As described in the previous ROT blog post, I was partnered with Hannah Kemp-Welch to observe each others classes. This partnership has been extremely valuable in my learning journey, and Hannah’s ability to give such clear, detailed and helpful feedback and references has been particularly formative to my learning during this Unit. In both cases, we met outside of class time to discuss the feedback in depth for both of our ROT forms, and these discussions have opened up many fruitful conversations, and sharing of resources and references, which will certainly benefit my practice, and my students experiences. Below is the ROT form we completed for the session that I delivered, and Hannah observed.
Record of Observation or Review of Teaching Practice
Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: 2nd Year MA Performance Screen Seminar on Thursday 6th March 2-4.30pm
Size of student group: Roughly 20
Observer: Hannah Kemp-Welch
Observee: Chuck Blue Lowry
Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.
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?
This is a one-off seminar for MA Performance: Screen 2nd year students, which has been included as part of their Unit 6 Final Major Project lecture series. Many students will be creating films, installations and moving image works, and this workshop returns to one of the key aspects of filmmaking, sound, which I initially introduced to them in the first week of their studies. This seminar will invite the students to consider ‘anti-soundtrack’ approaches, deepen their understanding and knowledge of what this means and encourage them to consider how to apply this theory to their own practice.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
I have worked with these students for a year and a half as a lecturer on their course.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
Through reading, discussion, references and exercises, the students will be encouraged to consider how they can experiment and be creative in their approach to soundtrack in their final projects.
Through reading and discussion, the students will gain a deeper understanding of Michel Chion’s 3 Listening Modes and how they can apply this theory to their practice.
The students will explore examples of different listening modes in music and film and discuss how this could impact their own approach to making work.
Hopefully by the end of the session, students will feel inspired to take experimental and creative approaches to sound within their projects.
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
Students will have a discussion based on reading set in advance of the class.
Students will create short scenes in groups combining sound and vision that demonstrates theory through practice.
Students will engage with discussions throughout the session.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
Students are at a critical point in their major projects, and the majority of them are working in a highly independent way at this stage. Potentially there may be some issues around attendance and lateness, but also some students may already have very clear intentions for how they will use sound within their pieces, so may not be as engaged with the material we will explore. The students are from a diverse range of backgrounds with a range of English language skills, some of the literature may be challenging to unpack so I need to be mindful of how I explain things.
How will students be informed of the observation/review?
I have emailed them in advance of the class to inform them, I will also tell them the week before in a group meeting and verbally before the class starts.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
Anything really, I’m curious about how my approach reads to an outside eye and would like feedback that is gentle and honest!
How will feedback be exchanged?
I would like to receive feedback in written form, but also have a conversation to talk through, if that works for you!
Part Two
Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
Chuck – this was a brilliant session. I often think that numbers speak for themselves – despite that students are at a critical stage in their projects, they came, they were clearly happy to be there and wanting to learn and contribute. You created a warm environment and an atmosphere of sharing passion, rather than a hierarchical transfer of knowledge, inviting students to practice with the theorists, and use their own creativity to work with and respond to these concepts.
Some particular strengths:
· The ‘homework’ was lovely – a reflective task and those students who did this clearly gained from the practice. It was great that they had the opportunity to share this in class, and you offered very thoughtful feedback.
· In the middle of the session, when you had a short break from the pressure of delivering, I observed you support and guide an upset student. You also fielded a line of students with questions at the end. How you managed to hold space for so many people’s needs amazed me.
· In the session, you continuously related the learning back to their coursework. This really reminded them and made space to think about how they could apply their new knowledge.
· I thought the check-out at the end was brilliant – it was really interesting to see how students had each taken something different from the session, and this demonstrated the value of sharing a diverse range of approaches for students to choose from.
I really enjoyed the content of the session, and your engaging and enthusiastic style of delivery. I would love to be in your class. In the spirit of supporting each other to develop, I thought of a couple of things that might be useful to consider – but I also want to acknowledge that making adjustments requires energy, time and resources, so may not be feasible at the moment.
Activities
These were a real strength of the session. They ideally demonstrated some of the principles – the gesture with the unexpected sound for example. Inviting everyone to perform a sound together made the activity non-threatening and also was a nice way to acknowledge we all came to class with different life events brewing in our minds – to acknowledge, feel heard, and release. My only comment for how this could be developed would be to say from the start how long is given for the task, so students know if this is a very short and instinctive ask or a longer discursive activity. Perhaps you did say this and I missed it!
Slides
I wondered if some small changes in the design of the slides might help with accessibility?
· During the activity in pairs with a gesture and a sound, the slide showed instructions for the first activity at the same time as the second. Perhaps they could be on separate slides and even to break down the second activity so each ‘step’ is on a separate line, to help those looking for a recap to just scan the text.
· The slide with Music Concrete as a heading also had the John Cage video, which might imply that this work also falls into this genre. Might be worth splitting this up?
· Where possible, it would be nice to make videos full-size when playing.
· It adds significantly to prep time, but could you Harvard reference the slides? That might just help referencing to seeps into students consciousness and to model this sort of citation of sources.
Order of information
There were a couple of moments where I wondered if switching the order of things might be useful?
· Students read their ‘reduced listening’ practice work before ‘reduced listening’ had been explained on the slides – in case anyone didn’t do the reading, perhaps switching the order this happens might be useful.
· Perhaps Cage could come before Schaeffer in the order, to show the development from Cage’s use of everyday sounds in composition to then this being done with recorded sounds also. Could also help keep a chronology.
References The topics discussed were so well chosen for this module! Lovely to be drawing from outside of the film-sound world to look at how musicians and sound artists are working with audio. Though this is tough to avoid, I noticed that the majority of references were to white men, and wondered whether there might be a way to disrupt the cannon a bit? A couple of suggestions –
· Éliane Radigue was an important artist in Musique Concrète – perhaps an extract from the film Sisters with Transistors (2020) could replace the introductory video?
· Trevor Mathison of Black Audio Film Collective also used recorded sound that was reversed and played back into the scene in order to change the resonance in Handsworth Songs (1986). Otolith Group might be a good reference for interesting film sound too.
· David Toop’s writing could perhaps be exchanged for Salomé Voegelin, who also writes poetically about sound. Lisbeth Lipari also, and there’s a new anthology of feminist writing on sound from Silver Press called Bodies of Sound (2024) that you might have something inspiring within it too…
· I also wondered if Michel Chion’s three modes for listening could be complimented by using Pauline Oliveros’ exercises for Deep Listening, which are lovely group activities that encourage listening differently.
One other small thing – with such a focus on sound, bringing a Bluetooth speaker in might be worth it as the UAL in-built system can be a bit flat.
Overall, a wonderful session that the students clearly got a lot of inspiration from to apply to their projects!
Part Three
Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:
Hannah, thank you for this careful and generous feedback, there is so much for me to take from this! The first section of the feedback which highlights some of the successes of the class are very encouraging. It is such an unusual opportunity to be observed, and it feels validating to know that my pedagogical style and approach are being received so well. I am particularly pleased to hear that you would love to be in my class(!), and that you noticed the time I took with students during the break and at the end of the session. As an educator, I strongly believe that inclusive and safe practices should include meeting my students where they are at and acknowledging what they are bringing into the space from outside the university walls. Although this can sometimes be challenging emotionally, it’s great to see how the check in and check out resonated and landed with you, and that this noticing of students needs was noted and appreciated! This encouraging feedback has really buoyed my confidence and helped me articulate the importance of parts of my approach that I want to continue to work on and develop – for example continuing to offer pastoral support but also finding sustainable ways to do this that don’t leave me overwhelmed as an individual.
The feedback you have given me around specific areas of improvement are extremely helpful – particularly around diversifying the range of references used throughout the lecture. I really value your insight and expertise (and the joy of having some cross over in our research/teaching interests!) and I have already started looking into and incorporating some of the references you suggested. As you mentioned, it can be challenging to avoid referencing white male practitioners (particularly historically) however feminist approaches and de-colonising the curriculum are very important to me and I really value these excellent suggestions. I have already switched out the David Toop text for Salomé Voegelin and I will be incorporating some of Pauline Oliveros’ exercises for Deep Listening as activities within the session plan. I am also a huge fan of John Akomfrah, and Handsworth Songs is a great suggestion, I will locate a clip to add in. Thank you, this will be invaluable for my students learning and experience in the class and have added to my own learning, also.
I will incorporate some of the more practical feedback you have provided too, for example, Harvard referencing the material. I have intended to do this for a while and the importance of this has landed with me during the TTP unit. I think that part of my own insecurity around academia and coming from a practice based rather than academic background means that I am a little anxious of using Harvard referencing. However, it is important to model this for students as well as building my own confidence as a researcher and I really appreciate this nudge to get it done!
I will also heed your advice on reordering the chronology of the slides and making sure that videos play full size – I noticed this during the presentation and will troubleshoot it in Powerpoint ahead of my next class. This will aid students understanding, accessibility and engagement with the material.
Finally, I will ensure that I give clear timings and instructions for activities and exercises, this again is an important reminder and will be particularly helpful to neurodiverse students who benefit from clarity around timings and structure of exercises. Thank you for pointing this out to me.
Overall, this experience has been hugely beneficial to my practice, and I am grateful to have been paired with you on this task – I have learnt so much from you and from this exchange and look forward to more conversations together as we move through the rest of the course! Thank you.
References:
- Akomrah, J. (1986). Handsworth Songs.
- Bergman, I. (1966). Persona.
- Blocker, J. (2009). Seeing Witness: Visuality and the Ethics of Testimony. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
- Cage, J. (1959). Water Walk.
- Chion, M. (1994). Audio-vision: Sound on Screen. New York: Columbia University Press.
- Henningsen, T., & Joffe, J. (2022). Strangers Within: Documentary as Encounter.
- Internet Archive. (2017). Metz, Christian. Aural Objects: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming: Internet Archive. [online] Available at: https://archive.org/details/Metz_Christian_Aural_Objects [Accessed 21st January 2025].
- London Sinfonietta (2022). Tell me when you get home – Alicia Jane Turner. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urMzDqYcKP8 [Accessed 21st January 2025].
- Lucier, A. (1969). I Am Sitting In a Room.
- Martel, L. (2001). La Ciénaga.
- Metz, C. (2017). Aural Objects: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming. Internet Archive. [online] Available at: https://archive.org/details/Metz_Christian_Aural_Objects [Accessed 21st January 2025].
- Oliveros, P. (2005). Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice. New York: Universe.
- Oliveros, P. (2010). Sounding the Margins: Collected Writings, 1992-2009. Kingston, NY: Deep Listening.
- Orwin, L. (2022). Ur Favourite Scary Movie.
- Pazniokas, F. (2022). 6FT.
- Revell, I., & Shin, S. (2024). Bodies of Sound: Becoming a Feminist Ear. Silver Press.
- Rovner, L. (2020). Sisters with Transistors.
- Salomé Voegelin (2019). The Political Possibility of Sound: Fragments of Listening. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
- Singer, M. (2000). Dark Days.
- The Chemical Brothers (2009). The Chemical Brothers – Star Guitar (Official Music Video). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S43IwBF0uM [Accessed 9 Feb. 2020].
- Toop, D. (2001). Ocean of Sound: Aether Talk, Ambient Sound and Imaginary Worlds. London: Serpent’s Tail.
- Von Trier, L. (2000). Dancer In The Dark.
- Varga, N. (2017). The Happiest Barrack.
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