TPP. Case Study Two. Exploration into Community and Placemaking on the MADAD course.
Introduction.
This case study will look at how Community on the MA Design for Art Direction Course (MADAD), can be further developed, specifically digitally to support the taught experience of students. Taking inspiration from the readings from the PGCert TPP unit of Lee Leewis and Stacey Leigh Ross on achieving belonging and engagement in online spaces (Leewis, L. and Ross, S. L. 2020), and looking at how this can be incorporated on the MADAD course. As part of this I will interview Yasi Tehrani Open Learning Designer who is researching for and working on UAL LCC’s new Online courses, and speak with the BA Design Management (BADM) course team, to review the progress of the case study four years later.
Context.
MADAD PTES score for Community in 22/23 was 67.4%, the joint lowest alongside Course Costs, which is in contrast to the Overall Satisfaction score of the course which is 91.3%, which is above the UAL benchmark. Community, and Course Costs [1] can both largely be affected by factors outside of the course. As part of the annual Course Enhancement Plan we have committed to improving Community. The proposals and implications have been, weekly social Screenings in a Lecture Theatre, WIPs, social events organised with other courses and wayfinding to other communities. There is the realisation these have all been analogue implementations, and it is important to invest in the digital experience for 24/25 cohorts.
PTES MADAD 22/23 Community 67.4%. (PTES, 2023).
PTES MADAD 22/23 Community Question break down. (PTES, 2023).
Enhancement Plan MADAD 23/24 Community.
MADAD Digital Delivery.
The MADAD course delivers 18.75% of it’s pedagogy digitally. The students first interaction with the course is digitally, the UAL website, then the online application and interview process, then a Padlet where they will introduce themselves to each other. Our first session, on Monday is online. How can this first impression and subsequent ones be improved.
UAL Website.
Online Application.
MADAD Welcome Padlet 23/24.
MADAD MIROboard global map.
Home Sweet Home. Placemaking and Community.
(Leewis, L. and Ross, S. L. 2020)
Place making and self-determination theory outlined by Leewis and Ross in their Home Sweet Home submission for UAL Sparks journal was an inspiring starting point to begin thinking about this, specifically using digital platforms we are interacting with on the course. Vincent Tinto influential work on retention and success suggests (Tinto, V. 1993) that students engagement with social aspects of studying and sense of community is paramount to academic success.
(Tinto, V. 1993).
Interviews.
I reached out to team members of BADM, the course in which the case study (Leewis, L. and Ross, S. L. 2020) was implemented to discuss development over the last four years. The courses delivery has shifted to 100% onsite, so the Miroboard is not currently active.
Yasi Tehran is an Open Learning Designer at UAL LCC, working on the launch of a 100% online course. Through an interview we discussed best practice of digital delivery, and the importance of community.
Interview with Yasi Tahran, Open Learning Designer at UAL LCC (Tehran, Y. 2024). (Felten, P. 2022).
Opportunity
In Unit04: Specialist Practices the class of 60 divide into four groups called Research Families [2] to work as studios for 15 weeks. We use MIROboards to establish identity, for activities and aim to develop communities. How can this be improved from the lessons learnt incorporating connection, ownership and co-creation (Leewis, L. and Ross, S. L. 2020)?
Propoisition.
Connection. Make it useful and helpful. Make it easy to use. Make it fun to use.
Ownership. Students are provided clear autonomy of the space. Students informed the use of the space should be helpful for them, if it is not, then don’t use it.
Co-creation. Co-create the look and feel. Activities and tasks assigned to the MIROboard.
This will be implemented in the Summer term of 2024.
Footnotes.
[01]. Course Costs, students understand this as tuition fee costs, which is not the question. The questions is in regards to if the course directs you to invest in supplementary materials or resources, which it does not.
[02]. Bodies and Identity, More than Human, Digital Futures, and Politics and Disruption are each of the Research Family distinct areas of study and are directed by individual tutors.
Reference List.
‘PTES’ (2023). Dashboard, UAL. Available at https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=29c2e5b2-f8c5-4c3b-a5ad-5a27ad4ace4b&dashcontextid=638584675454108246 . Last Accessed 08th March 2024.
Feleten, P. and Weston, H. (2022). ‘Episode 413, How Mattering Matters with Heidi Weston and Peter Felten’ Teaching in Higher Education. Available at
https://teachinginhighered.com/podcast/how-mattering-matters/#:~:text=Belonging%20is%20tied%20to%20a,value%20and%20that%20students%20value.&text=Mattering%20is%20not%20about%20if,it%20is%20about%20being%20valued.&text=Different%20students%20trust%20faculty%20differently%20than%20others. Last Accessed 08th March 2024.
Leewis, L. and Ross, S. L. (2022). ‘Home sweet home: Achieving belonging and engagement in online learning spaces’. Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, 5(1), 71–81.
Tehrani, Y. (2024). ‘Online Learning Interview’. Conducted by Jordan Jon Hodgson (Microsoft Teams). March 2024.
Tinto, V. (1993). ‘Leaving College : Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition’. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press.