Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: Part 3 Tutorial 23/24 Developing Specialist Practice on Foundation Diploma in Art and Design.

Size of student group: 1:1 x2

Observer: Tim Stephens

Observee: Rebecca Harper

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?

• There will be both an oral discussion and written feedback about the student’s progress and achievement so far within their part 3 Final Major Project Proposal which is graded. The students are in the final weeks of developing their project. I will be supporting each student in developing their ideas, work and research for their individual project themes.
• We will be looking at what is covered in their Action plan. As well as setting specific targets to work towards.
• We will look at previous discussions on research skills and how this will inform some of the research and artists resources.
• It will also include talking about their workflow, and developing their reflection and context.
• We will discuss the structure of their FMP, how to think about the physical making and approach when installing the work.

How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?

Since the beginning of Part 2 in November 2023 I have been the specialist tutor of my 9 tutees of whom I am doing tutorials with independently.

What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?

1. Communicate ideas around practice and research
2. Identify and agree two points of action / targets

Demonstrate critical thinking about their work and relate it to research

What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)? To discuss with me their projects 1-2-1:

• To look at your FMP project brief paperwork with me and talk through their work, sketchbooks, workflow in relation to their brief.
• How they are developing their ideas.
• How they are developing reflection and context?
• What research they have been doing or plan to do?
• To look at their organisation and structuring.
• To examine the second part of the action plan which kicks in next week.
• To note targets- if they haven’t already – _to update workflow.
• To examine any revisions that need to be made.
• To think about the making and approach to outcomes.
• Anything about your interviews or applications that you may wish to talk about.

Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?

That a student might not wish to be doing their tutorial with others present should they feel vulnerable or want their privacy. I have asked them in advance for confirmation and had one confirmed.

The student has the potential to be either; falling behind, unhappy, disappointed, overwhelmed about the project and where they are at with it. I will aim to provide encouragement, support, praise where it is due, and direct them to the relevant resources.

How will students be informed of the observation/review?

In person and by email.

What would you particularly like feedback on?

• What did I do well and any examples from the observation that are effective?
• What is/was my impact on the student?
• How could I do more to benefit or improve my students learning? Anything I could improve on any engagement, explorations, explanations, elaborations, evaluations etc?
• What might have led to a better result if it did?
• Anything I can do to make the student feel more at ease in a situation where they may feel nervous?

How will feedback be exchanged?

Verbal and written exchange.

Part Two

Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:

I do Teaching Obs., by noting the sequence of events…this will help you recall the session and reflect on what you think is happening and what you did at the time, based on your memory of the session’s events.

St 1

-So, you’ve got work on your phone, and sketch books and work…

-This is not an assessment but a tutorial…

-Got the proposal…

-Lets go through and think of direction..

-I’m going to be writing up notes…

-OK, so let’s have a look…

-What have you been getting up to…

St. I showed you ..paintings of old family photos

…[explains]

Initial explorations…

St. visited Frank Auerbach…this inspired by…

-These are from these…?

St. Also looked at photoshopping these drawings…[explains..]

-Did you think about making structures as well…

St. These are observational drawings…

-I think you were going to be doing that… physically, something interesting about the shadow…

-Indicates a different kind of depth

St. then doing a modge podge..mod roc?? images on fabrics

-These are really interesting …route to exploring historical family photographs… and related things… is this your immediate family?

St. my nan and mum…[explains]

-You’re exploring memories related to your past that you didn’t experience yourself

St. I don’t know if you can see my mum she’s kind of like me….(?) [laughs]

-Part memorial, part memento (?)

St. This is a baby photo of my brother

-..you painted on top of…[explore the piece]

-In your brief you described working from poetry literature…almost a retelling..

St. I did, haven’t really explored it yet…not too sure how, I could involve words…diary..

-Makes sense a diaristic approach

St I did look at the x ? approach…

-What did you think of that in relation to..X…[making connections between methods and working practices]

S.t I think it works as a kind of reference..

-In terms of thinking about making… a physical approach

St. After you suggested X; I really liked her work…I started doing paint and collage..

[Explaining the work process] Main image… and your got bits of text in there.

St. I’ve got fashion magazine…maybe fabric and stitching… photo of my dad and dog…

-Thinking about ….stitching. And this is about…[you discuss]

St. this image of my nan…way it relates to my personal life at the moment [touches on a personal/private issue]

-Memory being a theme – formally…[Reading from Proposal document or Action Plan] you quoted imaginative rather than the observed…

St. I was thinking the feeling and thoughts..[explains] …I have a lot of perfumes that relate to that time in my life..in that kind of way…

-In that kind of way, smell or feeling, maybe…idea of figurative as abstract, think about it as other…recent book from a gallery, I’ve brought in…relationship to still life that lead to these painting explorations..

St. Who was it?

-This was Gabriella Boyd…grappling with a feeling… a taste… and experience with the existing image

-These are related to a specific period …how does that relate to…often… memories ..[hard to hear because of those walking past] something about this use of the …material…these fabrics….[you touch the material]…something like that, that feeds…[you discuss textures and sensations and their subtle affects in relation to memory]

St. definitely agree, these were given to me and my brother when we were babies…stuff I’ve just used then so much, I’m really trying to think of the surfaces I’m working on not just canvases…

St ..fragile..

-Yes, there’s many types of material…Kiki smith , Japanese papers, allows differences …you might think about… Allowing different possibilities…have you thought about…[you explain either more references or processes]

St. I was thinking about moving on to …but I might keep going on with this; as I’m still enjoying it..I was imagining stretching X over a canvas…kind of collage…

-That is interesting, you kind of grow and grow it…what sort of research..? [you inquire into the reading behind her work] …you’re  looking at women…historical narratives, Lisa Bryce how is your research informing your work..[you discuss more]

St. I was looking at …Williams (?)..so I did my essay on her the use of space and figures…

-She makes sense, use of colour and aspce , yes…

St. and this was just from a trip, quite excited about the trip next week…idea of projection, Meredith Starr (?)..had a go at overlaying a few of the outcomes…went to TATE BRITAIN and saw Richard Hamilton…[mentions some others]

-No its good that your looking at (Njideka Akunyili) Crosby and the sense of the photographic imagery and ref to culture and identity and in Crosby hybrid space , multiple worlds can meet…Great you’re looking at her..

OK, so, I was just thinking about any other one, any other research…?

St. not really except for ..online..this one of France and England (?) Maybe I should have a few more..

-Did you read the book as well…[you mention a book and a chapter in that book; or perhaps this was one of the set reading items, or some resource given to them…]

St. I got a few chapters

-And how was that..?

St. idea of art haunting other art in a way…thought it was quite interesting..

-Have you looked at El Anatsui, at the Tates Turbine Hall, her gigantic tapestries…her construction, massive, stitching together…uses things like bottle tops ? slightly different material…different use and then you’ve got…Tracy Emin…probably sounds obvious..art works as memorial spaces, things such as Tracy Emin, sounds an obvious thing, but with these [looking at the more personal/intimate works?] a need to express…and look at ‘May Dodge, my nan’ objects that relate to her grandmother…thinking about going forward working towards an outcome…she often uses things like..text…addressing her grandma…[finish off explaining and discussing this reference]

-Ok, how are you getting on with yr action plan..[change of tack]

S.t pretty good, going to work on it today

-Your first action plan was pretty good; how did you find working with it..? [You discuss]

-You feeling ok with all of that, anything else you’re thinking of going to …have you..visited Women in Revolt!?

St. No not yet

-Check the website…talks about waves of feminism from the sixties and promised liberation..its a good route for…[discuss references and themes] artists…about previously…

-You’ve been working on the assessments

St. each day or each week…been working on my action/assessment plan…

-You feeling happy with..[discuss making progress] how are you doing that?

St. from my action plan it was pretty clear about my proposal…is there any other writing we have to do?

-No, there is a conclusion,…that we will have to do..how are getting on with workflow?

St. pretty good

-How are you doing the written reflection?

St. I do one every studio day, each day

-Well done!

St. as I write my reflections, I think of new things to add to it..[explains]

-I think you’re doing really well. Occupying spaces…multiple layers, thinking about your x background, historical, reflection [you weave together the themes and issues into one re-statement of her projects and work]

St. I want to keep making pieces

-Have a think about looking forward to how you might present? Ok, I think… do you have any questions for me at this time

St. I think I will carry on with this in the next week, with material and collage and carry on

-That sounds really good., really good, great…

St.  take it you’re an artist as well [Think I heard this right, maybe an attempt to connect]

-It feels there’s a lot you can do to play around with.. that..[explain how productive she is

St. have a nice day

-Thank you, you too..

Student 2

-Its just a tutorial not an assessment

-We’ll bring it over [talking about her painting]

-So this is the main painting..there we go..its always helpful to have it there, take a seat, welcome, thank you for stepping in earlier…

-Let’s have a look at your SMT (?), you have been updating workflow…[you mention about references]

St. sorry, wait a minute [she is hesitant in speech and manner]

-That’s ok take your time [reassuring]

St. references under workflow…I didn’t upload all the references and reflection but I can talk to you

-How are you doing it

St I’m writing it, but not always translations..[I gather she is speaking in her second language, if it is -from her accent- Mandarin and English?] we can talk about FMP…

-[you welcome this suggestion] Ok, I haven’t seen the brief we can start talking about that …

St. difficult, than before

-And this project title… is it linked to personal experience for you…yeah, ok..[The depth of interaction changes with you registering the emotional content of the work].

[You pause and read… longer than 30 secs, about 1min; adding space and listening capacity]

A lot of the work…feeling… seems to be…. Emotive… and this feeling of grief..

[Pause]  Okay, okay [20-30 sec]….okay

-Your last project was health related… okay… alright, that’s good you talked about what you made before…”a great feeling and hazy bad feelings appeared”, that “vague transparent feeling’, you’d like to make larger, connections to home family loved ones…? [A gentle exploratory and listening attitude]

St. Yes, but not sure what to do in this project… still in development, find a connection, its so so, many things, so big…some people didn’t like eachother but as someone is dying the relationship becomes connected as someone’s dying than as before when someone’s lived..I feel some deep emotion after I heard x was…. so good…even if someone’s with me..more love… my family..[St. discloses some experiences she has had]

-Its really interesting talk about issues that those kind of deep emotions, that space within the work..

St. and through that

-I was ging to say ‘transparent’

St. I would introduce this…I have researched… many artists…after…  feel confused, what should I express…they have already produced many artworks…

-To clarify, the artworks…these [drawing attention to the work at hand]

St. I choose this …This ref. happened before that one [struggling to explain and justify process, perhaps second guessing what she ‘should’ have done]

-Have you changed you brief?

St. no, they developed from this, it didn’t change from this…but this is a.. very big conception…some memory…[Student is explaining through words like big and so many, that something is overwhelming almost…]

-They are almost like death masks [you go on to interpret the images and she explains further]

St. they are very famous, because I am Chinese as well…they didn’t have eyes because of the scale..but we can get some feelings by the watercolour

-Kind of washing out

St. I really like his work but its hard to copy..its so hard…so hard, I really don’t know how to control the water [highly technical issue presented]

-Who are the figures in this work, who are these men?

St. you didn’t know Ying Jinfei ? these…[shows the death masks series..?] and Kiefer

St. Kiefers work… always about history… and some horrible feeling and

-History… always looking [you interpret the connections together]

St. because I, developing this… history and memory

-Memory of a particular space

St. then there is another artist [she shows you images on her laptop}

-Have you looked at Marlene Dumas, [you pick up on the association very quickly] if you like that way of working, someone who thinks about history..she collects images from newspapers..exploring race, violence public identity, just how it relates to this artist quite gestural q quick…thinking about, the other person thinking ..is Kate Donoghue (?), here, she makes figurative paintings, long lost females from literary movements, she floats figures on top of each other…to think of domesticity..,maybe the palette is toned down film noir (?) Playing with that saturation…playing with the mindscape, landscape…very associatively painted…[You are tuning into the painting and her work]

St. I want to put some flowers or some trees

-Who is this woman..?

St. I don’t want to draw ‘someone’ just a woman…maybe I’m the baby in her body maybe I’m her, a big part.. of human…I don’t really like this work..this project will …developing a mountain…when someone sees it… some people will see a family…they didn’t think its about this..I…I referenced this part [points to right] maybe someone is going to die..

-Feels very much like…X child

St. It can’t express conception, so I didn’t like it…

-Maybe you need to ..[you explore the very delicate moment of creative realisation that is fraught with vulnerability]

St. Do I need to continue.. I don’t know [St. is openly trusting you in sharing her dilemma]

-Sometimes it’s useful to put things aside and have multiple canvases…allowing for different ideas to happen..that might be a good idea if you’re not sure…

St. I’m not sure [st. confirms this idea and is generally positive about the possibility, I’m intuiting]

-That way of building up a palette

St. I feel confused… I had so many… ideas… to develop

-Let’s go through these references… quite quickly then….something about the mask..? [You perhaps aware of time and the material to get through]

St. I choose this because I think, that life, is… all the things…

-An anonymous figure..

St. yes,  I don’t want to draw someones face..all things are ambiguous..[goes through the images] this is also another artist…

-Yeah, yeah, the mark represented this feeling..have you looked at any other artists, or books… or films… or stories any other research [to open up the references topic and work out what led to this moment]

St. I tried some philosophy books… but its too hard, so I watch some YouTuber who had some content and shared something about…so many ideas, because this is too big..

-Ok, alright

St. I think his works, he is a storyteller

-How did you get there? Did you start by any stories or drawings

St. I’m sorry…to be honest I didn’t draw so many drafts…I didn’t like it, so I wanted to draw this

-I wonder if it’s about going back to the sketchbook before going to something like this…

St. Yes, I don’t have an idea of the story… I can tell through the painting..this connects the people relationship…this is not the first idea

-Yeah

St. I think  I need to go back and restart

-I think there’s’ some interesting things…these feelings seeming… ambiguous…have you seen Lisa Bryce, thinking about ideas of narrative and ideas of narrative and history. Its very female isn’t it..ideas of generations…Lisa Bryce is interesting to she takes a lot from art history , and she lifts them and empowering, the female gaze, always a sense of self reflection in her drawings…you can recognise a lot from art history painting

Have you thought about looking into art history

St. yes, I think I need to!

-Madonna and Child

-There’s a book…Catherine McCormack, Women in the Picture, there’s a whole chapter on Madonna and child…

St. but I don’t want to do feminism in my work

-Oh its not about that..I was just thinking of this particular image of mother and child and writing and how it filters through, and the Klimt image you were looking at, it might be worth having a look a flick through a whole chapter, she looks at some contemporary artists as well it’s a process of looking at initial sources and the beginning…if you think of your last project…so prolific..allowing yourself to be feeling…

St. I didn’t know how to find the people to put on the paintings, yes, to go back..

-Something in that, a sort of freedom for you, something difficult to locate…in terms of research, other sources,, there was another student, Lucy, looking at a book called Memory, maybe cross overs…

St. do we have to look at non fiction?

-Have you thought about fiction?

St. no not really

-Maybe other research, maybe some films or something, can’t think of anything off the top of my head…yes, Memory… is maybe a good book to have a think about…?Okay, umm…

How are you getting on with your action plan? Sorry I think you’ve got, your proposal, I think you’ve got..you didn’t do this one? I’m thinking it may be …might be worth going back and think about your action plan..

St. sorry

-Okay

-This is one from another student, which exhibitions, maybe preliminary works, reading texts etc going back… to your action plan that will inform the way that you’re working, really important logging your own progress as you go through…even locating it, will help you understand how your work…[talks about documentation] does that make sense…? so I think, you’ve got the second part of the AP due in soon…part two of your plan…

St. do we have this?

-You should be able to print this off from Moodle, you’re coming up to week five, so you’ve got to submit an action plan, weeks, 5,6,7, 8 and 9. How you’re working… what you need to do… to get you to where you want to be.

-Thinking back, how you got here to this place

St. But this time, it’s in the past, do I need to write it again?

-This one was submitted already, have you submitted already?

St. I don’t know, I didn’t come first week, maybe I missed something?

-That’s okay, okay, that’s why its good to have a tutorial at this point..

-So its Okay… you need to submit your action plan…then second part; how do you use the studio, when did you go to an exhibition how you’ve been using your time, and how you want to use your time

St. where is the link?

-On the FMP project there’s a whole list of …there’s action plan for the first four weeks and one for the following..you’ll need to print it; you can have this one that’s fine.

St. its fine I can print it

-You can take this one, have a look through

St. I’m so sorry

-That’s OK, this is also the timetable, have you got the TT, go through the Moodle it’s all on there, if you can’t find it send me an email… and I’ll send you all the links okay..hopefully that will help you think about how you will structure your time…what you might want to see, exhibitions, okay…workflow..? You are updating workflow which is good; and you are reflecting too that’s good….trying to think now, have you got an exhibitions planned going forward

St. no

-Don’t worry…

St .I don’t know, I think I ned to go back and think about more things

I- think it’s okay, I would do some more research on artists that think about grief.. expression of vulnerability that’s in your work…Munch dealt with a lot of grief, do you know Munch’s work, [almost hesitant] Tracy Emin, show at the moment, ‘10 works on grief’ by TE, but Munch yes,  he comes to mind..I’ll have a think and get back to you if I think of anyone specifically…

St. yes I think I need to read more

-Yes, go to the library, how you got to where you are and what you can do…lots of validity in this subject

St. I will try hard, I so sorry

-No its okay

-Have you got any questions for me at this point…

St. still need to find more research and reference and go back to the start..

-Have you now sent me your brief

St. Yes, yes,

-I’ll have a proper look afterwards and maybe meet next, see you next week,

St [breathes out a big sigh – these was a wonderful intervention]

-and see how you’re getting on next week

St. I’m so sorry I didn’t know that

-Have a look on Moodle, make sure you’ve got everting, you will need to submit this…

We’ll have a look at this next week, okay

S. Ok [breathes out again, relieved]

-Ok, do that today, go back to the proposal..

S.t Ok

-That will be fine

St.That will be fine

-Shall we take this back, is it wet, [refer to painting and you offer to help carry it back to where it was previously]

St. its Ok

-I can help you, [You both carry the painting] Ok Ill; see you later…

What did I do well and any examples from the observation that are effective?

Rebecca you did a number of things really well. Some of the things that I particularly noticed and based on my many years of experience in tutorials and observing tutorials so these comments are based on aspects of good practice. These are not compliments. Firstly you were very well organised with each student. You had a checklist in mind of all the elements that you wanted to go through including their proposal their action plan their knowledge of workflow that documentation and their understanding of the assessment process. You also wanted to make clear to them the timeline the weeks they had left the point at which they’re at at the moment in the scheme of work and allow them to ask any questions about these technical aspects of assessment. You were also very good at providing plentiful references this is clearly a skill that develops over many years and that you showed a higher level of competence in. You also successfully reassured both students in different ways based on what they were feeling and experiencing.

What is/was my impact on the student?

There were some more subtle aspects of the interaction that were interesting as examples of good practice. Firstly, what a student had a personal reference that may touch on an experience from their private lives you were very sensitive at not saying these things out loud in the teaching observation context and respecting a boundary around the possible intimacy of oversharing. However at the same time you were naming accepting and welcoming these aspects very non judgmentally in a way that would leave the students feeling comfortable and even encouraged. With the second student in particular who had expressed a level of grief through her work that raised the issue of vulnerability for that student you were extremely sensitive in a number of ways. Firstly, you stopped talking to allow space whilst you were looking at her work and reading her text. Secondly you suspended any judgment about what was actually happening and the rights and wrongs behind her process. This is an aspect of being non judgmental that overlaps the tutorial skill set with a counseling or listening skill set and you did this very well.

How could I do more to benefit or improve my students learning? Anything I could improve on any engagement, explorations, explanations, elaborations, evaluations etc?

Some of the work that we can do to benefit who will improve our students learning are actually based on self development and professional self development. The questions I would be asking of myself in this situation is how do I feel more comfortable or how can I feel more comfortable with talking about X or Y? How can I learn more about egg contemporary Chinese art so that I can respond in that culturally nuanced way? What are the aspects of my own emotional psychological intellectual personal cultural experiences that may inhibit me from growing and developing as a person and as a professional. The tutorial as a teaching form is very revealing of our own limits and our own knowledge because it is such and exposing uh and intimate kind of education. This makes our own limitations more visible to ourselves and sometimes they can have an unconscious impact on our students. There are very subtle ways in which students might become aware that we either don’t know something or uncomfortable about certain things and they might pick this up I do want to say that in the circumstances especially of the second student you did an extremely good job of working with the depth of sensitivity that her work required. Have a read through the account of the teaching observation that I have written above and see what you feel based on your own inner experience at the time and this will provide some areas for reflection.

What might have led to a better result if it did?

If we imagine a type of question for the second student in particular that would enable you to unpack with her what it was exactly that was difficult about the painting for her, what would that be? She mentioned a few times that things were too much used words like lots and lots mountain and other words that indicated excess and this seemed at one point to be related to philosophy reading she was doing and finding also very difficult? I was very curious as to what it was she was reading and thinking about.

There may also be aspects of cultural sensitivity in which East Asian students feel a need to apologise or may feel they have not done something correctly or understood. This might also be gender related or related to personality of course. You did an extremely good job of reassuring her in that sense.

Anything I can do to make the student feel more at ease in a situation where they may feel nervous?

This is a question that comes down to the above point of working on our own sense of nervousness. With embodied characteristics or qualities it is often best to focus on ourselves and how we can develop our own confidence if we want to develop students confidence likewise we can develop our own sense of inquiry if we want to develop that in students; our own sense of experimentation if that is something we are interested in our students developing. Teaching in a fine art context, as well as a making or craft context, often depends on these very embodied and tacit qualities and types of knowledge. For a recent report on this look at Bulley and Sahin 2021 report on Practice Research from Goldsmiths University. There is also a book edited by Gina Wisker on teaching 1:1 which is a useful reference. The book is quite dated now and this is generally an under-researched area so you might need to search to find more guidance and educational material on tutorials in general. I will have a look and see what I can come up with too.

Summary

In summary you have this extraordinarily sensitive ability to be open to students, to atmospheres, qualities and subtle feelings. I’m sure this is also related to your ability as an artist. You were very easily able to cite highly relevant and intuitively accurate references for students which of course relates to their deeply personal creative process. In the sense that our strengths are also our weaknesses you might want to reflect on how this quality of openness, sensitivity and intuitive perception might also be unsettling for you at times and how that might be something you want to either develop knowledge, experience, or skills in managing.

I do want you to take away a very clear sense of affirmation in yourself as a tutor, with particularly strong skills in the relational aspects of teaching. Sometimes a lack of confidence (if that is what I am perceiving in your questions for feedback) allows more sensitivity. Self-confidence is not always a “good” thing in education!  And also how this relates to allowing students to feel supported, understood and have their work appreciated in interesting…Do we always trust an over confident teacher, or do we also identify with the teacher who is also questioning and unsure..?!  The two students I saw are only a small glimpse into your work and these comments are not meant to describe you in general nor your teaching ability outside of this situation. I am also intuiting and reflecting on aspects which, ‘may or may not’ be ‘more or less’ relevant in terms of your interests going forward.

Super summary!

Thank you for letting me observe you work. I really enjoyed the tutorial process and found it a great example of a 1:1 fine art tutorial done with great sensitivity.

Part Three

Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:

Dear Tim,

Thank you for your generously detailed reflections and discussions on my teaching observation. Your insights are incredibly valuable, and I’ve been going over them multiple times to digest your feedback thoroughly. I genuinely appreciate the time you took to provide feedback promptly and to engage in depth with our discussion. Based on your observations and suggestions, I’ve identified several key areas where I believe I can enhance my teaching practice.

Your remarks in our follow up session about the ‘Observer impact’ and the challenges of performativity resonated deeply with me. It was validating to hear your acknowledgment of these complexities, and it reassured me that I’m not alone in navigating them. Your strategies for managing self-criticality, both personally and when responding to students, particularly caught my attention. For example where I might do a negative read through but also to invent a positive second reading through the faults too. I’m keen to explore further how to balance intuition and structure to create meaningful sessions that support student growth.

Our discussion around managing Sensitivity and Vulnerability opened my eyes to the overlaps between tutorial skills and counselling techniques through listening skill sets. How to deal with the inner life and how we are drawn into more therapeutic relationships with our students was enlightening.

I feel compelled by the idea of exploring the boundaries between psychodynamic and humanistic approaches further and how they intersect with our roles as educators/social workers. Your suggestion to explore Affective pedagogy approaches aligns with my desire to better support student inquiry and foster a supportive learning environment.

I was intrigued by the idea that each students singularity- (that they think of a problem) is an opportunity to enrich the curriculum positively once shared with others, and that by adjusting my probing between: gentle, cautious, signposting to fearless I may allow for the relief in sharing.

Your observations on organization and structure reaffirmed the importance of having a clear framework for tutorials. I’ll continue refining my (very helpful) checklist and work on my time management interventions to ensure that each session optimally supports student progress and development. Additionally, your encouragement to maintain a balance between sensitivity and confidence resonated with me. While sensitivity is valuable, I recognize the importance of building confidence as an educator to effectively support my students.

Your feedback on Cultural Sensitivity and Awareness highlighted the need for continuous improvement in creating an inclusive learning environment. I’m committed to expanding my understanding of cultural nuances and exploring relevant artists and readings to better support students from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, your emphasis on encouraging inquiry and experimentation reinforces my goal of fostering a culture of curiosity and risk-taking in my tutorials.

Finally, your encouragement to prioritize self-reflection and professional development reaffirmed my commitment to continuously refining my teaching practice. I’ll actively engage in reflective practices and seek out resources to deepen my understanding and refine my skills as a tutor.

In conclusion, I’m grateful for your thoughtful reflections and constructive feedback, which have provided valuable insights to guide my growth as an educator. I look forward to implementing these strategies and creating an ever more supportive, inclusive, and enriching learning environment for my students.

Best regards,

Becki