Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: Design sign off year 3 Hair Make up & Prosthetics for Performance Professional 1 Unit

Size of student group: 10

Observer: Karen Matthewman

Observee: Tanya Noor

 Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.

Part One
Observee to complete in brief and send to observer prior to the observation or review:

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

It is a design sign off for year 3 Hair Make up & Prosthetics for Performance, Personal performance Project unit

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

Since September 2024 as year tutor and course leader and since September 23 as course leader

What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?

To confirm final designs for the realization process.

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

Students will present their work via power point and receive feedback from peers and teaching teams.

Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?

Unrealistic timelines and processes for realisation, lack of research and experimentation.

How will students be informed of the observation/review?

They will be told in person prior to the session

What would you particularly like feedback on?

I would like feedback on all areas

How will feedback be exchanged?

Verbal and written communication

Part Two

Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:

Thank you, Tanya, for sharing a really interesting and unusual session. I will first outline what I observed, and then include a few reflections, questions, suggestions.

I arrived to what looked like a large and airy studio space. There was a mixed group of around 10-15 people in the room. From what I could see it was a mix of students and staff, but it felt very collegiate and warm with no observable hierarchies in place. People were sitting along benches and looking forwards towards a screen. When I entered, I sat down and a student start presenting her work. It seemed like she understood the brief and had provided pictures that showed the process of how she would change between styles. She was asked very specific questions about the process and how certain looks would be achieved. These were asked by Tanya and other staff and students. The student answered clearly and was able to make some changes prompted by these questions. Tanya was leading the process, but really allowing everyone to input in a democratic manner. 

The next student came in and it was a very different experience. The student was speaking facing her slides and was speaking at a whisper so no one could hear. She was encouraged to look towards the group. She was clearly very nervous and shy of speaking in public. Her pictures were very different to the previous students. She had lots of finished costumes with no ‘process’ pictures and was not able to talk about how these would be put together, or where her other materials were. Tanya and other staff and students worked hard to help the student articulate her plans, but it was clear there was not enough to go on. Another follow up tutorial was therefore arranged with the student, so she could better explain what she was doing.

This I think shows how assessment support so often can go. We explain the brief, we set aside a lot of time and resource to support students, with multiple staff and students involved. The vast majority understand what they are supposed to do and engage with the process and yet for others there is no such engagement, meaning yet more time needs to be given to them to help them engage with the process.

I am not going to give you answers- your process seemed very supportive. I wondered if a checklist (similar to the checklist we give you) could be given in advance and sent to you before the sessions so you know the presenter has everything they need before they come in front of you. I also wondered if these students get presentation skills training. I imagine they are offered language development classes, but so many choose not to go to the session. Could that kind of session be integrated into the course? Maybe it is already?

I really liked the way everything was set up for the students and the mature and professional way the briefing was approached. It felt very authentic while also being supportive. My only wondering for the sake of you, your colleagues and the other students if there are ways to ‘catch’ these students who are not where they need to be before hey come to this point.

This was a lesson type I had never seen before and I enjoyed it immensely. It was a privilege to see your colleagues and the other students engaged in building knowledge together.

Part Three

Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:

It’s great to get such positive feedback on a session type which Karen was not familiar with.

The physical environment is a teaching resource so I was very happy to hear it was ‘warm with no observable hierarchies’. When students are presenting it is very important to create a comfortable space for them in order to build their confidence and reduce anxiety. I will try to re-create this set up in other similar teaching scenarios.

Karen’s comments regarding assessment support are completely relevant to my experiences. The majority of students understand and engage and the ones who don’t, need more time and attention. This brings up parity issues. The student in question has been offered language support but declined the sessions and all students have been given checklists. However, on reflection, checklists should be revisited more regularly. I will explore ways to integrate them into all the lessons so they become familiar documents which they can apply to all aspects of their progress. Linking the checklists to industry practice might be a useful way to give the individual tasks purpose. Reinforcing the links between the checklist and the learning outcomes may also be helpful.

 All students get presentation and confidence building sessions. However, the live presentation style is a new addition and the confidence and presentation skills session comes later, in the next unit. Moving forward these sessions need to come earlier in the academic journey and embedding them from year 1 would be most beneficial for the students.

Integrating language support into the lessons is a great suggestion, maybe this could also be during briefings and formative assessments and could include the use of technology and digital/AI resources. I am also exploring the option of having a ‘study buddy’ who speaks the same first language as the students with language barriers. This might be a collaboration with the student union, which may help to make it less formal and more of a community building exercise.

Moving forward these are all very helpful suggestions and will no doubt be instrumental in catching the students who are struggling before they get to the design sign off stage.