Tuesday 17th March 2015

Following my presentation yesterday, I have had even more time to sit back and reflect on the feedback I received. I still think it was a little harsh, but I suppose it has shocked me into re-thinking my approach.

I have decided, AGAIN, to change my course of the project, bringing my own practice back into the work, using it to present my plans in a more artistic way. The idea is that I will couple some drawings based around the couple of the lesson plans which link and they will be displayed in a handmade envelope file using fabric created using different processes. This is bringing my own technique back into the project and I hope will make the work more appealing to my tutors.

Based upon this, I set about making one of the envelopes, for the set of Mondrian lesson plans, completing a few drawings before, using patchwork to create the outside of the file, using the primary colours and a geometric pattern in relation to Mondrian's work.

Wednesday 18th March 2015

Instead of working all day today at the leisure centre, I had to go into university as an external assessor was coming in and she wanted to see my work from the last project, Ba7. At first, and from the email I had received about it, it sounded like it was going to be quite a long day and there wouldn't be much time to get anything done.

However, we didn't get round to seeing the assessor until 2pm, which meant that I had a chance to have a good sit down and think about where my project was heading and what i needed to do next. I found this very useful, but before long it was time to attend the meeting.

I was annoyed that I was being taken away from my work to sit and talk to someone about my experience at university, which while a great experience which has pushed my way of thinking and has changed me as a person, I have not always enjoyed, especially of late. However, after speaking to the assessor, who teaches textiles at a university in Wales, she went through some of our work and she helped me so much in sorting out what I am doing and where to go next, how head towards what I want to do whilst still getting a good mark at the end of the year!!

This helped me a lot, and I hope to sit down tomorrow and sort it all out so I have a clear plan of what I want to achieve over the time I still have left ;)

Monday 16th March 2015

After a slow weekend of progression, still trying to get through the mountain of lesson plans I have to go back over a develop further to make more accessible for everyone, today I had my mid year review presentation.

I have got to be honest, I did not plan for this today as much  as I could have and I think it perhaps would have gone better if I had, but I did not quite know what to expect, and for a start, I hadn't brought in all my work I had been creating, so that wasn't a good start. When it came to my turn to present, I think I explained what I was doing well, what I aimed to do and how I am connecting education and textile practice.

After the presentations we were given feedback, which was not one to one, but more of an attack on what we were creating. I can see the reasoning behind why they were so harsh, to motivate and push us further to complete more work, but not everyone takes it the same way. I think they were a little harsh, I mean I agreed with some things and thought if only I had shown my blog or brought in that folder, it would be clearer, but hind sight is a great thing! :P On reflect, in the evening after the presentation, I can see where they were coming from, but for people who are meant to be creative and open minded, some of them aren't half stuck in their ways!

Obviously, I mentioned the blogs, but I need to make sure I have my iPad with me so that I can show them physically, my reflection and how my work is presented on-line. This is easily rectified, especially if I bring this next time! My description of my work was clearer than previously, but I did not make the link to textiles clear enough. I think that is the basic problem. I need to address this a.s.a.p as I am on a textiles course, not an education course. I think coming into the presentation with a set of notes with the broken down learning outcomes, showing how my work relates to each one. This would certainly make my work clearer.

Friday 13th March 2015

I didn't get too much done as in my university work today, this is because I was, as usual, at my local primary school.

It was a special red nose day dress up day at the school and we all made our faces funny for money. I let my younger brother lose with face paints.

In the morning we were focused on completing lots of little jobs, finishing off work from throughout the week. We try to do this every week and I like this, I enjoy doing this as it allows me to get a glimpse of what the the children have been doing throughout the week.

After this we created some information writing based around the aborigines, from a piece of text read out by the teacher. There were four sections based on aboriginal; art, clothes, weapons and dance, looking into how each of these are used. This, although was a lot to cram into one lesson, went well and I like the way that the teacher was able to make the task easier for each of the four tables, four abilities, with such ease. This made the task more accessible to everyone.

In the afternoon, the children had a show and tell assembly where their parents came to watch the children discuss what they had learnt through the Australia project so far and what they look forward to next.

Thursday 12th March 2015

I didn't get much work done today, as I was at work all day.

I have started to update another one of my lessons plans, using my subject dividers to start organising my work.

Tuesday 10th March 2015

Following my tutorial yesterday, I have decided that I must sit down and go through everything I have until I move on any further. In the email I got yesterday, it said that I should focus on quality over quantity and that I should make sure I get everything out of my head onto paper.

In order to complete this and in reflection of my tutorial, I aim now to spend time going over my current lesson plans, making them a lot more in depth and organised and clearer. I already have the basis of 25 lesson plans, but now I will go over them and make clearer connections to textiles and its use to teach.

That is my aim over the next couple of weeks, before I go on to create more plans.

Monday 9th March 2015

I had no work untl this evening today, so I was able to sit down for the most part of today and get lots of work done in preparation for my individual tutorial later today.

This morning, I got loads of work done, sorting out my lesson plans so far, and beginning to organise everything in my folders, like I said yesterday. In relation to this idea, I have ordered some subject dividers and will be looking to properly sit and organise everything with labels. I carried on creating some of my lesson plans and began to develop a lesson plans based on using melted plastics in order to help to explain reversible and irreversible changes, a relation to science.

This afternoon, I had booked an individual tutorial with one of my tutors, with the and to have a catch up of where I am at the moment and what I need to still be doing for the rest of the project. I made my way into university, which was a bit of a nightmare, the trains were delayed by over an hour!!! I emailed my tutor and he replied with this email, which I am certain I have not seen before...

Hi Nathan 
this is an interesting one - We have discussed your proposal and are really pleased that you are thinking about your education creatively and also proposing a body of work and a learning agreement relevant to your interests and future. 
but
1 - the proposal needs greater clarification. How do the lesson plans connect so that there is a theme or themes throughout the plans. They need to all be accompanied by practical, quality, pieces of work. He needs to still demonstrate research and development of these. Can he provide/ research examples of what they could be as most lesson plans are only A4 sheets of paper.
2 - We are a little concerned that you are trying to do a project which isn't about textiles but about primary education, worthy but not totally relevant within the course. 
3 - The focus will be about 'how to do' within an educational context but textiles has to be at the core. Consider how you will make these 'lesson plans', actual examples of textile activity you have engaged in will need to be included. Think about 'step by step' instruction manuals, how information is communicated both on the page and verbally within a classroom. 
4 - We don't think, looking at your work history that you can develop 50 lesson plans as your final degree project in the time given and maybe 50 aren't needed anyway - the work should be more about quality than quantity. 
5 - think about the learning outcomes and how you will address them as I know you are concerned about the final grades.
 
Maybe a way forward would be to develop your textiles project and then the plans/manual around your body of work and influences

Your proposal to work with the school is a good one and this email is not a negative response to your proposal but as you are looking to work in a way that is not exactly straightforward we all need to be clear how it fits both with you, the course team and the course itself.

Sitting on the train and not able to really do much, I totally panicked!! This email basically suggested that I was focusing on the wrong thing in my whole project, that I now need to take a step backwards and begin again, which I do not want to be doing at this stage of the project.

However, when I got to university, my tutor was actually quite happy with my work. Based on my work that I used for my exhibition, the tutors thought that I was not completing work that was at all relevant to textiles, but after seeing my plans, my plans since the ones I had shown, based more around teaching textiles and a stronger linked between teaching through textiles, he was a lot happier with what I was doing. I think that, with my work I am doing what they want, I just need to make sure that I get everything out of my head onto paper, making my plans clearer for the tutors to read, because once I had explained my intentions, my tutor was happy with my work.

I also showed him my own work in my sketchbook, which was before mentioned in the email above, which I was a little concerned about, because I had not really done much at all. He said that if I make my lesson plans clearer and keep up the work, that I do not need the sketchbook work, which I am quite happy about, because it was becoming a bit of a chore.

Sunday 8th March 2015

What a JAM-PACKED day!
I am exhausted after my bust day today, and am really happy that I have managed to achieve so much in one day. I woke up early this morning and didn't get much done as I was working from 8 - 6, a very long day!

Wen I got home, I did however, manage to find time to complete some work for university. I am very happy with myself because even though I was a little tired I kept at my work until I got everything that I wanted to done. I create a set of lesson plans based on the resist methods of tie dyeing, which involved a great deal of research to plow through. I was able to adapt the lesson plan to suit both ,primary and secondary school children, which saved a lot of time and meant that I achieved a lot more with the time I had.

I was also able to create my nice little table as a plan for the week ahead. Next week, I am not at university much, apart from an individual tutorial on Monday and am working nearly every evening, BUT I have not got much else planned for the daytime, so hope to plow through lots of work, and tick lots of things off my list!

09/03/2015	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
09:00	Drawing	Planning	Planning	Lifeguard	Hardwick	Lifeguard	OFF
10:00	Drawing	Lesson Planning	Lesson Planning	Lifeguard	Hardwick	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
11:00	Organising	Sampling	Organising	Lifeguard	Hardwick	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
12:00	UNI	Drawing	Research for lesson plans	Lifeguard	Hardwick	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
13:00	UNI	Lesson Planning	Lesson Plans	Lifeguard	Hardwick	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
14:00	UNI	Sampling	Sampling	Lifeguard	Hardwick	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
15:00	UNI	Lifeguard	Sampling	Lifeguard	Hardwick	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
16:00	Lesson Planning	Lifeguard	Lifeguard	Lifeguard	Hardwick	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
17:00	Lesson Planning	Lifeguard	Lifeguard	Lifeguard	Swimming	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
18:00	Lifeguard	Lifeguard	Lifeguard	Lifeguard	Swimming	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
19:00	Lifeguard	Circuits	Lifeguard	Lifeguard	Making Samples	Lifeguard	Lesson Planning
20:00	Lifeguard	Lesson Planning	Lifeguard	Lifeguard	Making Samples	Planning	Plan for next week
21:00	Swimming	Blogging	Lifeguard	Lifeguard	Blogging	Blogging	Blogging

Saturday 7th March 2015

Even though it is the weekend and today I had a full day of Lifeguarding planned, I still have managed to get lots of little bits and pieces done. This links back to my desire to fit as much as I can into every single day and is also because I have an individual tutorial on Monday and want to take in as much finished work as I can so that, I suppose I can show off and show the different directions of my plans and make everything as clear as I can so I get as little negative feedback as possible.

In the morning, before work, I sat down at my laptop and got on with completing a few bits and bobs for my lesson planning. I completed a step by step guide and done a little artist research on some bold, pattern based designers which I love. The brightness of their work is so inspiring!!

I did not get to much done after work, I took the opportunity to take some time out, have a rest. In the evening, I did get more done, focused around the weaving sections of my lesson plans. I have completed a good amount of lesson plans around weaving, I just need the information and presentations. That is what I set out to do tonight, complete some research and make two presentations based on my research, one aimed at primary school and one on secondary school. The secondary school presentation, could be adapted slightly to suit the adult learning, building a basic knowledge to be explored further.

Friday 6th March 2015

Again, today I feel a lot happier about the way I have been able to create a variety of work today. I had a lot of things going on today and managed to get lots done.

As of my new planning, I work up early again at 6;00 and got set on creating some work in my sketchbook, continuing my drawing based around sea defences at Felixstowe, inspired by the work of Mondrian, to create a vibrant, geometric pattern focused more on mark making. My hope is that my sketchbook will work alongside my lesson planning, making my work easier to mark against the learning outcomes and will reflect the research that I have complete, so in a way, both sides of the project work in sync, informing each other.

I then spent the morning at my school placement, as usual on a Friday. The work that I helped the children to complete today was based upon learning about the landmarks of Australia, creating a piece of writing using some bullet pointed facts which they turn into sentences. This was a tricky task for the children and it took a lot of effort to get the children writing, I am not sure many of the children understood the task. After playtime, I also helped the children with a comprehension task, based on their SATs style tests, which again, even though I only had three children, was a tricky task and took a lot of effort to keep the children/ motivated.

Even though I was exhausted, I left school at lunch and popped into university to take down out exhibition which has been up this week. I really enjoyed the experience of creating work for display and from what I have heard, people's reactions were very positive and I think it really showed how much fun I had in this project so far and what is to come :) This work, took a week out of my more formal work, but has re-ignited my enthusiasm to get going a create lots of work again.

When I got home, I started going back over everything I have with me, to try to decide when I am now going to begin with this mountain of a workload. Everything starts with organisation, so I must have things clear in my head to be able to complete lots of work. I have made sure to get back to my blogging, which has be a little sparse of recent. Juggling everything is hard and is something everyone struggles with every day of their life, so making sure I have a good plan will be invaluable to me in the weeks and days to come.

Thursday 5th March 2015

After my full day of work yesterday, I thought it about time that I make more of a routine for my work, sort out my work schedule and get everything back on track. On Tuesday I said that, I like to keep myself busy, but I need to make sure that I make time to fit everything in, so I am do lifeguarding, work placement, uni work as well as living!! This means jam packing my day full of a variety of different activities.

Today, is a great example of this. I was at work this morning, and then came home this afternoon to get on with some uni work, before doing staff training in the evening and still managing to have a early night!

The work I had planned today, was focusing on the creation of my lesson plans. I have to admit that my work has taken a back seat of the last couple of weeks due to the exhibition this week, but I need to get back on track. The focus of today's work was to get my lesson plans focused around weaving complete.

When I focused my project on lesson planning, and showed the tutors the work that I had started to create, they said that although it is a good idea, I must make sure that my work still relates to textile techniques, so I have decided to create a set of lesson plans now focused around techniques.

Tuesday 3rd March 2015

OH, today has been such a frustrating day!

It has just been one of those days, when I had a whole day of work planned, not much else to do, but I do not feel like I have achieved much. I wanted to get back to work, because if I am honest my exhibition has taken over my life over the last week, and I want to get back on track.

I have enjoyed creating my work for the exhibition and have had fun. I hope this is reflected in my work for the exhibition. I need to make sure that I make my work a little more focus, managing my time better, so that I can fit everything in my days!!!

Again this is annoying, because tomorrow I literally have a full day of lifeguarding planned, a 15 hour shift from 5;30 in the morning to 9 at night. This means that my plan after today, cannot be put into place yet :(
I will make sure that I fit lots in of Thursday to myself in a more positive mood :)

Sunday 1st March 2015

Pinch Punch, first of the month!!

I have been very busy at work today, so have not managed to get a lot done, but I have been able to create my timetabled plan for the week ahead...

02/03/2015	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
09:00	UNI	Crèche	Sampling	Hardwick	UNI	OFF	OFF
10:00	UNI	Crèche	Sampling	Hardwick	UNI	OFF	Lifeguard
11:00	UNI	Crèche	Sampling	Hardwick	UNI	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
12:00	UNI	Crèche	Sampling	Hardwick	UNI	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
13:00	UNI	Crèche	Lesson Planning	Hardwick	UNI	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
14:00	UNI	UNI	Lesson Planning	Hardwick	Lesson Planning	Lifeguard	Lifeguard
15:00	UNI	UNI	Lesson Planning	Hardwick	Sample creation	OFF	Lifeguard
16:00	UNI	UNI	Lesson Planning	Hardwick	Sample creation	OFF	Lifeguard
17:00	UNI	UNI	Lesson Planning	Hardwick	Lesson Planning	Lesson Planning	OFF
18:00	Lesson Planning	Lesson Planning	Lesson Planning	Hardwick	Sample creation	Lesson Planning	Lesson Planning
19:00	Lesson Planning	Lesson Planning	Lesson Planning	Catch up on blogging	Making Samples	Planning	Sampling
20:00	Blogging	Making Samples	Making Samples	Catch up on blogging	Making Samples	Planning	Plan for next week
21:00	Blogging	Blogging	Blogging	Blogging	Blogging	Blogging	Blogging