Record of Observation by Nina Van Volkinburg to one of my sessions.
Link here https://ual.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=e0df46c1-bba5-4bc1-a461-b10701388eef
Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: Colour&Fabric with Joao Maraschin
Size of student group: pre-recorded online for 120 students
Observer: Nina Van Volkinburg
Observee: Joao Maraschin
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?
This is a session that is part of the unit Aesthetics&Identity for Y2 BA Womenswear students at London College of Fashion. This is a pre-recorded lecture that students watch on Mondays as a “week briefing” ahead of their design and sample room classes which will rely on this knowledge to unpack further.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
I’m their design tutor. I teach them since Y1, but this unit is 10 weeks long and this is presented in week 6.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
Students should be able to develop a basic understanding of theoretical knowledge about colour and fabric, but also foster a creative response to how they engage with these two design fundamentals in their practice/project.
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
They will incorporate this knowledge in their responses to the design workbook.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
No. It should be quite straightforward.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
The pace of the delivery, how the content was articulated and presented, the accessibility for different levels.
How will feedback be exchanged?
Online meeting to be recorded and transcribed by me later.
Part Two
Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
Thank you so much for sharing this session with me Joao! I really enjoyed learning about a subject I do not have experience in. I feel like I have a newfound appreciation for colour and the relationship with fabric and I wish if I had more time I could sign up to your course!
Your students are very lucky to have you as it is so obvious how much you care about the subject area and helping them embed these lessons into their practice. Your slides were very carefully formatted – clear and engaging. The examples you included were contemporary but also I enjoyed the foundation of connecting to history. This may be me as an aged millennial (!) but perhaps reducing the amount of text on some of the slides could be helpful to emphasise the key words.
The pace of delivery was very good and you speak in a very warm, articulate way meaning your session can be understood by a variety of learners. Teaching online can however come with its own challenges and in order to keep attention it may be worth animating your voice slightly when it comes to a key takeaway to highlight “make sure you listen/remember this point!”? Also it may be interesting to invite some interaction from viewers e.g. a mini quiz or an activity to reflect on a subject at the end? Additionally, you may consider turning on your camera (maybe you did and I didn’t see on Panopto!) as it may make the session even more personable and engaging. A final point to think about is I obviously know your brilliant practice and I would have loved to hear more about your own reflections from your designer point of view and gain more insights into your process with colour/fabric. Being able to hear from someone on their experience (the good/bad!) is extremely useful – you probably do this anyway but selfishly I would have loved hearing more in this session.
Overall, it was such a pleasure to take part as a learner and as a non-designer I found this very useful and interesting. Thank you!
Part Three
Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:
The review is warm, clear and forward-looking. I was pleased to hear that Nina thought the session was accessible to a variety of learners, building from the bottom up instead of assuming knowledge. I was also happy to hear that she opens the feedback saying that learnt something and was engaged with the content – especially because it is an online delivery which can sometimes be quite dry and difficult to capture the audience.
With regards to more specific feedback with suggested action points, below I list the feedback and the further action that I will put in place next time:
Pace of delivery and delivery overall
“It may be worth animating your voice slightly when it comes to a key takeaway to highlight “make sure you listen/remember this point!?”
I agree, I think it is extremely important to change tone during an online delivery and I will incorporate that next time.
Interaction with viewers
“It may be interesting to invite some interaction from viewers e.g. a mini quiz or an activity to reflect on a subject at the end?”
This is very helpful feedback. I will phase out the delivery to create a more dynamic learning environment by including activities in between, and spaces for contemplation and reflection in order to humanise the delivery a bit more and create a space that feels more interactive and mimics to a degree the in-person classroom.
Camera
“Additionally, you may consider turning on your camera (maybe you did and I didn’t see on Panopto!) as it may make the session even more personable and engaging.”
The camera was supposed to be on, but I had an issue with Panopto after recording which eliminated that unfortunately.
Personal Professional Background
“I would have loved to hear more about your own reflections from your designer point of view and gain more insights into your process with colour/fabric.”
This is a really good point! I don’t usually use my practice as an example to not use teaching as a platform to promote my work. However, at times, and this one seems like an appropriate one, bringing a real example from industry on how to use specific design fundamentals in practice are of extreme value. I will incorporate that moving forward and intertwine my practice with teaching to produce positive impact on students with real world examples.
Please refer to original word document if necessary: