Author: Hans Lo

This is another interesting read. There are some incredible poignant works by artists whose practices resonate with me, especially Jerone Herman. The way he poetically comments on the inner traumas of disabilities in the U.S is such an engaging to talk about this topic. No doubt my students can use this as a reference point to investigate performance-led practices.

Also, Claudette Davis-Bonnick’s article on ‘Understanding Visual Impairments’ is fascinating. This gives a much-needed insight and awareness when creating lecture presentations and not assume invisible disabilities do not exist even though student(s) appears to have 20-20 vision.

• Shades of Noir – Use of resources
  • These resources will be an insightful reference point to provide for students. It is incredibly useful to provide an updated platform for the cohort to find relevant research points. For me, it will potentially be a great tool to help build a more socially relevant brief for the units I run.

• Hahn Tapper (2013) ‘A pedagogy of social justice education: social identity, theory and intersectionality’
  • Students’ identities need to be taken into account in all educational settings, which I completely agree with. It is insightful to read that some of the ideas I have reflected in the 1500 reflection resonate here. The ‘Robbers Cave experimental’ is also interesting, however simple that might be. In the context of teaching practices, the elimination of competition is vital for a cohort to work together rather than against. It will be essential for the teacher to set emphasize a cooperative framework right at the start; no students will be encouraged to ‘compete’ and the units will be structured to have collaborative tasks to complete.

• Ted talk video “Witness Unconscious Bias” video
  • This video makes total sense, it’s been a major narrative and learning thread throughout this unit. It is interesting to hear she is aware of racism at 4 years old as it shows biases are insidious and do not ‘discriminate’. People of colour, like myself, experience experiences discrimination from an early age nevertheless, it will be useful to see a white person speaking about their awareness of unconscious bias.

• Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design
  • This is an interesting read, especially about creating a space for the students to explore their identities. No doubt again this feeds into the ‘NVC’ boot camp/workshop our teaching is trying to plan. Also this awareness of the power we have as teaching staff, to encourage or discourage students’ development of practice. We should encourage students to explore what feels comfortable for them instead of drawing them out; never have I thought that this is actually a counter-productive approach, as art school resources and references have to be decolonized before starting to think about developing an inclusive space for students to create in.

• Peekaboo, we see you whiteness
  • The poem ‘Is that a sign: White Supremacy’ could be an incredibly useful script writing starting in the film unit I run for year 1. Through an abstraction technique, students can use this as a reference point to experiment with writing a short script, in which they can create images. Also, the artists featured such as Dan Holliday and Jon Straker are relevant examples for students when asked to create their avatars in my proposed workshop.

Introduction:

This report is about the critical reflection of my proposed artefact and subsequent learning experience during the Inclusive Practice unit. Coming from a technically minded video production background, the luxury of extensive reflection is absent as project timelines are often unforgiving. After taking a different direction in my career by starting a Master’s degree (still currently studying) and teaching at LCC, I am able to take a step back and delve deeper into my practices and how evaluative thinking can help to build a solid foundation to engage with PgCert.

As a Chinese man growing up in post-colonial Hong Kong and then spent a substantial amount of my educational and adult life in the UK (5 years at boarding school and 3 years at Camberwell College of Arts during my BA degree), I have experienced a fair share of casual and intentional racial discrimination. As a man from a foreign middle-class family, the privilege, resources, and hetero-normative views have helped my professional career immensely. Even though my own economical privileges are acknowledged, I still feel as though my ethnicity and cultural back background are treated as an oppressed minority and seen as an antagonizing trigger in discussions about social and political issues. Not only until I reached 30 that certain prejudices against the white capitalist patriarchy started to emerge from within. As a victim of racial bullying from an early age, I felt as though the trauma experienced was not addressed and therefore developed into negative perspectives towards the white authorities and institutions. Nevertheless, these views are only internal and very rarely externalized. In addition to this, the conservative/patriotic opinions expressed by my family back home, I have inherited some problematic thinking towards marginalized groups (especially small minority groups in China or anyone who is not “Chinese”). I feel this is important such recognitions are brought to the table as a citizen working in the UK, I want to surrender my prejudices, challenge discriminatory social norms and develop a more mature empathetic approach to living. In the context of a teaching environment, the need to understand ‘inclusivity’ and to communicate ‘non-violently’ is essential to elevate my critical thinking and teaching practices.

Context:

As mentioned above, approaches in ‘non-violent communication (NVC) are integral to this particular engagement with inclusive practices. Having completed a series of NVC training workshops (still ongoing) with our course teaching staff, its core ideas and techniques are still fresh in my mind. The key 5 points of nonviolence, developed by Marshal Rosenberg, sets the foundation to recognize the needs of oneself and then in turn recognize the needs of others. This empathetic practice can be integrated into the ‘ethos’ of a course and we as a team is constructing a framework in which every student and staff in the cohort to understand. During the training, identifying what ‘violence’ means to us, the students, colleagues and higher-level management is incredibly insightful in delving deeper into what causes such universal components of harm; ‘white supremacy culture. The toxic traits of the patriarchal white man have permeated into our everyday lives therefore it is even more pressing/relevant to adopt an empathetic set of principles when LCC welcomes students multi-cultural and social backgrounds.

I have been formulating a clear case study to link all my experiences, proposed artefact, and NVC training. From my time as a student at Camberwell, I recognized it was important for any international student to be ‘safely’ included in all classroom discussions, briefings, and workshops. My observation and talking to peers at the time is that students, particularly from a Chinese background, find it difficult to articulately express their emotions with confidence with the appropriate vocabulary in English. This mindset tends to discourage Chinese students to seek the most fitting words and speak up if they are confused about the work or simply contributing to class discussions and tutorials; the fear of embarrassment in a predominately white classroom. Therefore, these students find themselves only congregating with students of similar ethnic backgrounds which prevents inclusion and is detrimental to a student’s learning experience. Perhaps this could be an oversight as it does not consider, British-born ethnic groups and students with mental health and learning difficulties. As a result, creating an inclusive and ‘safe’ learning environment requires closer examination in the attitude and language we share in the cohort.

Defining a ‘safe’ educational space:

After exchanging ideas and feedback with my tutor, I was referred to Jennifer Katz’s ‘Universal Design of Learning (UDL) – Engaging students in inclusive learning’. There is an insightful distinction between students’ academic and social engagement in an ‘inclusive’ teaching environment. It states that “…social interactions are observation, but belonging and self-concept require self-report, either through interview or survey.” This contemplation has been persistently apparent when surveys are submitted after each unit. In class, they are engaged, and relatively content with the teaching, and contact time with staff. Nevertheless, the surveys reflect a different story entirely. A good proportion has contradictory and negative feedback about their experience in class. This disconnect highlights the problematic hierarchal approach to teaching and learning in the institution. This is not a pessimistic perspective on what we have done, in fact, the timing of our ‘NVC’ training couldn’t be more apt. To construct a truly inclusive environment, the needs of staff and students must be discussed and clarified. In the case of our recent training session; clarity, recognition, trust, structure, safety, and autonomy are some of the keywords that stood out.

The process of this identification is what is most important here. Over the 2 days, we are given two separate sheets of the vocabulary of ‘feelings’ and ‘needs’ so that we were precise in communicating exactly or as close to how we felt and what we needed. Our trainer prompted us at the beginning, after every exercise, and end of session to ‘check in’ with one another; each person was given 2 minutes to express how they felt and the type of needs that were met or not met, choosing and using the precise words on these sheets. The simple and important act of using motivated/invigorated instead of just ‘happy’ for example, provided the group a much more exact empathetic inventory to understand each other on an emotional level. This approach is also applied in talking about what the course/student/staff needed.

Putting words into action:

Reflecting this back in the context of my proposed artefact and positionality as an educator, the most constructive takeaway from this training is ‘leveling the playing field’ when it comes to language. As mentioned earlier, this language barrier is debilitating and prevents any real meaningful inclusion of students into the course and its teachings. So, this ‘safe’ space needs a cohesive set of vocabulary, provided to students at the start of the 3 years, despite their level of English. When this linguistic boundary is implemented, the ability to empathize and to hear the needs of students can potentially open up exchanges to communicate truthfully and safely.

Practically, this inventory of ‘feelings’ and ‘needs’ will be included in the ‘Collective narrative research workshop’ proposed.  Students will be encouraged to incorporate the appropriate vocabulary into the creation of their avatar (see ‘Exercise 04: Get to know a group better’ in the artefact outline). When they are presenting their avatars, their emotions and of the day will (hopefully) be clearer to the listeners in the group, therefore understanding each other better. If this communicative/expressive process is built up through the years, then ideally the potential for empathetic exchanges between staff and students will be improved.

Evaluation and Conclusion:

Due to timing constraints, I am still yet to conduct the proposed workshop and gain tangible feedback from it. Of course, this suggestion of a vocab inventory is just a starting point as these lists of words will need to become second nature to the staff and students. Perhaps a condensed version can be used as a starting point and then eventually expand everyone is used to this way of communicating; students can add their own to an online glossary (on Moodle) so there is a sense of collaborating through this workshop. Also, there are many communication structures that need to be in place. For example; in an empathetic response after a student has openly discussed their feelings and needs, the listener ideally should say ‘as I hear you say that…’, then respond tentatively. This replying sentence helps the speaker and the listener to acknowledge what is being said. Making sure verbal acceptance is expressed is vital to begin creating a safe environment for learning. As a team, we are still figuring out the logistics of implementing this NVC ethos in the cohort. We are thinking of a 2-day boot camp’, where all students are required to attend at a location outside of college. It is our, Art-Direction, version of an orientation day(s).

Looking at this from the perspective of the students, immediate changes in attitude are difficult as there will always be selective engagement. This selective engagement can be caused by external factors such as mental health, difficulties at home, learning difficulties, and language barriers. Until this workshop has been conducted and reviewed by peers or students, it is still a ‘blue-sky thinking concept. 

Lastly, my teaching practices will benefit from using a set of universal languages to bring students together for meaningful collaborations. With a background in film-making; sourcing and gathering the appropriate personnel and then maximizing everyone’s skill and talent in an inclusive/safe environment is an essential process. The connection can be drawn here that putting ‘NVC’ practices in context will no doubt help students to learn the suitable attitudes to approach potential collaborators and work cohesively with them to achieve the best work they can.

Bibliography

Buckemaster, Ceri. “Want a different way of doing things? #2”.

http://www.ceribuckmaster.co.uk/2-foundations-of-nvc.html

Katz, Jennifer. “The Three-Block model of universal design for Learning (UDL): Engaging students in inclusive education” . Canadian Journal of Education. January, 2013.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jennifer-Katz-5/publication/286055447_The_Three-Block_model_of_universal_design_for_learning_UDL_Engaging_students_in_inclusive_education/links/567dfd9f08aebccc4e040983/The-Three-Block-model-of-universal-design-for-lea

Shades of Noir. “Mental Health & Creating Healing”. April 30, 2017.

https://issuu.com/shadesofnoir/docs/mhchtor

Finnigan, Terry and Richards, Aisha. “Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design”. Advance HE. September 3, 2016.

https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/ug_retention_and_attainment_in_art_and_design2_1568037344.pdf

Russeth, Andrew. “With Sign Language and Sound, an Artist Upends Audience Perceptions”. The New York Times. July 9, 2022.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/09/world/europe/christine-sun-kim-profile.html

Imel, Susan. “Inclusive Adult Learning Environments” (ERIC Digest No. 162). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. 1995.

http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/files/adltlrnenv.html

Bailey, Aarony “Am I sad, or just a student?” May 23, 2022.

https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/am-i-sad-or-just-a-student/

An incredibly moving story about an artist/performer suffering from chronic pain. This example could be used to illustrate how disabilities can be completely invisible and how my students as art-directors needs to be aware of the people they choose to collaborate with; be sensitive to the locations chosen to create performative works.

This is also a great conversation starting to get students to talk about any ‘hidden’ disabilities they might have so everyone in the class is aware; not in a finger-pointing way, but so that students are not just assuming their peers are all able-bodied.

I am unsure how practically I can integrate this thread of research into the film-making aspect of the unit I run. Perhaps it’s an option for the students to read upon rather than strongly implement into the teachings.

>> BIG PS. Upon reflecting on this, I realize I suffer from back pain but it’s just something I am dealing with in the background of everyday life. At this moment is not enough to significantly alter my daily activities nevertheless I have had to spend money on physiotherapy over the years to make sure it’s nothing serious. Also, trying every stretching exercise under the sun to help with the pain.

This idea of pain tolerance is something I am building up and perhaps in similar ways, the pain suffered by Khairani in this article can be reduced if the artist/designer and especially the performance community; can recognize everyone doesn’t have to build up a tolerance for pain but rather frameworks in place to alleviate pain instead.

The insightful origins of a viral hashtag demonstrate the power of social media and much influence it has. Creating awareness of an issue that is overlooked is needed for our society to be more inclusive, Vilissa is clever in using a contemporary medium to initiate conversations.

It is interesting to see also the backlash of this initiative as it’s inevitable as the internet is a breeding ground for all sorts of opinions. I wonder if she had/has engaged with the negative responses and has initiated conversations to bridge the gap.

Hypothetically, I can use this case study as an example of how students can utilise the power of the right hashtags to gain momentum and create an awareness campaign to start meaningful and inclusive conversations.

I mean obviously, UAL’s policies on being inclusive to students with disabilities and dyslexia are extensive and do provide a whole wealth of information for potential and existing. However, at first glance, I will perhaps digest and consolidate the info first before referring these pages to students in need purely because there is SO MUCH text. I can imagine for a dyslexic student, this can overwhelming. The illustrations used should be much more functional than being ‘pretty’. Also, the animation is too abstract rather than functional and perhaps doesn’t empathize with a partially visually impaired audience. (also should be subtitled for students with hearing impairment too)

Does feel like there’s a missed opportunity here to create a much more dynamic and interactive landing page with a simplified graphic palette with ‘hover points’ which trigger sounds for students who might require audio descriptive assistance.

To reflect this back to the question prompts for the blogging tasks, here are some of the answers given:

• How could you apply the resources to your own teaching practice?

We as a cohort already integrated all the disabilities and learning support information into our unit guides and make sure every student is aware of these services during briefings. Also, we are adhering to inclusive design guidelines to make our lecture and workshop slide much more partially visually impaired friendly.

• How could you integrate the research/work your students do on this subject into your teaching/professional practice?

There could be a possibility to ask students to work on a brief that involves creating projects specifically for the disabled and dyslexic demographic. Here is a relevant Ted talk by Elise Roy about designing for the disabled:

What a start to the unit as I was definitely thrown into the deep end in the most positive way by writing a positionality statement. Not sure if I did do it right nevertheless it was refreshing to look at myself objectively to recognize where I stood socially so far. This is what I wrote…

“As a Chinese man who grew up in a post-colonial Hong Kong, I  have certain prejudices against the white capitalist discriminatory perspectives of the British. Even though my own economical privileges are acknowledged, I still feel as though my ethnicity and cultural back background are treated as an oppressed minority and seen as an antagonizing trigger in discussions about social and political issues. 

Nevertheless, my hetero-normative views have helped my professional career; in terms of jobs, reputation, creative freedom, and acceptance of opinions in the ever problematic patriarchal society. My income, fluency in English, privately educated history and British citizenship have provided me with the advantage of choosing how to live my life and provide for my family. Through the conservative views of my family, I have inherited some problematic views about marginalized groups who are unable to express their identities. So since living and working in the UK, I want to surrender my prejudices and develop a more mature empathetic perspective when comes to teaching in a classroom.  

I want to learn more about how different cultural behaviours and attitudes towards work in a multi-cultural classroom. A true understanding of what ‘inclusivity’ and ‘queerness’ really means from an educator’s perspective is something that will help me to develop my critical thinking through teaching practices.”

I mean all of this stuff is in there when I go about my everyday life and it will be insightful how laying all this on the table will help and affect my teaching practices.

Task 2 had us watch a ‘vintage’ film on ‘critical pedagogy’ and give comments about it. At first glance, I thought this is something we already think about daily as teaching practitioners and artists/designers nevertheless it was interesting to see its origins. Mostly the academics were from privileged backgrounds which beg to emphasizes the notion of ‘choice’. Of course, if survival wasn’t the priority of the household/children, then criticality is a choice. But if survival is at the gore of a family being, then you do rather than ask no matter. This also has triggered another thought about the role of highways in American poverty and how Biden is attempting to create a much more inclusive country by restructuring its infrastructre.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/03/role-of-highways-in-american-poverty/474282/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58106414

The third task was perhaps a problematic task? Still unsure how to digest it. So we were asked to assign perceived intersectional identities to a list of images of people, all of them I have not seen before. Categories such as; age, disability, race, class, religion, gender, pronouns, sexual orientation, marriage, pregnancy, nationality, schooling, and highest educational status. My thoughts after the task were…

1. Why are we here to pre-judge people’s pictures? = Not entirely sure how productive it is even though I understand the point of recognizing our own preconceived ideas based on the visual. I mean was it supposed to highlight that we all pre-judge even if we might feel we don’t? But then it’s only encouraged because it’s a “task”….hmmm…
2. Why were they all adults and not students? = As teaching staff, we encounter students more than adults. So if the exercise is based on unconscious bias, be useful to have us look at a much younger demographic.
3. Is this task even relevant to the unit? = Again I understand the purpose however can it be the simpler task of learning HOW to ask questions if we need to know about or address a partiuclar trait of a person. Personally, the majority of the time is figuring out how to structure questions in a non-violent manner to acquire information about the person in question; through causal conversational and empathetic tone.

Unfortunately, I had to leave before task 4 to pick up my child from the nursery. I will go back over the task and reflect on this at a later date.