Activity
Design and planning of learning activities and/or programmes of study
I have given myself a 1 because I have thought carefully about design and planning learning activities, teaching and supporting students learning. I have planned and delivered learning activities regularly on the foundation course at Wimbledon School of art over the past 6 years, in gallery education contexts and at the British Library over the past 8 years. The first part of a workshop plan for my project Street Training with Tate Forum 13-25 yr olds at Tate Britain follows
∑ Introduce the Tate Britain Street Training project
∑ Start team building
∑ Begin list of codes for safety and joy in the streets.
∑
I carried out this plan on Monday night.

Teaching and/or supporting student learning.
I have given myself a 1 for this too I have been engaged in thinking deeply about this over the last 8 years. Along with a small group of my peers I initiated the University of Openness, a self-institution intended to make use of early Wiki software and socialise research. I have been teaching at Wimbledon on the Foundation course teaching students how to develop a sustained personal and productive art practice by means of teaching them about art movements and contexts, approaches to materials and the variety of terms upon which art can be made. I have also supported students in their learning by teaching them research skills, giving them tools for organising their time and sharing their skills and knowledge with their peers. I have also taught at the British Library and to evidence this I will describe the project I co-designed and delivered Young Explorers at the British Library. Rebecca Sinker and Lottie Child worked together with the Head of Art, Hamish Young. A group of ten Year 8 pupils were selected through the school's Gifted and Talented scheme.

The project's focus on creative research skills was further developed through discussions with the school librarian. We were particularly keen that they develop sourcing and referencing skills. Rather than being given a specific fact or idea to research, pairs of pupils were given the same image (from the British Library Images Online catalogue) as their starting point. Each pair created a uniquely divergent trail of connections and ideas.


Assessment and giving feedback to learners

At Wimbledon I assess students periodically throughout the course and take part in their final assessment. I do this by looking at their work and measuring it in relation to a series of criteria such as their ability to research extensively, work imaginatively with a variety of source materials and then to effectively synthesise ideas and approaches. I mark them higher if they have been able to progress their work to a more sophisticated level. I aim to understand the student’s work in the terms on which they made it as well as in relation to external criteria.

Developing effective environments and student support and guidance
I think carefully about organising the studios at Wimbledon so that the students can move freely, concentrate on their own study and work and at the same time engage in the community of the studio. I support them all the way through the course in terms of methodologies, approaches, materials, research material and pastorally.


Learning outcomes
Critically analyse and evaluate your own practice inn relation to contemporary pedagogical theory.
I applied for a fellowship at the British Library and as a result became familiar with constructivist learning theory. I researched multiple learning styles and learning schemas and delivered a series of workshops at the Chisenhale gallery which aimed at stimulating and keying into each child’s unique combination of learning styles in order to introduce them to looking at learning about and making art. The project was called free flow play. Because I chose the use teaching and learning as a fundamental element of my art practice I continually analyse and evaluate it and work my insights into the following artwork. most of which are participatory. I apply these methodologies and what I learn from using them in my art practice to my work at Wimbledon. Researched learning styles and identified kinaesthetic as the most relevant to my field of study, sought out a teacher and learnt with him then disseminated his knowledge in a video, repeated in Berlin.


Tina Bruce, expert in early childhood development asserts that play involves developing associative and co-operative social behaviour. When children are engaged in this kind of play a great deal of negotiation and experimentation takes place. This kind of play is self-motivated and it takes courage because no one knows how the play will turn out. I wish to use the play sessions to learn from children who are well practised at this kind of social construction of meaningful situations and integrate what I learn into my own collaborative practice and self motivated learning.

Learning along side children and identifying disciplines in which I wish to learn but have no skill, is a form of research into informal constructivist methods of learning, which acknowledges that all people in learning situations have something to offer.

Apply theoretical principles to the development of course design, project planning and assessment
In 2002 Along with a small group I co-founded the university of openness and used it as a way to think about teaching and learning. I read moderately around the hidden curriculum in higher education, read Ivan Illich’s book Deschooling society and engaged in research of our sister institutions – other art groups in Europe using education as a starting point for collective meaning making and practice. At the UO the faculty of physical education was started and I located my work there by starting climbing club a regular meeting of people on Sundays to climb on the buildings of the city of London. I did this as a way to locate learning primarily in physical and spatial dimensions. I apply what I learnt about Learning Schemas from Cathy Nutbrown Author of numerous books on early years education. The concept of schemas, which Cathy Nutbrown describes in her book “Threads of Thinking” as patterns of learning and thinking. This gives me a good insight into how students approach learning differently and advising them to build on their learning schema i.e. many people are deeply involved with the concept of containment so containing objects within objects, people within installations or one idea within another will be easier and more effective for that person and result in them having a deeper understanding of the ideas they are working with. One of the ways we make sense of the world is with our bodies in space, (kinaesthetic intelligence) I engaged in experiential research with a group of primary aged children in order to think about where in the world we find circles after `I had initiated the idea the children began to move in circles, do forward rolls, sing row the boat and move like trains in order to experience and demonstrate understanding of the concept of circles and round and round.
The above 2 as a means of creating a balanced view of educational approaches that consider the whole person, integrating the intellectual with the physical and social.

Reflect on your practice to identify scope for enhancement
In the participatory art works I make evaluation is a vital part giving me questions by which to measure the success with which I have met the aims stated at the beginning of the project. At Wimbledon reflection is a constant part of my work there as I have the luck to work very closely with the other members of staff with whom I feedback and discuss at length the approaches to teaching I use, what works and what needs improvement.