Wilcocks and Mahon 2023 – Online object based learning activities
Karen Harris 2022 – Embracing the Silence
Here, I will reflect on two readings from the course that I selected due to their relevance to my teaching delivery and course.
I was particularly interested to explore research around online object based learning. Whilst we have moved away from online teaching now, object based learning as a pedagogy is something I would like to embrace further and explore both in digital and physical spaces.
What I found particularly relevant and interesting was the use of visual analysis tools which was derived from the book by Gillan Rose ‘Visual Methodologies.’ (2012). The research applies Rose’ frameworks where she ‘suggests a four-staged approach to analysing visual objects in a way that encourages careful consideration of how, when and where those objects are made or consumed. ‘ (Wilcocks and Mahon, 2023) .Students were encouraged to apply this analysis to their object audit which focused on the below reflections:
Whilst the student feedback in the report provided predictable issues around online learning (lack of body language, time zone, languages issues) it appears that students were stimulated by the use of the images but also motivated to use this 4 step analysis. It appeared to have increased engagement and the main take out was that students suggested they would use the guide in future visual tasks.
Reflecting on this, I am intrigued to experiment with Rose’s frameworks in the physical classroom to encourage deeper analysis of imagery.
Leading on from this, I was also intrigued by a report from Karen Harris entitled ‘Embracing the Silence.’ Harris’ report focus centres around her own uni experience, (where she was at university at a similar time to myself) and the demands from a tutor that everyone participate in the class or else. Harris argues that she may have benefited from a different pedagogy stance and that she may have ‘fared better simply by listening attentively until I’d formulated something worth bringing to the conversation. ‘ (Harris, 2022)
Harris argues that the arrival of the pandemic and the switch to online classrooms has enabled us as teachers embrace silence but also the introverted learners and ‘faceless lurkers’. (Harris, 2022) It is argued in the report that introverted leaners who need time to conceptualise and reflect before responding, are finally given that safe space with the online classroom, where silence and literal muting and invisibility are the norm and the introverted learners use the chat box.
My evaluation of this is that Harris argues a very good point and transitioning to an online classroom has enabled us as teachers to listen to more and encourage participation from behind a keyboard – chat boards, creative online tools for example that ask students to draw/comment on the screen anonymously.
However, what Harris’s report does not take into account is the course and discipline specific classrooms where introversion may not be what is required. For example, in a creative communications degree, such as the one I lead on, the onus is on communication. Students are studying for a communications degree that leads to employment in extremely pressured environments where collaboration and contribution are what will count. My argument is that by not encouraging and nurturing classroom participation. I am not adequately preparing my students for the outside world and the industry they so desperately want to enter.
My course is not linear. There are no exams. You don’t pass or fail a test. It is holistic and the learning is so much more then theories and textbook arguments. In the days of AI and creativity from tech sometimes being easily applied by a machine or an app, our human behaviour is our only card. Whilst we need to have an inclusive classroom that supports a varied learner and an introverted learner, a course like mine also needs to take into consideration the subject matter.
To conclude, I believe there is some truth in Harris’s suggestion of incorporating some of our online tactics into the classroom with the increased time for reflection and silence in the hope that it can draw out some of the “lurkers” from the background….if we can adapt it to the needs of our discipline.
In my own teaching, I’m still yet to find the perfect solution for this. As a teacher, and indeed a student on this pgcert, I’m not someone comfortable with the silent classroom. I am keen to explore ways to integrate more reflection into the room that then leads onto tasks and activities where all learners feel confident to project and maybe vocally verbalise their feelings. Even if it is one word – one word from just one of the introverted learners will be a victory.
References
Embracing the Silence, Karen Harris, 2022
Online Object based Learning Activities, Wilcocks and Mahon, 2023