Microteach Pt 2 The Session

My mind is whirring, trying to keep track of everyone and everything…

Body language, eye contact and direction,
attention, are they ‘with’ me,
the first to speak is brave, the second is supportive
stay patient, believe in the process.

The following is what is written on my notes.
[an attempt at filling the gaps in my sporadic note taking]

This is what is happening [in the room]
[someone asks what is happening] [Me:] What would you like [?]
[Eliott:] Rauschenberg paintings
AF1
Plane
White House
POTUS
Speculation on Where
Does he [have a pair]
Is it a coincidence [Name shared with plane]
Is it just the white ones [called AF1]
no [clear statement of[ knowledge
share personal [connections and anecdotes]
shumi is right [regarding name:]
Nike 'Air Force'
statements
[Eliott:?] Plutonic Trainer [the idea of the forms?]
'Not Minimalist'
Box Fresh
Sweat [someone talks about smell]
Indiana Jones
Star Wars
Back to the Future
White Central
[At this point 5 minutes is up and I intervene]

The following is a reflection, a re-telling of the session from memory.
As a result it could, and should, be considered tainted by my personal perspective and bias.
[reflections in square brackets]

(Left Hand Side = Me)
Padlet projected onto wall without direct instruction
Image: white Air Force One trainers on a white background.

(Right Hand Side = Audience)
Classroom silent
Appear attentive on the surface.

A minute passes

I feel nervous/excited, perhaps I project this.

Student-lecturers exchange glances
Looking for instruction?[perhaps I imagined this]
Nerves appear mutual.

I begin taking notes.
This is a conscious gesture using nonverbal signals to demonstrate I am mentally present.
[I try to make no clear signals, any action I perform will lead the group]
Notable tension, head turning and comments

Sergio asks if I know the clock is ticking.

I showed him my 5 minute countdown.

Audience feel more at ease*
They begin to comment more freely on the image
Questions about origin story, information exchange
Speculation.

After 5 minutes, I explained that my silence functioned as a space for them (to read the image and form a perspective). Their response (open questions and information exchange) unconsciously supported the intentions behind the gesture: ‘The lesson begins when you decide’ and ‘you have as much to offer each other as I do’. 

Questions were answered and I shared more AF1 images as we discussed and dissected the image:

design, sports origins, Black culture, hip-hop, appropriation, advertising design, high Fashion, business strategy, status as Nike’s number 1 seller, raised questions over ethics and politics; who profits from what culture and speculated on what the shoe now symbolises.

*This (starred) moment is key for me.
Why?
This was a peak experience (as described by Maslow). An echo to the feeling gained while collaborating with Anthea Hamilton as part of OSE’s 2020/1 cohort. This particular feeling of poignancy, that something important was happening crystallised this moment in my mind.

  • Key feedback and takeaways…
  • Opening performance matches the white image (minimalism)
  • Holding back as a technique for capturing attention
  • Session evolved over time
  • Different forms of performance
  • Good engagement with the session,
  • Concern over online engagement
  • Unsure of explicit relation to learning outcomes

Microteach Pt 1 Approach

This session went through a number of iterations before finding its home.

The journey is as integral as the final product, a key learning and pedagogical pillar.
(Lots more to come)

First, a melange of images, a create your own lecture/tutorial.
*But no, not enough time for the required depth, less is more*

An image of the singer Adele wearing a Jamaican Bikini top & Bantu Knots
*In testing, one viewer did not realise it was a famous English musician.
Consider the potential audience member, it may trigger defensiveness.
Lets not go there*

Dragonball Z – 4+ images
*Less is more, consider the anti-blackness inherent in sharing blatantly racist caricatures
will the audience know the series, is it juvenile? does this hinder or help?
Do I want to talk about white supremacist ideology in Japanese culture?
This is heavy stuff, I would rather save this for a more appropriate setting.
Character design is appropriate for BA Illustration, but less so for a PGCert.
Let’s go less confrontational.

There is value in choosing the past of least resistance.

The decision to veto DBZ (for now) was fuelled by a desire to listen to the annoying voice in the back of my mind. Often when taking a creative risk I have ignored this feeling, perhaps deluded and blind to a conceptual flaw, masked by an egotistical desire to centre my will.

Here the lesson was to listen to your own advice.
It is often mentioned that we’re able to give better advice to others resulting from our lack of emotional attachment. It is important to look within for the signs of self deception and pull at the thread. Often we see the same loose thread thinking it’s a mirage, after a few times…pull at it, see what happens.

Note: as this goes to submission and I reflect, the decision was in some ways a good one. Perhaps many of these images suit particular audiences. There is an inherent risk when playing with fire. In retrospect, I’d consider Tony Bliar. (No typo).

Object Based Learning

Thinking in retrospect, images as objects has been core to my practice for many years now, and it is through these objects that I have learnt my craft. From the films of the French New Wave, fashion design icon and iconoclasm. It is through looking and learning that my skill, craft and pedagogy have been practiced and sharpened.

Icon and Idea by Herbert Read was influential before my artistic practice developed. Recent years have seen this consideration of the image extend into its myriad forms; still, moving, sonic.

Existing in many dimensions, allows the learning to take place in a multitude of settings. From the well known physcial university setting, to a particular context that imbues a feeling and online, where still and moving images come into their own. New technologies further enhance this, with novel methods of visualisation (i.e. 3D modelling) allow us to explore images in a completely new way.

This poses the object as a problem/challenge to be deciphered question to be questioned.

Whether it is a personal object, ambiguous one, or one contextually charged with meaning.

This links very clearly to a core pedagogical desire of mine: the improvement of visual literacy, considering intersectional modes of thought.

Centring something external to the group, we navigate and unpick it together.

It allows space for individuals to bring a part of themselves and express agency and selfhood, whilst connecting with peers and engaging in peer-to-peer learning. Sometimes it is helpful to give this upfront, sometimes it is better to return at a later point.

It is helpful to gauge the group and their commitment at any given moment.

It is important to consider the image (object) very carefully as they can be triggering.

Signpost appropriately and allow space for people to leave the room.

Finally the replay-ability of online is core to my pedagogy.

I believe in balancing commitment with sustainability.

Burnout culture and expectations put pressure on people to perform.

Lecturers in delivery, students in absorbtion.

I have learnt better in re-looking, re-visiting, re-watching.

Pedagogy of Re-