“The social model of disability says that people are disabled by environmental, attitudinal, or procedural barriers, rather than by their impairment or difference”. (UAL, 2019). During my microteach one of my colleagues made reference to attitudinal disability in response to a task which I had asked everybody to complete, this was an important reflection helping me to think further about designing for inclusive learning aswell as inclusivity and diversity more broadly.
I had structured the session around examples of materials common to the textile designer’s toolkit e.g., cotton calico, a range of yarns, wool etc. inviting each participant to choose a material, get to know the material and share their initial thoughts and ideas on their chosen material. This material exploration related to a research project which I had participated in, the ‘Hands of X project’, a collaboration between Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design and the Institute of Making (UCL), which aimed to expand the palette of materials available to wearers of prosthetic hands.
Feedback on the microteach included participants appreciating feeling as though they were part of the research project and focus groups; as though a safe space had been created; enjoying the content; being introduced to new materials, resources etc. My tutor also noted that the ‘object’ was in fact what had been created during the session, rather than the materials I had brought, which was important for me to also recognise.
Unfortunately, my timings were off, and I ran over by 7 minutes trying to cover too much within the microteach, this is also important for me to reflect upon for future planning. When designing taught sessions, I am often concerned about lack of content rather than too much – I do not want to stand in front of a group of students with nothing to offer them. However, it is critical that I remember students must have opportunities for processing information appropriately.
I had not delivered this session to my own students, however following the microteach I can see the potential in developing it into a design thinking workshop opening up discussion on inclusivity and the social model of disability linking to the language of textiles and materiality.
Institute of Making. (2017) Hands of X [Online] [Accessed 25 March 2022] Available at: https://www.instituteofmaking.org.uk/research/hands-of-x
UAL Student Disability Service. (2019) Guidance for Inclusive Teaching and Learning. [Online] [Accessed 25 March 2022] Available at: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/documents/sppreview/3550bb2f-db31-4a28-8223-6a13d80001e7