Survey of

Pracices

WRITINGHEFCE FDTL 4 Project

CONTENTS

02 THE PROJECT03 THE STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT03 THE CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT05 THE EVOLUTION OF WRITING PAD

TO SEPTEMBER 200508 INTRODUCTION TO

THE NARRATIVE REVIEW11 THE NARRATIVE REVIEW:11 1 STUDIO-THEORY-SUPPORT13 2 WRITING DEVELOPMENT14 3 WRITING PROCESSES16 4 THE PLACE OF THE VISUAL17 5 WRITING TYPES20 6 ASSESSMENT21 CONCLUSION26 CONTACT DETAILS27 APPENDIX I

DISCUSSION PAPERCASE STUDIES

29 APPENDIX II DYSLEXIA – GOOD PRACTICE GUIDELINES

30 BIBLIOGRAPHY31 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THE PROJECT

THE PROJECT

Writing PAD is a three-year projec that began inOcober 2002 and is due to finish in September 2005.It is a HEFCE FDTL1 Phase 4 projec aimed at thedissemination of good pracices throughout the HE Art and Design (A&D) secor. The projec is led byGoldsmiths College, together with Central SaintMartins College of Art and Design (CSM) and theRoyal College of Art (RCA). It now has 17 additionalpartners across the UK. Our aim is to inform thecultures of learning and teaching in studio-based A&Dpracice and to encourage the use of writing as a validtool for the reflecive pracitioner. We have been doingthis by encouraging dialogue across and withininstitutions; communicating between those involved instudio, theory and the teaching of writing, and throughwider debates and exchanges between projec partners.

The record of our acivities can be seen on our website.This includes the case studies that will be referred toextensively in the report, and the more recent ‘imageand writing gallery’ (writing-pad.ac.uk)

The projec is for:• Studio staf• Theory/critical studies/ contextual studies staf• Dyslexia specialists working with A&D students• English for Academic Purposes (EAP) staf• Teaching and Learning Co-ordinators• Deans/wardens/recors of colleges

and universities with A&D departments

Please see page 26 for further details of how to contacus if you would like to be involved in some way, or to attend our final conference in September, 2005.

WRITING PAD WEBSITE STRUCTURE:

INTRODUCTION CONTACT DETAILS RESOURCES

DISCUSSION PAPERS CASE STUDIES IMAGE AND WRITING GALLERY GLOSSARY BIBLIOGRAPHY(EVOLVING) (IN PROGRESS)

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THE STUCTURE OF THE REPORT

This ‘Survey of Pracices’ begins with a setting of the contemporary context in Higher Education and continues with a brief overview of the projec’sevolution. There follows an explanation of the narrativereview, proposed by our External evaluator, MurraySaunders2, and the Survey of Pracices. The mainthemes that have emerged are studio-theory-support,writing development, writing processes, the place ofthe visual, writing types and assessment. The Survey is mainly informed by case studies, but significantly, by discussions that have taken place through theprojec because we acknowledge that the A&Dcommunity operates very much through the spokenword. The report ends with an underlining of the shiftsthat we have identified, along with key challenges andpossibilities for the future.

THE CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT

Since the government’s1960 National Advisory Council on Art Education report (Coldstream), theprofile of students, tutors and the educational contextsthey find themselves in has shifted dramatically.Student composition has altered in terms of diversity – age, class, ethnic or international identity, genderbalance – and in terms of ever-increasing numbers.Gone are the ivory towers of the like-minded; gonealso are the 60s stereotypes of art students – loafingaround a lot. Students are busy, working, in debt; atthe same time they are also more assertive, demandingdialogue and negotiation.

George Marks, at Wolverhampton, sums up some ofthe challenges caused by these changed circumstances:‘For many art and design students, writing is associatedwith prior weaknesses and failures and increasinglyperceived as alien. Young people are writing and readingless and watching and talking more – reflecting not onlythe culture in which they have grown up (and their day-to-day experiences) but also relative educational prioritiesgiven to the teaching of writing during their previous and formative educational experiences’.

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1 Higher Education Funding Council for England, Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning2 Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University

Rebekka Kill (Bradford) suggests that many studentsrejec the written word as a basis for their curriculum.Instead, the students are doing diferent things. Theyhave more CDs, DVDs and mini-disks than books;they text and email and may well incorporate a rangeof technological skills – burning, printing, publishing,programming – in the development of their art anddesign work. A recent group of international students,when asked if they did read newspapers, said yes, but all on-line. The link between technology and A&D hasalways existed (as exemplified by the technology thatrevolutionised the use of paint during the Renaissance)– it is just diferent technology, diferent literacies.

There may be some parallels between students andtutors in the sense that they are equally pressed fortime and pressured. They juggle numbers and roomsand experience the equivalent of the ‘testing’ culture at secondary school through QAAs. The latter requiresthem to articulate and demonstrate good pracices in an A&D sphere yet the unquantifiable anduncategorisable are often what should be encouraged.There has been an increase in homogenisation – onqualifying and articulating the purposes of education,relating crucially to external validation and consequentstatus and funding – on which everyone’s future partly

depends. This can be seen on the one hand to aclike a kind of awareness-raising exercise, but at the risk of the existence of surprise, the unexpeced andthe spontaneous – on which A&D culture thrives.There is a further pressure: that of ensuring that thediverse community of students is catered for, each oneon an equal basis – and this a matter of legislation3.

One of the original emphases in Writing PAD was on ‘inclusion’ and with that, the need to address the needs in particular of mature, dyslexic andinternational students whilst, at the same time,acknowledging the rich contribution they bring.Heterogeneity is the lifeblood for A&D.

It is in this context that the projec participants havebeen exchanging views on what the contemporarypurposes and possibilities for writing might be forA&D student pracitioners today, and how we can best help them fulfil their potential.

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3 Special Education Needs and Disability Act, 2001

THE EVOLUTION OF THE WRITING PAD PROJECT

While an explanation of the projec’s development canbe read in the Primer Report (2003) and on the website, itis worthwhile at this point to reiterate the crucial startingpoints. There was a reference back to Coldstream, whichresulted in the change of A&D colleges to universitieswith a concomitant change in status but also a writingcomponent from a Humanities tradition that did notnecessarily suit all the student pracitioners: this is howwe trace back the ‘studio-theory split’. There was anunderstanding that many students in A&D are capableof exploring ideas and debates, and producing worksthat reflec their knowledge and research, but notnecessarily within traditional writing strucures. JohnWood’s article on ‘Academic Rigour: do design studentsneed it?’ was also instrumental, as was a particularunderstanding of the challenges for, and strengths of, dyslexic students. Research into the latter4, by JuliaLockheart and Maziar Raein formed a large part of theimpetus for the projec. The bid also placed emphasison inclusion and how support, not only for dyslexic but also mature and international students, might beincorporated into pracices.

The first year of the projec was concerned with theraising of debate – with resultant discussion papers and the establishing of 6 partner institutions whosecase studies were presented at an engagement workshop.The next year saw the establishing of 11 more partnersacross the A&D secor, with resultant case studies andworkshops. Some conference representations were asfar afield as Mexico5 where considerable interest in the projec was shown. In addition, there have been anumber of informal exchanges – of views and pracicesvia emails, telephones and trains. The most recentmeeting has been the joint ADCHE journal6 launchwith Writing PAD at York St Johns.

The diagram below charts recent and intended progressfrom January 2005 to September 2005.

While the diagrammatic version of our progress lookstidy, the team can confidently say that we have pursuedan organic, evolutionary and open-ended route.

4 Informed by Jane Graves and Ian Padgett at CSM5 Dr Hilary Cunliffe-Charlesworth, The Fourth Conference ofDesign History and Design Studies, Guadalajara, November 20046 Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education 3.2Textual and visual interfaces in art and design education, 2005)

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We have discovered that our progress, this mix of theplanned and the spontaneous,of the linear and thelateral, has been pinpointed by Professor MurraySaunders, our external evaluator in a Learning andTeaching Support Network journal on ‘common viewsof change’: ‘Systems change but seldom as planned and predicted… Fundamental change is the outcome of multiple small changes thus provide [sic] suitableconditions and trust change will come. […] Bricolage:change is because the system gets people to be continuouslytinkering, looking for ways of doing better…Small-scalechange is always happening but the worker, not some planner, chooses what to change, when and how’.7

The projec has certainly had the good fortune to have attraced committed individuals from thevarious A&D institutions who have been able tocontribute to the Writing PAD projec in numerousways despite being extremely busy. The outcomes do not add up to a comprehensive survey of the whole A&D secor – the projec lost its two Fine Artconsultants, for example, and the Design field hasbeen generally more vocal; on the other hand, theprojec does have a collecive voice of twenty partnerinstitutions so in this sense, it can be said to indicate some key shifts.

JANUARY 2005 MARCH APRIL SEPTEMBER• CSM finalconferenceSeptember 24

• Partner Letterre moves:Glossary,BibliographyImage & writing galleryDissemination • Dissemination

afternoon, RCA

• Manchester FDTLPhases 4 & 5 conference(4 partners attend)

• Partner visits concluded

• Joint ADCHE launch & Writing PAD meeting.York St Johns

• External Evaluatorassesses project effectsvia partners

• Publishing ofWriting PAD’sSurvey of Practices

• End of project (FDTL Phase 4)

• Furtherproject bids

• Evaluation Day withEvaluators, RCA

7 Saunders et al, Change Thinking, ChangePractices, LTSN Generic Centre, 2003

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THE NARRATIVE REVIEW

As part of the projec remit, the team understood there wouldhave to be a ‘survey of pracices’ that included some consensualjudgements about what ‘good pracices’ might mean. Theneed for proof or justification that is sometimes hard forstudents to include in writing proved daunting for us too.While the case studies do include some student feedback,along with some QAA and external examiner comments,Murray Saunders outlined a particular kind of qualitativesurvey, a narrative review, that would enable us to produce a survey via a matrix or framework. A subsequent workshopwith Dr Stephanie Taylor from the Open University8 sent us back to the Primer report from which we were able toextrapolate a series of main themes and related questions.These were applied to the case studies9 and synthesisedfurther to create the Survey that follows.

The Survey begins with ‘Dynamic moves’: a brief overview ofthe key notions that have been circling around our discussionsand pracices10.

DYNAMIC MOVES

This secion describes the qualities and the kinds of pracicesthat have enabled us to build a picure of what makes dynamicpracice. It will be evident that they all inter-relate in someway: they are the ‘webs of significance’ that have been spun(Geertz, 1973). We see this picure as inclusive in the sense of ofering fruitful possibilities that can be exchanged andseleced according to each partner’s individual circumstances.

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ANALYSIS OFMAIN THEMESFROM THEPRIMER REPORT

CREATION & LISTING OF MAINQUESTIONS FOREACH THEME

TEAM ANALYSISOF CASE STUDIES

THEMES SUMMARISED &DISCUSSED, MODIFIED;EVALUATIVE COMMENTS / NARRATIVE MADE

SURVEYOFPRACTICES

INTRODUCTION TO THE NARRATIVE REVIEW

10 It should be noted that, although the project’s aim was to exploreBA and MA levels, the majority of the case studies deal with BA Level

8 Lecturer in Psychology, Open University & Director of Postgraduate Studies in Social Sciences9 Full details of institutions, authors and case studies can be found in Appendix 1

INTEGRATION

There are a number of moves across the A&D secor that arebringing distinc areas closer together. At one end, there is theliteral move to the studio territory with the physical split ofpracice and critical/contextual studies overcome. At the other,at BA Levels 1 and 2, there is the incorporation of studystrategies into lecure/reading/seminar series that allowsstudents to develop strategies for writing step-by-step. Thesetendencies work against the marginalisation of any one part ofthe teaching framework; instead, one part sheds light on another.

STUDIO

As our projec has focused on student pracitioners, it ispertinent that the studio should emerge as being at the heartof our ‘dynamic moves’. This might mean that writing beginsor/and ends with a studio-related concern, or that designprocesses are used as analogies for writing, or that ‘verbalsketch books’ are used as a bridge between the visual and theverbal. In all cases, the results are writing pracices that are asrelevant and motivating as possible and where the alienatingfacor of seeing making/writing pracices as separate and non-relating is diminished.

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

A straightforward example of reflecive pracice is whenemphasis is placed on the student’s subjecive starting point,an experience or an artefac for example, and then on a moving away to a place of distance and reflecion,

a more objecive place of research and positioning within a context, with subsequent feeding back into the studiopracice. For design in particular, Donald Schön (1987)appears significant, with his understanding of ‘reflecion in acion’ and ‘learning by doing’: ‘the experience of thestudents in any reflecive pracicum is that they must plungeinto the doing, and try to educate themselves before they knowwhat it is they’re trying to learn.’ This has implications forhow the development of writing is presented; it promotesthe idea of exploration and experimentation, and movesaway from impositions of set strucures or the notion of an initial hypothesis, having a clear initial position that has to be proved.

Jenny Moon (1999) with her work on reflecive learningjournals, looking pracically at how acion and reflecioncan come together, has also been influential.

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CULTURAL STUDIES

ART & DESIGN PRACTICE

INFORMING THE GENERAL FROM THE SPECIFIC

INFORMING THE SPECIFIC FROM THE GENERAL

STUDENT’S OWN VOICE

PROCESS

The focus on process has included a number of elements, not least an awareness-raising of the proximity of design andwriting processes, with the insights this can bring to studentpracitioners. The writing realm that can seem alien to somestudent pracitioners is thus demystified to some extent. It may also be that the studio process itself becomes central to writing. Looking at blocks that inhibit writing at variousstages from a psychoanalytical perspecive constitute anotherelement11. Other processes involve multi-sensory and multi-modes of learning. Much of this kind of acivity has derivedfrom – or has parallels in – existing studio pracices, anddyslexia pedagogy. Then, there are strategies for narrowingdown the focus, as in Goldsmiths’ ‘Word Circles’ case study,and planning and draTing that come from Learning centresor English for Academic Purposes. Awareness and pracice of this nature means that students are freer; they gainconfidence in writing and see it as pracically realisable.

DIALOGUE

The importance of dialogue, reinforced by studio culture, ismanifest in many ways. There appears to be more exchangenowadays between students and staf. Writing can still be a solitary acivity for many, but its development is beingdiscussed in seminars; tutors input possible approaches towriting without prescribing one fixed way. The titles of essaysare negotiated with tutors more than previously, likewiselearning contracs/ agreements, and presentations of ideas or short tasks are incorporated before writing draTs. As withcollaborative work in the studios, there exist group projecsthat culminate in writing, notably as described in theFalmouth case study (BA Level 1): ‘…students are asked to plan an exhibition. They divide the work of researching the topic,locating or imagining a space, and representing their plan inwords, photographs, drawings, video, etc.’ Students presentcollaboratively too, then finally, produce individual essays that are a ‘reflecion of doing’ of the group work.

DIVERSITY AND FLEXIBILITY

As can be seen from the glimpses above, writing and itsdevelopment is complex. Tutors need to be facilitators andresources in themselves in order to be able to respond inflexible ways to a student body that may well have largenumbers of mature, dyslexic and international students. Less can be assumed about backgrounds. This diversity is apool in itself of voices that can together inform and invigoratethe culture of writing.

1011 See Claire Lofting’s discussion paper

THE NARRATIVE REVIEW: MAIN THEMES

The narrative review is divided into six sub-secions, each one beginning with a map that charts the characeristics of the theme presented. This is followed by an evaluativestatement about the theme and then two or three cameos of the case studies. Each sub-secion ends with a few keyquestions for further reflecion.

1 STUDIO-THEORY-SUPPORT

‘Theory’ is seen to cross writing and making

All students’ pracice – making, talks, writing – within studio

Concept of the ‘reflecive pracitioner’ as inspiration (Shön, Moon)

Links between making and writing processes are made explicit

The sketch book/ journal mode is exploitedModification of dissertation content and form

The studio is at the heart of many writing pracices that wesupport. In very busy and shiTing times, the familiar pracice,language and territory of the studio can provide a fulcrum or sound starting point for developing ideas in writing. Morethan this, the thinking and research of studio pracice is seen

less as split from writing pracice and more as forming acontinuum with it: if students perceive this, motivation forwriting follows12. Even when there are lecures (for example,at lower BA levels) that ofer a distance or new perspecivefrom studio, relevance to pracice is articulated.

The following three case studies, perhaps exemplify the themeof ‘studio-theory-support to the greatest degree.

At Sheield Hallam, responses from a student needsquestionnaire prompted tutors (across studio and contextualstudies) to incorporate writing development into a cross-departmental BA Design Level 2 module dealing with currentdesign theory and pracice issues. For example, there is afocus on time management and on the producion of a series of small written tasks that build up to the final writingoutput. All acivity takes place in the studio spaces. Onecourse outcome is the producion of a learning contracthat lays the foundations for both studio pracice and writingat Level 3, hence eliminating a split between the two. Thecontrac is also a move towards self-reliance. A virtual learningenvironment (VLE) has also been set up to provide studentswith information and writing tools, and to maintain supportof writing beyond teaching contac (and via which studentssubmit learning contracs) – useful for both dyslexic andinternational students. Importantly, the VLE is not a substitutefor face-to-face contac but seen more as a back-up.

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12 Wolverhampton’s case study, in which Graphic students at Level 1 do not possess studio space, offers a different perspective

In a similar move to dissolve the dichotomy between studioand theory, Central Saint Martins developed the Contextcourse for Graphic designers. This was specifically set up tosupport the large number of dyslexics on the course and wasdescribed at the last QAA as ‘inspirational’. There are somelecure series but more seminars: these are seen to best suitstudents who associate learning with doing. A variety ofprofessionals engage students in debates within the Designlandscape with the intention of students developingautonomous views. There is a correlation between researchand its visual manifestations. Along with a reflecive summary of process, students submit a Level 3 substitute for thedissertation: according to individual preference, this could be a book containing prose or, more radically, a design piecewithin which the writing is contained (see ‘Writing types’below, and the Image and Writing gallery on the website).

At Nottingham Trent, a workshop for the development of writing (Susan Orr in conjuncion with Anne Lydiat) wasbuilt into a Fine Art Level 3 studio-led course. The moduleencouraged students to ‘reflec on the ways in which theirown experiences, interests, political commitments and wideraims in life and social identities have shaped their research’(Lydiat, 2003). This partly involved understanding theoreticalissues and evaluating ‘other knowledges’ but the emphasis wason ‘research realised more by invention than interpretation’.This might be expressed as the ‘making-mind’ generatingideas and opinion in the writing more than synthesizing, or applying, a body of critical theory.

Dissertation topics were posted so that students could formcollaborative groups to discuss common ideas; visual-verbaljournals were also visible among the degree show work at the end of the year.

ReflectionDoes the concern for academic conventions sometimes inhibit A&D exploration through writing? Should studio tutors become more involved in writing development?Are there instances when a critical distance from studio is warranted?What can be done about geographical separation in some institutesthat inhibits liaison between, say, dyslexia tutors and studio tutors?

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2 WRITING PROCESSES

Attention and status to process

The journal and reflecions on process

Analogies with studio process Accompanying evaluative reports of process

The journal in relation to the dissertationIntegration with the visual

As pointed out in ‘Dynamic moves’, one very strongillustration of integration is manifested in reflecive learningjournals. They appear to stand as a significant bridge betweenstudio pracice on the one hand and more formal writing onthe other. Some relate to professional pracice while othersrelate to studio pracice. The notion of a sketch book that isfamiliar to students in A&D can ease students into writingpracice: there is less pressure, more freedom to note, to‘sketch’ and to experiment in writing (KIAD). What thejournals all have in common is a final report that reflecs on and synthesises the process of learning and development.

At Liverpool John Moores, at BA Level 2, a work placementmodule across nine departments culminates in the producionof a journal summary for assessment. The module focuses onprofessional pracice, bridging the place of university and thatof work, and ofering very important skills, transferable tostudio and to work. One of its aims is to show how writing isa necessary part of working life aTer studies, so, for instance,

there is extrinsic motivation for students to research andrecord where and with whom they will work. Research sourcesnecessarily involve company/designer websites, press articlesand verbal sources (tutors, contacs). Students are asked toreflec on their experiences in the workplace in diaries, or‘verbal sketchbooks’: this is to provide evidence that thelearning outcomes have been reached. It works in the sensethat a student’s sketchbook contains ideas from which theycan synthesise material for a final work (Lowy, 2003). Thewriting is distinc in its addressing of a business/ specialistaudience and in its visual means of conveying information(maps, tables); however, the ability to research, to writecommunicatively and with a particular audience in mind do transfer to the later dissertation.

At KIAD, BA Level 3 Illustration students keep a reflecivelearning journal as a result of students asking for moreemphasis to be placed on making visible the process anddevelopment of their ideas in the studio, and not just on an end produc, the final work. There are many instances of good pracices within the case study; here there will be a focus on two main points.

The first point is to do with the approach to the journals – that of motivating the students in writing, an area in whichthey may not be confident. This has much to do with raisingawareness: of writing blocks and how to overcome them; of a diversity of learning styles from which they can choose,and of creative techniques for getting started, managing writingand engaging acively in it. Further, students are asked toconsider the ‘wholistic/analytical [sic] and visual/verbal scales’

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(Riding and Rayner, 1998). Francis explains: ‘so many studentsin A&D approach problems with a whole picture of a solution ora wholistic view of a problem. At school, the step-by-stepapproach to solving a problem is encouraged and these studentshave difficulties in meeting requirements. An explanation of thedifferent approaches is both a relief and builds confidence.’ Themix of verbal and visual in the journal are discussed withstudents, as are the holistic and more analytical (summary)styles of writing so that students have an appreciation of theirdiferences and distinc qualities. Students are further invitedto appreciate the work of a number of artists writingreflecively about their own pracice.

The second main point is that there is a very careful stagingof processes. For example, the ‘reflecionnaire’ for studentsbegins with simple questions about what kind of colourpreferences they have, and later, more complex questionsappear, asking what the student has learnt about a previousprojec. At the end of the ‘gradual and open-ended’ coursedevelopment, students are asked to produce a reflecivesummary, what Francis calls a crystallisation of learning. It is a shiT from ‘primary reflection’ (the journal writing) to ‘secondary reflection’ with a ‘standing back, stepping aside,looking from another viewpoint, considering more objectively.’The sum experience of these stages, along with regularpracice of writing, can be said to develop in students adeeper learning (Alverno College, in Mentkowski, 2000).

Reflection: Should reflective learning journals be an alternative to a dissertation in some contexts?Should they carry more weight in terms of assessment?

3 WRITING DEVELOPMENT

Development is embedded – and for all students

Development is linked to specific A&D contexts

Integration across at least 2 areas of ‘studio-theory-support’

Seminars/workshops include study strategiesFormative and not just summative feedback

Perhaps as a response to widening participation, there isevidence of a move towards the integration of Contextual/theoretical studies (primarily at Level 1 or 2) with a series ofstudy skills, plus handbook, that embrace lecure, seminar andreading content as well as strategies and staged writing tasks.This approach is relevant and therefore motivating to studentsbecause it leads to an integrated programme of studies, with‘studio-theory-support’ connecions made explicit in diferentways. Further, the study skills are embedded; they are for all students, and not just for those with English as a secondlanguage (nor are they ‘drop-in’ – otherwise ‘drop-out’). Being inclusive, they promote the notion of development and avoid the ‘medical’ model of students being sent ofto receive ‘first aid.’ With the breakdown of study intomanageable chunks, with clear time scales, and withformative feedback, this approach also helps students to become independent learners.

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Sheield Hallam’s case study has already been referenced; the following reflec the variety across the partnerships. At the RCA, on a full-time EAP pre-sessional, when studentsare away from studios and before the MA programme, the‘Blade Runner’ course is one of various devised to developlanguage, critical awareness and writing skills in an integratedapproach. While restriced to international students on thepre-sessional, the approach is not dissimilar to the otherexamples in this secion. The medium of film, the visualelement, and the content are motivating for the students.Students view key scenes, read scripts and articles, discuss and then write step-by-step through the processes of essaywriting with tutor support. Students selec their own essaytitles which are as diverse as students’ backgrounds andinterests, for example, ‘How the designer Sid Mead built up thereality of Blade Runner’, ‘Do androids dream of Dolly the sheep?’and ‘The role of the eye.’ Students commented that theythought studies would comprise a series of language exercisesand were surprised and motivated by the integration ofviewing, discussion, reading and writing around film.

Contextual Studies staf working at BA Level 1, Bath Spa,have pioneered an integrated studies approach in response to student needs and in liaison with studio staf. A handbookis produced for each department containing lecure details,time scales, essay processes and subjec-related readings.‘Library research skills’ forms another element of the modulewith the understanding that such skills benefit both studioand writing pracices. Short fortnightly writing tasks withformative feedback help students build skills and confidence.One of these tasks requires students to relate the visual theory

to an image or objec of their own choice. As with othercomponents, the aim is to provide students with space fromwhich they can reflec on studio pracice, at times critically.Somerset, Level one Fashion/ Textile Surface Pattern,maximises the seminar space for the discussion of contextualideas and writing development on a ‘visual culture’ module.Each seminar begins with images (visual images/ referencesare also found in the handbook) and leads into a variety ofacivities. Students comment that the opportunity to discussthe key concepts of readings is beneficial, but more significantly,the lecure/ reading input is balanced by experiential learning.For example, students go back to the studio to make work inresponse to Japanese pattern designs; they are then asked tocomment on how they have applied the Japanese influence in both presentation and writing form. The movementbetween theory and studio pracice has a parallel here withthe movement between speaking and writing, where the twomodes complement and inform on each other. Students alsovisit a museum to apply display theory and observe at firsthand: this process is also consolidated through presentationand writing. Students comment that such staged tasks withfeedback give them confidence in writing – a comment that is repeated through similar case studies.

ReflectionShould small writing tasks count towards assessment; could they amount to a portfolio presentation of writing?Does the dissertation process (Level 3) also embed appropriate study strategies?

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4 THE PLACE OF THE VISUAL

For brainstorming, mapping, recording, organising & remembering

For engaging students in writing pracices

For propelling ideas forward as well as for illustrating ideas

As a central focus around which reflecing takes place

As a language that relates to – and debates with – the verbal

We appreciate that Art and Design students’ strengths lie in the visual domain; also that visual perception is primaryand precedes thought and then words (Berger, 1990; McKim,1980). Sometimes, students’ ability to command that visuallanguage is not fully exploited, nor is the range of ways inwhich it can harness and generate writing. The recent ADCHEJournal on ‘visual and verbal interfaces’, with contributions byWriting PAD participants, gave us an opportunity to re-viewthe subjec. The illustrations below acknowledge that A&Dstudents’ ‘first language’ is visual, and engage students inwriting pracices that harness it.

The first example of the place of the visual comes from aTextiles Level 1 workshop, Goldsmiths, which is team taughtby the Course Leader in Critical Studies and the Lecurer

in Student Support. Initial positive feedback caused theworkshop to move from ‘support’ class to being embedded inthe theory side of the Textiles programme. It enables studentsto write about images from primary observation. The processbegins with group work and a series of fast brainstormingsaround one image and then the other for comparison. This is fun, motivating and gives the students confidence; it showsthem that ‘research’ can consist of observation, and that,indeed, they possess the skills of appreciating the visual thatcan be accessed by slowing down the intuitive process andrecording it. They achieve a visual ‘critical analysis’ that canbe recorded in words and themes, and later, integrated withsecondary research in essays. As one student said at the end, ‘…very useful. It was a great way of organising your ideas andthoughts about a piece;’ another commented, ‘I learned to getthe best out of me.’

Surrey’s Level 3 Context module, ‘Aesthetics and Experience,’also begins with observation and direc reflecion of an objecor visual image with brainstorming and recording of allthoughts. As with the previous case study, the acivity is thenfollowed by research via secondary sources. The module occursaTer the dissertation and is very much concerned with theconfident expression of ideas rather than the adherence toconventions and modes of writing. The ‘I’ is also acivelyencouraged as a high degree of personal involvement isadvocated. Another objecive is that the initial refleciveacivity gives rise to key questions as this is so crucial in thepursuit and narrowing down of a secondary research path.Altogether, this helps students to avoid floating in theorieswithout knowing what position they themselves can own.

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Students say they appreciate such a time for reflecion butthat it is rare. As one student said, it was about ‘thinkingabout how to write thoughts and feelings down’, and another,about ‘forming my own opinion with a solid basis’.

At Wolverhampton, the visual realm (Graphic Design) isbrought centrally into the dissertation itself as a result of thesurvey of changing body of student cohorts, along with thelack of studio space (increasing numbers) and the need toevidence visual process and outcome. The result is the ‘VisualThesis,’ set up in 1996. The writing component was reducedfrom10,000 to 5,000 words and a 25% visual component wasintroduced. Marks states that his department’s adoption ofthe ‘visual thesis’ is ‘an attempt to begin formally acknowledgingthe growing relevance of a visual language and form ofcommunication. At the same time, it encourages a betterunderstanding of the relationship and interdependency betweensome of these various forms – written and visual… In terms of communication and a visible language system, writing (text on paper) is but one element of the visual with the image (or imagery) gradually becoming more significant…the key issueis the on-going relationship and synergies between all these formsof education.’ The ways in which students see such relationships,their examples, give us insights into where they are andinform teaching.

ReflectionShould the visual component within essays/dissertations be assessed?Are the uses of visuals within dissertations generally discussed withstudents; are they a part of study strategies?Are students able to see exemplars of other students’ work?

5 TYPES OF WRITING

Free, expressive, creative, experiential

Reflecive journal-sketchbook + analytical report

The status of the dissertationIntegration of experiential and theoretical; multi-voiced or layered writing; expressive

Certain myths around writing persist (since school days?) – notably that ‘I’ must not be used, or that the personal mustbe kept out of writing. This despite postmodern theory thathas critiqued the notion of the ‘objecive’ and celebrated the ‘small narratives’ (Lyotard in Sim 1998) – and this despitethe very individual starting points of much A&D pracice.The word ‘purposefully‘ of our projec name is pertinent: as John Wood argues, there exists the simple principle thatthe writing type and content should match the purpose.There are obviously many purposes, many types, from themore funcional – tutorial reports, CVs, work statements –through essay, dissertation, journal, catalogue statement toanimation script. Hence, a report would usually result insomething more impersonal; a script, in dialogue; a journal in something freer. A dissertation that is a longer piece mightinvolve a range of voices and styles. These are the ‘academic’writings of A&D. They are not fixed genres nor formulaic.They relate to reflecion, pracice, process, primaryobservation, student context. They may be direcly experientialor initially motivated by the personal. Where critical theory is integrated, it is considered central to pracice, direcly

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or indirecly – to illuminate and extend students’ pracices,ideas, direcions.

Good pracice here means acknowledging the range ofpurposes and possibilities; matching learning outcomes andcriteria to them, and, importantly, ensuring that the writingdevelopment complements the purposes. The latter mightinclude discussion around models (KIAD), or exposure tostudent writings as on the intranet site (RCA). Looking atsome key examples of writing types from the studies may help to focus on what current pracices acually are, and what kinds of writing development can best support them.

On the subjec of the dissertation, the jury is still out. Anumber of partners take it for granted that the dissertation(BA Level 3) is a useful, in-depth researched piece of writingthat benefits the students. Some, though, express doubts,while others have already modified its purpose and content.From projec studies, it is certainly accommodating, in thatone Fine Art module encourages writing that is more aboutinvention than interpretation (Lydiat 2003); a Design coursehas introduced a visual component that is assessed, and athird has presented students with the option of fusing thewritten and visual completely. An example (from the websitegallery, CSM Context programme) that describes the fusion,is given below: The student, who had lived in a number of cities,‘investigated and analysed the layout of each city [Barcelona,Paris, Kyoto, New York] using anthropology as a criticalframework, and focusing on approaches such as proxemics. Sheconcluded that it was cultural characteristics that defined the useof space in each city. For example, it is the radial layout of Kyoto

that reflects the presence of the Emperor’s court in the centre, with circles of different ranking Shogun palaces around it […]She used these findings to define the design strategy of her project. The final piece is a series of texts laid out in such a manner so as to be read in different ways: if the reader is reading the sectiondealing with Paris, the text will line up when the paper is foldeddiagonally, or horizontal folds allow the lining up of text aboutNew York. Her final piece is not merely an essay, rather it is aninteractive map that invites the reader to discover new ideas aboutthe subject and through the designed object.’

From the intranet guide of merely 6 MA dissertation extracsat the RCA, it is evident that a huge range of topics, voicesand styles is present. There is, at one end of the specrum,writing based on polemical argument, but others that alsohave a making element to them13. There are further tendenciesto produce something that reflecs more of a landscape orpanorama than a focused argument, and to incorporatevisuals in playful ways, or in ways that dialogue with thewritten text. There is certainly evidence that the dissertationdoes suit some students: one student is quoted in the Imageand Writing gallery as saying that the whole process ofwriting was very diicult in a second language, but that the research is now feeding into her Photography pracice.

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13 See Harriet Edwards’ discussion paper

There is a huge diference between students: there are thosefew who may become writers and those who say aTer thedissertation, ‘I never want to write again’. For the latter, coulda portfolio of shorter writings, or more professional pracice-based writings be an alternative? Or should students be ableto choose to some extent what weighting the writingcomponent receives in their degree? There are also caseswhere the notion of ‘reasonable adjustment’ (SENDA) meansthat students could present orally, as has occurred with atleast one partner. Mike Gorman’s comments on Paduauniversity and the prevailing vive voce assessment of studentsresonates at this point14.

If the dissertation remains the main written assessment of theA&D degree, and remembering the breadth of the students’backgrounds, there are implications for writing development.Susan Orr and Margo Blythman have made the point thatwriting does not take place on a blank canvas but that thereare cultural and academic conventions that students need tobe made aware of. There are always many queries about howto strucure ideas in writing, and oTen the dilemma of timeand rhythm, not only of having to turn from a ‘making mind’(for instance, Claire LoTing describes the notion of ‘reverie’in her discussion paper) to a ‘writing mind’, but also offinding time within a crowded curriculum. This begs thequestion of whether – and how exacly – research/ writingtime should be timetabled.

ReflectionShould students be penalised for their English if the ideas are thereand the writing communicates clearly?Should there be more student choice in terms of how much weightingthe dissertation receives?Do tutors have an opportunity to discuss how students are actually‘occupying’ the dissertation?Is freer, experimental writing included, away from a tightlyargument-based writing that may be more dependent on secondarysources? It is worth bearing in mind Jane Graves (2001) words atthis point: ‘Students who are diagnosed as dyslexic…often haveextreme difficulty with sequential activity in whatever context…But when it comes to creative writing, they may be at times verymuch more successful.’

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14 See impending discussion paper

6 ASSESSMENT

Accessible to studentsRelated to learning outcomes

Diferentiated by level and type of taskFlexible; accommodating types of writing

General good pracice we have witnessed in the case studies is that the assessment criteria are noted in handbooks or/and on intranets (sometimes with a glossary); that they areinformed by learning outcomes, and that the students aremade aware of them during introducions to writing. Withincriteria, there is an emphasis on clear communication inEnglish, rather than on perfecion, and sometimes a statedconcern for the ‘purpose’ of the writing in the sense of howthe writing is addressed to a particular reader (for example, a design client). There is a consensus that the criteria need to be open and flexible, perhaps mirroring the way they arefor studio work. However, the newer kinds of writing thathave been embraced at a number of levels may not be fullyaccounted for in some of the criteria that seem to followolder models and ways of thinking for dissertations: thereappears to be caution amongst staf about modification of criteria. The following concentrate on a few examples of notable modification.

At Somerset, Level 1, the ‘visual culture’ essay criteria for assessment are broken down into just three areas:research/analysis, planning /implementation andcommunication. Each one is followed by one or two

questions, for example, ‘research/analysis – How wellinformed is the student on the subjec? How are therequested issues addressed?’ The language employed isdeliberately straightforward. They are discussed as part of the seminar study programme and in relation to theparticulars of the brief; they are then applied through thewriting process. In this way, the criteria assume a role as a guide and not just a measuring stick at the end.

At Wolverhampton, assessment for the Level 3 Visual Thesisensures that no student can fail for aspecs of surface level oraccuracy, providing that other qualities – of observation andargument, for instance – are in place. It also includes a veryflexible description about the visual component, namely, thatits ‘concept and material form should be appropriate to theargument / subjec matter of the piece’. Group tutorial sessionsdeal with how this manifests in terms of individual projecs.

Assessment criteria also have to be flexible at KIAD due to the variety of submissions. They are explained anddiscussed with students in terms of ‘evidence; questioning;purpose; practice. These words lie at the heart of the summary.’So, for example, ‘Evidence: this is to clearly show the tutor thethought processes and developments that had been undertakenand to document the work and show the analysis of researchmaterial.’ As at Somerset, the criteria become a part of thequestions asked through the process of writing. Finally, theremay be something of a shiT in reflecive pracices generallywhere terms such as ‘critical analysis’ and ‘evidence’ refer tostudents’ ability to evaluate their own pracices and documenttheir own progress more than to analyse and illustrate theory.

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ReflectionIn year one of the project, a tutor from SIAD related how thecollaboration of students on the Design packaging degree includedpeer assessment of writing. This would parallel other ways in which students are encouraged to become self-reliant. Is there any more evidence of this?

Several of the case studies and discussions have pointed to thepossibility of alternative kinds of assessment, particularly oralpresentation of ideas that are listed in the SENDA handbook as being reasonable in particular circumstances. How haveinstitutions made provision for this?

THE CONCLUSION

The conclusion divides into a summary of general shiTs wehave observed: the role of students and tutors; dyslexia anddesign efecs; challenges, and finally, partner shiTs that havealready been made as a result of Writing PAD encounters.

GENERAL SHIFTS

The main influence can be summed up as the studio praciceinforming writing pracice, as well as the two pracicescoming closer together in a number of ways. The vitality ofthe studio – and the dialogue that is a part of it – is capturedin Mike Gorman’s comment on Learning agreements: ‘it’s nouse having them unless they’re owned by the course, and by thestaff on the course and the student…They have to be embedded inthe course.’ Dialogue between all those involved in the writingis crucial, and both dialogue and writing development need to have a proper allocation of time and space – and thereforestatus – awarded to them.

This last point leads to another. The survey talks of‘development’ rather than ‘support’: the latter connotes ‘firstaid’ whereas the former signifies that all students can work on their own writing and enhance it. One successful way ofdoing this has been through journals in which, as Pat Francissays, dyslexic students do not have to worry about wordcounts, nor international students about writing occasionallyin their own language. The journals reflec the diference

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and diversity of writing found across the projec, a diversitythat has necessitated flexible and accommodating criteria.TheImage and Writing gallery has begun to illustrate the ambitiousand creative ways in which student writing is developing.

THE STUDENTS

The students are more assertive and demanding than in a previous generation, perhaps particularly when they aremature students. Their voices are heard through needsanalysis, questionnaires, interviews (such as the oneundertaken at Bradford to raise students’ awareness of‘criticality’ across Fine Art, drawing and writing), and end-of-course oral and written feedback. This is apart from manyanecdotal comments made in passing – typical of theinformal A&D environment. Within study seminars andworkshops, there are discussions about blocks to writing;about key texts and images, and choosing ways in which to approach writing. Likewise, the briefs, assignments, plusassociated writings and sources are becoming much more the choice of the students, and not just at BA Level 3. Thisdevelopment towards self-reliance in writing has been notedin the collaborative peer work that takes place (for example,peer assessment, Packaging Design at SIAD) – thoughperhaps this is unusual. It may be one area in which thecritical dialogue inherent in studio pracice has not yettransferred easily to writing (see York St John’s study).

THE TUTORS

Tutors are coinciding more in terms of ‘studio-theory-support’: either taking on the writing development side of ‘Context’ themselves, or liaising across the areas; if tutorsare not pracitioners themselves, they have an understandingof A&D contexts. For example, there is a focus on reflecivepracice evolving from the students’ interests and concerns.As Mike Gorman puts it: ‘Fundamentally we have to start withthe students. It’s not a one size fits all. […] it’s a landscape, not acontinuum, and people occupy different places on the landscape.’The role of the tutor is not one of imposing but of dialogue,of suggesting, of awareness-raising and of negotiating –sometimes exchanging. The tutor is not a ‘holder’ ofknowledge as much as an engaged thinker and communicator:the eliciting and articulating that takes place in studio critstransfers to the writing processes. Such teaching pracicerequires flexibility, being open to changes and not overlyprescribing. Students’ choices of essay title and subjec matter‘keeps us on our toes’, says George Marks, it helps us to keepup-to-date and to understand where the students are. Therole further demands awareness of mature, dyslexic andinternational students. All of this, of course, needs time andtutor reflecion, and no amount of VLEs, handouts and largelecures will compensate for the time to meet A&D studentsface-to-face.

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DYSLEXIA EFFECTS

‘I like to think of dyslexia as a healthy form of rebellion againstdestructive social pressures, a celebration of individuality – and,equally important, the ordinary.’ (Graves, 1996)

The projec case studies acknowledge the work of tutors who deal with dyslexic students on an individual basis. It isgenerally understood that dyslexia, as stated, can also ofergood guidelines for all involved in teaching and learning (see good guidelines in Appendix 2). While on one level,these guidelines may appear pragmatic, the research field of dyslexia has brought about dynamic insights into how the mind operates: the identification of non-linear ways ofthinking, intuition and the holistic leap to the global; therelationship of leT brain to right brain hemisphere, creativity,and of the verbal – visual relationship (Graves 1996). It hasalso highlighted the psychological aspecs of learning – fear,overcoming blocks, as stated earlier. Awareness sessions onvisual-verbal connecions; on multiple learning modes andmulti-sensory approaches can also become a central part ofwriting workshops.

Finally, dyslexia itself ofers opportunity for research. In onestudent exemplar (BIAD), a mature student reflecs about her own dyslexia and researches the Aboriginal culture withits own distinc visual-spatial culture: ‘In the west we oftenassociate intelligent expression with the written word but it is easyto forget that the written word started with shapes and symbols.We have come to think that the written word is a superior form

of expression to creative skills such as painting… Kathy Sylva, aProfessor of Educational Psychology at Oxford university, supportsthis view: “In 25 years, we have moved from no curriculum, to anoverly academic curriculum… In this century we should move tothe balanced cognitive and social curriculum.”’15

DESIGN EFFECTS

There would seem to be a coming of age for Design pracicesin conjuncion with the development of writing cultures: a celebration, an airmation and an extension of territory.Many of the small shiTs described in the case studies share an impulse that could be said to come more from the Designfields. Apart from having many characeristics in commonwith Design (Sharples, 1999), the culture of writing in A&Dis acually being enlivened and informed by design discourseand thinking, as Orr and Blythman point out in their casestudy. Their examples are construcion analogies betweenarchitecure and writing (Mullin, 1998); peer collaboration –discussion, sharing and supporting – around writing; the useof the sketch book, and raising awareness of possibilities ofexperimentation in writing as in design (Fulwiler, 1987 andMoon, 1999).

The proximity of the writing and design cultures can besummed up in the Leeds Metropolitan case study thatpinpoints the ‘changing contexts that give rise to a succession

2315 http://news.bbc.co.uk/l/education/1099564.stm (accessed 7.8.02)

of different approaches, sensibilities and expectations of the role ofwriting in a design course.’ Guy Julier notes a shiT in design to‘the processes, interactions and decisions that the student makes.’In acknowledging such changes, tutors ‘promote a flexible, opencontext for debate’: discussions of decision making, reflecionon design, negotiation, enquiry and rationalising for designclients transfer from studio pracice to writing. Thedepartment’s Professional Studies centre deals with writingelements such as copywriting (aspecs of accuracy) and thepoetic. The purposes of pracice and writing are thus unified.There is one small voice of caution, though, that of writingskills, at surface level brought up by Leeds Metropolitan (infeedback with the team) and described in ‘Challenges’ below.

CHALLENGES

The projec has highlighted a number of challenges that wehope to pursue. One of the most pressing is the meaning andnature of the ‘dissertation’ – whether it is flexible enough tosurvive, what kinds of exploration are acually taking placewithin it, and what kinds of writing development areappropriate for it. With it, there is the issue of reading – what kind, how much, how eiciently – that has only beenaddressed marginally. Would the portfolio idea taken up byAlison James in the ADCHE journal be another route to takein place of the dissertation? It is unfortunate that the projeclost its two Fine Art theory consultants who might have hadmuch more to say on this subjec. Conneced to this issue isthat of assessment criteria and whether it suits the writing itpurports to serve. There is a further query about the radical

work going on in Levels 1 and 2 and whether this isacknowledged as part of the overall degree assessment.

The role of English for Academic Purposes (and, with it, the support for international students) and that of a learningcentre in some institutions appears problematic. If this‘support’ is treated as a separate thing or a place to go withproblems, then it is going to remain marginalised. As PatFrancis says, if you cut of the mechanical side of writing –the grammar and strucure side – from the rest of writingdevelopment, you move right away from the holistic andintegrated approach that has been so confidently described in the case studies. And with that the student motivationgoes, more still if provision is on a drop-in basis. Tutors are then asked to engage in proof-reading rather than indeveloping writing skills. A number of case studies raised the issue of language and writing skills; one future direcionmight be the notion of an editing skills course. Othersuggestions have been to embed courses and to embed themin subjec departments; to start early in the degree; to removethe ‘remedial’ label, and to integrate the language withcontent. Is this the way ahead?

SHIFTS MADE BY PROJECT PARTNERS

Returning to the introducion and Murray Saunders’ theoriesof change, we can now summarise some of the moves thatpartners have made during the projec that we believe willadd up to substantial change in the future.

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One of the simplest changes has been that colleagues havestarted to talk, across subjec areas and across institutions. For a number of staf, it has been the first time to meet othertutors involved in writing within their own institution. One tutor has said that just raising questions has been veryvaluable in itself. There have also been some spontaneousuprootings, with partner representatives crossing the countryto visit other partners and talk about pracices. One instanceof this was the March launch of the ADCHE journalcombined with a Writing PAD aTernoon at York St Johnswith reflecions on Japanese poetry’s influence on Fine Art,and on mature students’ approaches to writing.16

Other moves have been the adoption of Mike Gorman’s‘viewing list’, and the setting up of groups, one for readingand another for experimental writing in Design. Several tutorsare about to contribute further case studies and discussionpapers; one is hoping to carry out an internal survey ofdissertations across her own college. Another group of theorystaf is intending to have a meeting about writing contentwithin the dissertation, and a Writing PAD talk to studiostaf has led to them requesting a writing workshop forthemselves. One colleague is contemplating the incorporationof reflecive journals as a substitute for the dissertation.

Finally, we ofer one tutor’s email:‘We have set up a forum (which we will retain beyond theproject) of Studio, Cultural studies and Learning Support staff. We have met to discuss (in a consultative manner) thedevelopment of study skills. In the past, Study Skills has been seen as an issue for Cultural Studies tutors only but since we

have met we have realised that the issues we are trying to address(time management, learning styles, writing styles, etc) areimportant to Studio practice as well. It’s been hugely beneficial in many ways but we have not actually completed our study pack– mainly because we have so many perspectives on the subject. Itseems to us that good practice is particularly good practice if it isshared in this way… Last week Northbrook had its QAA reviewand the panel were very interested (and I think will report veryfavourably) on this development.’

Few of the pracices described in the Survey are revolutionary,but rather they represent shiTs that have taken place over thelast decade. On the other hand, they do have an accumulativeefec. We trust that the projec has given due acknowledgementand credit to pracices that have been pioneered by individualtutors across the A&D secor. We expec much more evolutionand dissemination of ideas in the future: as John Wood says,the projec is only just scratching the surface.

2516 Impending case study, Northumbria

FUTURE POSSIBILITIES

Partners and interested colleagues can contribute in the following ways:

– Discussion papers– Case studies– Exemplars for the Image and Writing Gallery– Attendance at the Evaluation Day, April 28th– Attendance at the final conference, September 23rd– Future projecs

CONTACT DETAILS

If you would like to find out more about Writing PAD, its aims, materials or participants, please check the WritingPAD website or contac the Writing PAD Projec Oicer:

Christoph RaatzWriting PAD Projec OicerLanguage Studies CentreGoldsmiths CollegeNew CrossLondon SE14 6NW

Tel 020 7717 2913Fax 020 7919 7403Email c.raatz@gold.ac.ukWeb www.writing-pad.ac.uk

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APPENDIX I WRITING PAD DISCUSSION PAPERSContent in Writing (2005)Pat Francis, Kent Institute of Art & Design

The Culture of Academic Rigour: doesdesign research really need it? (2000)John Wood, Goldsmiths College.This paper was first published in The Design Journal, Vol. 3, Issue 1, pp. 44 to 57, published by AshgatePublishing, Aldershot, UK, ISSN1460-6925, www.ashgate.com

Dance, desire and dyslexia – Randomthoughts on creativity (2001) Jane Graves, Central Saint MartinsCollege of Art & Design

Dyslexia in an art and design college – a case study (1996)Jane Graves, Central Saint MartinsCollege of Art & Design

Support for Writing on A&D courses(2003)Julia Lockheart, Goldsmiths College

Taking on board continuity anddiscontinuity in art and design studentwriting (2003)Harriet Edwards, Royal College of Art

Where is the ‘I’? (2003)Maziar Raein, Central Saint MartinsCollege of Art and Design

Thinking through ellipses (2003)Claire Lofting, Central SaintMartins College of Art and Design

WRITING PAD CASE STUDIES

Matters Around Art & DesignDissertations – Supporting students’MA dissertation through an intranetfacilityHarriet Edwards, Royal College of Art

The process of design is almost like writing an essaySusan Orr, York St John College of the University of LeedsMargo Blythman, London College of Communication

Writing is harder compared todesigning: encouraging academicwriting in designers and artistsHilary Cunlife-Charlesworth, Sheield Hallam University

Thinking about writingRebekka Kill, Bradford College

Designers are writersGuy Julier and Wendy Mayfield, Leeds Metropolitan University

Reflective Learning Journals in Studio PracticePat Francis, Kent Institute of Art & Design

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Enhancing Traditional Programmingwith New Writing StrategiesSarah Key, Somerset College of Arts and Technology, University of Plymouth Colleges

Study Skills innovation: Bath Spa University CollegeJulia Garrat, Bath Spa University College

Contemporary Exhibition ProjectNancy Roth, Falmouth College of Art

An exemplar of student writing: the Theoretical and Historical StudiesFinal Essay of Yvonne Flavell, level 3BA Textiles Design student.Cynthia Weaver, University of Central England

Writing as practice – practice as writingAnne Lydiat, Nottingham Trent University

Visual Writing for Textiles at Goldsmiths CollegeJulia Lockheart and PenninaBarnett, Goldsmiths College,University of London

A level 3 Contextual Studies modulefocusing on the critical aspects ofdesign and its historyAlison James and Adrian Bland, The Surrey Institute of Art andDesign

Helping students to overcome anxietiesabout writing – the ‘Visual Thesis’ of the BA Graphic CommunicationGeorge Marks, University of Wolverhampton

Blade runner: an integrated studiesproject – An English for AcademicPurposes (EAP) Pre-sessional ModuleHarriet Edwards and Helen Elder,Royal College of Art

A case study of a Work-based LearningModuleAdrienne Lowy, Liverpool School of Art and Design

The Major Project in the Contextcourse of the BA Graphic Design,Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design: Joining Context & StudioMaziar Raein, Central Saint MartinsCollege of Art & Design

Assisting students to focus ideas for presentations or essay writingZoë Telford, Freelance art lecurer at Tate Modern, the National Gallery,The London Institute, and others

Word circles: one pattern, many usesKaren Nicholls, Goldsmiths College

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APPENDIX II

DYSLEXIA GOOD PRACTICE

In line with the SENDA legislation, all staf in art and design colleges need to be aware of whatinclusion and good pracices are. The following are some suggestions made through the Writing PAD projec, some of which can be seen in theSENDA handbook.

Has the student body been made aware that a largeproportion of A&D students are dyslexic (likewise thestaff ), or have a particular visual-spatial learning style?

Have students with learning difficulties been made awarethat they can request specific support?

Has attention been made to the paper, colour, font, size and layout of the study skills handbook?

Is an awareness made of multi-modes of learning and writing?

Is an awareness made of multi-sensory modes of learning?

Are lecture notes and instruction sheet comments kept brief; are some bullet-pointed?

Is there attention paid to the visual? Is a viewing list included, for example, or any key imagesfor the seminars, etc? Is the use of the visual to help structure or/and rememberthings included?

Is there attention paid to non-written sources (interviews;film) for students who find reading extremely difficult?

Are writing skills broken down into manageable chunks?

Are students developing strategies to take charge of theirown learning?

Is there attention to a choice of linear and non-linearmodes of writing?

Is appropriate softwear (mindmapping; voice recognition)available?

Are alternative forms of assessment considered for some students (ie videos of presentations of research)?

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BIBLIOGRAPHYBooks and articles

Berger, J. (1990) Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBCTelevision Series, Penguin

Fulwiler, T. (Ed) (1987) The Journal Book, Portsmouth.NH: Boynton/Cook

Geertz, C. (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures, New York: Basic Books

McKim, R. (1980) Experiences in Visual Thinking, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.

Mentkowski, M. et al (2000) Learning that Lasts:integrating learning, development and performance in college and beyond, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Miles, J. & Edwards H. (2004) Seeing and Making: an enquiry into the place and nature of creative writingwithin the context of MA practice and dissertations,Conference paper for CLTAD

Moon, J. (1999). Reflection in Learning and ProfessionalDevelopment Theory and Practice. London: Kogan Page

Mullen, J (1998) ARTiculating: Teaching Writing in a Visual Culture, Boynton/ Cook Heineman

Pawson, R. (2002) ‘Evidence-based Policy: In Searchof a Method’, Evaluation Vol. 8(2): pp. 157-181

Riding, R.J. and Rayner, S. (1998) Cognitive Styles and Learning Strategies, David Fulton

Schön, D (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner– Toward a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the Professions, San Franscisco, Jossey-Bass Inc.

Sim, S. (1998) The Icon Critical Dictionary of Postmodern Thought, Icon Books

Trowler, P, Saunders, M. & Knight, P. (2003) ChangeThinking, Change Practices – A guide to change for Headsof Department, Programme Leaders and other changeagents in Higher Education, LTSN Generic Centre, York

Sharples, M. (1999) How We Write: Writing as Creative Design. London: Routledge

Website (accessed 7.8.02)http://news.bbc.co.uk/l/education/1099564.stm

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The projec has come a long way since the initialdebates and we have benefitted from huge amounts of support and advice from many colleagues. Thanks to all of the following, and our apologies if we have unwittingly left anyone out:

David Allen, Anne Asha, Pennina Barnett, Sharon Barton, John Beacham, Mark Blagrove, Erik Borg, David Buss, Adrian Bland, Margo Blythman,Andrew Brett, Martin Conreen, Alan Cummings, Hilary Cunliffe-Charlesworth, Allan Davies, Mary Davies, Alexia Defert, Marl’ene Edwin, Nick Evans, Linda Drew,Pat Francis, Stuart Evans, Ruth Findlay-Brooks, Debbie Flint, Judy Glasman, Julia Garratt, Mike Gorman,Jane Graves, Linda Griffiths, Paul Hallam, Lise Hansen,Peter Hassell, Vivienne Hibberd, Jody Hudson Powell,Alison James, Janis Jefferies, Guy Julier, Sarah Key,Rebekka Kill, Danny Killick, Claire Lofting, Kate Love,Adrienne Lowy, Anne Lydiat, Una Lynch, Martina Margetts,George Marks, Paul Martin, Jocelyn May, Wendy Mayfield,Jonathan Miles, Lesley Morris, Karen Nicholls, Susan Orr,Ian Padgett, Melanie Parker, Diane Peacock, John Phelps,Jane Rapley, Vivienne Reiss, Elle Reynolds, Nancy Roth,Murray Saunders, Kay Stables, Heather Symonds,

Steph Taylor, Zoë Telford, Barbara Thomas, Mo Throp,Joan Turner, Cynthia Weaver, Bernard Walsh and John Wood.

The projec consortium has seen the arrival of threebabies – congratulations – and sadly, the sudden deathof our much missed internal evaluator, John Beecham(Goldsmiths). We would like to pass on to all ourpartners his final words to us at the end of a steeringcommittee:

‘In the words of Mr Grace, you’ve all done very well.’

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This report has been put together by Harriet Edwards and the Project Team. Design by witthansen.com