Record of Observation 3

Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: Individual tutorials

Size of student group: 10-12 students (split with other tutors)

Observer: Victor Guillen        

Observee: Fernanda Palmieri

• What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?

• How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?

• What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?

1. Course started in October with site visits and student presentations on their first impressions of the site (personal take)
2. Then we meet the external partners in a learning forum (live project), promoted discussions and exchanges (existing conditions/problems and conflicting desires for the area)
3. Students then worked in groups to develop their research and a collective sensibility to the area and local communities.
4. They used ‘situated actions’ as a tool of engagement and investigation (still working in groups) and devised urban strategies for the site.
5. Each student then proposed a meanwhile intervention as a response to the group work and personal take/interest which informed their design brief for the final project.

By now, students should know:

• Content of the session:

Structure of this session: 30 minutes tutorials to provide verbal feedback on their design development and design thesis (story of their projects) prior to the submission.

• What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?

Students are not expected to have a final building design at this stage. They are working on defining and communicating their design intentions. Students will bring their work in different formats: digital and physical, including sketches, annotation, models, and prints.

• Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?

Students were supposed to work independently before and after the Christmas break to push the development of their design project. If students didn’t produce work independently and are falling behind at this stage, a ‘catching up plan’ will have to be devised during this session.

• How will students be informed of the observation/review?

I will issue a tutorial list on Thursday, students attending the time slots under observation will be informed and consulted in the morning, prior to the event.

• How will feedback be exchanged?

I am happy to receive written feedback via email/form

Hi Fernanda   

Thank you for inviting me to observe your 1:1 tutorials with a focus on providing feedback on students’ individual design portfolios and reflective journals. You didn’t mention a particular area you’d like me to focus on, so I’ve commented on general aspects of the session.

Interaction and engagement with students

Your friendly, approachable and focused manner fostered a lot of interaction with students. You encouraged agency by letting them lead the tutorial while also prompting reflection and seeking clarification as needed (e.g. did you go there? how is your arch going to do that, how do you create that experience? Students had a clear idea of the structure of the tutorial, from the running order to aspects to be discussed. You listened attentively and signalled this through backchannelling (e.g. verbal and non-verbal clues like ‘I see’, ‘yeah’, uh-huh’, nodding, pointing to areas of the design students were talking about).

Task focus

You distinguish between advice and requirements (e.g. I’m not suggesting you do this, but remember that you need to demonstrate …), provide practical examples while also offering strategies to address the task (e.g. Because this is south-facing you could…// Think about how flexible the space need to be, perhaps draw a timeline of all the activities to help you visualise it.// Enough research for now, you need to work on the design, all the research will come to you when you work on the design// You need to work back to front, so…).

Feedback giving and use of language

You highlight what students have done well and why (e.g. this is great because…) while also reminding them of the task requirements and suggesting ways to improve their work (e.g. They’re beautiful drawings but they need to be more spatial, more architectural, the brief is about…// This is really good, now you need to…)

I also liked how you used metaphor, demonstrations and examples to help students visualise the process and the requirements (e.g. It’s like a spiral, you do this, then check, and do it again?// Demonstrating use of scale bar and asking questions like Do you know how big it is? How would people experience height in this space?

You effectively use a range of directive, interrogative and hedged language for different purposes (e.g. you do need to …// you’ve got to translate that into your design, it cannot stay in your head// Could you add something here, like a fireplace? Maybe you could..// I’d look at…// This is very interesting, but I don’t think it’s a good example of…, you would need to…”

A final thought

Your approach to 1:1 tutorials encourages autonomy and critical thinking, through clarifying requirements, constructive critique, practical advice and use of supportive language. Since a lot of useful information is generated, I wonder how you gauge the extent to which some of this has been understood/processed. It may be a good idea to ask students to take notes or to recap the key take away/action points from the tutorial at the end, so that you’ve got an opportunity to check/correct/consolidate understanding.

Victor’s final thought/question is one that I constantly reflect upon when students come back the following week and I realised their new work or design decisions were not informed by our previous conversation. Stopping to recap and take notes of the takeaway/action points is indeed something I must do more consistently. Also, ask them to bring the notes and drawings from the previous session with a quick reflection to identify if and how the work is aligned or not aligned with the previous conversation/feedback. A lot happens in a week in terms of learning/exposure to other modules, tutors, lectures, … and it’s difficult even for the students themselves to pin down what is informing/influencing the work and how. I think this approach could help them develop this awareness and analytical thinking.