I have decided to change direction with my ARP focus.
My new focus question
How can we turn FCP Industry Talks from a passive ‘lecture’ experience, into an ‘active’ one which fosters student participation and opens up a dialogical space?
This idea had been in the background, and is an extension of the work done for my intervention.
To contextualise, forging connections to industry is key to Stage 2, and programming industry talks is part of my teaching role, as we move into Unit 7. Unit 8 runs alongside, which focuses on Professional Development and includes a speaker programme. However, this Unit covers all Fashion Pathways. Last year, Fashion Communication students identified the need for more FCP specific practitioners, and within the team we have discussed how we can address this in Unit 7.
These are the key areas I plan to focus on:
- How can we better understand what FCP students want and need from Industry Talks?
- How can blended learning tools enhance student participation, to create a more dialogical space?
- How will changing the classroom architecture affect participation?
- Is it possible to give students more of a stake in Industry Talks, by involving them in production/curation within FC?
- How might this, in turn, develop their cultural capital? Particularly for students from backgrounds who may lack confidence with regards to industry networking.
I will be refocussing my reading around both Research Methods and Themes. New reading areas include:
- Dialogical Spaces
- Classroom formations
- Student centred talks / Active Lectures
- Multi-Modal learning tools for dialogical classroom spaces
- Cultural Capital – This is a key Social Justice angle