Thanks Robin for this feedback. You'll see that we also had some
difficulties managing college responses to what was seen as
inappropriate behaviour, though since then a lot has been learnt (and
see the section on life drawing in the report for some discussion about
how to manage and head off potential difficulties in relation to
sexuality).
Re your query about the advocates - it's always been a 1:1 relationship,
but the undergraduates receive excellent support and training. The first
year was quite difficult as the initial model was for them to accompany
their partners to 'mainstream' college sessions - and there was a lot of
the same 'being set up to fail' that you describe even though all the
staff had had disability awareness training They were in principle
welcoming, but it was just hard for them to adapt their teaching for
individual students.
That was why since then, we've moved to a different model of inclusion,
where the whole group stays together, and the classes are strcutured
around joint projects - though individual students still get to choose
their own direction and preferred medium. Advocates each only work on
the project for a term at a time (they are recruited through an optional
2nd year module as part of their own degree programmes), so each
learning-disabled student will have been through several partners during
their course. The advocates have an initial half day session before they
first meet their partners, and then the first joint session is really
carefully set up to establish good working relationships quickly -
usually a shared activity like making a screen print will dispel any
shyness or awkwardness. They also have a sustained briefing and
debriefing as a group at the beginning and end of each day, and lots of
support for their own development and learning as arts facilitators (and
the course leader is also very clear about the boundaries of their role)
The feedback from university students has been terrific - for many it is
a defining moment in their course - and lots of them talk about how it
has reminded them why they are artists, getting back in touch with
drawing and artmaking for its own sake rather than as an assessed or
competitive activity (which throws a depressing sidelight on what we may
be doing in HE....)
The key seems to be not to adapt standard teaching for people with
learning difficulties, but to teach the whole group in ways that are
appropriate to them, (but do also challenge and develop them)- and which
are equally trasnferable to all students. We have since tested this
approach with another project with people with far more complex and
challenging behavioural difficulties, working with undergraduates from a
different college and it was equally successful, so I think it is
transferable.
This is getting us a long way away from drawing, but I'd really like to
follow up this discussion with you - if you email me offlist, perhaps we
can take it from there?
---------------
Pauline Ridley
Learning Area Co-ordinator (Visual Practices)
Learnhigher CETL
Centre for Learning and Teaching
Room 113, Mayfield House, Falmer
University of Brighton
Brighton BN1 9PH
01273-643406
Email [log in to unmask]
Visit the CLT website at
http://staffcentral.brighton.ac.uk/clt
- if you reply to me offlist, perhaps we can take it from there.
Best wishes
Pauline
-----Original Message-----
From: The UK drawing research network mailing list
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Robin Whitmore
Sent: 31 July 2006 15:21
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Drawing with adults with learning disabilities
Dear Pauline
I have just had a quick skim through the 2004 report and wanted to
write to you to say how exciting the Access to Art project looks. It
will certainly help with sections of the book we are putting together.
This is the kind of thing that my colleagues and I have talked about
and you are actually putting it into practice. Our most visually
skilled student did try a stint at Southwark college, set up carelessly
by Social Services, where they were attempting a similar kind of
support system. In the end it was handled very badly and he was
dismissed from the college for repeatedly behaving in an inappropriate
way with members of the opposite sex. It seemed such a shame and was so
avoidable and I couldnt help feeling that he had been sent on a mission
doomed to fail. As it was, his confidence was destroyed for quite some
time and he felt terribly guilty without quite understanding why. The
concept of having an advocate student allocated to you is a great idea.
Did you end up with more than one advocate per L.D.student, as I can
imagine it being very demanding both emotionally and timewise if the
onus is just put on one student.
I notice you state in the 2004 report that you need to be on the
lookout for specialist educators. I am a practising artist and have
worked with learning disabled people now for on and off fifteen years.
In that time I have also taught all aspects of drawing,set design and
video in primary and secondary schools, adult education and on BA Fine
Art courses. If you are looking for any extra part time staff drop me a
line.
Best wishes
Robin
On Monday, July 31, 2006, at 10:48 am, Pauline Ridley wrote:
> http://www.brighton.ac.uk/cupp/projects/a2a_home.htm
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