Review of the workshop including processes, outputs and outcomes:
This workshop was unusual because it was situated within an academic conference about teaching and practice, so there was much discussion about the issues prior to the workshop itself and the workshop was within the academic realm. Further to this the workshop was half the length of standard 10by10 workshop.
The workshop was mainly focused on exploring the relationships between teaching, practice and research and interestingly the participants were most interested in focusing on the practice as research and teaching relationship rather than the teaching and practice relationship. Asking participants to spatially explore ‘where they stand’ in relation to different aspects of their practice was an effective way to prompt debate, although greater exploration of the terms may have benefited the process. As usual the simple creative exercise was a good way of getting practitioners started in term of exploring the issues and relating to practice based techniques.
Facilitator
The artefacts and the process of making them appeared to be very comfortable for participants and led to interesting discussions, which could have been further developed. Some artefacts appeared to have, and sometimes to need a dialogue or narrative recounted alongside them.
Any improvements or adjustments to the technique/approach adopted in the workshop:
Greater time exploring how participants felt in their ‘locations’ and what the terms meant to them would have slowed the ‘loci’ exercise down and meant participants would have more time to consider their decisions. Adding ‘research’ to the teaching practice relationship meant that discussions became focused on the more pressing academic expectations and context rather than allowing practitioners to examine any issues arising from being both-practitioners and teachers. This may also have been due to the fact that the majority of participants were predominately teachers and that the conference context had already raised the status of the teacher-practitioner.
Facilitator
Possibly to give more time to the first section of making and exploring how the meaning was manifest in the artefacts. Putting them up on the wall was quite problematic for some and leaving them on the floor may have been better for those that depended on the floor for their structure!
Any comments on the effectiveness of the workshop in engaging teacher-practitioners with exploring the issues:
Both the physical spatial exploration and the more intuitive model making exercise were effective in allowing the issues to be raised and explored, personally and then further through group discussion. More time is needed than was available in this context to explore the issues in greater depth, but the techniques were a good way of ‘getting somewhere else’ quickly.
Facilitator
The second half of the workshop with the positioning exercise was quite effective, though did get bogged down in the meaning of research in this context. I was struck by the difference between early career teachers and those who are nearing the end of their careers and I think this was an important factor in the responses. Similarly the participants were there as part of an academic activity (a conference, albeit about practice) and that too may represent a difference in the responses.
Participant feedback
I like the creative, hands on element.
I like using other things than post-its which feel too familiar from work-shopping in general.
Interesting to take part in visual mapping ideas to think about own practice and teaching in relation to this mapping.
Thought I could have done with a little bit more time on the thinking and recording of questions given, I felt a little rushed.
The workshop was extremely useful. The 3D making of models was a lot of fun - I worry that outside influences such as current ’state of mind’ ‘personal visual language’ ‘nervousness about being at an ‘event’ may result in the abstract form only relating a certain amount of how we see the teacher-practitioner. Really enjoyed the debate after the triangulation exercise.
Innovative - refreshing. Liked the doing aspect.
I enjoyed the practical aspects of this workshop, however, felt that some of the terms needed definition as often they wouldn’t say what I wanted it to.
Loci Workshop Evaluation: Project Leader: Antonia Clews and Facilitator: Alison Shreeve
6/2009