Picture This: researching visual alternatives to written assignments

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Picture This researching visual alternatives to
written assignments
Pauline Ridley, University of Brighton Visual
Practices Co-ordinator LearnHigher CETL

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http//staffcentral.brighton.ac.uk/learnhigher
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Visual Assessment Project

• Funded by LearnHigher CETL ( additional funding
  from HEA SC Art Design Media)
• Collaboration between two of the LearnHigher
  partners, Kent (Assessment), Brighton (Visual
  Practices) with University College Falmouth
• Aims
• to research staff and student experiences of
  visual assessment formats in different subjects
• to develop interactive resources to support staff
  and student engagement with different forms of
  visual assessment

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Project Rationale I

• In art, design, media (ADM) subjects
• much of the learning is non-verbal
• main assessment tasks are visual productions or
  performances
• feedback often informal, oral, gestural
• NSS indicates problems with student satisfaction
  with assessment in ADM - eg failure to recognise
  the studio crit as a form of feedback reduces
  opportunities for learning development.

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Project rationale II

• Growing use of visual formats (eg posters,
  presentations, video, web pages) in non-visual
  subjects
• as reasonable alternatives to written tasks for
  some disabled/dyslexic students
• to vary the overall assessment regime and develop
  transferable skills for all students
• to test visual subject skills (where these are
  explicit)
• Problems include
• lack of clear criteria or guidance where staff
  and students are inexperienced in this kind of
  task
• tendency to focus on technical skills rather than
  effective rigorous use of visual evidence,
  analysis and argument

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Brighton Sussex Medical School Learning to
Look photography course for medical students
to improve observation skills and visual
diagnostics

• Geology Students need to learn to read the
  landscape, and take detailed measurements and
  field notes. Staff have identified issue of field
  sketch books for development
• Other projects include
• tourism, media, art, architecture, design
  history, law, languages, social sciences

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Project plan

• Target courses identified at each HEI
• Ethics procedures agreed
• Arrange to document each stage of assessment
  cycle and record staff and student perceptions
  and experiences
• DVDs to course team for internal use
• Qualitative analysis of material to inform
  development of multimedia resources for the
  sector (shared through LearnHigher)

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Why video?

• Much of the relevant work and interactions are
  inherently non-verbal
• Text-based resources inappropriate for these
  activities and/or for some students
• Need for visual examples
• Real-life footage as trigger for discussion,
  echoing the value of peer support (hot and
  cold sources of advice)

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Methodological Issues

• Visual research methods mostly drawn from
  sociology, anthropology ethnography - moves
  away from traditional realist documentary
  approaches to recognition that images and videos
  are artefacts rather than true reflections
• Coding and analysing data - even with
  computer-aided software is problematic and
  time-consuming
• Moves towards collaborative /participatory
  production and more creative arts-based methods
• See Shrum et al Digital Video as Research
  Practice Methodology for the Millennium and
  other visual research methods resources at
• http//staffcentral.brighton.ac.uk/learnhigher/re
  search.htm

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Ethical/legal issues

• Research ethics procedures and need for informed
  consent and confidentiality, when combined with
  legal requirement for image/video release forms,
  can be cumbersome or alienating
• Participant research approach shifts dynamics
  (students as co-researchers) but may not
  over-ride student/ teacher power relationships
• Need full engagement of staff at every stage
• Difficult to minimise intrusion
• Paying students to attend focus groups??

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Practical issues

• Contacting departments, planning and timetabling
  meetings and recording sessions
• Delays in purchasing equipment
• Delays in employing research assistant
• Difficulty in finding technical support (filming
  and software)
• Technical issues related to recording the data
• use of equipment, sound quality, space available
• minimising intrusive nature of the recording
  activity
• Incompatible technologies
• Steep learning curve (ongoing!) for researchers
• data collection techniques (camera, microphone,
  lighting, staging)
• film management and handling (downloading,
  editing, sequencing, file formats, burning DVDs,
  film quality)

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Discussion

• Samples of research materials
• Questions about
• Research process
• Future resources
• Format and type?
• Authenticity /validity?
• Usage and signposting?
• Relevance?
• Visual Practices website
• http//staffcentral.brighton.ac.uk/learnhigher

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Test video
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Test 2