I decided to read, “Critiquing the Crit” & Crooks as these felt the most relevant to my role as a Visiting Tutor. It was helpful that on the online session with Lindsay we talked about the various ways students get feedback from Individual & Group tutorials to online and peer comments. It was therefore disappointing to read “The national student “ (NSS) survey has shown a higher than average level of dissatisfaction amongst art and design students with feedback on their work.” I wonder if its because student’s now pay fees, that they have higher expectations of their course that they will express dissatisfaction via online, social media & surveys?
As Crooks says about assessment – “It affects students in many different ways. For instance, it guides their judgment of what is important to learn, affects their motivation and self-perceptions of competence”. It also talked about short, medium and long-term effects of assessment. In my role as a VT, I often come in early into a project with the objective to help students improve their work through feedback and advise. I was pleased to read that students value external tutors coming in to give feedback. Sadler on p119 says students need to be able to possess appreciation of what high quality work is and be able to evaluate this and develop ways to modify their own work. I agree as often students may have settled for the 2nd best outcome and with positive feedback and encouragement can be pushed to achieve more accomplished work. However Crooks offers this advise “ Praise should be used sparingly and where it should be task- specific, where criticism (other than simply identifying deficiencies) is usually counterproductive.
Reading through the paper about the Crits strengthens and Weaknesses, its clear that smaller groups were preferred by students over larger groups. As a VT I also feel smaller groups offer the best way to give feedback – it can be quite daunting to give feedback to a large group of students and there is a time pressure to give students equal time. Its interesting that in larger groups, students were often scared to be vocal and that its seen by them as “a rites of passage” or “tribal ritual.” It’s really clear as a VT that the success of a group crit is shaped by the dynamics of the student’s personality ranging from the articulate and confident to the shy and introverted. I have also found that international students whose English is weak will often stay quiet within a large group rather than struggle with the language. As Danvers (2003) P45 states “Creativity, a critical aspect in all learning but especially in design, thrives in an environment where the individual feels psychologically and physically comfortable, in an atmosphere of trust, security and openness.”
I believe for someone wanting a successful career in art and design. A key skill is being positive and articulate with clients (after all if your not positive about your work why should they be?) It is also important for students to be able to listen to feedback and offer solutions. I agree with the report that crit’s and feedback help students to become confident and used to critical evaluation which helps them long term getting prepared for the “real world”. A big issue at some colleges is the sheer number of students who often don’t have a desk at the college and do a lot of work from home. Therefore crits offer a real communal experience and allow students to see their peers work and benchmark themselves against other students and get critical analysis from students and staff, which all help offer a shared experience.
Being a VT I often only do a few days ‘teaching” on a project so it was pleasing to read that interim crit’s are seen as valuable by students as it gives them room to try out ideas/concepts and to get feedback within a “safe” non-profession and non summative assessed environment from both staff and other students” This feels the most valuable time to offer advise so students they have time to improve their work before final assessment. I really enjoy crits when I share with another member(s) of staff feedback. I think its invaluable for students to hear different views and perspectives and sometimes contradictory feedback as the report says this is important for students to realise there is just “not one true way”. Its always fascinating to see how students interrupt a brief and its good for students to understand that they are many different learning outcomes.
The staff and student guides are full of good advise. The section I found most useful was about how to maintain student engagement and here are a few of the most useful suggestions.
- Its useful to make sure that work is responded to thematically. By drawing out comparisons and contrasts between students it helps promote sustained student engagement.
- Manage timings of crits so students at the end aren’t rushed or left out.
- Keep attendance record & work assessed
- Vary crit routine ask students to present work which is not their own, the experience of ‘pitching someone else work can open up a new experience of evaluative feedback.
- Ask a student to chair the crit
- Link crit attendence to learning requirements to ensure good attendance.
- Make sure the centrality of the crit is signaled at induction. Explain the purpose of the crit to new students especially those who may not have experienced anything similar due to cultural differences.
To conclude I found this weeks really helpful and will try and take on board what I’ve learnt in regard to giving feedback in the future.
Hi Mark and Happy New Year!
I always find reading your posts interesting as I re-discover something I think that I have read so thank you for drawing my attention to the things I actually missed in this weeks task.
Toward the end of your piece you mention the ‘Ricochet Crit*’, where you present someones else’s work. I wonder if it would be a really helpful role play exercise at the beginning of a students education because, quite apart from ‘opening up new evaluative experiences’ I wonder if it would help students to understand three points:
1. what a crit is
2. how to present their own work in order for others to understand what they were aiming for
3. how important their own role (feedback, asking critical but supportive questions etc) in a peer group crit is
*The Education of a Graphic Designer: Steven Heller pgs. 99-100
Hi Mark!
I’m just thinking about your question as to whether the introduction of higher fees has resulted in the high level of dissatisfaction in relation to feedback on the NSS. My feeling is that these disappointing results go beyond, and indeed precede, the new fee regime. I think students’ low scores in this area say more about the nature of learning and feedback in an art and design context than anything else.
Some stats around this topic were discussed in one of our workshops but I haven’t been able to find this info online or on our Moodle. One interesting comment I did come across when thinking about this topic was this:
“Research carried out both in and out of the sector has indicated that there often remains student confusion and variability of interpretation of assessment feedback.”
This comes from an interesting and succinct HEA publication which better summarises my thoughts on this topic than I can: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/default/files/adm_the_perception_and_interpretation_0.pdf
I also thought that this was a good UAL-centric view on the low feedback scores on the NSS survey: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/fine-arts-suffer-class-bias-in-national-student-survey-study-says/2017921.article
And finally, the idea of the crit providing an opportunity for students to come together in a physical space is one I hadn’t considered before this week’s reading. Yet I do remember that feeling when I was studying for my UG degree, so it’s nice to see you have picked up on that here as a real strength of the crit.
Hello Hannah, somehow the useful links you put into your comments alluded me earlier. I particularly liked one statement in the HEA publication – that the purpose of assessment and feedback has to be clearly understood by all parties. It sort of seems obvious, what feedback and assessment is about, but it’s not really (I guess that’s why we’re discussing it at length). This also struck me:
Tacit knowledge plays an important and critical role in formative assessment and feedback. In art and design disciplines this can sometimes be difficult to articulate and transfer into a form that the student can easily access, understand and take forward.
I think I know what they mean but not quite. What exactly is “tacit knowledge”? The quote you picked out, Hannah, seems to be about the same thing: that there is a difference/disconnect between what is said and what is understood and/or that it is difficult to provide concise, intelligible feedback. That students are confused by ‘variability’ of feedback I can understand, but I cannot see how that could be avoided.
Hi Beatrice,
Yes, I think this idea of explaining the function of feedback is really important. I think I mentioned it in my own blog, but if I’d had a comprehensive understanding of the purpose of feedback, I think I would have been able to engage with it more effectively when I was a student. In a way, ensuring the purpose of assessment and feedback is understood by all parties may also take some of the emotional impact (of feedback) out of the equation.
However, it’s also true that feedback will often be variable (I’m thinking of how different tutors offer different opinions) and sometimes downright contradictory! Yet, I think if I, as a student, knew the purpose of the feedback I might be able to critically engage with it and use the given criteria to identify feedback that is most useful and relevant to my learning and development. Or perhaps I’m giving my student self too much credit here and placing blame for my own shortcomings on the system for not showing me how to engage with feedback effectively.
The flip side of it is that perhaps some students will always struggle with feedback in an art and design context because these subjects lend themselves well to producing feedback that is vague and transitory!
Hello Mark, I did not read the text about crits because I thought that it would not apply to what I do but after reading your post I thought I’d better have a look. In my seminar students give presentations and while they are not about a work of art or design they have produced themselves, the situation is not entirely different from a crit, particularly if the presentation style as such is subject to feedback and is discussed in the group.
I thought it was interesting that learning from peers seems to be one aspect of the crit that is perceived as a strength. However, in the strength and weaknesses section (page 2) it is stated that most peer discussions happen outside of the crit – in the studio and the bar. But maybe that refers to crits that are not well organised. In any case, I can see that it is very useful to have the space and time to see how others have interpreted a brief and, as you say, benchmark your own work.
You mention that it is recommended to draw out ‘comparisons and contrasts between students’ to keep them engaged. In contrast, Croft quotes Paul Black & Dylan William ‘Inside the Black Box’ (1998) who say that feedback ‘should avoid comparison with other pupils’. I was wondering what you thought about that? I usually try to avoid comparisons but as always it probably depends on how it is done.
Thanks for all the feedback……
Wendy – agree with you that it could be an interesting exercise to get students to present another students work “Ricochet Crit”. As my blog stated I believe the ability to present ones own work is crucial for a successful professional career, so anything to help students in form of role play, imaginative exercises or top tips with presenting would be helpful. I found when I was at college, very little practical knowledge was given. No one ever said – the best way to talk about your work, take on board feedback, criticism and supportive questions was offered. It’s amazing both professionally and in every day life how little one is sometimes prepared – simple household tasks and professional etiquette explained would really helpful, rather than stumbling around trying to work out what is best.
Beatrice – I was interested that you also talked about peer feedback. I think with art students the line between the formal classroom and informal formal feedback with peers can be blurred and both have important role to play. It’s the same professionally you want your client to be positive / like work you’ve produced and also get positive feedback from friends and collegues.
Re “Inside the Black Box” quote that feedback should avoid comparisons, to be honest I find it very difficult not to draw comparison – I think that’s life, people are subjective, with the arts, films, designs to avoid comparisons seems to take away abit of what we do naturally?
Hannah – Thanks for bringing to my attention the Times HE article about student feedback I took out these 3 quotes are key to the debate and give some context to why this might be the case…..
On the NSS, a range of subjects often receive poor marks….This is especially true for fine art and design, where feedback is given ad hoc and informally, such as a passing comment on a student’s work, or over time, as work is developed in a studio.
….Art and design subjects also score consistently low when it comes to staff contact hours. This may be because these courses are not as “explicitly structured” as those that score consistently highly in the survey, the researchers suggest.
Nigel Carrington, vice-chancellor of UAL….the NSS is unconsciously biased against arts and design institutions. Its questions assume that students are being taught in lecture theatres and classrooms. That simply doesn’t reflect the way students learn practice-based subjects, from arts and design to some science and medical courses,” he said.
The crit really is the show and tell whether this being a student or professional – and agree it’s a great way for students to come together – it was very different back in the day when the class’s were small and we all had desks so we spent full 9.30-5pm working day together, the difference now is that students hot desk and work from home so crit offers a communal opportunity and hopefully is embraced.
No problem Mark. I’m glad the links proved useful! H