This Post was edited by Chat GPT to reduce word count
Throughout the planning of the action I considered how my positionality, body language and approach would affect the study – see Whose Perspective is being documented.
In my previous blog – THE ACTION – I discussed my thoughts on potential bias from observations. I co-incidentally experienced this first-hand. During the focus group, my preconceived ideas as an educator influenced my perception of participant engagement. I initially assumed quieter students were less engaged, which was not the case. Self-reports and student-led discussions effectively addressed this. Moving to the back corner during student-led conversations allowed me to observe without influencing. In doing so, quieter participants became more animated amongst their peers and written data yielded more detailed responses.
While the study initially had six participants, only three attended, altering the session dynamics. Initially smaller group discussions on pattern cutting techniques would be opened up to group for feedback. Instead, the feedback segment became tutor feedback and group discussions.
Feedback revealed a preference for manual techniques over digital methods – the opposite of what I had hoped for. The culmination of the discussion title, “Discuss techniques that can be used to recreate your item” (with manual and digital techniques presented) and the lack of interaction with digital software at this point in the session may have contributed to this. Perhaps rephrasing to ‘digital techniques’, or restructuring the activities, would have garnered different results. However, this did reinforce my rationale for the study.
To re-direct the study back to digital, my feedback was tailored to a combined approach, incorporating both manual and digital techniques. Participants provided additional suggestions, both design and process based, that would incorporate the use of digital skills. This unintentionally led to a top-down approach where the tutor says what is ‘wrong’ or ‘right’. This was not my intention, but a by product of changed circumstances and learnt behaviour. This did however produce a positive group discussions around incorporating manual practices into digital lessons to create expansive learning environments.
“When we focus on deficits it can be counter-productive. It can end up leaving the student disheartened, discouraged”
Freitag, M. (2023)
Reflecting on the session, I realized students naturally favoured tactile processes. Rather than steering them away from their strengths, building on existing skills could enhance engagement. The incorporation of manual processes into digital studies may provide new avenues to support student engagement and learning. The CRSSP framework is a potential tool for this integration.
Despite examples and experimentation with software, participants struggled to translate designs into technical processes. This highlighted the department’s process-based/banking teaching style, lacking in lateral thinking. The research underscored the need for fostering critical knowledge through problem-solving and experimentation to enhance students’ pattern-cutting skills. As the session progressed participants confidence and problem solving skills improved with individuals successfully answering their own questions. Through the follow up questionnaire, outside of this research study, I hope to review how this study has affected their approach.
Post-session, I discovered a mistake in the feedback form, where a crucial question was accidentally omitted “What part of the workshop did you enjoy?” This oversight may hinder potential insights into participant engagement and emphasized the importance of thorough review and feedback. Gaining feedback on the research study from fellow colleagues and/or students from other courses may have helped flesh out the project and catch any mistakes.
The main take away from the focus group was the preference for a tactile approach within digital lessons. This may be through the objects, which build connection; personal items, which provide emotional attachment; or manual techniques, which provide context. This study has spawned new ideas which I hope to share with the department. Further analysis into the research data will support this process.
TEDx Talks (2023) How to make students (and teachers) want to go to school | Michele Freitag | TEDxYorkBeach. Availabke at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBYlRmUurJ8&ab_channel=TEDxTalks (Accessed 17 December 2023)