Unfortunately, due to work commitments I could not attend this session and there was no recording allowing me to learn on my own schedule. Amongst colleagues we often speak anecdotally about the asynchronous learning model having asserted a frustrating expectation that everything will be recorded. As the student learner I again find myself reflecting on the position of my students and realising that I must alert students to digital sessions which will not be recorded in advance. As outlined in Bates’s nine steps for quality online learning step 8 is essential ‘Communicate, communicate, communicate’ (Bates, 2015, p.375).
In my role as CL on the GDTD and recently as the interim BA Textile Design CL I regularly use dashboards to gather data for assessment and quality reporting including attainment and retention.
Notably the textile design programme is working as a team to address attainment, we have a small number of BAME students across the programme and we have been trying to address this through recruitment and how we market the course.
Supported by the Academic Enhancement Model (AEM) we have been developing pedagogical initiatives and implementing changes to curriculum and teaching practice. Significantly within the Decolonising Textile tools project, which I made reference to in my second blog post, workshops have an embodied practice and tacit learning approach which could potentially help to address attainment gaps often encountered in units with written components.
Inclusive blended learning modes of delivery suitable for students ‘regardless of location, time zone, device and quality of internet connection’ (UAL, 2021), have been critical for retention on the GDTD during the pandemic, including enhancing attainment in online learning and thinking prompts. However, community building was difficult particularly during the second year of the pandemic, academic year 2020/21. Consequently, we have developed a studio / community club which looks to support intercultural belonging and address attainment by aiding community within the programme. Make Along sessions have been significant to online and onsite community building and have been modelled on an introductory session delivered by Professor Carol Tulloch at the start of the pandemic in May 2020.
Bates, T. (2015) Teaching in a Digital Age [online] [Accessed 25 March 2022] Available from: http://tecfa.unige.ch/guides/e-books/Bates-Teaching-in-a-Digital-Age-compressed.pdf
UAL Digital Learning Team. (2021) UAL Inclusive Blended Learning Design [online] [Accessed 25 March 2022] Available from: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/235131/Inclusive-blended-learning-designs.pdf