My Teachers

Everyone: This is from the Handbook p. 11... I have just looked at two good ones, please get them to me asap for comment on Monday. Peter said he had received most of his...

Paula

Summary: Part one, task b
You have been asked to write a short essay entitled ‘My Teachers’. This essay
must include:

• two or three of your teachers
• the genre they work in
• who their teachers or influences
• where and how you fit into the picture (ie where and for how long did they
• teach you).

You have been asked to use 1,000 words but also to illustrate your lineage
through a diagram or picture.
Keep a learning diary as you work.

Paula's My Teachers - waxing while I wait

Today, while waiting for people to send me their draft versions of My Teachers... I began to think of my own today... please send tyour drafts in as I am sure they will be interesting.

I had several important ones for fine art - a painter and a printmaker Bumgardner is connected with Hofmann of push-pull fame. Freed goes back to Hayter (viscosity printing) and Lasansky + (more art) in print and So both learning in Europe and European events influenced American art and how it was taught.

Paula

Blog followers make sure everyone knows your blog address

Blog followers

Please make sure your academic advisors have your blogs because we are giving feedback - I am not sure about Lauren? Michael is giving me his... Sarah? Zoe? Rosea? Sorry if I am asking this for a second time... If I am not down as one of your followers send me the address again.

We are trying to comment online this week in our blogs with some individual comments - please you start commenting on other people's blogs as well... Tasks A, B and C need to be done by the 6th November - with paper copies to Avni and emails backups to your Academic Advisors!

Please email me P.Nottingham@mdx.ac.uk

Paula

My Teachers

Everyone

I am beginning to have a good look at the blogs for comment... but I am finding many have the Kolb Task C missing - and have you sent in your My Teachers Task B to me at P.Nottingham@mdx.co.uk ?

Paula

Kolb's cycle Explained - use for Task C

Kolb’s Cycle (200 words approximately on each stage)

Concrete Experience (Feeling) Concerned with something that has happened to you or that you have done. Concerned with adopting your new ideas into practice.
Reflective Observation (Watching) Concerned with reviewing the event or experience in your mind and exploring what you did and how you, and others, felt about it.
Abstract Conceptualisation (Thinking) Concerned with developing an understanding of what happened by seeking more information and forming new ideas about ways of doing things in the future.
Active Experimentation/Observation (Doing) concerned with trying out the new ideas as a result of the learning from earlier experience and reflection.

(descriptions sourced from Allin & Turnock 2007)

image of cycle

image sourced from www.ldu.leeds.ac.uk/.../images/kolb_cycle.gif

Task C - Kolb's Cycle - example

Alys Spencer has a nice Kolb Task C up - note that she has 'anonymised' it by eliminating the names of the people and organisations she is referring to. This is a standard way to ensure confidentiality and is shows ethical practice in talking about real things that have happened. Take a look!
Paula

FREE Middlesex event for students

Dear all

This talk next Thursday is open, so please encourage any students who might be interested to come along

---
DON'T PANIC

A talk on media and work by Joe Wade
THURSDAY 29 OCTOBER 2009
2-3pm
Mansion Room 4, Trent Park

Joe Wade is founder and director of Don’t Panic, a free media pack distributed through independent shops, bars, universities, alternative music events and art spaces around the world. The Don’t Panic pack combines promotional media and information about city life with features on design, contemporary issues and the future of the planet. Its associated website has spawned a number of controversial videos taken up by mainstream news outlets, including an investigation of the new Young Conservatives and stunts drawing attention to the Royal Bank of Scotland's financial policies and the restaurant Nobu’s use of blue fin tuna.

Joe will be talking about his job, how he got into it, his experience of working with online and offline media and the question of how to do interesting work.

http://www.dontpaniconline.com

Drawing Event at the South Bank Centre - ex EVENT

A friend just sent me this - anybody else have any events that they want to share - any performances etc.? Here is the link and web address Event

http://www.campaignfordrawing.org/flyers/bankside.htm

A rundown on the 13/10/09 activities (Alan and Paula) for those who were not there

Campus Session REVISED for BLOG (times might have varied a bit on the day)

Cat Hill Campus – meet in reception at 1.00pm

1.00pm Welcome and Introduction – about the session, the nature of enquiry, and the advantage of using a model like Kolb

1.10pm Kolb’s Cycle – The Theory explained

1.20pm in pairs or groups explore the Blog sample in print version, exploring and describing its qualities i.e. elements of Kolb that are evident.
Either cut and paste, or rewrite selected bits of the Blog, and paste / write on the A4 sheets with Kolb’s cycle on them. You should end up with most or all the text pasted onto the cycle. Note that some parts may seem to float between locations on the cycle.

1.45pm Break

2.15pm Identify one easy, and one difficult piece of text to place i.e. was there any bits that were difficult to place on the cycle. Talk the group through your decisions, and take on board comments from the group.

View the sheets;
1. And ask yourself questions, do the texts address the particular part of the cycle, e.g. abstract conceptualisation – is there a model or idea really represented. Description vs. analysis.
2. Are there any gaps? If so, what text might have appeared there?
3. Was the example a good choice to represent learning?

3.15pm in the computer lab, and sitting next to your partner, Create a new Blog that describes your thinking on the text and the process you have just engaged with. You should focus on what you have found out, and support this with quotes from the text. Also, reflect on the process and record your observations.

We are available to help you with any technical issues about the Blog.

READ this - comments on sending in work

Everyone

Just a reminder - read all the staff blogs for generic comments Tasks A and C are on the blogs so that you can fine tune. Read the staff blogs and comment on colleague's blogs. A great many of the blogs and My Teacher assignments are shaping up really well!

I am getting some people's My Teacher assignments - send the rest to my Middlesex email P.Nottingham@mdx.ac.uk . Please put your name, My Teacher and 3002 in the title of the attachment... and send all 3 at once or it will get confusing. ALSO do this for your other assignments when you email me backups - it is just easier to keep track of your work.

I will try to feedback as soon as possible. For those who have not sent in - we were hoping for drafts by Friday - the end of Week 4 - this is to give us time to look at them and feedback. I have tried to acknolwedge receipt of the emails... but it might take a few days to feedback.

ALSO keep looking at colleague's blogs - which one's do you like most? WHY...this is a professional statment about certain aspects of yourself... does it highlight important aspects of your career and training, is it inviting for the reader... have you addressed the assignment and then edited to be in your style?

NOW you are making the blog has all of its elements and fine tuning.

Cheers

Paula

Update on posted information for 13.10.09

Everyone

I am posting information about the on-campus 13/10/09 session on my blog. We had only handout, and that was one showing the Kolb cycle (similar to the one in your handbook) and example text from individuals’ blogs for folks to try to ‘place’ them onto the cycle in terms of the experience. Students have described this exercise in their blogs. These were more specific descriptions of the Kolb cycle steps and some students copied them and put them into their blog descriptions. I will try to type these up again in my blog on Monday.

Have a look on the blogs. You should have blog addresses for the other students... If you do not let me know.

Paula

Photos of groups 10.13.09 on-campus session

Reflection on learning - Keeping a diary

The link I discussed in the 13/10/09 session was written for work experience diaries, but some of it might be helpful... see what you think. I will add other entries on this. LINK
Paula

New MDX email and Office Telephone Number

My new office telephone number is 0208 411 5087 (updated April 2010) and my new MDX email is P.Nottingham@mdx.ac.uk.

I can still be contacted on the other account and mobile if needed - especially at the weekend.

Paula

Logging on

Folks

Avni said that the compputer systems sometimes freezes people out when they put in numbers that are not right more thatn 3 times... if this happens seek assistance at the Computer desk... or call the helpdesk... that is her best advice... if you have enrolled - then use your student number to log in and then use your date of birth info... here is a link to the information. Avni checked the names that were given to me but siad they should be ok.

Paula

Feedback from 13.10.09 On-Campus Session

Everyone – this is some generic information that I am posting…

You should know who your Academic Advisor is by now… it will be myself (Paula), Adesola, Peter or Alan. If you do not know… get in touch with Avni or any one of us…

The printed Handbooks (both 3002 and the Professional Practice Programme Handbook) are now in the office if you need a printed copy…

Student finance has been a late for a number of the other students on the course. While it is not in the University’s hands, this is the first year it is being processed by Student Finance England instead of the local Councils. Alan suggested looking up ptg1 on Google and it goes to the site of Student Finance England – I have looked at updates and found the following link... http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/DG_179679 . In the first instance, I would phone the number given there. The university is aware that there have been delays so we have been told to carry on with the coursework at this point.

Campus Session 13/10/09

We met as a group yesterday and it was a very good session with 28 attending. I took notes and the groups blogged about the Task C Kolb cycle exercise that we did. I will put my notes up today + check out people’s blogs for what we did. At the workshop we gave some more advice on the reflective diaries as they are connected to the Kolb Task C. Adesola had brought in some of her own for the Induction sessions. I will put up some links about reflective diaries.

Task B about the Teachers – look in the Handbook as it does explain what you need to do. It is about you heritage as an artist/practitioner but also with a bit more ‘critical thinking’ flavour... for example, were some of the experiences not difficult but you learned a lot from them?

Alan and I did go over some of the other basics about due dates – here are the highlights:

NOW is when you need to get your blogs up. Some people are having problems cutting and pasting… are you using the EDIT button? Keep working and ask fellow students for tech advice as well as sending problems to us. Task A and Task C should go up on the blogs. Refer to your 3002 Handbook for specifics. Peter did a Summary sheet (this is the same criteria as in the Handbook just stated a bit more clearly. In the people you admire section… 3-5 is fine – 3 was in the original Handbook directions. The word counts are approximated so that you won’t write too much or too little, so don’t worry to much with these Tasks – these are ‘indicative word counts (get close but we are not going to be counting the words when we mark). You should now also be writing comments on other people’s blogs. Comments can help fine tune content, say how to work on the clarity of the information (did you not understand a particular passage?), or work on the appearance of the blog so that it displays the style of the person. Refer to your Handbook and look at other people’s blogs for inspiration.

Basically between weeks 4-6 (starting next week) we will make more comments straight onto the blogs for Task A and Task C - we have been doing a bit before this but it has more ad hoc. The comments for Task A and Task C will be somewhat generic as we are aware they are in the public domain (again – specific concerns come straight to your Academic Advisor via email). Task B (about ‘My Teachers’ is via email – send this to your Academic Advisor – and you will get feedback before it is due.

Marking for Task A, B, C will happen in Week 6 – the end day being Nov 6th by 4pm. Send in hard copies of your work to Avni Shah our Administrator (see p. 16 in your 3002 Handbook).

Avni Shah, WBL Operations Administrator
(Arts-based programmes)
Middlesex University, Cat Hill Campus
Cat Hill, Barnet, Herts
EN4 8HT
Tel +44 (0) 20 8411 4129
Email wbl.arts@mdx.ac.uk

You may want to send your work by recorded post to make sure it gets to us (ALSO you might want to send back up copies via email your Academic Advisor just to make sure – if I am your AA please do this). Copies of work can be in Word – don’t forget to send in pictures either separately or zapped into Word. It should just mean cutting and pasting from you blog (from Word to the blog or from the blog to Word)– not rewriting.

If you have any other questions – send them to your Academic Advisor and they will do their best to help you.

Paula Nottingham 14/10/09

Emails out

I have sent emails out and am hoping that they have all gotten through - if you are on my Academic Advisor list, please get in touch to confirm the contact address. Cheers!