Creative collaboration in action! by Sam

Ages ago I responded to a call out on the ArtsJobs website for writers to send work to inspire photography students at the University of East London. I sent a selection of work from some of the writers in my writing group and was delighted that one of our pieces – a prose poem called ‘Glow’ about how it never gets dark in cities, was selected.

We went to The Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club last night to an event organised by the photography students and their tutors, to see the photos and read ‘Glow’. I documented the night in a film. We were really impressed by the work on show and the open attitudes of the students.

Several students chose to interpret the text and I interviewed one of them, about her responses to the poem and how it inspired the pictures. It was interesting that her interpretation bought up themes that the writer hadn't thought of.

I have been thinking a lot about creative collaboration recently (not surprisingly!) so I think it’s great that the first year photography students on this course are being encouraged to respond to, collaborate with and investigate other artforms from the very start of their course. I think that this is another good example for our good learning examples file.

It occurs to me, that so often once someone becomes a little successful in their artform that they seem to focus in tightly on that, becoming very protective of it, and lose interest in working with artists in other disciplines which is detrimental, so teaching people to collaborate from the start is a really good thing.

Working with artists in other fields has always been what excites me, to develop my own practice and to hopefully stimulate other’s thinking too.  Perhaps this is because my primary focus has been writing for the theatre, and I’ve been involved in a very hands-on way with producing my plays, so I have always been aware of cross-disciplinary working/thinking.

The brief for the photography students' project was, ‘Seeing what you say’, and the photographers had to respond to pre-existing writing. A further, and more exciting, step would have been to create some new work together, to see what the cross-fertilisation would bring up.

I also really enjoyed not being the one whose work was being read, and having a chance to document the evening on video instead! I must get a better video camera though...

Making and Modelling Brown Paper Costumes!!!

Character Drawings

Getting tangled

Costume Characters in Brown Paper - posted by Stuart

I will look differently at a roll of brown paper from now on!

Stuart

Hey Guys.. It was a fantastic if slightly tiering two Days, in a brilliant way on many levels . I enjoyed  hanging out over Lunch and the chats in the Kitchen. Thank you Anna for the Coffee it was a really thoughtful touch.
I am adding to my Action. I will never describe myself as a ''thicko'' again in Private or Public, and I would like to thank Rod and David for helping me mentally leave my '' Plateau '' .. Which at the moment is 500 pieces of board painted to look like marble..
Also Jo ''Is it still feeling like herding Kittens.?'' A big thank you for all the touches you provide.

 See you on the 13th Richard ....

Gabrielle learning experiences

A few years ago I decided I wanted to do an MBA - part time, whilst working. It is a really quite hard and very academically rigourous course and it consists of many diifferent units. Quite early on I had to do an intensive 3 days on Economics. I had never done Economics before, haven't even got Maths 'O'Level. The tutor was a young italian professor who spoke very fast with an incredibly strong accent. I would have struggled with that at the best of times but he was teaching stuff that was incredibly difficult (I found out later he covered topics in three days that undergratuate Economics students learn in the whole of their first year!) On Day 2 half way through a session I went to the toilet and cried. I felt completely overwhelmed, out of my depth, incompetent and humiliated and didn't have a clue how I would get through the next couple of days or ever pass an exam on the subject! I mean - I do like a challenge but this was crazy...

One of the best learning experiences I can remember was about 12 years ago or so - I was sent by my work on an intensitve train-the-trainer course. I learnt about Belbin's team roles, which gave me amazing insights into myself, it was truly a revelation. We were also taught about learning styles - and were then asked to prepare a presentation incorporating everything we had learnt so I had to put things into practice straight away, and about a topic I really cared about a lot. The whole style of the course was incredibly dynamic, and there were lots and lots of things to do and find out. It was one of the best training course I've ever been on, the trainer was amazing and when I spoke with him afterwards I realised that he had the same background and characteristics as me: he had trained as an actor, he was an activist type of learner and his dominant Belbin team role was exactly the same as mine. It really demonstrated to me (very practically!!) how personal a learning style is - and I felt I had really learnt about my own in those two days.

Gabrielle

“In 10 years time, only 3 of you will still working in the business.”

Those words were the first thing that I can remember my film production teacher saying to our class in year one of university. I remember very clearly thinking why are you saying this to us, and worst still why are you enjoying saying this to us? My fears for the class proved to be well-founded.

At best, our weekly classes were a source of constant amusement for all the wrong reasons. At worst they were a complete waste of time largely consisting of endless war stories from our lecturer’s experience in the business. Assignments were dished out without thought or design and our production projects literally consisted of go make me a documentary or make me a short narrative film. My heart would sink, having no idea were to begin. Without stimulus or structure I waited for inspiration to descend on me from the heavens.

Critiques were a chance for him to impart his wisdom from up high and would literally turn into a game of spot the flash frame in the edit. With hindsight and experience I now realize just how little I was taught during those years.

Fortunately, my next experience after leaving university proved to be one of the most inspiring and creative periods of my life. I enrolled in a 1 year postgraduate course in physical theatre. Immediately I knew that I had made the right decision. The course was divided into units, which carefully built on the work of the previous term. Each day we developed our performing skills through a series of carefully chosen exercises and were slowly discovering different styles and forms of theatre. Before I knew it, we went from performing short improvisations in front of the rest of the class to writing and devising our own plays. Our teacher was a master and we knew it. We all instinctively knew the value of what we were being taught. He had passion, integrity and communicated his excitement and love of theatre.

Thank you Ron for all those seeds that you planted long ago.

Justin 

My Experiences in Education

Let's start with the bad one first... His name was Mr Mac. (an abbreviation in order to maintain confidentiality.) He was old, surly, tall and 'old school'. He was my math's teacher. He would greet us by saying, "good morning boys, good morning wenches. Stand in line. Boys go in first." The boys always went in first. On one particular day after settling ourselves at our desks, he stood at the board and ranted at us. He rarely asked questions, or built a sense of rapport with the class, he just stood at the board, wrote lots of diagrams and then sat at his desk and told us to get on with it. So on this particular day, whatever he had been ranting about at the front I, on probably that one occasion and one occasion only, got it! But John sitting next to me didn't. And I took great delight in sharing with John the methodology so that he too could gleam a sense of satisfaction and say, "I've cracked it". I was loudly interrupted. "Wench, why are you talking?" "I"m just explaining to John how to do it, Sir." Then there was a loud and putrid roar of laughter from the front of the room. "Ha" he said. "The blind leading the blind." And that was it, silence fell upon the room and from that day on I didn't attempt to understand what went on in maths lessons because I thought I was stupid.

Now for the good one... My task to complete before the next session was to treat my students as a gift. I led a two day speech radio programme at the Roundhouse last weekend and what I presenced for the very first time in six years of teaching, was to treat my students as a gift. And so that I did. We greeted one another, we took time to get to know one another. I asked them all to prepare a short excerpt of their work to share with the group, to sit and listen to one another and create an open space where we could all contribute to one another. I shared a piece of my own work too. We worked as a team. We worked in partners. We set tasks and agendas. We asked them what they wanted to experience over the two days and subsequently re-drafted the outline for the course. We missed bits out, added bits in, flew by the seat of our pants. I worked with one of my past students, she was there to assist and I put her in the front seat from time to time and revelled in her taking the lead. She has grown enormously since we last met. On the second day, they were set a big challenge. It took a long time for them to find the best way to overcome this challenge, it had many twists and turns. We sat and observed and directed and input when we felt it was needed and let them go slightly astray too, only to see them find their way back. They were a brilliant team. In the partnerships or trios they then split into, more challenges arose. Mostly they lacked confidence, or were finding it difficult to execute their ideas because they didn't know pro tools very well so it limited their experience and ultimate output. They made LOADS of mistakes and with each one they learnt something really valuable. We celebrated them. At the end of the day we sat and listened through to their features and it was quite remarkable what they had produced. We were entertained, we evaluated and at the very very end, one of them said to me "that was the best four quid I ever spent." I left knowing I had been truly blessed by each and every one of them. They are a gift to me. And I to them.

Sue Bowerman

Anna's Experience

Positive Learning Experience.

At the age of six and a half I had a private tutor to make sure I was up to scratch for a new school. She did maths and English with me, I don't remember much about the English except I could read fluently by the time I went to School. The maths was an absolutely joy, she let me progress as fast as I liked, so as I got it more and more, we explored more and more and I got better and better. The result was when I got to school my maths was 4 years ahead of my year group, however my English was a year behind. The feeling of being able to fly with a subject and build on knowledge was great, and she never made me feel bad about my English- it was all so relaxed and non-judgemental.

Negative Learning Experience.
When I moved on to the new school, I was kept back a year because of my English- spelling in particular- and as I progressed up the school I was made to do extra spelling at the beginning of each day. This was carried out by making me go to the front of the class and write the spellings on the board in front of everyone- a humiliating and pointless exercise for a dyslexic. The consequence- despite my discovering a new proof for Pythagorus' theorem at 14- was that I went through school thinking I was lazy and stupid. My way of dealing with it at the time was to put on a brave face and say "it doesn't matter". I found my escape through art, and I still love reading.

Thanks for reading, Anna.

Good Learning and Bad Learning Experience - Stuart

When I was 16, I started my A-levels at technical college. The oppressiveness of the boys grammar school I had attended until I was 15 lifted and my education began. This was best illustrated when the drama teacher, who was also my English Literature teacher, took the class to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see The Royal Shakespeare’s production of King Lear. The Fool was played by Anthony Sher and King Lear by Michael Gambon, it was 1982! This is the illustration from the poster: 

I vividly remember the magic and excellence of the play, my first Shakespeare – it was entrancing!

My first piano teacher, Miss Smith was a sweet and sharp, older lady. Her teaching style, on reflection, was poor. She was a real character, though! There were often tears in the lesson and too much of the 30 minutes was taken up with local gossip. She was very sweet but when I eventually moved to a different teacher I realised how much I had been held back. My experience with Miss Smith formed part of the inspiration for my parlour musical, The Musical Medium, staged at the Landor Theatre in Clapham in 2005. Pictured below:

Good Learning vs Bad Learning

Hello People

Here are my contrasting learning experiences, both from my first course at art school, and both on the subject of 'drawing'....

Bad Learning

My course tutor's approach to teaching was usually pretty harsh....

I knew at the time that he was trying to motivate us all to improve our drawing skills, as an essential part of becoming competent artists/designers. But his methods were hard to fathom, and he seemed intent on permanently confronting each of us with his own brand of devastatingly brutal honesty, and very little positive encouragement.

Each week we were set drawing assignments for the weekend and our work was scrutinised at the start of the next week. These 'crit' sessions were usually done in public, for the supposed benefit of the whole course group, around 15 students. More often than not they were excruciating for us all, the tutor's comments were usually highly critical, and underlined by sarcastic remarks.

As an example, during one of these sessions he was checking over my weekend's work on drawing 'negative spaces'. I had produced an accurate and detailed architectural study of the underside a 1960's concrete civic building, having spent a whole day sitting outside drawing in mid winter. My course tutor decided the best way to illustrate the point he was making was to take a fat black marker pen and quickly scribble all over my drawing, 'colouring in' the shapes.....

At the time I was devastated by the cruelty of this act, performed in front of my horrified fellow students. I felt humiliated, deeply depressed, and severely demotivated afterwards. Sadly these kind of feedback sessions were quite typical. In time however, we simply got used to his abrasive teaching style and the majority of us managed to learn some valuable lessons and successfully progress on to degree courses.

The advice that he was attempting to give was generally useful and valid, but the way in which it was delivered often cancelled any sense of benefit.


Good learning


As part of our 2 year course we also had regular drawing/sketching lessons with a tutor from the foundation/diploma course. For me these sessions were a sheer delight and totally inspiring.

We would troop off into town with the tutor, to an interesting location he had chosen, and then set ourselves down to draw what we saw.

As we worked he would come around the group and cheerfully talk to us each in turn, observing with interest what we were drawing, offering encouragement, positive criticism, useful tips towards improving our techniques etc etc.

He would also sit and draw something for himself, producing exquisite sketches/studies/details using nothing more than a ballpoint pen. His reasons were that he simply enjoyed it, and took every opportunity he could to practice.... his enthusiasm was contagious, inspiring, and life affirming. He was our tutor, but he was also one of us.

I cannot remember ever hearing him say a harsh word. Even when he was explaining why what you had done wasn't as good as it could be, it was always offered in a respectful and decent manner, which then inspired you to try again and want to do better.

His sessions always felt beneficial, and his advice was hugely helpful.


Summary

Both of these tutors taught me a great deal about the subject and practice of drawing, which I have continued to use ever since. A lot of the advice from my course tutor was, and still is valid, but his style of delivery made it very difficult to appreciate ... whereas the advice from my drawing tutor was enhanced by his helpful encouragement and enthusiasm ... and it's his approach to teaching that I've aimed to duplicate.


Thanks for reading it
Andrew

Good and bad experience

Hi Everyone,

Not long until we meet up again - where does the time go?

A good experience of learning for me would have to be with my GCSE Art teacher who taught me for two years. She was fantastic to give me feedback and support with my work... Before  the course not many of us knew what to expect however she was very clear with her expectations. Not only this, but she made time for every individual in that class and helped us to succeed. I was dedicated to working hard to get an A* grade at GCSE, I approached her with this goal in mind, and she identified steps to help me make this achievable. Still keep in contact with her now and she's great for advice, teaching or non-teaching :)

Unfortunately the bad learning experience I have also links to Art education, this time at College. After falling in love with the subject at secondary school and achieving my A* I was raring to go for A levels. Unfortunately the teacher  Ihad in my first year of college had a very negative attitude to work that was different or unusual. It seemed he only favoured work that was exactly how he created it, in his particular style. There was no room for creativity, and he even referred to one of my friend's pieces of work (which was beautifully detailed and had taken a great deal of time) that it looked like a chimpanzee had painted it and was worthless for her project. Speechless. Not sure there was any positive feedback in response to the bulk of what we did that year and I dropped the subject at the end of my first year, only recieving an AS level.

On the upside I went back to Art at uni and have loved it ever since ;) 

Looking forward to seeing you all on Friday,

Hayley

My experiences

My Good Learning Experience:

When I was 8, I really wanted to swim but I did not know how and there was no one to show me.  Every single time I went to the local swimming pool, I saw people of different ages swimming with no problem.  It looked so simple. So I tried, but at each attempt I would sink down and on the way drank gallons of water through my mouth, my nose, but I kept on trying. Then I figured that if I kept moving my legs about, I’d float. And I did!  I was so proud, but the only problem was that I never moved forward. If anything, I seemed to go backward.  It was frustrating.

One summer, my uncle and my aunt took me with them on holiday to the coast. Wow! Sea? I was so excited.  There I tried. I floated and drank so much sea water that my nose, my throat, my eyes were so painful.  My uncle felt so sorry for me that he decided to show me how to swim. He grabbed the strap of my swimming costume, lifted me up in the air and “now”, he said, “stretch your arms and your legs forward and draw an ‘O’, bring them back together and draw an ‘O’. Head’s up, chin up!” he shouted, “And keep looking in front of you.  You’re doing very well!  Well done!”

Floating up in the air I followed his instructions, and after a while he slowly put me back in the water while still holding onto my swimming strap. He walked with me while I kept on drawing my ‘Os’ in the water and then bit by bit he let go of me. I swam! I moved forward!  That summer my uncle taught all the kids how to swim and the funny thing was he did not know how to swim!

My Not So Good One:  

My deacon uncle and aunt went to the movies with their children and left my sister and me at home cooking dinner for them. I felt it was so unjust that I decided to sabotage the rice by keeping on adding water in the saucepan so that instead of having light and fluffy rice, they got sticky and porridge-like rice (sacrilege!).  When they got back, my uncle and aunt were so angry that they made me eat the entire pot of rice (for 12 people!) And they watched me eat it! I was 9!

Tetelle

Fiona's learning experiences

Well, firstly just to update on my current learning experience, I have made my first powerpoint without any assistance! Sam very kindly filmed me on Monday presenting it but as we only have a flip camera with automatic settings quite often you can see and hear me and not see the powerpoint or vice versa, so my next task after writing this is to figure out how to post up both for your feedback.

Best Learning Experience

My best learning experience was with my English lecturer at University. We studied modernism/20th century literature with him from Synge through to Eliot, Joyce and Woolf. He founded a creative writing course and we were his first students.

I can not remember for sure whether it was a literature lesson or a creative writing class, but my most powerful memory of him is when he said in one of these sessions ' I DON'T KNOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK?' It still feels like the most exciting thing anyone has ever said to me.
I felt it gave me permission to have an opinion and that he would consider that opinion or interpretation to be equal to his own. It seemed to be saying I could discover for myself and share that discovery out loud in his class.

That was well over 20 years ago. We are still in touch. I met him for breakfast last month. In his company, I still believe I can do anything.

Worst Learning Experience

My worst learning experience was while I was training to be a theatre designer. A company asked to work with us ( 9 students) on a complex film project they wanted to realise. I knew nothing about the film-making or editing process. We were not shown anything and no part of the process was clearly explained - there was an assumption of knowledge. We worked to points of exhaustion, crewing each others chapter of the film as well as creating our own section yet whatever we did never seemed to be enough. They were always very emotional in expressing how dissappointing we were and how much we were letting them down personally at every turn, a kind of emotional blackmail to finish the project no matter what.

I believe the film won a student prize at the Quadrennial but there was no money to fund any of us to go.

It was a manipulative and exploitative learning experience - maybe this is where my fear of technology started!

Any blogged or emailed step by step instructions on how to post up the powerpoint and the video gratefully received.

Look forward to seeing you on Friday,

Fiona

Good and Bad Learning Experience

I am officially a blogger now.
Hi everyone, hope you are all well.
This is my company's website http://www.c-12dancetheatre.com/. All my works, show reels, pictures, biog, and anything else about our services are all there. And if you would like to read reviews of my performances, google my name Nasae Evanson and it will all come up.

A bad learning experience I had was in my first year at University. In the first vocal session; we had to sing to the class individually. While singing, the tutor gauged our tone and gave feedback. After courageously overcoming the obstacle course of singing to the class, my tutor said to me, ‘If I heard you singing in a show, I would get up and walk out’. There was no advice or support, just a straight face.

A good experience was when I started training at college. I had never taken a contemporary class until my audition and at the end of it; the dance head came to me and told me I was accepted on the course because I had good performance and movement quality. She said I had potential of becoming a great performer with dedication and hard work.     

NAS

Amanda's good and bad experiences of learning and that photo...

I came from a background where my mother and grandmother ( a court dressmaker) taught me to sew and I then went to college to study costume making. I followed their technical advice on the recognised correct way of doing things to the letter.

I was lucky enough to work with a costumier called Phil Reynolds straight after leaving college. Phil is dyslexic and self-taught and often approached things from a different angle. He was constantly on the look out for ways to do something more efficiently and better. For instance we only used pins when absolutely necessary, glue if it speeded a process and even once used a drill to ‘spin’ a tail for Lion King. He taught me the importance of being imaginative, that there is no right way to make something.

My French teacher was sadly unable to drum much of the language into me. Maybe it was the classroom environment, lack of the excitement of a native French accent or I just don’t have a natural aptitude for language. It is a sadness that I cannot speak with anything like the fluency or understanding I would like.

Anyway, here is the missing photo from my presentation

I look forward to seeing you all on Friday.

Amanda

Right last try!
been posting for about 30 minutes and nothing seems to be going anywhere!  I really should have tried this when I wasn't feeling quite so tired.
Wow, where has the time gone?  Am really looking forward to the next two planned days as I came away from the introductory days feeling so inspired by everyone I'd met and all that we'd done.  However now it is almost upon us and I am in a panic about all that I haven't yet done.  Haven't even looked up the recipe for picalili that i'd intended to make for richard.

Anyway learning experiences...

I've been conscious lately about  a bitterness I feel towards my seconday art teacher.  I wasn't particularly gifted at art but feel at the same time, not completely without talent.  I think I was someone who was a borderline case who with the right amount, or some encouragement could have achieved something in that subject.  I also was so self conscious about everything I did so would neve have pushed myself forward to offer soemthing I had created.  He was a teacher who only acknowledged those children with obvious talent.  Our art lessons involved him painting a picture at the front of the class while we copied from behind.  I don't remember any feedback, recognition or guidance. He was completely absorbed in his own 'talent'.  In fact I remeber that the corridors of our school were lined with his creations. 
I feel let down by him.  I suppose it was a time when teachers were not expected to be accountable for their students and as a result did not need to invest in them.  Shame on you Mr C.

In the same school at the same time  I met Mr H.  He was a sociology teacher who only taught pupils from 3rd year onwards once they had chosen their options.  Before that he was a quite scary teacher only seen in assemblies.  . His style was refreshingly new at the time I think.  He woud begin in quite a formal stern way, then once the formaliites were over we would all have to take our chairs to the front and seat ourselves around his desk.  From there he would introduce a subject that would form the body of our lesson.  He would encourage discussion and debate littered with amusing anecdotes and involvement. There would be no writing or note taking.   At the end of the lesson homework would be set and we would be keen to go away and produce it.   He alwasy managed to grab your interest and make each subject relevent.   It was an effective way of teaching quite foreign to the preferred chalk and talk methods of his colleagues.  Now it may not seem a significant experience but at the time I remember being blown away by his style.  He has only just retired from his post at that same school.  I am grateful to him for the interest and attention he offered me it was a much appreciated in an otherwise bleak time.


Right.  Let's hope this posts.

see you all Friday
Harli

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well and looking forward to meeting again this week.  Right, here goes with good and bad learning experiences...

I have been fortunate to have had many good teachers but my year 6 teacher always springs to mind as being the best.  He was firm but fair, approachable and always clear in his expectations.  I clearly remember the practical aspects of his lessons (building fairground rides and spaghetti bridges to name a few) and I was never bored in his class.  He always provided feedback in a positive manner and valued the work I produced, because of this I wanted to do the best that I could. 

My bad learning experience was courtesy of my tutor while trying to complete a foundation degree in art. This tutor never seemed to have any time to spend with me and would ask me to go in on days off only to ignore the fact I was in the building and then criticise me for not putting in the hours on a following session.  I felt 'a bit lost' in her charge and was never clear about her expectations.  Her feedback swayed between  negative and non-existent.  Eventually I had enough and walked out, never to return.  It was then that I decided to complete teacher training instead.

See you all on Friday,
Jodie

Good and bad learning and a nice video!

Here are my examples of good and bad learning experiences, both are from my Masters in scriptwriting. One from a truly inspirational tutor and one from someone who (shall we just say) wasn't.

 

Good teacher:

 

This really inspirational tutor had a solid theoretical background - knew what he was talking about and very knowledgeable about the subject - though not condescending and always willing to suggest further areas to research.

• He encouraged the class research topics on their own and present this research to the others in the class.
• He marked our homework and got it back on time - when he said he would.
• He was always on time and friendly.
• He challenged us and got the best out of us.
• Though he wrote plays himself he was never a know-it-all and he was able to transfer his wide knowledge of drama to the students.
• We all looked forwards to our classes with this tutor, and lots of us are still in touch with him.

What was key about him was: He made learning fun; Was totally knowledgeable about his subject; The key point I think was able to transfer that knowledge, so we felt we had learned something; And he was a really nice guy.

In contrast,
Bad teacher:
This tutor had it all going for her on paper. She had written a really fine play, had taught writing in schools and prison - but she had no idea how to share her knowledge with us and often didn't bother.

• She let her personal life drive her lessons. If she'd had a bad day, we'd all know about it.
• She seemed to be an instinctive writer, who had no technical or theoretical knowledge of writing, so wasn't able to teach us these things.
• She would not read half of the class' assigments each week, so that you only got feedback on your writing every second week. She gave the impression she was too busy.
• She was moody and unapproachable - if your writing did not strike a chord with her she would heavily criticise it, making several of the class cry (and this is adults).
• She did exactly the same thing each lesson. We were bored of it and she obviously was.    
• She did not display a deep knowledge of writing or reading.

What was key about her: She made the atmosphere so unpleasant we dreaded going to her lessons; She didn't know any theory so wasn't able to actually teach us about the subject; She didn't bother reading half of our assignments each week, so why bother doing them?; She allowed her personal life to leech into the classroom. We all thought she was very unprofessional.

 

Video

And on a lighter note - if you want to see my poetry intervention around Medway, 'Poetrymon' - click here!

 

(Sam)

Making Music Theatre

Feedback

I have had a similar learning experience on several occasions, each time the feedback I received determined the outcome... ranging from ecstatically positive to depressingly negative.

Each time, I have been asked to do something alien to me, taking me out of my comfort zone completely.
Each time, I have asked for clarification on the instructions so that I could give it my best shot (but still not really knowing what I was doing or how I was going to accomplish the task!)

Example 1 (depressingly negative):
My work was 'rubbished' and instantly dismissed... into the bin!
My reaction was to blame the instructor for poor teaching and I lost respect for him completely. I have never once looked back to the work I did with this person as it had lost all value.
This experience has taught me NEVER to be so negative when giving feedback.

Example 2 (ecstatically positive):
The instructor gave positive comments about my work and praised these. He also gave comments about how I might improve on my work the next time. He gave his time and attention to my work making it have value.
My reation was to listen him and trust him. This gave me confidence to try out his new suggestions and have further success in my work. I have much respect for this instructor and often use his teaching in my work. If ever I am stuck for an idea, I look back over the work I did with him to try to find a solution.
This experience has taught me that it is important to find and appreciate something good in a persons work before offering ways to improve, so that they have the confidence to continue in their learning.

Example 3:
The instructor gave no feedback at all. Has never looked at the work I have produced following his teaching.
My reaction to this is to compare my work to his teaching and then go around in circles deciding if it is worthy of his praise or not - of course I never know the answer and this leaves me still searching for approval!
This experience has taught me that it is important to give some kind of feedback so that the person can think about what they have been told and move on to the next step of learning.

Caron

Laura Calling

Hi another virgin blogger- is anyone out there? Or more importantly where will this end up?
Any way hello. I really enjoyed our first two days together. It was the end of a very emotional week for me (funeral of father)and to be truthful Thursday morning before I left home I just wanted to hibernate somewhere, but being in the company of such lovely people really was just what I needed. Thank you all.
Ok so good learning experience - I had two amazing teachers at secondary school Mr Kneller (looked like Mel Smith from Not the Nine oclock news, but add a glass eye and short brown perm hair) and Ms. Holden (long flowing pink sometimes red hair). Mr Kneller gave me a love of history from storming the bastille to the dung heaps of  industrial Manchester. Ms. Holden although English teacher taught us feminism and opened our eyes (very Dead Poet Society stuff).
Worse experience Maths Teacher for 4 years Mrs R (she had tights with seams going up the back of her legs) if you didn't understand she would throw a book at you, give withering look, then shout!!!!
Ok that's it folks
fondest thoughts, Laura

Hi everyone

I have never blogged before so like Fiona I also apologise if it ends up in a strange place..

We have been asked to share a bad experience of learning, and a good one. Well if I am honest my Secondary Modern Education was, if I was to say something kind. It would be in one word ''Dreadful''! The School was on its last legs with giant cracks running up its walls, and occasionally class room ceilings would fall in.

It felt like the whole School was there because they were not good enough to get into the Grammar School up the road. I was  trapped in the next to bottom set with all the rough kids, and I am being very kind in my choice of Language at this point.

The Maths lesson consisted of for Two years of the Teacher as lovely as he was coming in drawing a Triangle on the Black board .Then sitting and reading the Independent for the next hour or so whilst chaos rained down.

Geography was worse a whole afternoon where Mr Ward would just stay in the Staff room Smoking Benson & Hedges. It got so bad I just walked out one day and never went  back. I just used to go to Liverpool central Library to work on My History course work. 

Which was the only subject I go an A in.

I could go on and on, but at the same time it was different time .The mid Eighties. So many Factory's and Ship yards had closed down. 80% of the School was on Free Lunches, and its such a turbulent time in every young persons life in terms of life experiences and changing hormones.

 I enjoyed the Chicken Pie and Chips  at Lunch times though . So it wasn't all bad.

Now for a good experience

 Miss Evens my Third year Infant School Teacher. The kindest woman you could have met. An old feminist who would sit us on the Matt and tell us stores about Heroic Woman, Amy Johnson, Emilia earheart .Grace Darling, Florence Nightingale and on and on.

 The Men came off worse stories of failed Heroes like Scott of the Antarctic . She was kind and gentle. Treated all her Charges with respect and like Human beings. I will always remember that.

 She always had us doing Plays in the Hall. With Costumes and Props .We did Three.  Joseph, Hiawatha  and  Robin Hood all in the spate of a year.

I have never been Academic, but was the one in the Class that could sort of draw and paint. she activaly encouraged that side of me , and 35 years later I am still doing the things she helped me develop. Painting Stage sets and Propping them amongst the other things in my life..

 Thanks Miss
Richard

Finding my way

Hello everyone,

This is my first attempt to post - unaided, so please forgive me if it ends up in a strange place.

Our first two days together made me return to my own world refreshed, excited, envigorated and lighter.

For the last project that I lead, which involved communicating across continents and time zones, I learned to use Facebook, Skype and the very strange out of body experience that is livestreaming for the first time.

As promised, I have started making my first unaided powerpoint and all being well Sam is going to help me to video my presentation on Monday and post it up for your feedback!

Look forward to having a dialogue with you via this other new medium.

Fiona

Welcome!

Welcome all to the Creative Connections blogging site!

Please use this site to post information for each other as well as any homework activity.

I look forward to seeing you all check in.

Jo