Skip to content
1981
Volume 25, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 1474-273X
  • E-ISSN: 2040-0896

Abstract

Research suggests that technicians are teaching within their role: my study recognizes this learning as both critical and reflective. Structured around a hybrid methodology, including conversation, observation of the making stage, and interviews, the research captures the level of teaching and learning between an arts-based technician and sixteen students. The research shows that critical reflection occurs prior to the making process, during the ‘doing’ stage when reflection-in-action occurs, through material thinking and after the making process, during self-reflection. A critical thinking disposition and reflection gauge was created to identify themes and patterns, resulting in thematic analysis of the data. These interactions within the creative process highlight that much of the technical pedagogy occurs through material thinking or thinking through materials. By understanding the level of engagement, between technician and a student, we gain knowledge on this interaction and the level of teaching and learning occurring. Recognising this could lead to developments within the students’ methods of learning within practice.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/adch_00087_1
2024-07-05
2026-04-20

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Backemeyer, S. (2000), Making Their Mark: Art, Craft and Design at the Central School 1896–1966, London: Herbert Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Bailin, S., Case, R., Coombs, J. and Daniels, L. (1999), ‘Conceptualising critical thinking’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 31:3, pp. 285302.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Blythman, B., Parker, B. and Tiffin, S. (2008), ‘“Forget the academic staff!”: The contribution to creative learning in practice of technical staff and equipment’, Enhancing Curricula: Using Research and Enquiry to Inform Student Learning in the Disciplines Conference, Lycée Francais, New York, 3–4 April, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241824242_Forget_the_academic_staff_The_contribution_to_creative_learning_in_practice_of_technical_staff_and_equipment. Accessed 24 January 2014.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Bolt, B. (2006), ‘Materializing pedagogies’, working papers in Art and Design 4, University of Melbourne, https://www.herts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/12381/WPIAAD_vol4_bolt.pdf. Accessed 23 January 2023.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Boud, D., Keogh, M. and Walker, D. (1985), Reflection: Turning Experience into Learning, London: Kogan Page.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Bourdieu, P. (1993), Sociology in Question, London: Sage Publications.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Braddock, D. (1995), ‘What is a technician?’, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 39:1, p. 38.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Brannick, T. and Coghlan, D. (2007), ‘In defensive of being “native”: The case for insider academic research’, Organizational Research Methods, 10:1, pp. 5974, https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428106289253.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Brockbank, A. and McGill, I. (2007), Facilitating Reflective Learning in Higher Education, 2nd ed., New York: McGraw-Hill.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Brookfield, S. (1987), Developing Critical Thinking: Challenging Adults to Explore Alternative Ways of Thinking and Acting, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Brookfield, S. (1992), ‘Uncovering assumptions: The key to reflective practice’, Adult Learning, 3:4, https://doi.org/10.1177/104515959200300405.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Buckley, B. and Conomos, J. (2009), Rethinking the Contemporary Art School: The Artist, the PhD, and the Academy, Halifax: The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Bulley, J. and Özden, S. (2021), Practice Research, London: Practice Research Advisory Group UK, https://doi.org/10.23636/1347. Accessed 4 February 2023.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Bulman, C., Lathlean, J. and Gobbi, M. (2013), ‘The process of teaching and learning about reflection: Research insights from professional nurse education’, Studies in Higher Education, 39:7, pp. 121936, https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.777413.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Chapman, L. (1978), Approaches to Art in Education, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Clarke, A. and Bautisca, D. (2017), ‘Critical reflection and arts-based action research for the educator self’, Canadian Journal of Action Research, 18:1, pp. 5270.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Cole, A. L. and Knowles, J. G. (2008), Handbook of the Arts in Qualitative Research: Perspectives, Methodologies, Examples, and Issues, Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452226545.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Dewey, J. (1934), Art as Experience, New York: Perigee.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Dobson, I. (2000), ‘Them and us: General and non-general staff in higher education’, Journal of Higher Education Policy Management, 22:2, pp. 20310.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Duley, J. (1981), ‘Field experience education’, in A. W. Chickering (ed.), The Modern American College, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Ellis, C., Adams, T. and Bochner, E. (2011), ‘Autoethnography: An overview’, Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 12:1, https://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1589/3096. Accessed 17 June 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Facione, P. and Giancarlo, C. (2001), ‘A look across four years at the disposition toward critical thinking among undergraduate students’, The Journal of General Education, 50:1, pp. 2955, https://doi.org/10.1353/jge.2001.0004.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Fitzgerald, K. (1990), ‘Encouraging risk taking, sanctioning failures are helping spur creativity’, IEEE Spectrum, 27:10, pp. 6769, https://doi.org/10.1109/6.58480.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Foucault, M. (1985), The Problematization of Parrhesia, Evanston, IL: Nothwestern University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Gibbs, G. (2012), ‘Implications of “dimensions of quality” in a market environment’, Higher Education Academy, 1 November, https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/implications-dimensions-quality-market-environment. Accessed 4 March 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Gibson, G. (2019), ‘Material matters with Grant Gibson’, 22 January, https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/material-matters-with-grant-gibson/id1450375359. Accessed 15 November 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Gordon, R. (2013), ‘Material significance in contemporary art’, International Journal for Technical Art History, Art Matters, 5, pp. 110, https://www.academia.edu/45094133/Material_significance_in_contemporary_art. Accessed 11 November 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Gray, C. and Burnett, G. (2009), ‘Making sense: An exploration of ways of knowing generated through practice and reflection in craft’, in L. K. Kaukinen (ed.), Proceedings of the Crafticulation and Education Conference, Helsinki, Finland, 23–27 September 2008, Helsinki: NordFo, pp. 4451.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Grix, J. (2002), ‘Introducing students to the generic terminology of social research’, Politics, 22:3, pp. 17586.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Hamilton, M. L., Smith, L. and Worthington, K. (2008), ‘Fitting the methodology with the research: An exploration of narrative, self-study and auto-ethnography’, Studying Teacher Education, 4:1, pp. 1728.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Heidegger, M. (1962), Being and Time, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Hellawell, D. (2006), ‘Inside-out: Analysis of the insider-outsider concept as a heuristic device to develop reflexivity in students doing qualitative research’, Teaching in Higher Education, 11:4, pp. 48394, https://doi.org/10.108013562510600874292.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) (2016), Report on Research and Data Analysis on Academic Teaching Qualifications, London: Higher Education Funding Council for England, http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/rereports/year/2016/tquals/. Accessed 4 March 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Hockey, J. (1993), ‘Research methods: Researching peers and familiar settings, Research Papers in Education, 8:2, pp. 199225, https://doi.org/10.1080/0267152930080205.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Honderich, T. (1995), The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. hooks, b. (2010), Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom, London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Hope, S. (2016), ‘Bursting paradigms: A colour wheel of practice-research’, Cultural Trends, 25:2, pp. 7486, https://doi.org/10/1080/09548963.2016.1171511.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Ingold, T. (2013), Making: Anthropology, Archaeology, Art and Architecture, London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Kehoe, D. (2007), Practice Makes Perfect: The Importance of Practical Learning, London: The Social Market Foundation.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Koster, B. and Van den Berg, B. (2014), ‘Increasing professional understanding: Self study research by teachers with the help of biography, core reflection and dialogue’, Studying Teacher Education, 10:1, pp. 86100, https://doi.org/10.1080/17425964.2013.866083.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Lampert, N. (2006), ‘Critical thinking dispositions as an outcome of art education’, Studies in Art Education, 47:3, pp. 21528, https://www.jstor.org/stable/25475782. Accessed 4 March 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. LeCompte, M. D. and Schensul, J. J. (eds) (2010), Designing and Conducting Ethnographic Research: An Introduction, Ethnographer’s Toolkit, 2nd ed., Plymouth: AltaMira Press, p. 6.
  43. McKenna, S. E. (1999), ‘Theory and practice: Revisiting critical pedagogy in studio art education’, Art Journal, 58:1, pp. 7479.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Mercer, J. (2007), ‘The challenges of insider research in educational instituations: Wielding a double-edged sword and resolving delicate dilemmas’, Oxford Review of Education, 33:1, pp. 117, https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980601094651.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962), Phenomenology of Perception, London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Mezirow, J. and Associates (1990), Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Base Publishers.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Miller, J. (2011), ‘RSA Design & Society: What’s wrong with DT?’, RSA Projects, pp. 121, https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/pdfs/blogs/rsa_whats-wrong-with-dt.pdf. Accessed 19 April 2023.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Mittler, G. A. (1986), ‘Toward a more complete introduction to art in the high school’, Art Education, 39:6, pp. 1013.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Mohamed, M., Rashid, R. A. and Alqaryouti, M. H. (2022), ‘Conceptualizing the complexity of reflective practice in education’, Frontiers in Psychology, 13, pp. 18, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1008234.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Nimkulrat, N. (2009), ‘Paperness: Expressive material in textile art from an artist’s viewpoint’, Ph.D. thesis, Helsinki: University of Art and Design Helsinki.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Nimkulrat, N. (2010), ‘Material inspiration: From practice-led research to craft art education’, Craft Research, 1:1, pp. 6384, https://dx.doi.org/10.1386/crre.1.63_1.
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Olalere, F. E. (2018), ‘Integrating theory and practice: A critical pedagogy in art education’, International Journal of Humanities Education, 16:3, pp. 18, http://doi.org/10.18848/2327-0063/CGP/v16i03/1-8.
    [Google Scholar]
  53. Orr, S. and Shreeve, A. (2018), Art and Design Pedagogy in Higher Education: Knowledge, Values and Ambiguity in the Creative Curriculum, London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. Panofsky, E. (1968), Idea: A Concept in Art Theory (trans. J. J. S. Peake), Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  55. Polanyi, M. (1966), The Tacit Dimension, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. Pratt, J. (1997), The Polytechnic Experiment 1965–1992, Buckingham: Open University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  57. Savage, T. (2018), ‘Creative arts technicians in academia: To transition or not to transition?’, Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education, 17:2, pp. 23753, https://doi.org/10.1386/adch.17.2.237_1.
    [Google Scholar]
  58. Savage, T. (2019), ‘Challenging HEA Fellowship: Why should technicians in creative arts HE be drawn into teaching?’, Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education, 18:2, pp. 20118, https://doi.org/10.1386/adch_00007_1.
    [Google Scholar]
  59. Schön, D. A. (1983), The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, New York: Basic Books.
    [Google Scholar]
  60. Schön, D. (1984), ‘The Architectural Studio as an exemplar of education for reflection-in-action’, Journal of Architectural Education, 38:1, pp. 29.
    [Google Scholar]
  61. Schön, D. (1987), Educating the Reflective Practitioner, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
    [Google Scholar]
  62. Sennett, R. (2008), The Craftsman, London: Penguin.
    [Google Scholar]
  63. Shockley, K. G., Bond, H. and Rollins, J. (2008), ‘Singing in my own voice: Teachers’ journey toward self-knowledge’, Journal of Transformative Education, 6:3, pp. 182200, https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344608324017.
    [Google Scholar]
  64. Smyth, W. J. (1992), ‘Teachers’ work and the politics of reflection’, American Educational Research Journal, 29:2, pp. 267300.
    [Google Scholar]
  65. TALENT (2022), The Role of Technicians in Knowledge Exchange: An Explorative Study, MI Talent, https://www.mitalent.ac.uk/write/MediaUploads/PDF/TALENTTechniciansandKnowledgeExchange_web.pdf. Accessed 23 August 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  66. Tollifson, J. (1988), ‘A balanced comprehensive art curriculum makes sense’, Educational Leadership, 45:40, pp. 1822.
    [Google Scholar]
  67. Tomhave, R. D. (1999), ‘Portfolio assessment in the visual arts: A comparison of advanced secondary art education strategies’, Ph.D. thesis, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, https://www.proquest.com/openview/6cd21589bfbe0e42f42bfa9221559fb4/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y. Accessed 17 June 2024.
  68. Trowler, P. (2011), ‘Researching your own institution: Higher education’, April, British Educational Research Association, http://www.bera.ac.uk/resources/researching-your-own-institution-higher-education. Accessed 13 December 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  69. Whitchurch, C. (2008), ‘Shifting identities and blurring boundaries: The emergence of third space professionals in UK higher education’, Higher Education Quarterly, 62:4, pp. 37796.
    [Google Scholar]
  70. Wragg, F. P. H., Harris, C., Noyes, A. and Vere, K. (2023), ‘Technicians as teachers: The emerging role of technical staff within higher education teaching and learning environments’, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 47:9, pp. 1196210, https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2023.2231380.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/adch_00087_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/adch_00087_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test