The illustration pathway is often perceived as “uncool,” “carefree,” and understood to be “kids stuff” among the student cohort. This perception is based on shared student expressions among my colleagues and myself, as well as the pathway’s low subscription rate this year.

This low sign-up to the pathway has been a huge welcome to me. We are running the classes at 25 students compared to 35 last year and so far the attention and interest the students are showing in the work we are doing is high. 

In discussion with my colleague who is the lead tutor of the pathway, we have both expressed a desire to “show off” and purposely make work with the students that peacocks, demonstrating both the value of illustration as a discipline and the pathway. The effect of this has been positive on our new group. There is an air of confidence as well as a harmonious community spirit emerging. My colleague had also informed me of students from other pathway areas commenting on the work the illustration group are doing such as “Wow, this way more fun”, and “How can I do it too”.

Starting the second unit has been very positive for me with the new group. I feel good to go to work and present the days tasks, ideas, and approaches to making work. I feel a lot happier to share and give to others than I have for a long time and It no longer feels like an expectation of duty but a genuine interest in someone else’s growth. The smaller group is an essential factor in this. It allows me to get to know them faster, as well as for us to make more complex and sophisticated work.  I also don’t feel (at present) that I have to carry and motivate students who are disinterested which has often been a burden to me.

In our newly formed illustration group, we have a student who is emotionally demanding both on staff and students. Two specific incidents have occurred with the student that I will detail below. 

During one session I was trying to solve a variety of different problems for a collection of students at the same time. They ranged from the conceptual resolution of project ideas to the changing of a scalpel blade. The student in question negotiated around the others like a speeding whippet to take precedence over anyone else’s concerns. This particular brief required careful and accurate cutting of formal typography. The student held up their work poised to ask a question and in an instant of looking at their progress I  said something to the effect of “Your letters are not drawn properly you need to do it again.” Thinking little of the matter, during the lunch break, my line manager informed me that they had to calm the student down and the student had to be reassured that my feedback was from a place of good faith and with the intent of making the best possible work. My line manager suggested talking to the student later in the day and apologising.

I followed my duty and spoke to the student and explained that my actions came from the best of intentions. 

Critical and constructive feedback is essential to a design practice. My own education was filled with honest pointed feedback, and I chose to seek those specific people for that experience and insight.

The second incident was during my day not teaching but in the studio. An important perk to the job has been free unfettered access to the print workshop. This allows me to make my own work with the benefit of showing students various approaches to printmaking during taught sessions. I usually use the print room outside of taught days but I may have to answer a few questions or help a student if they happen to be in, but this is mostly unusual. 

On this occasion, the student came to work for the day. Shortly after settling down, they became vocally and visibly upset proceeding to shout “My workflow isn’t working!” Repeatedly. Not wanting to see someone in distress over a small inconvenience I tried to diagnose the problem eventually solving it. During this process, I had to be extremely calm and reassuring. However, being around a person who is emotionally volatile makes me uncomfortable and stressed. I’m thinking what scenario will happen, will this person lash out physically or verbally at me or another student? This person does have an ISA, and I have fulfilled the requirements during the taught sessions. However, this doesn’t mean I’m supplied with all of the knowledge skill,  and psychological tools to support this person when they are in extreme distress.

The students in the course recently received their diagnoses for their specialist pathways. To allow the tutors time to assess the part one work, students engage in an extension project of their choice, typically aligning with the preferred pathway they plan to pursue. The goal is to enable more autonomous design decision-making. Each project within the various pathway areas should have had clear instructions and set aims for each day. On the first day of the extension project, I had to teach a group I’ve worked with previously. One pathway area dominates in popularity this year. However, I find its associated extension project to be poorly written and lacking sufficient learning guidance. 

I organised the students into groups based on their choice of extension project. Approximately eight students chose the project associated with the widely favoured pathway. During the first exercise, I asked them to decipher the project brief and identify the deliverables and expectations. After discussions and reading the brief together, no one understood the expectations. This raised questions about the appropriateness of such unclear instructions. Is it a deliberate strategy to disenfranchise students from the pathway? Why did the students find the brief exciting despite its opaque quality and the lack of proper learning support? 

Later, two students requested to leave to visit the CSM KX materials library, as suggested in the brief. I asked them to explain their rationale, and they believed they could gain firsthand experience of materials. Even though I made it clear that they are free to do what they deem best for them, I did encourage them to utilise our site’s resources, emphasising that any material can be valid depending on how it’s used. I also clarified that the material library is not necessarily where the “real” ideas happen, dispelling their perception. A sense of mistrust lingered among us. 

Frequently, I observe that the pathway in question and the associated discipline structure projects that avoid critical examination and possess questionable practices. The pathway also undermines the diagnostic learning achievements by dismissing Part One as “a waste of time, we can’t use any of it” and allegedly telling students to “forget part one; we’ll show you how to research, etc., how we want.” My perception of their course is essentially a preparatory program for a house style to progress to competitive undergraduate courses at CSM. The diagnostic process on the foundation is no longer suitable and cannot be followed as first envisioned. You cannot deny a student their first choice who may have travelled across the globe and paid £22,800, potentially being placed into an undesired pathway.

Being the performing teacher is an aspect of the job I find the most difficult and challenging.

To give context to this area of difficulty and anecdotal reflection I will briefly summarise the related project associated with the scenario. The project title is Say it loud, students have an anonymous text based conversation using thier phones around a subject we prescribe, this year being “change” During the briefing the tutor asks the students to respond as a whole class group how we can think about change, where they might have experienced change, do they embrace or fear it etc. the purpose is to initiate potential areas of discussion for the students when they begin their conversations.

On my second round of teaching the brief this term I experienced an unresponsive group and a lot of dead air during this section of the delivery. I allowed enough time for them to think and as I wasn’t receiving any responses rephrased the question. Still no responses. Becoming internally frustrated I let us all sit in the silence and visually scanned the room for any respondent’s. Finally a student could bare it no longer and gave an answer. For the rest of the taught day I felt I had to be on my best behaviour, the gentle and forgiving tutor, no amount of thoughtless questions or skewed approaches to using scissors or a scalpel would visibly get me down. 

The experience left thinking why was this particular group unresponsive to the question when on all other times teaching the project it was fine. Could have it been the room? Was there a lack of bonding or relationship  building in the group? Were the students tired of the course at this point? Were my attempts of being the amiable tutor transparent? 

Having to manage my own frustrations and perform as something I’m not or exaggerate qualities in me that are often in limited supply was physically tiring. I think I can be quick to criticise my own approach or delivery but in this instance I feel there is a responsibility was on the students to fulfil their half of the learning in a relatively simple task. Arguably perhaps I could  have been more agile and quickly changed the circumstance and asked them to do the task in table groups, but with the limited time available these things are not  always possible.

This is just one instance where I often feel my head is above the parapet. 

A few observations of my colleague: In my opinion, they are much better at talking to the students during the session. I find it uncomfortable to be physically in close proximity to other people. This is particularly exaggerated by the size of the room, the number of students, and the furniture layout. My colleague, however, as far as I know, has little problem in navigating that challenge. My colleague is someone I observe to be energised by other people, whereas I’m drained from engaging in conversation, tutorials, and giving advice. 

The delivery of content from my perspective was sufficient; however, a demonstration of stencil preparation was not visibly clear from the back of the room. The performance of the demonstration did provide some theatrics that I think give a “wow” factor. This, I think, is an aspect of “proof” to the students that “I can do it,” and my skills and knowledge are valid and relevant.

Additional ideas that were in discussion with another colleague were tutor expiry. How long can a tutor continue to teach before their ideas, knowledge, and methods of teaching are outdated? How long does a tutor have before they no longer want to work with a particular age group? 

The foundation, by its nature, is very demanding physically and mentally. We are frequently adapting or changing the ways we deliver the taught content as well as the content itself, and sessions are usually filled with activities and tasks. Many of my colleagues are physically active and are constantly seeking new challenges to experiment with and to better improve the course. A colleague shared their experience of being taught during their BA. They told me of a project brief they were conducting that was being delivered by a tutor who had previously completed the brief themselves during their own studies on the same BA course some 20 plus years before. Is that a sign of a course that is future-proofed? Is that an indication of course leaders who are dedicated to designing projects that are relevant to contemporary design theory and practice? I asked my colleague, “What do you think the effect was on your own learning?” They replied positively towards the project and it was a means to further explore aspects of their developing practice they had previously started. However, they felt that the project lacked a broader context within design and specifically how their work could be applied. This led us to think about our own project briefs and any that we thought could be adapted and subsequently generated an idea for a display for an animation project we will conduct in the second unit of the course.

“Should I be doing this job?”

Why does it matter to me? Why does it matter to the world?

Through out the PGCERT I have questioned my suitability in a teaching role. In many ways I have avoided facing the proposed research question as result of fear (of finding other employment) as well as the benefits that teaching can provide this includes but not limited to time to work on my on design/ art/ illustration practice, motivated and inspiring peers, and access to resources.

I think the PGCERT is attempting shape and direct me in a specific way, one where pedagogic theory and practice takes precedent over design practice, knowledge and experience. This for me has resulted in wider questions related to the relevance of design education today. Graphic design and illustration is one of the most democratic disciplines in that very few tools and equipment is required to make a piece of design. However, the landscape of commercial illustration is overflowing with image makers, and access to stock image websites (such as Getty) along with the advent of artificial intelligence has added a new layer of complexity for freshly graduated students. With that in mind, what is the purpose of design education now?

Although I have tried, many of problems I have identified during the PGCERT regardless of scale I cannot subscribe to or have no ambition to change. The nature of the course I teach on is very fast paced and we often have to be agile and reactive to problems in a very quick and immediate way. I have therefore been built in a way to make things work regards of the problem. 

For many tutors teaching was not a first option for them and I believe the university has relied on designers to bring their experience to enrich the course as well as validating the subject matter taught in sessions. But are they the “right” people for the job? Who is the right person for the job? Why did I get my job?

I think this an important question to ask because it can help me make a more informed decision regarding my future, I can ask if I’m causing harm to myself and a student cohort by continuing this role. I hope to explore what is more important to design education the practice of design or the practice of pedagogy.

Research questions and key words

“Should I Be doing this job?”

Why have design education today

What is design education today

Where are you up to (taking stock)

I have only just decided on a research question.

How are you feeling about it?  (Temperature check)

Pre discussion with Lindsey I was feeling frustrated at having little direction with the project and the ideas I had were un-stimulating or I felt they would be critically looked down upon. Post tutorial I have more confidence in the proposed question, but also feel the question is very exposing and puts my in a position of vulnerability that I’m unsure of how to navigate. 

What do you need to know more about? (Knowledge formation / concept mapping)

What reading is relevant and suitable to my area of interest, 

How I might conduct the researching (Initial suggestions include journaling and speaking to peers)

Observation of other tutors? 

Reflective entries on my taught sessions

How do I ensure I protect myself but can speak to my peers in an honest and open way

How do I avoid turning this into a rant and keep on track

Where is the university ethos / philosophy moving to?

Students: what is their expectation?