Implementing feedback in creative systems : a workshop approach

One particular challenge in AI is the computational modelling and simulation of creativity. Feedback and learning from experience are key aspects of the creative process. Here we investigate how we could implement feedback in creative systems using a social model. From the field of creative writing we borrow the concept of a Writers Workshop as a model for learning through feedback. The Writers Workshop encourages examination, discussion and debates of a piece of creative work using a prescribed format of activities. We propose a computational model of the Writers Workshop as a roadmap for incorporation of feedback in artificial creativity systems. We argue that the Writers Workshop setting describes the anatomy of the creative process. We support our claim with a case study that describes how to implement the Writers Workshop model in a computational creativity system. We present this work using patterns other people can follow to implement similar designs in their own systems. We conclude by discussing the broader relevance of this model to other aspects of AI

Making judgements about students making work : lecturers’ assessment practices in art and design.

This research study explores the assessment practices in two higher education art and design departments. The key aim of this research was to explore art and design studio assessment practices as lived by and experienced by art and design lecturers. This work draws on two bodies of pre existing research. Firstly this study adopted innovative methodological approaches that have been employed to good effect to explore assessment in text based subjects (think aloud) and moderation mark agreement (observation). Secondly the study builds on existing research into the assessment of creative practice. By applying thinking aloud methodologies into a creative practice assessment context the authors seek to illuminate the ‘in practice’ rather than espoused assessment approaches adopted. The analysis suggests that lecturers in the study employed three macro conceptions of quality to support the judgement process. These were; the demonstration of significant learning over time, the demonstration of effective studentship and the presentation of meaningful art/design work

Youth Voice in the work of Creative Partnerships

This report summarises the findings of an 18-month research project into ‘Youth Voice in the work of Creative Partnerships ‘, 2007-9, conducted by Sara Bragg, Helen Manchester, Dorothy Faulkner at the Open University, funded by the Arts Council England. Creative Partnerships (CP) was established in 2002 and is a ‘flagship creative learning programme’. It aims to foster innovative, long term collaborations between schools (often in areas of socio-economic deprivation) and creative practitioners. In particular CP states that it places young people ‘at the heart of what we do’ and claims that its programmes are most effective when young people are actively involved in leading and shaping them. CP highlights three key areas: involving young people in governance (the design, delivery and evaluation of the programme of work); building and maintaining ‘positive relationships’ with young people; working as ‘co-constructors of learning’ with them. The report maps existing youth voice initiatives in Creative Partnerships in those three areas. In addition, it considers the nature of the links between creativity and participation; explores issues of access to youth voice, such as patterns of inclusion and exclusion; explores what skills, experiences, identities and relationships are developed through participation. More broadly it attempts to understand, analyse and theorise youth voice, starting from the empirical but aiming to interpret the features of particular activities or projects to understand them more fully

Transitions and shifting understandings of writing: Building rich pictures of how moving from school to university is experienced through exploration of students’ discourses of writing

In a time of economic constraints and increasing competition for places, negotiating “the transition” from school to university has become crucial for students’ educational success. Writing holds a dominant place in the academy as a mechanism of assessment. Therefore, exploring the writing practices of students as they move from school to university offers a valuable lens into how students negotiate the complex and multiple demands of moving between educational and disciplinary contexts. This paper will explore what insights an analysis of instantiations of students’ discourses of writing (Ivanič, 2004) can offer to develop a rich picture of how students experience their writing “in transition”. The data presented is taken from an ethnographic-style project that followed a group of British students from A-levels (HSC equivalent) to their second year of university study. Ivanič’s framework of discourses of writing offers a useful analytic tool, allowing analysis of the sets of beliefs and assumptions that students draw on when engaging in and talking about writing and can be applied to different kinds of data collected around students’ writing. Discourses of writing also provide an organising frame for exploring how students’ understandings of writing change as they move between educational and disciplinary contexts. This analysis shows that the ways students’ understand their writing are not only influenced by various discourses, which can change as students move between school and university, but understandings are individual, situated and context-dependent. The role of emotions, students’ “face work” (Goffman, 1967) and the dominant force of assessment emerge as significant areas for further development

An international overview of assessment issues in technology education : disentangling the influences, confusion and complexities

Set in the context of wider research, this review of international literature describes some of the issues that contribute towards the prevailing confusion regarding the 'what', 'when' and 'why' of assessment. It explores the complexities embedded within assessment of, for and as learning and the difficulties arising in Technology Education. It discusses what comprises the goals and purposes, and precise nature of 'content' and how this impacts on what is considered as important to measure in terms of attainment, performance and achievement in Technology Education. The paper examines the influence of external assessment, the influence of the teacher and the influence of the various approaches and instruments of assessment on pedagogy, achievement and learner performance and motivation. The dimensions and discriminators of performance and progression in Technology Education are complex. The key issues need to be disentangled to provide some clarity and inform practice. Greater creativity is needed to help devise multi-dimension, multi-expression assessment strategies which celebrate the complexity and influence pedagogy appropriate for learning in the 21st century

Harnessing the creativity of digital multimedia tools in distance learning

Over the past few decades, advances in information and communication technologies, and particularly the digitisation of information, have brought about radical changes in the way media can be produced, distributed and shared. The exchange of information, once predominately the domain of the written word, now also embraces the digital technologies of audio and video. User-generated multimedia content proliferates, and the presence of audio and video adds dimensions that greatly increase the amount of information an audience can assimilate, adding a richness and depth to the messages we want to convey. This paper presents and discusses a creative approach to the use of digital multimedia production tools incorporated in the Open University’s 60 credit level 2 module, T215 Communication and Information Technologies. These tools are used in a way that: - explores new ways to help people understand technical concepts; - supports the development of students’ technical skills; - provides opportunities for students to be creative; - provides an alternative to traditional text-based assessment. We briefly explain the key decisions made by the module team during the design stages of the teaching materials and explain the common assessment framework used throughout the different blocks of the module. We then draw on the experience of two presentations of the module, each attracting around 500 students, to examine how students have engaged with the video creation activities and to identify issues that arise in supporting students for these tasks in a distance learning environment. Finally we discuss the success of the assessment task: a 30-second video designed to explain a technical concept related to one of the module topics

Creative Teaching for Tomorrow: Fostering a Creative State of Mind Deal

`Creative Teaching for Tomorrow: Fostering a Creative State of Mind' is a study by distinguished authors Teresa Cremin, Jonathan Barnes and Stephen Scoffham. Based on a research project undertaken during 2004-2005 by Canterbury Christ Church University and Future Creative, the book explores the characteristics of creative teachers, identifying the behaviours and environments that support the development of these attributes. `Creative Teaching for Tomorrow' involves a survey of 20 schools, revealing evidence that creative thinking benefits students economically, socially and academically. Real-life interviews with teachers and students, complete with questions and answers, attest that creative approaches do help to increase learners' personal curiosity and desire to learn, to realise the importance of risk-taking and to become more engaged with the learning experience as well as the world around them