
The intention of the activity was to get students to interact with each other through their personal object, while using the obliquiscope. From an interventional sense, I’m interested in studying how Object Based Learning – through its intersectional and dialogic qualities (Willcocks & Mahon, 2023), can help create a sense of community through peer based learning.

How we addressed it?
In conversation with Craig Burston (GMD Year 1 Lead), it was decided that perhaps we needed to engage with this activity ourselves first in order to give students a sense of how the interaction could be useful for their practice.

In the previous session, we had created a Padlet in order for students to record their feedback to each other. While this had proven to be useful, there was limited interaction on there. So, we decided as a precursor to the session – to showcase what the Padlet interaction could look like (See images below). As part of the project, we as the teaching team had brought in our own (personal) objects as well. We were already using these objects in other contexts to showcase how they related to the brief and so we decided to continue this in the Padlet for this activity as well.

Besides Craig and I, the other tutors in teaching this project also partook in this activity (see Padlet posts from Oswin Tickler, Kelly Harrison and Umi Lovecraft. I am also sharing the Padlet links from both rotations here.

Rotation 1 – Padlet Link
Rotation 2 – Padlet Link

Data Collected and Reflections

It was clear from the classroom interaction that the students were more engaged with the activity, although it might not seem this way in the pictures above. I was able to sit with a few pairs of students and listen in on the stories that were being shared. Two students mentioned that it was useful to see the comments from tutors to each other. Another student mentioned that they felt the pressure of having to give a meaningful comment.

To conclude, I found this intervention to be semi-successful in its intentions around community. Although there were some nice moments, where students reflected on their objects, shared stories and co-created the themes for their projects – there were still some obvious barriers that prevented all students from engaging in the same way. These barriers included but are not limited to, the nature of the objects themselves, cultural differences and aspects of invisible pedagogy (Bernstein, 1975) such as the value/nature of peer-based learning.

References

1. Bernstein, B. (1975). Class and pedagogies: Visible and invisible. Educational studies, 1(1), 23-41.
2. Bunting, L., & Hill, V. (2021). Relational Reflections: How do we nurture belonging in creative Higher Education?. Innovative Practice in Higher Education.
3. 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, 22(2), pp.187-207.
4. Willshire, J. (2023). Obliquiscopes: Setting aperture for reality. Smithery. https://smithery.com/2023/09/22/obliquiscopes-setting-aperture-for-reality/ (Accessed: 04 Nov 2024).
5. Burston C., Tickler O., Harrison K., Baden-Powell U., Raori R. (2024). Two State-Creative Brief. BA Graphic and Media Design Year 1 Process and Methods. GMD2425 PM Unit Two States brief.pdf

What:
For this intervention, I was interested in studying the relationship between community and learning new skills. I was running a technical workshop for BA GMD Year 3 to teach them Rhino 3d. Rhino is a 3d modelling software used across Architectural, Graphic, Product, Furniture and Industrial Design.

For the context of my ARP project, I thought it could be interesting to study if being paired up with another person would enhance the experience of learning a new (technical) skill. I was thinking back to my time in Architecture School and realised that a lot of learning, especially – tech related came in those late hours with friends – burning the midnight oil, trying desperately to figure out how to loft a curve the right way. Turns out – there is no wrong way to loft a curve. But the lesson being – it was always an important aspect of studio learning; the learning with peers so I wanted to test it out here.

How:
I asked the students to bring a personal object to the session. Any object really – something simple to model in 3d. The object also gives a tangible interactive thing for students to get excited about, work with and talk about. Refer to my reflections on Object Based Learning from the TPP unit.

I began the session by running through some of the basic commands in Rhino just to get students up to speed with the software and introduce them to a few basic skills.

Following this, I paired students randomly and asked them to design a hybrid version of their two objects in discussion with each other. They were to sketch it out on paper first, based on their discussion and then mock it up together in 3d. Refer to workshop slides below.

Where:
Tower Block 6th floor, BA GMD Studios.

When:
07.11.24

Why:
Bringing back some of the learnings from Object Based Learning, I though it could be interesting for students to talk to each other about the value, provenance, material nature, etc. of their objects and use that to design a third (digital) object together. Perhaps the energy and enthusiasm around making a new object together gives more of community and belonging around this new object. The hope was that this would translate into added motivation to learn the skills I had just demonstrated.

Data Collected:
I introduced a final slide where I asked students to reflect on the experience of learning a new skill with another person. See link to Padlet.

Student 1: “I found the idea of combining the objects of other people into one quite intriguing, especially when you take specific parts of objects. This idea is actually could serve as a foundation for my SDP project where I wanted to explore 3d modeling. Taking random things and combining them into one. Perhaps if there had been better communication, the outcome could’ve been a bit more complex but overall I liked this project.“

Student 2: “I think making an object with someone else on a programme I’ve never used was extremely helpful. I also don’t have too much background in 3D making but my group mate knew a little bit more than I did so it worked quite well. I think in general this practice works really well on activities that students don’t have much background in as it pushes us to communicate and help each other; possibly learning quicker like how I did. I also like working with another person because it allowed me to see other ways of combining the 2 objects.”

Student 3: “This was a good learning experience this was my first time using rhino it was a bit tricky to figure things out. However everyone else was in a similar situation and we had to learn together. I felt that the experience was good as we all had different object and we came up with some good sketches. I felt this session helped me to get an idea of what kind of things I could make with rhino.”

Student 4: “The session was overwhelming and useful. The software itself is fairly difficult, but the instructions and explanations are clear and simple to follow. I definitely envision myself honing my 3D modelling skills and exploring additional applications in the future.”

Student 5: “It was a great experience to collaborate with other students in this task just to see how we can all create a variation of designs based on the same objects. Using new software together put us on the right path to understand its potential together and learning our limitations within at this stage.
This starting point helped us as a group understand different ways of thinking and we optimised our approach to creating a 3D form.”

Reflection:
It’s clear that most students found the experience of working with another to be a useful way of learning and supporting each other. This was also a very small group of students so my sample set is limited and I don’t want to jump to conclusions on the validity of these claims within this context. But it’s a good starting point. This intervention also makes me think about some of my reflections on Collective Experience (see Blog Post). I believe that there is tremendous value in the shared experience of students and how that can be a key part of their learning journey.

Reference:

1. 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, 22(2), pp.187-207.
2. Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.
3. Ahmed, S. (2017). Living a feminist life. Duke University Press.
4. Templin, C. (2022). Why Citation matters: Ideas on a feminist approach to research. Blog ABV Gender-und Diversitykompetenz FU Berlin. https://blogs. fu-berlin. de/abv-gender-diversity/2022/01/10/why-citation-matters:-ideas-on-a-feminist-approach-to-research/(10.10. 2022).

Continuing with the last intervention – I was keen to use the opportunity for session planning I had with the BA GMD Year 1 Unit, to try some more interventions around group work and if that could help facilitate a sense of community with the cohort.

What?
A workshop called Freeze as part of the same Two States project. Students work in groups to complete a 2 part task.

Part 1:
Produce a series of images that showcase a body in motion (scenario). Consider how changing and oppositional states can be used to depict the full range of motion (Raori, 2024).
Note* Here a body in motion could be any kind of simple action such as sitting, jumping or spinning around.

Part 2:
Produce 3 symbols that are generated from the images and showcase the action as a narrative sequence (Raori, 2024).

How?
Students are divided into 6 groups of 6 – assigned randomly using a numbering system from 1-6. This is something I’ve learned from the PG Cert – a useful way to get new people to work together.

Once students are briefed on the task, they are advised to adopt some roles within the group. This is what I included in the presentation: See below:
You can establish some roles within the team. 2 people can be photographing, 1 could be posing, 1 could be managing and 2 could be drawing symbols (Raori, 2024).

I’ve attached a PDF of the presentation below for reference:

Where?
In the LCC Design Block Studios

When?
Rotation 1: 23.10.24

Why?
In the previous intervention it seemed like students didn’t have a very clear idea of their roles in relation to each other. This was an attempt to address that. I figured if people have a very concrete sense of what they’re meant to do – perhaps it makes it easier for them to contribute and feel like they are part of the group. It reminds me of an activity we did in the the first unit (TPP) where we all had roles within a studio setting – the confident student, the arrogant tutor, the shy friend, etc.

Data Collected
Method of Collection: Observation from afar – Naturalistic Inquiry (Link to methods)
Data collected through images, videos and note taking. Also see link to Padlet of Student work from the session.

Reflection
-It was a task design to be fun and students immediately took to it. You always have the odd group that takes a second to get started; perhaps discussing roles within each other and facing some level of inertia. But a simple conversation to give them support; and they were on their way. Since this was a task where the students needed a bit more space than what the studio allowed, we advised them to expand into the corridors and Well Gallery of the Design Block. If you’re not familiar with the Design Block at LCC, the Well Gallery is a scooped out atrium space below the first level of the Design Block as you enter from the Upper Street. There is a corridor running above it (through the centre) that connects the Upper Street to the rest of the Design Block (Refer to Images and Video below).

-One major takeaway form this intervention came through observing that students naturally take to certain roles. It was clear from observing two of my groups (see below) that the manager role suited certain students and they were able to delegate tasks to the rest of the team. Initially, I thought great – that’s the point of the roles isn’t it!! To enable students to play to their strengths. But then I was discussing the outcome of this intervention with my colleagues Umi and she questioned whether I had considered if students were predisposed to certain types of roles in the studio. I realised that this was something I had missed. A relatively shy student (for example) may not gravitate towards a manger role. In some ways, I think it’s fine because of the point of the activity is to feel part of the group, not necessarily to ensure a parity between role types and personality types. But am I missing something? Would putting students outside of their comfort zones reveal a new group dynamic? Something to test in the next iteration, I suppose.

References

1. Lincoln, Y. S., Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. India: SAGE Publications.
2. Burston C., Tickler O., Harrison K., Baden-Powell U., Raori R. (2024). Two State-Creative Brief. BA Graphic and Media Design Year 1 Process and Methods. GMD2425 PM Unit Two States brief.pdf
3. Raori R. (2024). Freeze. BA Graphic and Media Design Year 1 Process and Methods. https://raoriravin.myblog.arts.ac.uk/files/2025/01/Freeze_Rotation1.pdf

I developed this activity in partnership with Craig Burston and would like to credit him and the Smithery for much of the intellectual framework surround this tool, the obliquiscope. However, I was able to lend my insights in thinking about this activity as a tool for building community.

“An Obliquiscope is a tool which sets different apertures for reality.
It works to bring your focus to bear at different layers of a scenario or situation.

Depending on what you need to do, it helps you see the surroundings more clearly, or blurs them for convenience. It helps a novice understand the basic principles of zooming in and out. For an experienced practitioner, it is a reminder to explore methodically in their inquiries.
Point an obliquiscope at something, and see the world differently.“

– John V Willshire – (Willshere, 2023)

What:

An intervention exploring object based learning towards feelings of belonging and community.

We are currently running a brief in BA GMD Year 1 called Two States, where students are asked to design two symbols that represent the changing states of a near future scenario. They are asked to work with a theme and find a graphically consistent visual system that can be used to represent these scenarios (Burston et al., 2024).

Students are asked to find their own themes through a series of peer learning activities. I thought it could be interesting if we use object based learning as a window into these conversations.

How:

We asked the students to bring an object, a personal object to the first session as a generator for themes.

We paired the students in two and gave them an obliquiscope per pair to start to work through their objects and break down some of the key considerations of those objects. The ideas was that perhaps the conversation with another body creates a sense of dialogue and perhaps: flattens some of the power dynamic in the room (Bunting & Hill, 2021). We also made a Padlet where students were asked to upload their objects and further; ideas for themes and scenarios that came out of the conversations with their peers.

Where:

In the classroom
In person (physical object)
At LCC
In the Design Block
An familiar space

When:

October, 2024

Why:

We can look at an object and immediately being to distil its function (objective) from its personal interpretation (subjective). A further layer of investigation around its provenance, material nature, social and cultural frameworks begins to reveal interesting intersectional qualities (Willcocks & Mahon, 2023) through the dialogue mentioned above. This dialogue could help generate interesting themes for the students. Here I would like to link back to some of my reflections around object based learning from the TPP Unit – click here.

Data Collected

Observational/Conversational: Students were engaged with the activity as we walked around and observed their conversations. A number of them mentioned that the presence of another enabled different perspectives – which ties in well with the purpose of the obliquiscope.

A number of the students mentioned that they didn’t find the obliquiscope itself to be that useful, other than it’s pleasing aesthetic qualities and tangibility as an object. They were confused why we needed it and perhaps didn’t see the connection between the obliquiscope and their conversations. Craig and I had a chance to debrief after the session and collectively pondered on whether we needed to rethink that aspect of the activity in some way or perhaps give their conversations more of a collective framework in the Padlet. Much of what the students uploaded to the Padlet were their own reflections and perhaps didn’t capture the comments and conversations with their peer – something we were hoping we could see more of. That’s what we had hoped for with the obliquiscopes.

What comes next?

I shall continue to think of objects and their place is this project around community and belonging in HE. Luckily we run this project in two rotations so I do have a second chance to come back to this activity – and refine it (to a certain extent). We can’t change it too much because we need to keep things consistent as well. More to come!

References

1. Bunting, L., & Hill, V. (2021). Relational Reflections: How do we nurture belonging in creative Higher Education?. Innovative Practice in Higher Education.
2. 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, 22(2), pp.187-207.
3. Willshire, J. (2023). Obliquiscopes: Setting aperture for reality. Smithery. https://smithery.com/2023/09/22/obliquiscopes-setting-aperture-for-reality/ (Accessed: 04 Nov 2024).
4. Burston C., Tickler O., Harrison K., Baden-Powell U., Raori R. (2024). Two State-Creative Brief. BA Graphic and Media Design Year 1 Process and Methods. GMD2425 PM Unit Two States brief.pdf

Based on Reading an interview (transcript) of Alexander Nehamas by Richard Marshall.

In reading an interview between Richard Marshall and Alexander Nehamas, the pair attempt to articulate what a friendship means – as a relationship between two individuals, building on some of the existing thought work around Aristotle’s categorisation of different kinds of friendships (Prather, 2022). What struck me was Nehamas’ view on what friendship enables us to be – essentially who we are as individuals. It’s interesting to note that although one may think, friendship (like morality) is based on an alignment of values, Nehamas argues that it’s just as much based on a divergence of beliefs, but within a safe container – a container that allows us to express our individuality (Marshall, 2017).

I believe this idea is crucial in Art and Design and further HE, for students to be able to create a space/s that enable them to understand their roles through the lens of this kind of friendship. The students are both individuals in a degree/program but also a collective of diverse beliefs and experiences, each of which is valuable in the articulation of the relationships (friendships) they (the students) share with one another, and further how they influence and direct one another based on similarities, differences, etc.

In terms of my own interventions, I am thinking about these ideas as relevant in two different ways:

1. In Workshop 2, I received some feedback that challenged my existing beliefs about how I’m observing/collecting data for my interventions. Perhaps I need a way to understand what it is I’m looking for. Nehamas articulates friendship as an embodied experience (Marshall, 2017). One that is based on body language, tone, posture and expression. However, he equally also expressed that (often) friendship is observed in the mundane – as opposed to in theatre or film, it’s not necessarily manifested as heroism. Perhaps I need a more critical lens to think about if what I’m observing is truly being evaluated through the lens of friendship/community/belonging – i.e. the themes that this research is interested in.
2. Perhaps I need to think about these frameworks of friendship in the way I design my interventions. So far, I have been trying to get students to centre around an activity, an object, a space but perhaps what I need to think about more deeply is how they engage with each other. Perhaps it’s not so much the activity/space/object that needs to be at the centre, but rather how those things enable them to connect with each other that matters more.

References:

Prather, A. (2022). Understanding friendship through the eyes of Aristotle. Antigone Journal. https://antigonejournal.com/2021/03/understanding-friendship-through-aristotle/ (Accessed: 03 Nov 2024).

Marshall, R. (2017). Nietzsche and friendship – 3:16. 3:16. https://www.3-16am.co.uk/articles/nietzsche-and-friendship (Accessed: 04 Nov 2024).

References: