Though I feel like I’m still deep in it, I thought it might be useful to reflect on my ARP cycle as a way to conclude the blog.

The unit has been very challenging, mostly because of timing and other commitments, it’s been difficult to achieve as much as I would have liked. It took me a while to identify a field of interest that didn’t feel performative or futile (considering the timeframe).

What I found the most enriching about the course in general was the interactions that happened during the physical sessions, the conversations with colleagues who I would otherwise never have met, who teach across different colleges, course, levels, and subjects. I found the sharing of practice, knowledge, and experience in this kind of format to be so compelling, especially at a time where I was starting to feel increasingly disillusioned by UAL (a feeling I discovered I share with many colleagues). However, hearing about the moments of joy and success experienced by my peers within the walls of the institution despite our shared struggles of working within it were so inspiring and, in the end, became the starting point of my ARP. What if we did more of that? Getting together to share the positive moments; the sessions, workshops, interventions that felt worthwhile so that we can be inspired and help each other improve our own teaching practices and develop better learning environments even on a small scale. There are books and publications that share critical pedagogy methods from various teaching practitioners around the world, but UAL is its own special kind of microcosm and it comes with its own special kind of challenges so I felt that it could be worthwhile to share the various ways in which we (UAL staff) have been able to push beyond the challenges of this flawed space we inhabit, and do so beyond the program meetings and away days (which I feel sometimes lack the freedom some of the PgCert sessions enabled). If those stories are amplified, maybe then we can collectively make a tangible difference?

The other most worthwhile aspect of the ARP for me was the introduction to feminist approaches to research and citation techniques (I’ve written about this here and here). Even though I have been deeply interested in feminist approaches to design, I had never encountered these themes in the world of academic research. I found it so fascinating and exploring and experimenting with different ways of collecting and presenting data has been such a fun and exciting process for me. I don’t know if I’ve succeeded in achieving my goals, but the process has been so rewarding. Narrative has always been the central focus of my design practice, considering how research can lead to the discovery of important story threads that can be woven through every element of a project – from material choices to typography to tools used all the way through to production. However, writing has always been difficult for me so I’ve always shied away from it as a discipline, but I was so compelled by the discovery of fiction semi-fiction as a way to present academic research that I really wanted to experiment with this technique. I felt that this was most in line with my personal practice as a designer, my nascent interest in feminist research methods, and the focus of my research within this unit. And so, experiment I did; within some of my blog posts (here, here and here) but also for my final presentation. Again, whether this was done successfully remains to be seen, but I found the process so rewarding that it does feel worthwhile to me.  

In hindsight there are inevitably a few things that I would do differently. I think the way I structured my interviews could have been more pertinent. I wanted to create an informal environment that would mimic casual conversations between colleagues, but I don’t think I succeeded in doing this. Possibly organising conversations outside of UAL, over a coffee, some food, or during a walk could have helped this. Another solution could have been to have these conversations over multiple meetings, so they didn’t feel so contrived. I also struggled to properly account for overheard or recollected phrases, partly because I wasn’t sure what the best way to do this was. I ended up just taking notes and using some of this as data, but I would have liked to develop a more intentional approach to this. Lastly of course, I wish I had been able to speak to more people, though arguably, this might not have fit inside my presentation anyway (I talk more in depth about data collection, analysis and forming narratives here).

On the topic of presentations, I am actually very happy with it (a rare thing). I’m aware that it’s quite unusual in its format and I am not certain if my response to the learning outcomes will be obvious through the performance (I’m relying on my blog to make up for that). However, I had a lot of fun with it, and it feels meaningful to me and my teaching practice so maybe that’s already a win? I’d like to also point out that this is not what I would imagine a final ‘action’ to be within the ARP cycle. This is just the best way I have found to present the data at the stage that I am at now. Ultimately, I imagine a more appropriate output would be the development of a platform (physical or digital) where staff (and students?) can share and engage in each other’s practices. A lot more research, development, testing and reflection would need to happen before I could make a final call on this though.