LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS IN CREATIVE AND ACADEMIC PRACTICES

REFLECTIVE REVIEW
EDU130 PGCHE Assignment 9 by Darren Whittington 08/15

EVIDENCING AREA OF ACTIVITY 1:

Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study
Through the implementation of the learning theories learnt throughout the PGCHE I have been able to
better contextualise the modules I teach, align the MIFs more appropriately with the learning outcomes
and deliver briefs, lectures and seminars that are more engaging for students(evidenced in Assignment
3 mICRO TEACH K1-4 & V 1,3). The theories have also helped transfer this knowledge through industry
engagement giving agencies a better understanding of how to structure and design briefs that engage in
the learning process leading to quality feedback for students(evidenced in Assignment 2 ASSESSMENT
& FEEDBACK 4 K2-5 & V 1-4) and also approach the type of agencies that want to engage in the process of
developing the learning journey that will stay in touch with the creative industries future requirements.
Due to increased cohort sizes on the horizon I have also implemented technological solutions to help
deliver lectures and seminars that require industry engagement(evidenced in Assignment 8 Synoptic
development of learning & teaching activity 5 K1-6 & V 1-4) and feedback to help alleviate
time constraints on visiting lecturers and give students greater ownership of the engagement process
and create an environment that encourages deeper learning prior to a lecture improving the contextual
understanding of the sessions and in turn the absorption of understanding and questioning of the
knowledge transferred.
EVIDENCING AREA OF ACTIVITY 2:
Teach and/or support learning
I have developed a mentoring approach to the way I teach, with a priority on giving the learner more
ownership of their learning journey which has in turn developed better engagement by the student and
absorption of knowledge. This has been balanced with a greater understanding of the NUS Charter and
the concerns and priorities of students with the way they are assessed through formative feedback in a
timely manner and the studies into timely feedback(evidenced in Assignment 4 Best Practice K1,3,5
& V 1,3,4).
Implementing the Equalities Act 2010 has influenced the way I now approach the crit environment in a
much more inclusive way(evidenced in Assignment 5 INCLUSIVITY K1-6 & V 1-4), taking into account the
recognised disabilities and restructuring of sessions that need to be more open and student led, here the
mentoring approach discussed by Barrett has helped develop a better way of working with students who
have disabilities to encourage them to ask questions and take-part in a forums of open debate with one
to one tutorials both online and in-class to support it.
Over the past year I have also developed stronger ties with industry using their employees as mentors for
the creative courses I teach on, helping students develop new life skills and relationships that will help
elevate their understanding of the projects set and an ability to contextualise them within the real world
environment. This includes agency visits to London, a highly successful placement scheme and visiting
lecture series developed from the relationships created by the course and the students alike(evidenced in
Assignment 8 Synoptic development of learning & teaching activity 5 K1-6 & V 1-4)

EVIDENCING AREA OF ACTIVITY 3:

Assess and give feedback to learners
Developing the quality of feedback in a timely manner has been a priority in my teaching. A core aspect of
this is giving the students structured points of reference to reflect upon by developing new frameworks
to help engage industry in nurturing talent with a structure to the commentary on student work. This has
been an in-depth discovery phase for my teaching based on peer observations and a key part in knowing
the learners have learnt, creating new ways to record feedback and structure projects that build in
formative feedback at key stages whether using peer evaluation or tutorial based sessions (evidenced in
Assignment 2 ASSESSMENT & FEEDBACK 4 K2-5 & V 1-4).
Feedback has also transcended technology through peer led formative assessment and created new ways
of recording feedback that enhances the understanding for students in how to use feedback as a point of
reflection and development(evidenced in Assignment 7 Critical Evaluation of Teaching
Practice 4 K1-6 & V 1-4).
The over-arching aspect of the development of formative feedback has been to encourage
experimentation, analysis and evaluation throughout the learners journey and enhance the student
experience with clear guidelines on how work is assessed and to structure modules more clearly around
the learning outcomes for the learner and rewriting these outcomes as a matrix that can be used across
the School of Communication that becomes a point of reference and guidance on expectations for every
element of the module, improving the quality of the assessment by all teachers, VLs & ALs following the
QAA standards of practice.
EVIDENCING AREA OF ACTIVITY 4:
Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance
With increased cohort sizes on the horizon the way we teach will need to change and as such the learning
environment needs to adapt to cater for it to ensure the quality of feedback and contact time required.
Through the PGCHE I have developed new strategies to counter this using technological solutions to
create online communities that are encouraged to share knowledge and pro-actively approach industry
and originators of knowledge to self direct study and curate their own learning strategies(evidenced in
Assignment 8 Synoptic development of learning & teaching activity 5 K1-6 & V 1-4).
This is also evidenced in the way modules are developed with industry to improve the employability skills
of students( Assignment 4 Employability K1-6 & V 1-4) and give them insights into the changing
environments within the communications industry. This is also backed up with a placement scheme that
is embedded within modules and is helping courses within the School of Communication at Falmouth
University reach 98% employability scores in the DHLE and c. 98% in the NSS over the past 3 years.
Through research throughout the PGCHE it has become clear that Falmouth University has a high
proportion of recognised disabilities at c.30% and as such has influenced every aspect of the way we
support students and increase the availability for personal tutorials, electronic resources to record or
revisit lectures together with a flexibility with how students choose to interact with presentations
(evidenced in Assignment 2 ASSESSMENT & FEEDBACK 4 K2-5 & V 1-4).
EVIDENCING AREA OF ACTIVITY 5:
Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating
research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices

Employability is at the heart of the School of Communication and everything I teach relates back to a
skill required by industry, we even embed the modules within industry and have the course evaluated by
industry leaders to make sure what we teach is relevant and focused on the future of industry
requirements(evidenced in Assignment 6 professional Practice K1-6 & V 1-4). This close
relationship gives us as practitioners the ability to be transient between front-line business and gauge
trends that are coming and how approaches are changing, this access allows us to develop material
quickly and build in flexibility to briefs year on year and change the way they are delivered and by whom,
making us curators of knowledge as well as developer of transferable skills.
This closeness to industry has created research areas that help grow the creative industries in Cornwall
as aligned with the Falmouth University Strategic plan. This engagement locally is helping grow Cornwall
as an new innovation sector which has global reach and as such creating new mentors that can engage
with the courses and help develop new ones that are relevant for the sector, as such Im currently
rewriting BA(Hons)Digital Media using industry insights but with a focus on developing talent that will
stay locally.
Recent conferences such as Exploiting the digital economy at Falmouth University have introduced new
techniques to learning and skill sets required by industry which helps me identify knowledge gaps and
build in time to re training myself to better understand the impact these changes will have for students
future employability.

REFERENCES
Assignment 2. Available at: http://darrenwhittington.wix.com/pause#!assignment-2/c22zx
Assignment 3. Available at: http://darrenwhittington.wix.com/pause#!assignment-3/c10my
Assignment 4. Available at: http://darrenwhittington.wix.com/pause#!assignment-4/cjp2
Assignment 5. Available at: http://darrenwhittington.wix.com/pause#!assignment-5/c1eh5
Assignment 6. Available at: http://darrenwhittington.wix.com/pause#!assignment-6/c9xh
Assignment 7. Available at: http://darrenwhittington.wix.com/pause#!assignment-7/cfwk
Assignment 8. Available at: http://darrenwhittington.wix.com/pause#!assignment-8/c10bz