A 5-minute presentation to course tutors presenting an overview of the scope of research and interventions thus far, and learning that has occurred as a result.
One of the first things I noticed when I started at CSM was the distinct lack of support for collective engagement in this course and department, as well as a lack of access to other students or courses or departments. There is a lack of spaces for interactions, networks for student-to-student communication, and community building.
This led me to ask the question: how can structured cross-disciplinary exchange be supported at CSM?
Because we need systems that facilitate collaboration and exchange, taking the burden off individual students.
I needed to understand why siloing is so extreme at CSM by understanding the structure of the university.
Doing this allowed me to take actions to address the silos students are forced into at CSM.
I’ve been investigating with a series of formal conversations with people in the education sector, and particularly with staff across UAL, discussing individuals’ roles and issues around siloization and structure.
This approach aids in reflexive learning through its process—each conversation acts as a mechanism of information exchange with siloed university staff, as information gathering, and as a method of raising visibility and urgency to the issue of student siloization and the need for tangible solutions.
These conversations increase the issue’s footprint and yield subsequent conversations in ever greater expansion.
I’ve had formal conversations with around 18 people on this topic, with more ongoing.
My first intervention during this period was the C&E Summer Social in June. In it, I was holding space for students and facilitating interactions. Around 45 people total attended, with representation from all 5 of the C&E courses.
One mature student coming back to school for his BA in CCC said “I have been waiting all year for something like this, so I can meet more people.”
My takeaway from this event was that students want more. Specifics like using WhatsApp as an informal invitation structure were validated by tracking RSVPs on Eventbrite and more formal facilitation tools were asked for.
I have more events in the planning stages with Richie Manu and I’m working towards a social with the Cluster of programmes.
The second Intervention was presenting at the WDWTWA Academic Support Conference in July.
MA IM student Poojitha Lal and I collaborated to present a talk reflecting on the need and challenge of creating spaces for connection in the university to assembled staff group of around fifty.
It was an attempt to use established avenues to share ideas with people embedded in the system, in the hope of creating further conversations and possibly change.
This intervention resulted in further conversations and was successful in raising the issue with James Purnell.
As a result of this collaboration for the presentation, Poojitha and I have been continuing to collaborate. As Academic Support offered us space on the website, we have been trying to figure out the best use, and have created a Padlet where we can solicit opinions from others.
She is also the new C&E “Changemaker” which is a new program started last year in part by now Head of School Radna Ramanathan and has decided to focus on this issue for that program for the upcoming year.
The next intervention was a presentation and workshop with Adam Ramejkis on the emergent networks of knowledges that arose from the non-hierarchical learning space in his “series of sessions” with C&E students and the need for more such programs.
I do think this intervention was less successful in its reach, with a smaller audience as there were 4 simultaneous sessions occurring. I don’t know if it would be worth participating in again.
Though I like working with Adam, what I learned from this is that established avenues for sharing ideas at the University are not necessarily productive.
We do have another event, a workshop in collaboration, on collaboration, pending a date in October.
My final intervention was in August, Convening the women Founders of 40-year-old Fire Mountain School, facilitating a discussion with them and getting their feedback on my project.
Though they were excited about all the project contains, they were not very hopeful about changing the system, a reason they chose to start their own school, particularly in the time frame I have.
As a result, I’m currently looking at ways I can extend this project at CSM to finish out the academic year.
Those are some of the ways I am taking action to investigate this question.
Every aspect of this project is new to me and it’s been a steep learning curve as I have had no formal experience with academia or Higher Education before this.
Thank you!