This year we conducted our Learner Voice survey during our first formal Y12 student assessment and sketchbook hand in. Here is what they had to say, and our responses!
What do you love about the art
department at Thomas Rotherham College?
Facilities and
techniques taught and available in the department – 53%
Over
half of our students during our Learner Voice survey said their favourite part
of the course and department is the access to a wide range of facilities and
mediums to work with, as well as new techniques they have been introduced to
that they may not have done before at their previous schools. This includes the
range of techniques taught in the lessons and the content of the course itself,
as well as being able to use these in their free time. This is fantastic to
hear, as we are always striving to give students the experience of a wide range
of skills while they study here, and it is great to see that this is already
the case two months into the course!
“I
love the darkroom in photography and the studio”
“I
enjoy all the creative things I can do and resources I can use such as the
darkroom”
“’The
practical work and gaining new skills”
“I
love the content we cover”
“I
really like the new materials compared to secondary school”
Freedom and
creative independence – 22%
It is
important for all of our students to feel they have autonomy and freedom when
coming up with their own ideas, this way everyone’s projects are always
different! It also encourages independent and creative thinking, which is
crucial for all our courses. At this point in the course this aspect is more
structured than later on, as everyone is still learning new techniques and easing
into the department as a whole. So it is great to hear even at this point that
our students feel they are able to creatively express their own ideas and have
some independence on the themes they are exploring.
“I
like the freedom of the course that we get to express our own ideas, and I like
the structure of the lessons that we always know what to do”
“I
love the freedom but we still have help to fall back on if needed”
Helpful teachers
and the support provided – 18%
Amazing
to hear! Our aim as staff is to always ensure our students feel supported in
the work they are doing and within the department in general. We are always
here to help and appreciate that this is known and felt by the students.
“The
teachers are nice and understanding”
“Teachers
are amazing and reliable”
“How
the teachers are so supportive and understanding”
“All
staff are friendly and discuss work and ideas thoroughly”
The Open Door
booking system – 14%
Our
Open Door system is always something our students love about the department, and
this year it seems it is just as popular! Students can book in to use the
facilities during their free periods, which can be so helpful especially for
students who do not have those facilities at home, for example a printer, or
students who find it easier to work in the college environment rather than at
home.
“‘I
love all the resources and that I can book in”
“Open
door system is very useful”
Comfortable
atmosphere and environment free of judgement – 11%
It is
great so many of our students love the atmosphere and environment of the
department as a safe space to work and be in. Just as we encourage students to
be free to express their ideas, it is just as important that the environment they
do this in is supportive and free of judgement. It is very reassuring to hear
from our students that our department is somewhere they feel confident to be
themselves, and somewhere they can work effectively in.
“It’s
a comfortable environment, I rarely feel stressed”
“Everybody
has a voice”
“The
ability to express myself in the classroom and in my work with no fear (acceptance)”
“The
department is really big and a great work environment to concentrate in”
A few
honourable mentions….
·
Using sketchbooks and
presentation (7%)
What do you wish for in the art
department at Thomas Rotherham College?
Nothing! – 20%
Thank
you! This is always a lovely comment to receive!
More time for homework’s/extended
deadlines – 15%
This
was mostly mentioned in Fine Art, and we understand you folks have had a really
heavy workload for the start of the course. We structure this in this way to
ensure you can learn all the techniques necessary during your Exploring Media
project to then take forward into your Major Coursework Project which is more
tailored to your personal ideas and skills. Because this project is so short
(you will be completing this in February!) and we have tried our best to fit
everything in, this ultimately means strict deadlines and a very practical
based workload. Unfortunately there is not much we can do in regards to
extending the deadlines because of the tight schedule we are keeping to. However,
on the other side of this, you should all be super proud of just how much work
you have produced in just two months on the course! We have been so impressed
by the amount of good quality practical work in particular you have done in
such a short amount of time, so you should give yourselves a round of applause
for how hard you have worked!
More
guillotines – 11%
This
never fails to make an appearance on our wish list! No matter how many
guillotines we have in the department, you guys always want more! We currently
have 5 guillotines in the department, making sure there always at least two in
each room. We would love to have more of these, however it isn’t just money,
it’s space as well! These already take up a lot of the surfaces in the
department so we’re not sure where another one would be able to go. But we do
appreciate that when there are 20 students trying to use the guillotines in one
lesson, as well as open door students – there can be quite a queue!
As
always, we will look into whether this is doable both in terms of our budget,
and logistically in the rooms themselves.
We
did have one request for the shop to sell mini-guillotines! We will definitely
look into this and see if it is viable for us to do. If we do, we will let you
know when these are in stock, and you can purchase your own little guillotine
to use here and at home!
More equipment
available in lessons – 10%
Particular
mentions in these wishes were for more scissors and inking boards! These are
two things we seem to have been really short of in the last few weeks. We will
definitely be ordering in more scissors next time we do an order, and have picked up some more *very specialist* lino inking boards (which definitely are
not just chopping boards) from IKEA this weekend.
Tripods
were also mentioned. We do have a number of tripods in the department, however
they have had their fair share of use over the years, and we only have one
fully working one left now. We have just ordered in a brand new tripod as well
which will be also be available to use. If these are not already out in the
studio when you want to use them, come and speak to our tech team in the office
who can get one for you, as they may be stored safely in there.
More feedback/support/step
by step explanations of tasks – 7%
Your
work planner slides that are up on the board at the start of each lesson identify
all the work set in class and for your homework that week. This is essentially
a step by step guide of what needs to be done that week, how to do it, and
specifically what needs to be included on that sketchbook page (sketchbook
bingo!). If for any reason you find that this information isn’t clear as to
what you need to do, clarify this with your teacher at the start of the week. We
sometimes have students not understand the task set, and arrive to their lesson
a week later without their homework because they ‘did not know what they were
doing’. This is not an excuse! Make sure you read through the work planner
slides thoroughly, and use all the resources available to you to help with
this. Your student resource files have PowerPoints, handouts, and your
homework-go-to-guide to help you with specific tasks. We also have our
Pinterest page which has a wealth of examples on to support you with presentation,
as well as researching artists.
Ultimately,
if you feel you need more feedback on your work, or explanations of the tasks
set, this is down to you as a student to make your teacher aware of this so
they can support you. We are always here to help you, so never be afraid to ask
for it! And if a task isn’t clear, it may not just be you that is struggling
with it, so this also help others in your class who are in the same position as
you.
A few
honourable mentions….
More resources
for presentation
We
are not quite sure what you mean by this! Some slips said more things available
to make presentation more ‘adventurous’, but we’re not sure how you would go
about this! We already see a lot of really interesting and creative ways
students present tasks in their sketchbooks, whether using the resources
available here or one they have bought themselves. We have a variety of
coloured papers, as well as interesting collage materials and scrap paper which
is always available for you to use. We also have lots of examples in the rooms
and on Pinterest of different presentation methods and styles. You have to
remember that the key to your sketchbook is that it is clear, easy for us to
understand, and be visually engaging, particularly showing off your own
practical/digital/photography work. Going too far into the ‘adventurous’
category may make your sketchbook over-complicated and difficult to understand.
So be careful not to tip that balance!
If
there is anything specific you would like us to stock to help with your
presentation, do let us know!
Card machine for
the art shop
We
are looking into this as we speak – watch this space!
Better chairs
upstairs (especially for tall people!)
Yes
please! We know our stools upstairs are not the nicest, nor the comfiest when sitting
on them for long periods of time. They are also clearly not suited to tall
people, as we heard in this survey! We will look into the cost of getting new
chairs for upstairs, and seeing what sort of chairs would be better for our
classes.
