Record of Observation or Review of Teaching Practice
Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: Digital Communication Module -Technical-practical workshop with a focus on CAD drawings and spec sheets in Adobe Illustrator
Size of student group: 6
Observer: Victor Guillen
Observee: Rebekah Guo
Part One
- What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?
This session is part of the Digital Communication module, which runs throughout the first three units of the First Year. It forms a core component of the Visual Communication and Digital Skills strand for Fashion Design Womenswear students. The sessions aim to equip students with essential technical skills to visually communicate their design ideas using industry-standard digital tools, including Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro.
This session specifically focuses on completing their existing technical CAD drawings and spec sheets in Adobe Illustrator, which are critical for their upcoming assessment. These skills will ensure students can professionally articulate garment details, supporting their overall portfolio development and aligning with both assessment and industry standards.
- How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
I have been working with this group for 4 months, started in October 2024. The group is composed of approximately 15 students, although attendance is often a challenge, with fewer than 10 students typically present in each session. I’m trying to focus on tailoring the sessions to meet their individual needs while ensuring the overall curriculum goals are met.
- What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
By the end of this session, students are expected to complete at least one page of their spec sheet.
For those who have not yet finished their CAD drawing required for the spec sheet, I will encourage them to focus on completing or refining their technical drawing in Illustrator. The aim is to ensure all students make significant progress on their portfolio components and are better prepared for their upcoming assessment.
- What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
In this session, students are expected to produce:
1. At least one completed page of their spec sheet, including a front and back CAD drawing with annotation lines.
2. If they are not yet finished their CAD drawing, they are expecting to have progress on their technical drawings, to ensure they are ready for their spec sheets.
3. Practical application of Illustrator skills for creating technical drawings, such as using annotation tools, Create forms, adding directional lines.
- Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
One potential difficulty is students arriving late to the session, which can disrupt the flow of the lesson and affect their ability to fully engage with the content.
Latecomers often miss key demonstrations or instructions, I noticed this would discourage them to continue participating in the session.
To address this, I’m planning to provide recap tools, e.g. Handout, and encouraging students to catch up independently while others doing activities or with peer support. However, consistent lateness remains a concern, and it could limit the students’ ability to achieve the intended learning outcomes.
- How will students be informed of the observation/review?
Students will be informed in advance by email, that an observation will take place during the session. I will explain the observer is present to review my teaching practice rather than assessing them. I will reassure them that they should continue their work as usual, and the observation will not affect their learning or assessment.
- What would you particularly like feedback on?
1. Managing late arrivals: How is my performance of handling students who turn up late without it throwing off the flow for everyone else? Are there additional strategies I could use to get them up to speed without disrupting the rest of the group?
2. Student engagement: Do you think the students seem interested and involved, both during the demo and when they’re working on their own? Are there moments where they seem to zone out, or anything I could tweak to keep them more engaged?
I’m also totally open to any other feedback or advice you have—whether it’s about my teaching style, classroom management, or anything else you notice during the session.
- How will feedback be exchanged?
I would like to receive feedback via a written summary on the Observation Record by email. If time permits, I’d also be happy to have a in-person debrief after the session to discuss your observations and suggestions.
Part Two
Hi Rebekah
Thanks again for inviting me to observe your technical-practical workshop at LCF, part of the Digital Communication Module. You suggested I should focus on two elements of the session: managing late arrivals, and student engagement. You were also open to other feedback.
Managing late arrivals:
Only one student arrived late. You acknowledged their arrival and said you’d be with them soon, maintaining the flow of your technical demonstration, great! I noticed that you spent more time (proportionally) with the late arrival than with any of the other students. I wondered if could be overcompensating to help the student catch up or if there was another reason (e.g. specific needs, complexity of what they were trying to do). Managing your time equitably during these sessions is hard, but it’s important that all students, including those that appear to be doing well, get development opportunities and see the value in attending.
You could, as you suggested, have a handout with key instructions or check list to help later arrivals catch up; ask for a volunteer to pair up with the late arrival to help them catch up during the session; get students to recap your instructions in pairs while you bring the late arrival up to speed. You could also have a relevant ‘warm-up’ task to engage students as they arrive so they also see the value in arriving early (e.g. note down questions or what they want to achieve during the session, recap of key concepts/tools, getting them to watch a short video about the tool(s) they’ll use during the session.
Student engagement:
I thought you created a good atmosphere where they feel comfortable asking you questions and interacting with each other. They all seem engaged and on task. I thought it was a good idea to move them into a cluster close to each other as opposed to having them scattered around the room, which encouraged peer interaction and made it easier for you to monitor. After about 40 mins, a couple of them started stretching in their seats. I wonder how often you encourage them to save their work and take a short break, stretch or walk around the room. You could also get them to explain their work to each other and this could be a learing opportunity (e.g. recap, share tips, ask questions, build a sense of community).
Other aspects of the session
I really liked the way that you actively monitored your students’ work, asking questions, prompting and explaining as needed. You use a range of relevant language in a supportive way (demonstrative, directive, exploratory, evaluative, affirmative): that looks really good, you can also ….//Try to keep the lines….// Is this what you want? OK, then you’ll have to…// The problem here is that… but maybe you can…//
You accompanied your spoken instructions with on screen demonstrations, great!. Additionally, you could pause at more regular intervals during your demonstrations/explanations to check students are following (e.g. look at their screens, ask for a volunteer to repeat your instructions, or get them in pairs to check to recap).
If you want to try something new/different, using analogies to simplify complex/technical concepts can work well and encourage creativity (e.g. Compare layers to transparent sheets of paper stacked on top of each other—each layer holding a specific element of the design).
In short, lots of positive things that the students -and I- can take away from your practice (thanks). I hope my notes are useful.
Part Three
Thank you so much for your time and insightful feedback, Victor!
As the nature of the session is to support and provide extended resources for students’ existing work, I spent more time with a particular student due to the complexity of what she was trying to do. If the session were introducing new content, I would typically remind students of the location of handouts on Moodle. Peer recap is something I would like to develop and encourage, especially by having students with a more advanced understanding of the software demonstrate processes to their peers. This approach would benefit both students and myself—it would reduce the pressure on me to repeatedly explain the same content while reinforcing knowledge for all students.
I currently check on their progress verbally, asking questions such as: Any questions? Are we all good? Let me know if you need me to repeat the steps. However, I would like to explore student-led check-ins in the future to make my teaching more dynamic and inclusive.
I see myself as both a facilitator and a technical instructor. I aim to create a learning environment that is inspiring and encourages students to think creatively while equipping them with essential skills to visualize their ideas digitally. I usually schedule a break halfway through the session, and I think incorporating a short peer-to-peer feedback session before the break could be beneficial. This would allow students to reflect on their work, exchange insights, and engage in active learning.