Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: 18/03/2024
Room/Space: Recorded online session
Size of student group: 14
Observer: John O’Reilly
Observee: Syahrizal Shafie
Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.
Part One
Observee to complete in brief and send to observer prior to the observation or review:
What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?
As part of the Learning Technology department, we have collaborated with Fashion Business School and School of Media and Communication to introduce students to ACPro course including InDesign, which is an application used for designing print and digital layout program which integrates seamlessly with other Adobe design programs. As part of this course, students will construct a four-page newsletter for a different theme in the process of gaining familiarity with InDesign’s interface and many of the tools and techniques commonly used to design a publication.
InDesign will deliver creative freedom, added value, skills, and productivity to their course. As part of the curriculum, students will register for the course online and will align with independent projects supplement and hands-on classroom work.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
This course is intended to be a one-off session for 4 days and including one day for the preparation of the exam and progressing to the online exam at the end of the course.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
Demonstrate knowledge of basic design principles and best practices employed in the design industry.
- Demonstrate a knowledge of the principles of the Adobe InDesign software package.
- Demonstrate an ability to use the key features of the Adobe InDesign software.
- Explore more advanced layout and typographic controls and how to create multi-page documents efficiently.
- Explore more advanced layout and typographic controls and how to create multi-page documents efficiently.
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
To provide students with hands-on experience in InDesign to create and apply object styles for their printed and online materials and lay out a double-page spread for the course designs.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
Several students are already competent in Adobe product software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, having practised it for years. Their attendance in class may primarily be motivated by obtaining a certificate to enhance their CV.
How will students be informed of the observation/review?
I will notify the students at the beginning of the session about the attendance of the observer, John O’Reilly.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
Feedback should be grounded in evidence and focus on enhancing students’ engagement with InDesign and teaching practice.
Feedback should focus on encouraging students to actively participate.
Feedback should also encompass the preparation of instructional materials and the learning environment.
How will feedback be exchanged?
Feedback is to be communicated in written form through an observation review record
Part Two
Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
Syahrizal: A Pedagogy of Demystification
The opening of the session is really valuable for students in helping them to locate their work resources and the project horizon and schedule. It explains the timing, the sequencing the expectations and it’s really clear around what students will have to do in order to achieve a certificate at the end of the course.
The session outline is really clear and direct. The kind and the number of tasks the students will engage is presented in a way that can be read as being scaffolded (‘understanding the workspace’, ‘working with shape tools’, ‘working with transform tools’). It already gives to the students the means whereby they can situate what they are doing within this staged process. As a whole the lesson plan which is being offered feels very achievable, its scale and elements feel manageable. This is so helpful as sometimes learning digital tools can feel mysterious for some – it is hard to gauge the digital literacy which a diverse student cohort are bringing to the classroom. Though we assume we are living in a digital world, some students come from backgrounds where access to the latest technology might not be affordable. Syahrizal’s approach is very inclusive in its step-by-step manner, it doesn’t make assumptions about what students are bringing to the classroom.
Giving contextualization to the practical session with an introduction around design history and culture was really useful in connecting digital methods to aesthetics and representation. The presentation and visual signs of Vitruvian Man connected so immediately with the lines, framing and diagramming of digital design tools. And then connecting Da Vinci’s work with Vitruvian the design criteria of ‘Harmony’, ‘Order’ and ‘Proportion’. I imagine you may return to this later in discussion of page-layouts or websites. The other thing that might be worth noting for students as it is an issue for design of all types, whether visual design or historically, designing research more generally, is how the white male figure (in this case Vitruvian Man of the European Renaissance) becomes a norm, the design default for everyone.
This also links to the wonderful section overview around the creative dynamic between art and commerce. Such a compelling piece of storytelling, it would have been useful to highlight some women makers too. One person who comes to mind (though doesn’t fit with this tight brief) is Susan Kare who designed the icons for apple’s interface? There is a case that it is commercial art in itself! Just to say that it might be worth having a quick look over this section and see if it can be constructed to be as inclusive as the rest of the approach. Maybe there is a quote from a designer that could work in the Mies van der Rohe section?
The short intro section on design philosophy and the In Design logo was such a smooth and subtle hook to get students engaged with visual thinking and the organisation of information. I would have loved to hear you talk a little more about the ID logo, evaluate its transition, especially the shifts in font and colour. Especially the latter logos where the shift is more subtle (linking to your Mies Van Der Rohe quote), where mean-making emerges from subtle shifts in colour.
The explanation linking the design languages (of vector and raster, RGB and CMYK, for example) and software operations (around pixels and anchor points) was compelling. You demystified the terminologies really effectively, connecting the digital-operational to the aesthetic. The deconstruction of the layout was excellent (as an editor working with designers I used the term full-bleed without knowing the technicalities sitting behind it) in its clarity and its specificity. I wonder if you might use some examples contrasting full-bleed images and framed – though I know it isn’t a class on editorial design, the examples from cart and design history, and also the example of the vector/raster image resolution, were so effective in bringing to life the possibilities of creating with digital software.
The students were quiet, and I imagine that is because this feels very much a learning class – I don’t think I would have asked questions either if I had been a student. But I am also wondering is there the possibility of opening a padlet or something similar that people could add questions or just reactions to (“that’s cool!”). I imagine as they start working with the software on their own tasks there have more questions. Such a good class at what felt like a really comfortable pace for students, to this observer it felt like it was working as it didn’t assume prior-knowledges on the part of students.
FYI
Lupton, E. (2007) ‘Learning to love software: a bridge between theory and practice’, Artifact, 1:3,
Shreeve, S., Sims, E. & Trowler, P. (2010) ‘”A kind of exchange”: learning from art and design teaching, Higher Education Research & Development, 29:2
Part Three
Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:
Thank you very much for your helpful and thoughtful feedback on my recorded online session, it really means a lot to me to receive such valuable insights from you in short notice.
I really appreciate your feedback on my opening session which gives a clear instruction to locate their resources, the timing and expectations throughout the course. I always think it is important to tell the students what they are going to expect throughout the entire course.
In my report, I mentioned the possibility that some students may only be taking the course to fulfil requirements to pass and get a certificate, rather than genuine interest. Therefore, I ensure that every participant feels included and valued during the teaching sessions, without making any biased assumptions. I’m grateful that you recognised this effort.
I would like to thank you for bringing attention to the importance to be as inclusive as I could in my presentation and showcasing examples from successful women makers and designers all around the world. I just realised after you have pointed it out. It is so important to highlight their contributions, Yes, Susan Kare is an excellent and perfect example of a woman designer and she is the pioneer of pixel art and created many of the graphical interface elements for the original Apple Macintosh in the 1980s. I will make sure to include her in my future teaching sessions.
I noticed the students were quiet throughout the class, I have some interactions with them during the classes but maybe in the editing process I have cut it out and some of them asked a lot of questions during the hands-on demonstration. Your suggestion of incorporating a platform like Padlet or Whiteboard for students to ask questions or share reactions is a great idea. It would provide a space for students to engage more actively and interact with the material, especially as they start working with the software on their own tasks. I will definitely consider using Padlet in my future sessions to encourage student interaction and engagement.
Once again, thank you for your invaluable feedback and suggestions. I look forward to implementing these improvements in future sessions to create a more dynamic and engaging learning environment.