Making Workshop: Giant Insects!
(Introduction & Background)
I want to deliver my teaching skills through ‘doing and making’ with one-to-one engagement with students during workshop session. Communicating practical skills using objects and materials to support teaching and encouraging students to think their way through ‘design a construction problems’ and find solutions.
This project is to introduce students to using hand tools, diverse range of materials, manipulation and using construction techniques. To support students’ diversity- through, language and written information (to also be aware of; disability, gender, ethnicity and sexuality. To communicate and demonstrate technical skills and expose students to ‘workshop experience’.
Project objectives and Brief
The introduction of materials, tools and the develop skills in construction. The understanding of materials in preparation for main model making project (MA Character Animation) to be devised later in the term. 2023 summer.
The students were briefed to make an insect by using materials that are freely available within the Platform Theatre Assembly Workshop. It was also an opportunity for students who were not familiar with the ‘workshop environment’ and the range of material usage-where theatre technicians are available to guide them through different construction techniques. Each student was assigned a task to choose an insect of their choice to be made and to be used in a performative piece play or stage setting. Students were asked to bring a picture of the insect to the workshop.
With a series of lengthy discussions with course tutors on learning outcomes of the workshop classes with emphasis on-tool usage/technical skills, material experience, material manipulation, ‘animation of insect’, with further exploration of the workshop experience. My fellow colleague Michael Breaky, who will be delivering the workshop course with me; we should end up with a selection of giant in sects in the workshop.
Please see attached images used in brief to stimulate ideas impossible insect makes.
Evaluation
Looking at the end results of the insects made by students (example below) I became aware and very apparent that students did not have enough experience or knowledge in the use of material or tool skills in the manipulation of materials, i.e. card, plastic, wood, and miscellaneous objects combined with tools hand tools- hammer, saw, craft knife & scalpel, cutting board, electrical hand tools. How to stick/attach diverse materials together. The students we’re not trained or had technical working knowledge or experience of a workshop environment. It became clear to me that students should have a pre-introduction/ pre-workshop inductions and training in the use of tools and greater exposure to material usage. I.e. an introduction of workshop machinery, cutting milling tools and hand tools. Students to be given the opportunity to experiment and explore materials and how they can be manipulated. I believe we should have further lectures in making that will, prepare the student to achieve their ‘creative makes’. Giving the student prior knowledge, skills and experience of materials and workshop environments. It is also important that communication of ideas and processes are delivered clearly by technicians taking on board student diversity – project briefs, sent by email or as a hard paper copy is written to show the project objective and learning outcome.
The results of the project and insects made were very impressive, imaginative in the choice of materials, dexterity in the material manipulation. Even though there were students who had a lack of skills and knowledge of materials; the students progressed quickly in the making of these impressive insects with one-to-one engagement with theatre technicians; giving students guidance and advice in how materials can be used and showing construction techniques. See examples of insects made.
Moving forward
As expressed earlier, forward planning and early engagement in workshops with the students should be the best approach, starting with small groups of x 10 and where needed one-to-one workshop inductions and tutorials.
I believe in the ‘The doing and making’ approach to teaching, which is a successful learning tool where the technician tutor gives demonstrations of material manipulation and construction methods during the workshop sessions (please see my example of Mantis insect made as a demonstration tool for students- a visual example / reference of materials for students to refer to) while students are making their own insects and discovering construction techniques they can refer to the technicians approach and method that can be applied to their insect design.
Again, this is a great example of ‘object learning’ for students. Another outcome of the workshop inductions is that the students gain ‘transferable skills’ that can be used later within the course curricular programme which can be further developed.
References:
‘The potential of online object-based learning activities to support the teaching of intersectional environmentalism in art and design higher education’
Judy Willcocks-Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London
Kieran Mahon-Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London
Contact: Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, Granary
Building, 1 Granary Square, London, N1C 4AA, UK.
E-mail: k.mahon@arts.ac.uk
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0868-7818
Judy Willcocks and Kieran Mahon have asserted their right under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the authors of
this work in the format that was submitted to Intellect Ltd.
‘Teaching practices for creative practitioners’
Orr & Shreeve 2017-Signature Pedagogies in Art & design.
Orr, S, & Shreeve, A 2017, Art and Design Pedagogy in Higher Education : Knowledge, Values and Ambiguity in the Creative
Curriculum, Taylor & Francis Group, Milton. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [1 January 2024].
Created from ual on 2024-01-01 14:50:26.
‘Challenging student-Enabling inclusive learning‘
Veronica Bamber and Anna Jones