Case Study: (Module) Lead by Example: collaboration within and beyond the curriculum

Dr Kerri Akiwowo, School of Design and Creative Arts

Abstract

I module lead ACA156 Textile Futures, a new speculative six-week undergraduate module serving Part A Textile Design students. This case study maps the inspiration, motivation and context for a project brief I designed and set, titled, ‘Conscious Communities’. The brief s inspired by a disciplinary conference theme of the same name organised by The Association of Fashion and Textile Courses (Futurescan 5: 2022). The speculative project brief ‘responds to problems or challenges experienced by specified marginalised social groups. 57 first-year Textile Design students were urged to apply textile futures thinking to propose a textile design intervention that addressed issues within a selected community. They worked in small groups to create a group poster for verbal presentation and exhibition at Martin Hall Exhibition Space titled, Textile Futures: Conscious Communities (2023). The pedagogy focused on collaborative practice via peer working and social engagement through formal and informal learning and teaching activities alongside professional collaborative practice exampled through parallel module leader participation. This equivalent approach offered the cohort a real-world case for and understanding of working collaboratively within and beyond the academy. The strategic timing and duration of the exhibition (14 Sep – 6 Oct 2023), afforded access to ‘live’ exemplars for the incoming Part A Textile Design students (2023/2024) who visited the exhibition as a cohort during their programme induction at the start of the new academic year. In turn, this showcase of module outcomes stimulated a sense of achievement, leadership and corporate legacy amongst the exhibitors turned Part B students.

1. Background

Reasons (including context) for doing what you have done. Previous experience and knowledge of students, if relevant. Preparation required for staff, students, and the environment.

With a master’s degree in ‘Design for Textile Futures’ (UAL: Central Saint Martins, 2017), my expertise for module leadership is well matched to the Textile Futures module. I have substantial experience in Part A delivery in Textiles at 含羞草视频. As such, my knowledge and understanding of pedagogical approaches and the student profile is well-established within this context. An approach which leaned on a sectoral subject-specific conference to inspire and inform the Conscious Communities project brief facilitated an external-internal feedthrough into the classroom. Concepts and themes were reshaped for the module to better address reoccurring intelligence gaps in Part A cohorts and across the Textile Programme at large. Typically, the student demographic is majority white, female and middle-class, which is proportionately reflected across all levels. The effect of such compositional population often negates an awareness of broader global and social knowledge and perspectives which inform the discipline of Textile Design. ACA156 Textile Futures is a development of ‘Diverse Voices in Textiles’, an ongoing pedagogic initiative started by a team of textiles academics at 含羞草视频 in 2021 to diversify the study of textiles in higher education and to begin decolonising the curriculum. We were awarded an Inclusivity in Teaching Innovation Award that year. As project lead and a Black, female textiles scholar born and educated in the UK, I continue to embed Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) imperatives into my academic practice. Within a learning and teaching context, the Conscious Communities project themes together with my own positionality support this approach.

2. Methodology

The 20-credit module is undertaken in Semester Two. The assessment weighting is 40%: Group Presentation; 50%: Project (10% Essay). Whilst the ‘Project’ component facilitated individual exploration of the project brief, the ‘Group Presentation’ focused on designing a collaborative poster to pitch a textile futures intervention applicable to a specified marginalised community. In small groups of four-to-six, students responded to one of three group selected predetermined themes: Refugees, Grenfell Survivors or LGBTQIA+. In the week prior to the module start, students were informed of their assigned groups and prompted to engage in a minimum of one informal group activity e.g. setting up a WhatsApp group chat, exchanging phone numbers, meeting for lunch, going on a walk or visiting an exhibition. In class brainstorming sessions and critique forums facilitated concept development at the start of the module. Each group co-developed a digital 5-slide storyboard which they collaborated on in class and remotely to contextualise, demonstrate and communicate the evolution of their proposed textile futures intervention, culminating in the final digital poster design proposition, oral presentation and exhibit. Parallel to their study, as module lead, I also formed a collaboration under the ‘Grenfell Survivor’ project theme with public figure, Nelissa Mendy. The significance of this collaboration being that Mendy is the cousin of celebrated artist and victim of the London Grenfell fire tragedy (2017), Khadija鈥疭aye. Mendy is a spoken word poet and author. Our collaboration featured her poem, ‘Six years on and it’s still so wrong’ (2023) in a poster designed by me, displayed in the exhibition alongside student work. 1O student posters were exhibited, representing the 10 groups of 57 individuals involved. Curated physical artefacts from individual student explorations linked to the ‘Project’ assessment component were also on display.

3. Issues

Due to the nature of real-world situations being addressed in the project brief intended to drive textile futures thinking and design exploration, the module provoked multiple sensitive topics across different EDI contexts. Therefore, factors such as use of language, positionality, cultural appropriation and assumptions were explicitly discussed and messaging relating to values such as respect and consideration for difference, conduct and expectations were frequently iterated verbally, in lecture slides and via the Learn module noticeboard function. In instances where insensitivities or offences occurred, additional informal 1:1 conversation with the module leader were offered to individuals involved or affected and any issues were unpicked and resolved swiftly through open channels of communication. Such occurrence was in the minority and minimised further as the module progressed when students became more familiar and confident with discussing sensitive concepts and themes amongst peers. In collaborative groupwork, some anomalies in student numbers developed during the module. An initial starting point of 60 students/10 groups/6 students per group gradually reduced to 57 students due to withdrawal from the programme or Leave of Absence resulting in variable group numbers. Whilst affected groups initially perceived change as a disadvantage, they overcame this view with encouragement, guidance, constructive formative feedback from staff and peers. This led to increased confidence in their collective contributions and individual abilities. Groups were not adjusted to reflect evolved anomalies in numbers.

4. Benefits

Collective Dissemination: All 57 students featured in the exhibition, each represented in one of the 10 collaborative posters regardless of their summative marks, reasonable adjustments or attendance record. This inclusive approach upheld institutional EDI values and considerations through collective participation. Therefore, all students had the opportunity to take part in professional practice, reflect on their achievements within this context and experience some level of esteem, important for building confidence and a professional track record.

Social Engagement: Collective artistic dissemination of student/staff outputs as a method of public display and discourse generated in-person interactions and a forum for critical review by student exhibitors, technical and academic staff teams linked to the cohort’s learning journey, in addition to viewings by the incoming Part A cohort, the wider university population and external visitors which generated multiple discourses. Informal and formal opportunities to maximise engagement was facilitated before/pre, during/in and after/post the module. Such activities aided peer-to-peer relationship building, teamworking and communication skills development prior to Part B.

Decolonising the Curriculum: The design of a thematic project brief enabled a focused approach to confronting societal EDI issues from a Textile Futures/Conscious Communities perspective. The brief embedded issues within the study of Textiles as a discipline regarding the lack of diversity in textile curriculums and academic communities, sector-wide in the UK. By focusing on marginalised groups and drawing from my own personal experiences as a Black ethnic minority and product of British textile design education, the module aims to stretch students’ understanding of the broader social and cultural contexts that inform the discipline through the concepts, themes and references introduced.

5. Evidence of Success

Students tackled real-world issues from a disciplinary perspective. The project brief encouraged intellectual stimulation, broadening horizons and impactful engagement. In the fifth week when asked in a live online poll to describe the module in one word, four prominent responses emerged: “Unexpected”, “Different”, “Interesting” and “Informative”. Other responses included: “very researchy”, “new”, “fun”, “conceptual” and “better”. In formal module feedback, students commented positively about “…the opportunity to experience group working and to do so through a creative approach”. They spoke of “…learning more about current social issues and how textiles can be used to impact this”; and noted that undertaking the module afforded “…the chance to learn what the textiles industry might look like in the future”. Regarding academic achievement, all 57 students outperformed on their marks in the ‘Group Presentation’ (40%) compared to all other practical assessable components in semester two textile modules. 100% of the cohort achieved a higher individual mark ranging from 60-80%, for their collaborative poster with 82% of students achieving a mark of 70% or above in this regard.

6. How Can Other Academics Reproduce This?

Leveraging on a subject-specific conference theme is one example of how inspiration from an external activity might inform curriculum design and delivery within learning and teaching contexts. Regarding EDI, by applying a deficit approach to target a known problem or challenges at institutional, discipline, programme or module level, can strengthen the relevance and impact of education. A formalised approach to group work written into the module specification, ILO’s, assessment requirements and reflected in marks aids module structure and reinforces the significance of such approach, relevant to industry. Equally, by creating a framework to maximise collaboration and social engagement points pre, during and post module enhances the characteristics of collaboration from a qualitative perspective. In this context, peer assessment methods can be explored further to better incorporate the student voice and individual reflections. Identifying opportunities to showcase student outcomes encourages dialogue and creates visibility. If done in a way that offers exemplars to other cohorts, the benefits of the module extend beyond the primary students. As such, a holistic approach to ‘module leadership’ which incorporates convention, alternative or less common approaches such as explicitly including student cohorts as way pavers or situating the module leader as participant, can raise student ambition and esteem.

7. Reflections

In a preceding Part A textile design module, I also lead (ACA153 Textile Techniques: Context and Application), the same cohort were introduced to the three institutional strategic themes that I embedded into their design brief. As such, students had a foundational knowledge of concepts and ideas associated with ‘Vibrant and Inclusive Communities’ applicable to ‘Textile Futures: Conscious Communities’. As Module Leader, I connected my research focus in ‘Textiles and Culture’ to my pedagogic practice through a research-informed teaching approach. In delivering the module again, I would include the 5-slide collaborative storyboard (submitted for assessment) as a requirement of the verbal Group Presentation for all groups, in conjunction with the final poster design. I would also recommend changing the themes after the third academic year to reflect different social issues and consider alternative ways of forming the groups as well as appropriate options for embedding peer-assessment to reflect group working.