Time was tight during these sessions, we had a little under 2hrs to get through 15 individual presentations and then… do it all again. Enter Pecha Kucha. I have blogged about this presentation method previously, so I won’t labour over the basics here. This was the first time that I had facilitated so many individual attempts in an afternoon. There was a worry that there would be 30 or so almost identical presentations and I would have to sit through them all, nodding politely. However, I’m happy to say, this was not the case.
I chose Pecha Kucha as a presentational method for several reasons, but most predominantly because I wanted to end with a non-digital process of reflection, but one which you could use your online evidence gathering and blogging to support. At the same time, having to summarise all of this data into a highly restrictive time period (6 minutes and 40 seconds) called on a different set of skills. Then to have to present your summaries with supporting slides (evidence) requires careful planning, rehearsal and delivery. Many of these skills are common to a performer or public speaker, but are just as pertinent to a technician, manager or designer who all need to be confident in their ability to relay information.
I hadn’t been specific in my brief over the actual content of the presentations, except that the information had to come from their own ePortfolio work from the beginning of term to the day of the presentation. This allowed the space for diversity and not the stream of cloned presentations of which I was fearful of.
The presentations themselves all varied in quality, but mostly this was a quality of delivery, due to under rehearsal and planning. The content was surprising and the entire session took on a meaning that was unexpected, not one which I had planned into the design. As a collection of personal reflections, drawing from both informal and formal learning, the students indulged in a celebration of achievement. With few exceptions each of them outlined their hopes and aspirations, drew out fears and perceived weaknesses, celebrated new found friendships and all had the willingness to share these feelings. It became less an exercise in knowledge exchange, but a much more personal account to each other. By exposing these feelings to each other, the students somehow, cleared the slate for the next module. The next time I facilitate this session I will ensure that all TPA-1 can see each others presentations and not split the sessions into two groups. This way the sharing can be complete. There was also a tinge of sadness to many of the presentations, as the realisation that the year group were about to enter into their specialist strands shortly. I had never really considered the affect that this first transition had on the students, of course they would still see each other and in many cases, still work together, but the split would still happen regardless. The old course never had such a split, as every student had a choice of which department they worked in throughout their 3 year tenure. I can’t help but feel that we have taken away this fundamental choice and have somehow restricted the students choosing a path which suits them best. Have we actually reduced student centred learning because we didn’t realise that we already had it in place? It’s a thought which troubles me…
