The Hopes and Challenges of Mixed Remote / On Campus Approaches in Art and Design Practice Education
The sudden appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 led educators throughout the world to scramble for solutions to the problems posed by social distancing directives. In Japan, where the academic year begins in April, post-secondary institutions were able to avoid making urgent changes mid-semester and instead had a few weeks to make often profound changes for the upcoming academic year.
While the unexpected shift towards remote education proved difficult for all students and teachers involved, art and design programmes faced unique challenges. Fields such as sculpture or ceramics were evidently fundamentally threatened by a pivot to remote teaching. However, even digital art and design programmes faced difficulties. Here, uneven access to expensive high-performance computers at home jeopardized equal opportunities.
Institutions responded in various ways to these challenges. For instance, at Nagoya Zokei University of Art and Design, where the author teaches, computers originally intended for the classrooms were shipped to students who needed them, ensuring fair access to the tools necessary for digital media production. Art supplies were also sent, as students shared pictures of their artwork with their teachers, and received advice through text and video chat. As a result, one year later, students completed their final projects which were largely of the same caliber as the previous years.
Through questionnaires and personal communications with students, it became clear however that this was achieved despite considerable stress. This stress appears to have been largely driven by the lack of human contact rather than material problems. Several students actually preferred working at home, some others never fully adapted to the online environment, but a significant majority was negatively affected by the lack of face-to-face communication. On the other hand, a minority of students generally preferred the online classes.
It is clear that students respond differently to various teaching environments. Some thrive in remote settings, others wither. Some cope with tremendous social anxiety on campus, and others lose all motivation online. As educators, if we seek to embrace diversity, we must ask ourselves how best to engage with these different students. It seems that no single approach, method or environment will suit everyone. The pandemic gives us an opportunity to rethink how we approach teaching and make use of our environment in doing so.
While the unexpected shift towards remote education proved difficult for all students and teachers involved, art and design programmes faced unique challenges. Fields such as sculpture or ceramics were evidently fundamentally threatened by a pivot to remote teaching. However, even digital art and design programmes faced difficulties. Here, uneven access to expensive high-performance computers at home jeopardized equal opportunities.
Institutions responded in various ways to these challenges. For instance, at Nagoya Zokei University of Art and Design, where the author teaches, computers originally intended for the classrooms were shipped to students who needed them, ensuring fair access to the tools necessary for digital media production. Art supplies were also sent, as students shared pictures of their artwork with their teachers, and received advice through text and video chat. As a result, one year later, students completed their final projects which were largely of the same caliber as the previous years.
Through questionnaires and personal communications with students, it became clear however that this was achieved despite considerable stress. This stress appears to have been largely driven by the lack of human contact rather than material problems. Several students actually preferred working at home, some others never fully adapted to the online environment, but a significant majority was negatively affected by the lack of face-to-face communication. On the other hand, a minority of students generally preferred the online classes.
It is clear that students respond differently to various teaching environments. Some thrive in remote settings, others wither. Some cope with tremendous social anxiety on campus, and others lose all motivation online. As educators, if we seek to embrace diversity, we must ask ourselves how best to engage with these different students. It seems that no single approach, method or environment will suit everyone. The pandemic gives us an opportunity to rethink how we approach teaching and make use of our environment in doing so.
The COVID-19 pandemic posed particular challenges to the teaching of practical art and design courses. Education in these fields had been intimately tied to the studio space, both for the material possibilities it affords and for the rich communication it enables between students and teachers. Various strategies were adopted to adapt, on very short notice, to the limitations of social distancing. Using Nagoya Zokei University of Art and Design (NZU) as a case study, I will show how teachers in fields such as painting, architecture, or digital media adapted to this challenge.
After a complete academic year spent mostly online, academic goals were largely met at NZU, with the quality of student projects on par with that of the previous years. However, questionnaires and conversations with students reveal that this was achieved through great effort and despite considerable stress. Not all students were affected equally, and it is clear that a minority of students are similarly affected by in-person teaching.
If no single teaching approach or environment will suit all students, then perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic gives art and design educators an opportunity to rethink their methods, embracing a more flexible paradigm that will hopefully be more inclusive. In this session, we will explore the ways in which this can be made possible.
After a complete academic year spent mostly online, academic goals were largely met at NZU, with the quality of student projects on par with that of the previous years. However, questionnaires and conversations with students reveal that this was achieved through great effort and despite considerable stress. Not all students were affected equally, and it is clear that a minority of students are similarly affected by in-person teaching.
If no single teaching approach or environment will suit all students, then perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic gives art and design educators an opportunity to rethink their methods, embracing a more flexible paradigm that will hopefully be more inclusive. In this session, we will explore the ways in which this can be made possible.