Classroom shift to process, not result. A partner to the previous “Deadline” post.
So much of my own education involved projects with a looming deadline...all this work toward a shiny result- a theoretical project for a portfolio with pristine swatches, neat labels....did I pick the perfect watercolor paper (which is right up there with many dollars wasted on identifying the perfect resume paper)? This was my grad school experience in the '90s, and while I loved my design teacher in undergrad, he was very much replicating the model he learned in grad school (which was where I went to grad school and so the cycle continued...until I thought about how to disrupt it). All research happened at the NYPL Picture Collection or wandering the collection at the Met and taking grainy photos, or buying a postcard in the gift shop. But how was the actual work? How were the ideas? The process to get there? While in grad school, I commuted on the A train from Brooklyn to NYU, and after reading whatever the next play assignment was, I would purposefully “simmer” while on the train each day, leading to a weekend of madly drawing and swatching. I cannot think of a time when we actually talked about the plays in any depth, bounced ideas around, and in a classroom setting of other designers, played director for each other. Theatre designers don’t work in a vacuum; we are collaborators and what I remember about those paper-projects then was that there was only one other opinion- the teacher’s. My colleague, Sarah Oliver, taught me a great classroom mid-process framing device- a very quick round from everyone in the room of, “Here’s a consideration...and here’s something I love.” A consideration isn’t a critique; it’s a fresh thought, a new lens...literally just something to think about...to consider...to reflect upon at the time when it is the most helpful- in the middle of the process. I can only speak to my experience as an undergraduate educator. During this year of “the great pause,” which coincided with my first time teaching Advanced Design, in order to understand why ideas are landing where they land, I need to better understand the students’ processes. Why something changes is a much more interesting conversation and helps foster an understanding about how someone works as a collaborator. I want to harness the robust conversations of a breakout room when we are back in the classroom. Good change during the process can indicate flexibility and collaboration. Of course, it’s easy for that to tip into the realm of indecisiveness and even a lack of accountability for one’s choices. Spinning off of my earlier post, this coming year I’ll try internal process-driven due dates that encourage reflection. In Design Rendering, a course taken fall term 1st year, students keep a weekly sketchbook (three 10 minute entries per week). Every other week, one of those entries is a short written reflection. I have learned my feedback to them is so much deeper if I can respond to how they are feeling about their work instead of me just “harassing” them about something they are already often aware of. Better yet, if they have a misplaced concern or self criticism, I can make a course correction, allay fears, or redirect their energy. For non-design classes (most recently, Puppetry and Costume Crafts), I’ve been requiring process documentation as part of the project. I’m trying to convey that time is not “wasted” when it is invested in learning what not to do...learning what didn’t work has so much more long term value than having landed on a solution with the first attempt. (F.A.I.L.= First Attempt is Learning). Several years ago a student told me she got a job (designing for Hasbro toys) because she included her process documentation for making a thermoplastic mask from Crafts class, including the trial and error. In a
practical sense, students who invest time in their process documentation then have a reference to know how to do something... or not to do something in the future. I am reminded of a colleague in the Political Science Dept. who was a developer of Graftcraft- A learning management tool for gamifying a course. In his course, a student could earn badges and accrue points towards course completion and a grade. A lot of these principles are part of transparent teaching practices, but one thing he said really stood out to me- a student could earn a badge for “Courageous Failure” - A GPA saving acknowledgment of time very well spent exploring, experimenting, and ultimately discovering what didn’t work. What a valuable investment of time and of education. Lastly, four years ago I has students write reflections at the end of Puppetry class at the conclusion of a massive public facing project and was gifted with this quote, “I learned about problem solving; that trying is better than wishing we had. I learned to let other people be right...I learned how to ask for help; that not knowing something is just as valuable.”
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