When designing a new workshop I’m keen to make it an ethical space, a space where students feel welcome and engaged and able to explore their practices in a safe environment free from judgment. As outlined in ‘Implementing “ethical space”: An exploratory study of Indigenous-conservation partnerships’ (Nikolakis, W. and Hotte, N. 2021) an ethical space is categorised as ‘engagement, dialogic processes and principles such as mutual respect, and introspection and reflection.’ (Nikolakis, W. and Hotte, N. 2021) With this in mind it’s key to follow these processes when engaging with students in a workshop environment. I try to approach each student’s ideas or projects as a fellow practitioner, showing interest in the concept/design and thoughts that led them to entering the workshop. As Anne Wong says about Makerspaces within Universities, the same concept applies here it’s ‘making within a collaborative environment.’ (Wong, A. 2016)
I try to be very conscious of the fact that workshops can be quite intimidating spaces and this is often shadowed by the fact that tutors often have to push certain students, or bring them down themselves, for them to engage with it. I think there’s potentially a stigma, perhaps historically, that technicians can be scary or intimidating and I’ve heard from students in the past that they didn’t enter the space because they didn’t know exactly what to do, or what they were doing. This is something I’m keen to change and I often tell students that they don’t need to know about every process, or what exactly they’re doing, we’re here to have a conversation and create something together. ‘Engagement is typically dialogic, in the form of ongoing conversation and active listening between different groups, involving relationship building, and the sharing of worldviews’ (Nikolakis, W. and Hotte, N. 2021)
I’m also very aware that I work at the School of Pre Degree (previously CCW Foundation) so the students I’m engaging with are straight from secondary school and might not have the confidence of something of a student slightly older or further on in their degree. It’s key to understand and acknowledge my position of power in this relationship. I’m keen to show students that I’m here to learn from them too, as key principle reminded at the PGCert workshops: everyone’s an expert. I think it’s important to be patient and understanding with student projects, asking thoughtful questions and engaging as they might often be personal and (potentially) difficult to talk about.
I’m interested in how to apply these principles to the physical space. Some initial thoughts is supporting students with hidden disabilities without them having to declare them, reducing the risk of ‘identity threat.’ (Thomas, C, 2022) For example, workshops can be noisy environments so a place where headphones are clearly visible and accessible could be beneficial to students with sensory issues. Also, having desks and worktops that can go up or down for students with differing height needs or restrictions. With the workshop currently being empty I am exploring different ways accessibility can be improved from our previous workshop within the flow of the space. We are afforded the luxury of more space, so this idea will improve over time.
Bibliography
Thomas, Cate (2022) Overcoming Identity Threat: Using Persona Pedagogy in Intersectionality and Inclusion Training, Social Sciences 11
Hotte, Ngaio & Nikolakis, William (2021) Implementing “ethical space”: An exploratory study of Indigenous-conservation partnerships, Conservation Science and Practice
Partridge, Helen & Wong, Anne(2016) Making as Learning: Makerspaces in Universities, Australian Academic & research libraries