Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: Unit 02: Visualisation tools, datasets and data stories. Term 02, Session 05
Size of student group: Approximately 20
Observer: Priscilla Pang
Observee: Jesse Cahn Thompson
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?
The full-group workshop session is the fifth of a ten-session unit that I lead this term. They have just completed their first portfolio activity/microproject and are going to be introduced to the second portfolio microproject today. These projects (among others) will be part of a website portfolio they submit at the end of Term 03 for holistic grading.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
This is my fourth workshop activity day with the group as course lecturer. I have also met each student over the past two weeks for our first round of ongoing, one-to-one tutorials supporting the development of their Final Major Project proposals due at the end of this term.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
Explore the pipeline of information visualization from data collection, analysis, development, design, and communication. To introduce new design tools and methodologies (Object-based analysis, Datawrapper, descriptive anaylsis). To explore art and design practices and projects (given last week via and explored in presentation at the start of workshop) relevant to the activity and the field of information and data visualisation that also spotlight practitioners from diverse backgrounds and approaches.
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
They will bring in their own dataset in any form (screenshots, tallies, emails, physical objects, etc.). They will conduct initial research in small groups using emotional reading/object-based analysis forms (Judy Wilcocks). They will use digital tools (e.g. Datawrapper) to generate a descriptive analysis of their data and the emotional response to their data. They will develop/design a 2D visualisation of their “Data Self-Portrait” and in day-three of the activity, they create a short proposal for this output in an exhibition setting of their choosing.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
My hope it they have read the brief/overview and prepared enough data to work with in class today. I sent them an email after our session last week to remind them, but some students are quiet and I’m not yet sure if they are afraid to ask questions about things they aren’t clear on.
Many of the students struggle when things aren’t prescriptive (e.g. telling them exactly what data to use or exactly how the design should look). I want to continue to encourage them to find ways to express themselves that excite them and explore those possibilities early on in an activity.
How will students be informed of the observation/review?
We will informally share the outcomes with each other after two weeks. They will then be given time to further develop this project next term before submitting it as part of the website portfolio that will be assessed with written feedback and a grade.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
Is there a more effective way to communicate the task? Any suggestions on way(s) to actively foster a rewarding, playful, experimental session atmosphere? Are my expectations reasonable? Reasonable balance of the passive-active states in an all-day workshop/learning session. General observations and helpful notes.
How will feedback be exchanged?
Teams, email, or in-person as our schedules allow.
Part Two
Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
Overall, I enjoyed your session, you demonstrated a clear and enthusiastic tone when conversing with your students and they were happy to respond in a similar fashion. Responding to each of your questions. I believe the task was communicated in constructive manner. The use of the worksheet and your presentation in the first half of the session helped to set expectations about the task. Moreover, you ran through your expectations for the next session whereby you outlined what the students should prepare for in the next session/workshop.
In your session, you started with a great demonstration of hard and soft structure. Hard structure being the taught side of the class e.g. presentation and soft structure, being the student’s individual discussions. As for the balance between passive-active, it was reasonable to allow students to have time to reflect quietly after the presentation. I recommend “Embracing the Silence” (Harris 2022) from the Workshop 2 Set Reading Folder as it talks about the importance of silence in student reflection. It can be intimidating when sessions are fully directional, but I believe you balanced it well with short informal discussions throughout.
I appreciated this triage system of discussion, shifting the conversations from individual to group and then to class. For example, when you realized that the student hadn’t explored datawrapper in terms of data maps and you opened the enquiry to the class to gauge if it’s something you can demonstrate for everyone’s benefit. I thought this was super effective and students were more inclined to ask questions after this point.
Despite the class being introduced to datawrapper prior to your session plan, you were able to work through the issue with humor and diffuse the tension. At points, you did speed through information, possibly due to nerves. As a suggestion, you can have checkpoints throughout your talk to gauge how students were feeling and if they were understanding the information. This helps you to pace yourself and allow students to re-focus and process the information presented to them. Altogether, great work and I hope this is useful for you!
Part Three
Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:
It’s really encouraging to hear that my communication style resonated well with the students! I want to connect in the classroom and cultivate a trusting, fun atmosphere, so it’s also wonderful to hear positive feedback around fostering an engaging and interactive learning environment. That is an essential goal of mine. I agree that the structured approach – leading with a formal presentation followed by individual and group discussions – seemed to help set clear expectations and guided students through the session’s overall objectives. I often want to leave things more open-ended to allow for creativity but am finding that the students really benefit from some contextual constraints and guardrails. It’s also great to hear that the balance between passive and active engagement was good. I want to ensure that students have ample opportunity for reflection without feeling overwhelmed by constant direction.
The suggestion to incorporate moments of silence for student reflection, as discussed in Harris (2022) “Embracing the Silence,” is particularly helpful. I think introducing intentional pauses during the session can facilitate deeper thinking and processing of the material presented. Since the observation and consequent conversations, I have already started attempting to embrace moments like that in the classroom and intend to integrate and refine this approach into future sessions in the hopes that allowing for moments of quiet contemplation will enhance learning outcomes, satisfaction, and experience.
It seems that the triage system of discussion mentioned – transitioning from individual to group and then to class conversations – was helpful in addressing individual student needs while also managing to support collaborative learning. I will continue to use a similar approach and hopefully harness the collective knowledge and perspectives of the group to enrich discussions and explore topics more comprehensively.
One area for improvement mentioned in the feedback is the pacing of information delivery, which I agree with. I am continuing to improve my awareness around my tendency to get a bit “turbo charged” when I am excited about a topic. I definitely recognise the critical importance of periodically assessing students’ understanding of what I am saying in class and need to adjust my pace accordingly. Additionally, with most students having English as an additional language, I will prioritise improving this area. I think planning checkpoints throughout the session to gauge student comprehension and solicit feedback will help me maintain an optimal pace and ensure that all students can follow along and actively participate.
I’m really grateful for the constructive feedback! It’s such a valuable tool for reflection and growth and will no doubt positively contribute toward refining my approach and abilities as a teacher and help me create enriching learning experiences for my students.
References
Harris, K. (2022) ‘Embracing the silence: introverted learning and the online classroom’, Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Issue 1 (2022), pp. 101-104.