Art and Design

Objectives:

The learner will be able to explore an idea or concept as openly as possible to gather a wide range of solutions through the power of group work and seek to build a consensus through: 

• Developing problem-solving skills as team members 
• Analysing information (and working with limited information) 
• Negotiating and cooperating with one another.
• Listening and leading 
• Group Decision making (consensus building) 

Overview:

The focus within this task is open idea generation within a team, pooling the expertise/wisdom of the group to create ideas that can then be evaluated and explored.

Within this scenario, participants must pretend that they've been shipwrecked and are stranded in a life boat. Each team has a box of matches, and a number of items that they've salvaged from the sinking ship but they can’t keep them all within the lifeboat. Members must agree which items are most important for their survival as they need to prioritise.  

Activity:

The challenge should be issued to the group, and time given to the challenge individually.  This is important in creating the challenge of consensus building as it allows to think about the problem individually; continues the cycle of presentation and discussion in groups evaluate the process to draw out their experiences until the whole team has had a chance to voice their opinions and how teams arrive at consensus decision where everyone's opinion is heard.

Time:         Flexible, but normally between 25 and 40 minutes
Number:     Up to 5 people in each group

Instructions

1. Divide participants into their small teams, and provide everyone with a ranking sheet (with two columns).

2. Ask team members to take 10 minutes on their own to rank the items in order of importance. They should do this in the second column of their sheet.

3. Give the teams a further 10 minutes to confer and decide on their group rankings. Once agreed, they should list them in the third column of their sheets.

4. Ask each group to compare their individual rankings with their collective ones, and consider why any scores differ. Did anyone change their mind about their own rankings during the team discussions? How much were people influenced by the group conversation?

5. Now read out the "correct" order, collated by the experts at the US Coast Guard (from most to least important): 

1. Shaving mirror. (One of your most powerful tools, because you can use it to signal your location by reflecting the sun.) 
2. Can of petrol. (Again, potentially vital for signalling as petrol floats on water and can be lit by your matches.)  
3. Water container. (Essential for collecting water to restore your lost fluids.) 
4. Emergency rations. (Valuable for basic food intake.) 
5. Plastic sheet. (Could be used for shelter, or to collect rainwater.) 
6. Chocolate bars. (A handy food supply.) 
7. Fishing rod. (Potentially useful, but there is no guarantee that you're able to catch fish. Could also feasibly double as a tent pole.) 
8. Rope. (Handy for tying equipment together, but not necessarily vital for survival.) 
9. Floating seat or cushion. (Useful as a life preserver.) 
10. Shark repellent. (Potentially important when in the water.) 
11. Bottle of rum. (Could be useful as an antiseptic for treating injuries, but will only dehydrate you if you drink it.) 
12. Radio. (Chances are that you're out of range of any signal, anyway.) 
13. Sea chart. (Worthless without navigational equipment.) 
14. Mosquito net. (Assuming that you've been shipwrecked in the Atlantic, where there are no mosquitoes, this is pretty much useless.) 
15. Sextant. (Impractical without relevant tables or a chronometer.)

Once the general discussion relating to the individual scoring has died away, draw the discussion to the team approach and explore issues of leadership, listening, negotiation, decision-making and consensus building.

Skill Development:

It is typical of many ice-breaker tasks that the learning is not within the task objective, but within the team process and often the desire to complete the task can mask the transferable learning that has been gained.  It is therefore key, that once the discussion of the challenge itself is complete, that the debrief explore the skill development within the task and team work itself.

Either within the groups themselves, and then as a larger group, or working directly with the full group, seek reflections and comment on what they have learnt about:

1. Listening  
2. Negotiating   
3. Decision-making skills,  
4. Creativity skills for thinking "outside the box 
5. Consensus building

As a facilitator, it is important that you allow them to explore their team process and find the learning within that.  This can involve team members sharing difficult feelings about not being listened to, and this needs to be acknowledged, accepted and the lessons drawn from it (would it have been a better process to take view from each member and vote? Should individuals have been more forthcoming if they had strong views and how do they ensure they are heard in the future?). The lessons from each group can be usefully heard by the wider group, in order to understand and learn from different approaches as this allows deeper reflection as to how to approach similar challenges in the future to be explored.

Resources:

Develop a simple chart for each team member. This should comprise six columns. The first simply lists each item (see below). The second is empty so that each team member can rank the items. The third is for group rankings. The fourth is for the "correct" rankings, which are revealed at the end of the exercise. And the fifth and sixth are for the team to enter the difference between their individual and correct score, and the team and correct rankings, respectively. 

If this cant be done in advance and handed out, then it can be drawn by each team member at the start of the challenge.

Objective:

Effective engagement of Alumni seeks to support the students to become:

• be flexible and adaptable, seeing alternative perspectives and offering a choice of solutions
• review and evaluate multiple solutions in contexts that anticipate and accommodate change and contain elements of ambiguity, uncertainty and risk.

Overview:

With the pre-arranged (and prolonged) support of alumni (now professionals) this approach of continued access to external professionals (ideally programme/course Alumni) is designed to prepare students to be able to engage with real clients and better enable them to respond proactively to change.

Externals are invited to engage with the current student group as they undertake a task, using social media (facebook; twitter etc) an/or Skype. This creates either incremental weekly instruction that builds into an overall assignment or regular support or feedback on course work from externals.

Activity

This approach needs pre-agreement and commitment of externals (ideally Programme/course Alumni) who commit to short, but regular interaction through social media or Skype.

This activity can either be driven by a live brief or challenge identified by the external (higher level of engagement) or as comment and support to those undertaking the programme, through sharing expertise and current work experiences. If the students are working on a live brief or task given by the external, this high level of interactivity can mean that summative deadlines can changedand information updated, and the newsworthy or other high profile influences can be included throughout the module. (The assignment usually mirrors an actual assignment undertaken professionally by an Alumni professional).

This engagement can be “managed” by the tutor – to pre-plan some ambiguity or pre-agreed change of brief/scope with the Alumni contact, or left open to allow access to externals as an organic relationship, where advice may be sought by the students or experience/daily practice shared by the Professional as they see fit.

In addition, any presentation /show case or final assignment submission can be shared with the external and their input made part of the summative or formative feedback (assessment strategy).

Note that the choice of social media will impact on the type of engagement between alumni and students, but ideally something that the Alumni member uses regularly will ensure more regular engagement. Even small inputs (as typically seen in social media such as Twitter) can guide student approach and ensure that they are able to ask private questions, and that other students can also learn from the mentor/alumni generic comments or insights.

Skill Development:

Depending upon the level and type of engagement, students can benefit from insights from a ‘typical day/week’ of a professional working in their area, or be pushed to develop their tolerance to ambiguity (through changing deadlines, or unexpected changes to the brief or additional information). This can build resilience in the students but there needs to be clear expectations of this relationship, as well as additional tutor support.

Students typically respond well to changes and additional insights from professional Alumni and can develop their understanding and judgement, in their chosen field, whilst gaining further insight regarding professional practice.

Students should be bought together to share their experience of virtually engaging with their Alumni contact and explore their emotional responses to the changing briefs or additional information. They need to explore, and develop strategies, for coping with ‘real world’ brief/challenges and exploringthis together, and sharing how they dealt with it, and could deal with it in the future, builds their confidence and resilience to change. Using reflective practice to consider the learning across the group can draw out a range of key lessons for preparing for future challenges.

Resources:

Access to, and ongoing (committed) virtual engagement by appropriate alumni – determine brief/project or to commit to regular updating/comment for a pre-agreed period of time.

References:

Penaluna, A., Penaluna, K and Diego, I. (2014) The role of education in enterprising creativity. In Sternberg R and Krauss, G. (2014) Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship and Creativity. Cheltenham / Massachusetts: Edward Elgar).

Scott, J., Penaluna, A., Thompson, J & Brooksbank, D. Experiential entrepreneurship education: Effectiveness and learning outcomes. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research (Forthcoming)

Jones, C., Penaluna, A., Matlay, H., Penaluna, K. Discovering the Soul of Enterprise Education. Education +Training, Emerald Publishing (Forthcoming)

Penaluna, K., Penaluna, A., Jones, C. and Matlay, H. (2014) ‘When did you last predict a good idea?: Exploring the case of assessing creativity through learning outcomes’, Industry and Higher Education, Vol.8, No.6, December 2014: 399 - 410

Penaluna, A., Coates J. and Penaluna K., (2011) Creativity-Based Assessment and Neural Understandings: A Discussion and Case Study Analysis. Education + Training, Emerald Publishing, Volume 52, Issue 8/9, pp. 660 - 678

Objectives: 

• Ice breaker (which builds a connection between pairs)
• Participants will have to interact and adapt their communication skills to help their team member 
• Participants will reflect and evaluate their performance as a pair
• Improve communication and listening skills and to highlight the importance of trust when working in a team or pair

Overview: 

This physical task engages the whole person in supporting a colleague and ensuring their safety through good communication.  The activity can be used at any time during the session, however it is highly effective as and ice breaker.  It is a fun method to start participants communicating and is simple to deliver in an appropriate environment and can be adjusted depending upon group size, age etc. However health and safety is paramount and you must consider the appropriateness of the group and room for this challenge.

Activity:

You should initiative this activity by stressing the nature of the challenge and stressing that the safety of those involved is paramount.  You can also agree across the group that “stop” can be initiated by any member of the team by raising a hand if they don’t feel that it is safe to proceed.  This can be actioned by anyone and will not result in any penalties.

To run the task, gather the group outside the room and:

1. Scatter furniture that can be used as obstacles but ensuring that safety is not compromised. 
2. Put team members into pairs and should decide amongst them who is to be blindfolded first. 
3. The sighted and blindfolded member should stand at one end of the room. 
4. Aim of the task is for the sighted individual to guide their partner across the room and giving concise information to avoid the obstacles. 
5. Once each team reaches the other side, the pairs are to swap roles 

It could also be possible to create a preferred route or course (as seen in horse show jumping) which they need to accomplish (if you didn’t wish to use obstacles for safety or mobility reasons) which would lead the pair to particular numbers/letters indicated on the wall.

Subject specialisms could also be tested by placing knowledge based answers on the walls and asking the pairs to walk to their answer through the course (see QAARunaround for details of how to do a multiple choice but don’t mix the games in play for safety reasons).

Skill Development: 

This task requires listening and communication skills and also helps builds trust and connections across the pairings.  However the skill development and improved future practice comes from evaluating performance across the group and understanding how and when particular techniques were effective and what lessons that provides for the future.  It is important to acknowledge fears and concerns, or frustrations between the pairings but keep the discussion to the general learning, rather than focusing upon particular experiences of individual pairings as the depth of learning will come from the lessons that can be applied in future group work or communication challenges.  These lessons include clear communication; agreeing ground rules for working together; recognising the need of feedback or support; understanding the importance of clear short messages within these circumstances etc.

Resources:

• Blindfolds
• Large room  - large, safe, open space
• Items that can be used as obstacles which will act as safe barriers (not fall over; not hurt if walked into – no sharp edges)

Objective:

• To provide art and design students with an understanding of the importance of online marketing and e-commerce.
• To provide art and design students with opportunities to reflect on their own sales and marketing strategies.
• To provide art and design students with opportunities to identify opportunities to support their own endeavours.
• To develop art and design students’ knowledge and understanding of how to market and sell work online.

Overview:

A large proportion of art and design students and graduates will take responsibility for marketing and selling their own work. As such, sales and marketing skills coupled with the ability to identify and create new sales and marketing opportunities, are essential for these students. Furthermore, those who lack knowledge and understanding of online sales opportunities, will miss out on a huge potential market for their work, and limit their chances of success.

This workshop serves as an introduction to online sales and marketing, for art and design students, with no previous experience of the subject required.

The activity is designed to fit within a typical one hour lecture session, but inclusive of ample opportunities for extension, through practical activity, group discussion or independent research, and could easily form the basis of a more comprehensive scheme of work on the subject. It is designed to be appropriate for students of any level and was originally developed through the HEFCW funded pan-Wales Enterprise Support Programme.

Lesson plans and AV presentations for use in the delivery of the workshop can be downloaded via the link to the ‘ZONE Enterprise Hub’ webpages listed in ‘References’ and ‘Resources.’

Activity:

The activity follows the structure outlined in the ‘Business Planning’ PowerPoint presentation, inclusive of all links and examples.

_{Figure 1. Title page of the ‘Selling Art Online’ PowerPoint presentation.}

Pre-Activity:

• Prior to the workshop, the facilitator may wish to ensure the PowerPoint presentation is working correctly, and if desired, update the presentation to include up-to-date examples relevant to the cohort.

Introduction:

• Welcome students to the workshop, and introduce them to the running order which is to follow.

Why Bother?

• Discuss with students why online sales and marketing are so important.
• Present to students facts and figures about the size and value of the online market.
• Invite students to suggest benefits of selling on line, and include your own suggestions, displayed via the presentation.

What Does Selling Online Mean?

• Students are introduced to various ways in which work can be sold online (An artists’ own e-commerce site, a third party e-commerce site, though promoting offline sales etc.).
• Examples of various ways of selling are shown to students, and students are invited to add additional suggestions of their own.

Making a Plan

• Students are introduced to the starting point when making a marketing plan.
• Students are asked to reflect on a number of questions (What are the products and services you offer? Who are the customers for these? How many of them are there? Where are they? What are your customers’ wider interests? How are these customers likely to look for your work? Where can you go so that these customers will be likely to find you?)
• A volunteer from the audience can be invited to answer these questions, with group input, with respect to their own business.

Finding the Right Place to Sell

• Students are presented with various platforms for selling and promoting work online.
• For each platform, a real life example is demonstrated, and the merits and demerits of each platform are discussed and debated by the group.

How others have done it

• Case studies are shown to the group, featuring artists (ideally those who are peers of the audience).
• How they utilise a variety of online promotion and selling opportunities (alongside offline promotion and selling) is discussed by the group.

Conclusion

• The key themes of the session are recapped, and the group thanked.

Skill Development:

Following this session, students should have a greater awareness of how to sell and promote their work online, should have identified opportunities relating to their own specific endeavours, and should have an understanding of how this activity fits into their wider marketing and business plan.

They should have more confidence in their own abilities, and an understanding of the positive actions which they need to take going forward.

Resources:

• See references for links to lessons plan and PowerPoint presentation supporting this workshop.

References:

• Lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations to accompany this activity can be viewed via > https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37&section=11 or slides downloaded here > Selling Art Online [PDF]

Associated Case Studies

• Developing Online Sales Skills In Art And Design Students (QAA 1,2,5)

Objective:

• Practice and learn the concepts of effectual versus causal logic.
• Illustrate when planning is appropriate versus action.
• Employ experimentation techniques.

Overview:

Groups of students compete to see who can build the tallest freestanding structure supporting a marshmallow on top out of 20 pieces of spaghetti, three feet of tape and three feet of string. This exercise is used to illustrate that under conditions of uncertainty, entrepreneurs rely on experimentation and iterative learning as a means to discover information about their environment.

Students are often taught and are familiar with traditional methods of planning and analysis, which work well in stable environments where the future is likely to be similar to the present. In these cases the future is fairly well known and understood. While some uncertainty exists, it can be categorized as risk.

However, if the future is unknowable, the only way to learn what may work is through experimentation. Typically many of the students spend a large portion of their time designing and planning the structure and only start to build it at the end to find out at the last moment that it cannot support the weight of the marshmallow, and they then go into “crisis” mode. The teams that perform the best are usually those that just start experimenting, learning what works and then modifying their tower based on what they learn. If you are using lean start-up concepts it is also a good way to illustrate the value of market tests.

Usage Suggestions

This exercise works for all audiences, undergraduate, graduate, executive, or practitioner. It is appropriate for new venture creation courses, entrepreneurship boot-camps, or workshops. The session is best positioned early in the course for discussions around planning versus action.

Activity:

Pre-Work Required by Students

• None.

Time Plan (45 minutes)

Step 1 0:00–0:05 (5 minutes)

Hand out the kits (see resources) to each of the teams. Introduce the challenge. Be clear about the goals and rules of the Marshmallow Challenge. It is also helpful to tell them that this has been done by tens of thousands of people around the world from children to CEOs. The rules and goals are as follows.

Goal

Build the tallest freestanding structure: The winning team is the one that has the tallest structure measured from the table top surface to the top of the marshmallow. That means the structure cannot be suspended from a higher structure, like a chair, ceiling, or chandelier.

Rules

• The entire marshmallow must be on top: The entire marshmallow needs to be on the top of the structure. Cutting or eating part of the marshmallow disqualifies the team.
• Use as much or as little of the kit as you choose: The team can use as many or as few of the 20 spaghetti sticks, and as much or as little of the string or tape, as they choose. The team cannot use the paper bag as part of their structure.
• Break up the spaghetti, string, or tape if you choose: Teams are free to break the spaghetti or cut up the tape and string to create new structures.
• The challenge lasts 18 minutes: Teams cannot hold on to the structure when the time runs out. Those touching or supporting the structure at the end of the exercise will be disqualified.
• Ensure everyone understands the rules: Don’t worry about repeating the rules too many times. Repeat them at least three times. Ask if anyone has any questions before starting; a good idea is to provide a handout with the instructions in the kit.

Step 2 0:05–0:25 (20 minutes)

• Begin the challenge by starting the clock.
• Walk around the room and note the process that different teams are using.
• Remind the teams of the time: Increase the reminders as time gets shorter (for example, you might remind them at 9 minutes, 5 minutes, 3 minutes, 2 minutes, 1 minute, 30 seconds and then a 10- second countdown.
• Call out how the teams are doing: Let the entire group know how teams are progressing. Build a friendly rivalry and encourage people to look around.
• Remind the teams that holders will be disqualified: Several teams will have the powerful desire to hold on to their structure at the end, usually because the marshmallow, which they just placed on to their structure moments before, is causing the structure to buckle. The winning structure needs to be stable.

Step 3 0:25–0:30 (5 minutes)

• After the clock runs out, ask everyone in the room to sit down so everyone can see the structures. Usually only about half the teams will have a standing structure.
• Measure the structures: From the shortest standing structure to the tallest, measure and call out the heights. If you’re documenting the challenge, have someone record the heights.
• Identify the winning team: Ensure they get a standing ovation and a prize (if you’ve offered one).

Step 4 0:30–0:45 (15 minutes)

Start by asking some of the teams about the process they used to go about building their structures. You can choose based on what you observed during the challenge. You will generally notice as you go around the room that teams that spend most of their time planning will fail to have a standing structure in the end. Those who experiment and learn through trial and error tend to do much better. It is usually best to start with some of the teams whose structures collapsed.

What process did you use in building your structure?

Focus on whether they spent a lot of time planning and drawing their structure or trial and error.

What went wrong?

• This often highlights issues around unknown factors such as how much weight the spaghetti could support or how much the marshmallow weighed relative to the structure.
• How did you deal with that?
• This will often point out the fact that extensive planning leaves little time for adjusting and learning from experience and results in a “crisis.”

Repeat this with one or more of the more successful groups and try to capture differences and commonalities between them.
You can draw comparisons to various other groups who have done this challenge. The creator of the challenge, Tom Wujec, has
performed this challenge numerous times with a variety of different groups and has found the following:

• The best performers tend to be engineers (good thing). They understand structures and stresses, so this is a more certain environment for them.
• The worst performers tend to be recent business school graduates. They are in a very uncertain environment given limited knowledge about structures. However, they have typically been taught to plan, plan, plan. They spend most of their time planning and then try to build the structure at the last minute. When they put the marshmallow on top it weighs much more than they anticipated and the structure collapses, creating a crisis.
• After engineers, the best performers are recent kindergarten graduates. They are also in an uncertain environment, but they tend to experiment to see what works, learn from that, and build off it to create much more interesting structures.

Emphasize the importance of market tests and experimentation when entering a new, unknown environment. If your students are already working on business ideas, this can be a good place to have them try to think about low- cost ways they could experiment with their concept before making large investments. As an alternative debrief, you can show the TED talk by the creator of this exercise by going to http://www.marshmallowchallenge.com.

Teaching Tips

Be very clear about the goals and rules of the challenge. Generally, you’ll want to repeat them three times and reinforce them visually. In almost every challenge, there is at least one team who will want to cheat or bend the rules in their favour. The clearer you are about the rules the better the results.

Skill Development:

Key Takeaways

• In an unknown environment, it is better to take action than to plan.
• Learning from small experiments and trials can produce more unique solutions – particularly if the future cannot be predicted.
• Failure can provide important insights to improving products or services.

Resources:

Materials List

• Create a kit for each team (about four people per team), with each kit containing 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of masking tape, one yard of string, and one marshmallow. These ingredients should be placed into a paper lunch bag or manila envelope (excluding the masking tape), which simplifies distribution and hides the contents, maximizing the element of surprise. The masking tape should be hung on the desks or on the wall for distribution, as putting it in the bags generally causes problems.
• Ensure that you use uncooked spaghetti. Avoid spaghettini, as it is too thin and breaks easily. Fettuccine is too thick.
• Include string that can be easily broken by hand. If the string is thick, include scissors in your kit.
• Use standard- size marshmallows that measure about 1.5 inches across. Avoid mini or jumbo marshmallows. Also avoid stale marshmallows – you want squishy marshmallows that give the impression of lightness.
• You will also need a measuring tape and a stopwatch or countdown application.
• Having a countdown application projected on the screen where they can see the time counting down is preferred (use an online stopwatch on your computer if convenient).

The full text ‘Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach’ can be purchased here > http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teaching-Entrepreneurship-A-Practice-Based-Approach/dp/1782540695

References:

This exercise is taken from;

• Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.125 - 130). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub.

Attribution

• This exercise was originally developed by Tom Wujec for teaching collaborative design. His website containing the instructions, a TED talk about the exercise, and other supporting material can be found at http:// marshmallowchallenge.com

Theoretical Foundations

• Kiefer, C.F., and Schlesinger, L.A. 2010. Action Trumps Everything: Creating What You Want in an Uncertain World. Duxbury, MA: Black Ink Press.
• Ries, E. 2011. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. New York: Crown Business.
• Sarasvathy, S.D. 2001. Causation and effectuation: Towards a theoretical shift from economic inevitability to entrepreneurial contingency. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 243–88.

Author:

• This exercise is taken from, Heidi M. Neck, Patricia G. Greene and Candida G. Brush, 2014. Teaching Entrepreneurship: A Practice-Based Approach (pp.125 - 130). Edition. Edward Elgar Pub, and is reprinted with the kind permission of the authors. 

Objective:

• The learner will be able to explore an idea or concept as openly as possible to gather a wide range of solutions
• To evidence the power of group work as more ideas are created through team work
• To explore the potential of networks and social connections

Overview

This group task challenges the teams to generate ideas within constraints. This task engages students by allowing them to draw upon their knowledge, connections, hobbies, subject experience, social networks etc. The open brief allows them to be creative but the constraints of time and “no spend” heighten their creativity.

Activity

There is an abundant supply of free-to-use resources which are not readily considered by those addressing a task. This challenge asks “How can you use one or more of these to provide an innovative product, service or experience which creates value for its users?” and seeks to engage the learners to consider the multiple forms of value creation - financial, economic, social, cultural, environmental, aesthetic.

Process – By placing your students into small working groups, suggest the following challenges to them:

1. BRAINSTORM: Identify by listing or brainstorming all the ‘freely available resources’ you can think of. These must be resources you can use for free, without being challenged or acting illegally or irresponsibly. They may include physical, virtual, human, financial and knowledge resources, for example. (Note: you are asking them to draw together resources that will not ‘cost’ so whilst it is recognised that their time ought to be valued and compensated, for the purposes of this task, we are seeking access to resources that they can reach for free at this moment).
2. COMBINATION: Using this “brain stormed” list, ask the group to combine selected resources to provide products, services or experiences which create new value? Aim to identify at least 3 innovative combinations.
3. EVALUATION: ask the groups to select the best option. Who will the innovation be of value to? Whose problem does it solve?
4. REFLECTION and REVIEW: What forms of value are you creating from the list above.
5. REFLECTION: How can you ‘make it happen’ to implement the innovation?
6. COMMUNICATE: Communicate your idea as effectively you can, using available resources, to the group, outlining the need they are addressing.

Depending upon time and the skills that you wish to develop, you can run this task within 1 session or extend the communication and reflection stages to create a half day task or a task that runs over 2 weeks. This allows the groups to access their resources and showcase their ideas in the presentation the following week.

Skill Development:

Within the group work, a range of skills are developed and as the tutor, you can place the emphasis on different areas, depending upon the time you have available. The core skills being developed are around idea generation and evaluation, however it is possible to extend this task to include deeper reflection and communication skills where the groups are required to analyse the challenge and their response to it, as well as present their idea. This reflection can either form part of the presentation brief so that the teams are both presenting their ideas and exploring their experience of the challenge, or you can draw the group together after the presentation-showcase to reflect collectively on:

• How the groups worked?
• What frustrations were caused by the constraints and open brief – and how were they handled?
• How did you address the stages of the challenge?
• How did the stages of the brain-storming/problem solving process help you meet the challenge?
• How would you address such a challenge in the future?
• Which group was most creative in their solution? Why is that your view? How do you assess creativity? 

And you can finally explore issues of cost with the group by recognising that some of these resources could be accessed once for free, but not repeatedly. Ask them to consider how they could achieve the same output/outcome regularly and attempt to cost this.

Resources:

(if available – flip chart or post its for brain storming; pens etc)
Resources to assist with presentation – access to powerpoint; flip charts etc

References:

http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/opportunity-centred-entrepreneurship-david-rae/?sf1=barcode&st1=9781137474100
Rae, D (2015) “Opportunity-Centred Entrepreneurship” Palgrave

Objectives:

• To allow learners to contribute to the agenda for large-group teaching sessions;
• To allow teachers to find out ‘where a group of learners is at’ at the start of a large-group session
• To gather details of ‘learning incomes’ for a group – what the learners can already do, what they already know, and what their potential problems may be.

Overview

This is a plenary activity using post-its in a large-group setting, for example in a lecture theatre, at the start of a lecture, or at the start of a series of lectures. Each learner is given a post-it, and asked to respond privately to a given starter-question. Learners are then asked to swap post-its, and a few volunteers are invited to read out what’s on the post-it they now have (in the comfort of relative anonymity). Then learners are asked to stick up all the post-its on one or more flipcharts, to serve as an exhibit for the rest of the lecture, and to be taken away by the teacher/lecturer at the end of the session for further exploration.

Activity

1. Show a slide indicating very broadly what the session is going to be about, or give a very short oral introduction to the session.
2. Issue post-its, one to everyone (rectangular ones are best for this)
3. Picking a main topic from what’s going to be addressed in the session, indicate the starter statement on a slide ‘Xxxx would be much better for me if only I ….’ and ask everyone to jot down, in good handwriting, quick completions of this starter on their post-its.
4. Ask everyone to swap post-its, till they’ve lost track who may have their own.
5. Find a volunteer to read out, loudly, whatever’s on the post-it they now have. Explain that there’s no risk, as if the post-it is ‘silly’ it’s not the fault of the person who now has it.
6. Ask the volunteer to pick any other learner (e.g. by what colour they’re wearing or any other way), and get them to read out what’s on their post-it.
7. Repeat till between 6 and 10 post-its have been read out.
8. Ask for the post-its all to be stuck onto a flipchart (or two) at the front of the room, e.g. ‘folk at the end of rows please bring them and stick them up’.
9. Look briefly at the exhibit, picking out trends, praising a couple of really good ‘if only’s, and reading out any amusing ones.
10. From time to time during the session, address things that were listed on the ‘if only’ post-its.
11. Peel off all the post-its and take them with you at the end of the session, and if you have time sort out what the most frequently occurring ones are, and start of your next session with the class by addressing one or two of these directly. From the whole collection, gain an idea of how much (or little) the group seems to already know about the topic (the ‘learning incomes’ – what they’re bringing to the topic).

Skill Development

This exercise helps teacher and students develop the following skills:
• Teacher: skill at finding out ‘where a group is at’ regarding a new topic, or an (important) subtopic.
• Teacher: a way of starting a lecture where it matters little if a few stragglers are still arriving during the activity.
• Teacher: a resource to re-visit before running a new session on the same topic with another group in future.
• Learners: the feeling that their views, fears, and ideas are being collected and addressed by the teacher.
• Learners: a quick, anonymous, safe way of admitting things they think will be difficult or challenging.
• Learners: the opportunity to think quickly around a new topic, and pick something they would like to get out of it being covered in the session.

Resources

• One or more pads of post-its.
• Something on which post-its can be stuck by learners towards the end of the activity; a flipchart is ideal, but doors, windows, whiteboards and walls can be used as necessary, testing them first to ensure post-its will actually stick to them.
• A few pens or pencils to give away to those learners who haven’t one with them. 

References:

Race, P. (2014) ‘Making Learning Happen: 3rd edition’, London: Sage.
https://iad4learnteach.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/making-learning-happen-the-power-of-the-post-it-note/
Race, P. (2015) ‘The Lecturer’s Toolkit; 4th edition’, Abingdon: Routledge.
http://phil-race.co.uk

If you would like to have your How to Guide featured, please download the template and email the completed version to hello@etctoolkit.org.uk.

We have produced a guidance sheet which will assist you in completing the How to Guide.

• How to Guide Template
• Template Guidance

If you have any questions regarding completing the template, please Contact Us.

Objective:

• To provide students with opportunities to develop subject relevant knowledge, understanding and expertise, to equip them for their future professional development.
• To provide students with opportunities to develop their interpersonal skills, develop professional networks, and create opportunities for collaboration, employment and self-employment.
• To bring students into contact with a wide range of leading creative industries professionals.
• To encourage students to reflect on their own professional development and career ambitions, to identify positive actions and opportunities, and to gain the belief and confidence to employ these changes going forward.
• To inspire students to strive towards a successful career within the creative industries.

Introduction:

Creative Futures is a 4-day long, annual creative industries conference, held at Glyndwr University in North Wales. Organised by the University’s Careers Centre in partnership with the School of Art, Media and Design, the conference is integrated into the timetables of undergraduates, striving to inspire and equip them for futures as successful creative professionals.

Due to the nature of the creative industries, a large proportion of art, media and design graduates will find themselves self-employed at some point during their careers, and so it is essential that they leave University with the ability to do so confidently and professionally.

Creative Futures 2015 brought together over 50 professionals, inclusive of practising artists and performers, trainers, educators and business advisors, to deliver lectures, workshops and seminars on every aspect of developing a successful career. These were complimented by networking opportunities for students, and opportunities to reflect on their own skills, identify opportunities and action plan for the future. The conference was also integrated into the ‘Creative Futures Module’ taught to students on a number of art and design programmes, and allowing the conference itself to contribute to academic assessment.

In 2015 the conference sought to open its doors to a wider audience, and welcomed delegates from schools, colleges and the wider public for the first time. This changed the dynamic of the event, provided students with wider opportunities for network and exchange ideas, and provide a platform from which the University to promote courses, recruit students, and develop partnerships.

Activity:

The main activity associated with the planning and delivery of Creative Futures 2015 was as follows;

Planning and Promotion (16 weeks)

• A steering committee was established to oversee the planning of the event. This was chaired by Neil Pritchard, from the University’s Careers Service, with representatives from marketing, student recruitment, enterprise and art, media and design.
• Though a successful application to the Arts Council of Wales, funding was sourced to support the conference delivery.
• Sub groups were established to manage specific elements of delivery (for example, website development, promotion to schools, room bookings etc.).
• All members of the committee shared contacts from their professional networks, as candidates to lead conference sessions.
• Monthly meetings with held by the steering committee, with regular updates and discussion via email, and regular meetings of individual sub groups.
• Where possible, students were involved in planning (for example, graphic design students producing posters and marketing materials).
• The event was promoted to students via their tutors, to schools via the University’s existing networks (through the student recruitment team), and to creative professionals and the interested public through web, social media and printed press marketing (through the marketing team).
• ‘Delegate Packs’ were created for students and all other visitors, inclusive of a timetable, information about contributors and business start-up information.
• The event ran from 2 – 5 March 2015.

Event – Lectures / Seminars / Workshops

• Approximately 50 lectures, seminars and workshops were held over the 4 days.
• Each day followed a similar format, with a key note address to every delegate, followed by a series of smaller sessions running in parallel.
• The timetable was designed to offer a valuable session in every timeslot, irrespective of a students’ area of practice.
• Speakers ranged from animators and film makers, to painters and journalists, school teachers and entrepreneurs. 
• Students were provided with reflection forms, and reflected on how the learning points in each session they attended could be applied to their own practice and development.
• Members of the public were able to book free tickets to these events, using the online platform EventBrite.

Event – Fringe Programme and Networking

• Supporting the day-time programme of sessions, arts events, hosted by creative partners in the locality of the University, were promoted to all delegates, on each evening of the conference.
• These included live music performances, fine art exhibitions, and interactive poetry workshops.
• The purpose of this fringe programme was to encourage students to network with fellow creatives in an informal environment, to network outside of the University walls, and for the University, to strengthen its relationship with local arts organisations.
• Networking was also fostered during the day. ‘Network Cafes’ were held in between conference sessions, in various communal areas around the University campus, where delegates and speakers were encouraged to meet informally, discuss the content of sessions, and exchange ideas. These cafes were facilitated by student volunteers.
• Many conference contributors encouraged students to engage with them via social media, and this too provided valuable opportunities for students to establish relationships before, during and after the event.

Event – School Engagement

• School students were offered their own bespoke conference programme.
• Each school were offered a free, single day visit to the conference, sharing the key note presentation with all other delegates, followed by a campus tour, and a workshop delivered especially to cater to their own abilities and interests.
• Each attending school student also received a conference delegate pack.
• This offer was promoted to students of further education within Glyndwr University’s catchment area.
• Student volunteers supported the school groups during their visits.

Post Event and Legacy

• A selection of conference sessions were filmed, and made available for students as downloadable audio and video files through the University Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
• A selection of speakers were invited to feature in one minute ‘mini-films’ communicating key messages to students, for dissemination via the University’s social media platforms.
• Where possible, PowerPoints and other resources used in sessions were made available to delegates via the University’s VLE.
• The steering committee met post-event, and all evaluative data was gathered, collated, and formal reports produced for funders.

Impact:

Overall approximately 730 people attended sessions during the conferences 4 days (not including audiences at fringe events). This broke down as approximately 500 students, 70 school students, and 160 members of the public and wider arts community.

The conference was effective in establishing relationships between the University and a wide-range of creative professionals and organisations, with opportunities for numerous future collaborations developing as a direct result.

The feedback from teachers and students involved in the schools programme was very positive, with a number of students considering applications to study at Glyndwr University as a direct result.

The support of the Arts Council of Wales helped the event to grow in scope and stature from previous years, and strengthened opportunities to bring in additional revenues at further events (through sponsorships, grant funding or otherwise).

Feedback from students was very positive, who reported that the conference had made a positive impact on their development.

Learner outcome:

Approximately 500 undergraduate learners attended the conference sessions.

The conference successfully achieved its aims in providing students with opportunities to develop their networks, skills, knowledge, understanding and ambition.

For a number of learners, the conference was a challenge, with an intense programme of lectures and seminars being unfamiliar to those from more practical courses. However, the diverse range of sessions on offer, coupled with the resources with were provided via the University VLE post event ensured that all were able to take something positive away.

Feedback from learners included;

• ‘Inspiring, seeing a life beyond university that we don’t need to wait ‘till we graduate first.’
• ‘I got to know different artists and see their work which inspired me a lot.’
• ‘Creative Wrexham talk made me feel part of something interesting here in Wrexham.’
• ‘The importance of preparation, clarity of vision, focus, planning but then determination and crossing the finish line. Not dreaming, doing!’
• ‘Immensely valuable series of talks from some very impressive professional speakers.’

Resources:

• This event was only possible, thanks to the collaboration of a number of academic and operational departments at the University. The integration of the conference into academic assessment for several student cohorts helped to ensure high attendance, and the securing of external funding helped the conference to grow in scope and reach, to engage with schools and the general public.
• For a How-To Guide on engaging with externals, see ‘Guest Lecture Guidance.’

References:

• Creative Futures 2015. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.glyndwr.ac.uk/creativefutures/. [Accessed 17 August 2015].
• Glyndŵr University – Google Plus. Creative Futures 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://plus.google.com/photos/+GlyndwrUniofficial/albums/6121596789687506769. [Accessed 17 August 2015].
• Creative Futures 2015 - YouTube. 2015.[ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zp-SN4M3bY. [Accessed 17 August 2015].
• Creative Futures - Mike Corcoran - ZONE Enterprise Hub - YouTube. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgCNGpL7zFc. [Accessed 17 August 2015].
• How to Speak in Public (Mike Corcoran) - YouTube. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMnh02odBNA. [Accessed 17 August 2015].

Author:

www.macorcoran.com

With thanks to Neil Pritchard Student Services Department, Glyndwr University and the School of Art, Media and Design, Glyndwr University.

Objective:

• To provide art and design students with an understanding of the importance of online marketing and e-commerce.
• To provide art and design students with opportunities to reflect on their own sales and marketing strategies.
• To provide art and design students with opportunities to identify opportunities to support their own endeavours.  
• To develop art and design students’ knowledge and understanding of how to market and sell work online.

Introduction:

A large proportion of art and design students and graduates will take responsibility for marketing and selling their own work. As such, sales and marketing skills coupled with the ability to identify and create new sales and marketing opportunities, are essential for these students. Furthermore, those who lack knowledge and understanding of online sales opportunities, will miss out on a huge potential market for their work, and limit their chances of success.  

As a part of the Creative Futures Conference 2015, a creative industries conference for art, media, design students and professionals held at Glyndwr University, the workshop ‘Selling Art Online’ was delivered to address this challenge.

The workshop was delivered in a one hour session, by the University’s enterprise support service - ZONE, to a cohort of approximately 60 students in a lecture theatre environment. The students were from various levels of study, with mixed experience of business and marketing, and came from a wide range of art, design and creative courses.

Activity:

The activity follows the structure outlined in the ‘Selling Art Online’ PowerPoint presentation, inclusive of all links and examples.

Pre-Activity

• The activity took place on the final day of a four-day creative industries conference. No preparation was required of students in advance of the session, but it was known that the audience would have attended a number of business and enterprise themed sessions during the conference, and so would enter with some basic prior knowledge of the topics to be discussed. 

Figure 1: Students taking their seats for the Selling Art Online workshop

Introduction

• Students were welcomed to the workshop and the running order which was to follow.

Why Bother?

• Students discussed the importance of marketing, and were shown various facts and figures of supporting evidence. They discussed benefits of selling art online, and additional suggestions were put to the group for consideration. The group were asked to share where they promoted and sold their work online presently.

What does selling online mean?

• Students explored various ways in which art could be promoted / sold online, inclusive of e-commerce via their own sites, e-commerce via third part sites, or promoting off-line sales using online resources. 

Making a plan

• Students were asked to reflect upon, and write down answers to a series of questions, which would form the basis of a basic marketing plan (What are the products and services you offer? Who are the customers for these? How many of them are there? Where are they? What are your customers’ wider interests? How are these customers likely to look for your work? Where can you go so that these customers will be likely to find you?)
• A volunteer from the audience shared her answers to each of these with the group, with the group offering their own opinions, advice and feedback on the answers.

Finding the right place to sell

• Students looked at a variety of online sales / marketing platforms, inclusive of social media, artists’ personal websites, and a variety of online sales platforms.
• Students debated the merits and demerits of each platform, and shared their own personal experiences of the platforms with the group where applicable.

How others have done it

• A case study was presented to the group of an alumnus who had graduated and established her own applied arts business a year previously. The students reflected on the information covered in the workshop, and analysed how the study showed different elements of online sales and marketing put into practice in an effective way.
• They reflected on the specific actions they would need to take, for a similar positive impact to be made to their own businesses.

Conclusion

• The key themes of the session were recapped, students were thanked, and further advice and support, internal and external to the University, were promoted to the students.

Impact:

Students were attentive and engaged throughout the session, and reported finding it enjoyable and useful. A number of those in attendance went on to utilise further enterprise support available at the University as a direct result of their attendance.

Learner outcome: 

When asked to reflect on the session, learner comments included;

• “A great end to a great week” 
• “Very useful and informative” 
• “A very knowledgeable and enthusiastic speaker”

When asked what actions learners would take as a result of the session, comments included;

• “Plan, prepare and work hard”
• “Set up website”
• “Think about what I really want to do as a career”
• “[Work on my ] Marketing”
• “Go to ZONE [Enterprise] Hub”
• “Incorporate social networks in to my business”
• “Go and find opportunities”

Resources:

• Lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations to accompany this activity can be viewed via > https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37&section=11, and slides can be downloaded here > Selling Art Online [PDF]
• For a How To Guide on running this workshop see – ‘Workshop: Selling Art Online’
• For a Case Example of the Creative Futures Conference, of which this session was a part, see ‘Art and Design: Creative Futures Conference.’ 

References:

• Creative Futures 2015. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.glyndwr.ac.uk/creativefutures/. [Accessed 20 August 2015].
• Zone Enterprise Hub. 2015. Course: Zone Enterprise Hub. [ONLINE] Available at: https://moodle.glyndwr.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=37%2522%2520target%253D%2522_blank%2522. [Accessed 20 August 2015].

Author:

With thanks to the Careers team at Glyndwr University.

Objective:

• To provide final year illustration students with a holistic enterprise experience, from concept to market.
• To provide final year illustration students with the opportunity to develop, focus group, test trade and promote their own products.
• To equip final year illustration students with a wide-range of enterprising skills, for business and employment.
• To develop relationships in between Glyndwr University, schools and third sector organisations.
• To promote positive female role models in traditionally made dominated professions, amongst 8 – 12 year olds in North Wales.

Introduction:

Illustration students at Glyndwr University engage in ‘Negotiated Study’ modules in the final year of their undergraduate programme, engaging in real-world projects to develop their portfolio and equip them for the labour market. The nature of the creative sector entails that the vast majority of illustration graduates will encounter self-employment during their careers, and so well developed enterprising behaviours, and a strong entrepreneurial mind-set, are essential to their future success.

In 2011, three such students who had developed their own educational comic book ‘Clockwork Express’, partnered with science discovery centre Techniquest Glyndwr to develop their product, engage with its target audience, and to test the market. The project saw the students develop a wide range of enterprising behaviours, having to create ideas and identify opportunities, design and manage a multi-faceted project, respond to problems and moving parameters in real time, communicate effectively and establish numerous professional relationships, and work in a high pressure, uncertain environment. 

The project took the form of a comic book competition for school pupils, preceded by educational workshops, and succeeded by a public art exhibition.

It was a success, and served to propel the students on their chosen career paths.

Activity:

The project comprised of the development of original artwork and literature in the form of ‘Clockwork Express,’ and educational comic promoting positive female role-models to children, the concept for which had been developed by the group of students throughout their previous years of academic study. This was supported by the delivery of educational outreach throughout regional schools, and a multi-schools competition, eligible to all 8 – 12 year olds and inviting them to create their own original comic art inspired by the lives and achievements of female scientists.

The project was instigated by the students during the 2011 summer vacation, and culminated on International Women’s Day 2012.

The chronology of the project’s development was as follows;

1. Planning (Summer 2011 – September 2011)

• During the summer vacation of 2011, three students (who were soon to commence their final year of study in BA Illustration) met with Techniquest Glyndwr regarding collaboration. The students’ desire to promote positive female role models to children in male dominated professions coincided will with Techniquest Glyndwr’s own aims, and so the organisation were able to agree on a set of mutual aims and objectives going forward.
• The students (supported by Techniquest Glyndwr) identified a funding stream for their project (Arts Council of Wales), met with their representative, designed a project plan and budget, submitted a grant application, and were successful in securing a grant to deliver their project (commencing in September 2011).
• All persons involved with the project were then consulted to ensure their participation, and the specifics of the schedule devised prior to the funding application being submitted were agreed to.
• It was decided at this stage that the project would take a separate name to the comic itself, and hereafter the project was referred to as ‘She Inspired –with Clockwork Express.’

2. Promotion and Securing Schools Involvement (3rd October – 25th November)

• The students supported the development of promotional materials to launch the project, inclusive of a press release, mail shot to local school, and the development of bespoke pages on the Techniquest Glyndwr website (for which the students supplied the designs). As the project was being publically funded in Wales, the students worked with Techniquest Glyndwr to ensure that all of their copy was produced bilingually.

3. Development of Artistic Product and CPD (September 2011 – December 2011)

• The students researched and developed an original edition of the comic, as well as developing an educational outreach presentation – bringing the stories told within the comic to life and engaging children with the arts and sciences.  
• To support them in this, the artists received CPD support and presentation training from writers and presenters at Techniquest Glyndwr. 

Figure 1: Original Artworks created for the 'Clockwork Express' comic

4. Confirmation of Participating Schools and Competition Packs (December 2011)

• Students developed a ‘Competition Pack’ for participating schools. These were sent to schools via email bilingually, and through the post on request.
• Take up by schools at this stage was lower than had been anticipated. Students identified potential reasons for this, including; a lack of existing arts contacts within regional schools; mail out not reaching the relevant contacts with schools; Christmas priorities taking precedence over spring term planning when participation was being sought, amongst others. The students had to implement changes to respond to this difficulty (delay competition closing dates, widen catchment area for entrants etc.) and ultimately exceeded the participation targets they had set.

5. Educational Outreach (January 2012 – March 2012)

• The three students, acting as workshop leaders, delivered to participating schools an interactive educational outreach presentation, bringing the stories of those female scientists featured in the comic to life, explaining and demonstrating their creative process, and inviting children to engage with the competition aspect of the project.

6. Competition (January 2012 – March 2012)

• Participating children conducted independent research into the lives and achievements of female scientists past and present, and produced comic illustrations to bring these stories to life.
• During this period the upcoming exhibition was also marketed, through press releases disseminated via a number of mailing lists, mail out to participating schools, internal communications at Glyndwr University, the establishment of an International Women’s Day account via their web site, and the creation of Clockwork Express social media accounts which the students managed.

Figure 2: Competition Entries from School Pupils

7. Exhibition (8th – 31st March)

• The exhibition’s opening evening (Thursday 8th March) corresponded with International Women’s Day 2012. 
• On display was the work of the children selected as competition winners, original artwork from Clockwork Express, and displays of all entries submitted to the competition. The exhibitions were accessible to all Techniquest Glyndwr visitors for no extra cost, and every child who entered the competition received a voucher allowing them to visit Techniquest Glyndwr and the exhibition free of charge.
• Schools who entered the competition were also offered free centre visits to view the exhibition. Special Editions of Clockwork Express, containing the work of the winning children, were compiled and printed at this stage, and sent to schools along with free editions of Clockwork Express itself.

Figure 3: School pupils receiving certificates at exhibition opening

8. Evaluation

• After the project’s completion, students conducted a thorough evaluation, based on their own reflective experiences, and feedback gathered from school children, teachers and other partners. This evaluation contributed to the academic assessment of the project, and formed the basis of the evaluation required by the grant funders. 

Impact:

In total, over 1,950 people visited the exhibition of work created by the students and school pupils, and over 320 school pupils participated in the students’ outreach workshops.

To assess the quality of their work, the students gathered evaluation via forms, qualitative feedback, and consultation with participants throughout the projects duration.

Aim – “to use art as a means to promote female role models in traditionally male dominated fields, amongst 8 to 12 year olds in North East Wales”

• Both boys and girls responded positively and enthusiastically to Clockwork Express’ female protagonists, both during the educational outreach presentations and in producing their own work, and far from choosing to focus on a few obvious scientists, children uncovered the stories of a large number of females (22 scientists featured in total).
• Via formal evaluation, the statement ‘The project helped to promote positive female role models for my pupils’ scored an average of 5/5, and the statement ‘the aspirations of my pupils have improved as a result of the project’ scored an average of 4.3/5.

Aim - “to encourage children to create their own original art works and literature, providing opportunity for these being put into print and on public display”

• Through formal evaluation, the statement ‘I feel that the project helped to promote independent learning and research amongst my pupils’ scored an average of 4.7/5.
• The public exhibition was well attended with the total attendance figure comfortably exceeding the upper estimate off 1,500 visitors (approximately 1,950 visitors viewed the exhibition during its installation).
• The children’s work was also published, as promised, with copies of Clockwork Express, as well as a special edition containing the art work of children, being circulated to the regions schools.

Aim – “to promote and focus group the magazine ‘Clockwork Express’ and the use of sequential art to support broader curriculum areas and after school reading”

• The project raised awareness of Clockwork Express amongst local schools, education bodies and various education and gender equality organisations.
• The experience gained, and resources developed by the artists during the project have equipped them to promote their work at various comic conventions and conferences thereafter. Through formal evaluation, the statement ‘I feel that the Clockwork Express magazine would be a valuable resource within my class room’ scored an average of 4.7/5, and the statement ‘If projects such as this were to run again, I would be interested in my school talking part’ likewise, 4.7/5.

Partner feedback included;

• Lianne Evans – Teacher, Barker’s Lane Primary School Wrexham – “The children enjoyed every part of it [she inspired]. Thanks again!”
• Laura Sanderson – Art Teacher, Ysgol John Bright Llandudno – “Students gained a lot of knowledge about positive female role models and from the independent learning tasks and research skills. A positive for us as a secondary art department was also the cross curricular links with the science department.”
• Linda Sawyer– Teacher, St. Mary’s RC Primary School Wrexham – “The initial presentation inspired the children to find out more, the website was excellent as a resource to promote independent learning and the children all enjoyed researching women in science. They didn’t, along with myself, realise there were so many. The comic style appealed greatly to all of them and this was a lovely way to combine with our language and ICT work. The exhibition of all the children’s work was excellent and I’m sure all our children will enjoy visiting Techniquest to see it. I actually don’t think there was a least valuable. It was all very worthwhile. I think that if we have copies of the magazine in school this would inspire future classes and give them a model to work to. A really exciting project and we at St Mary’s look forward to working with you again.”
• Angela Davies – ContinYou Cymru – “[the She Inspired artists] approach and attitude to science is inspirational and although not scientists per se they would make excellent science ambassadors (especially for young girls).”

Learner outcome:

The students reported finding the project a real challenge, yet a worthwhile and rewarding one.

The broad scope of the project far outstretched the requirements of their academic assessment, and allowed the students to test a product which they were passionate about, with its’ target audience in a real environment.

Many aspects of the project brought the students out of their comfort zone (from presenting workshops to school children, to conducting interviews with the press), and all found great confidence, and exceeded their own expectations with regards to their achievements.

The evaluation and final reporting of the project formed the basis of a paper, which was delivered by the students at national academic conferences on comics in education.

The students built upon the experience of the project in the development of their own careers thereafter.

Resources:

• Guidance of various aspects of this Case Example can be found in ‘How To Guides.’ For example, see ‘Workshop: How to speak in public’ for guidance on developing educational outreach presentations.
• Project of this nature can take many forms, with no specific resources which will be essential in every instance. However, in the case outlined above, the participation of an external partner (with strong existing networks with schools), and the successful grant application for funding to facilitate the project, were essential.

References:

• Techniquest Glyndwr. She Inspired. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.tqg.org.uk/learning/sheinspired. [Accessed 12 August 2015].
• A professional blog, run by one of the participating students (now a professional illustrator) can be found at (http://missheather.co.uk/ )

Author:

www.macorcoran.com

With thanks to the North Wales School of Art and Design, Glyndwr University, to Techniquest Glyndwr, and to the fantastic students who led the project.

Objective:

Through working on this learning opportunity the students developed; 

• Communication skills 
• Presentation skills 
• Creativity
• Time management skills

Introduction:

The Venture Matrix model has been used across multiple disciplines and across all levels (from first year right up to postgraduate level) to develop enterprise and employability skills within the curriculum at Sheffield Hallam University. 

All Venture Matrix activities are done within curriculum as part of a subject specific module, and students gain academic credits for their activities. This allows the students to put their latest academic theory into practice, in a live but supported setting, allowing them to develop those all-important enterprise and employability skills. 

We are now finding that some of our students are making the leap from doing a Venture Matrix project to setting up their own business. 

Examples of the diversity of the disciplines involve include, but are not limited to; Art, Biomedical Sciences, Business and Enterprise, Business Studies, Computing, Education, Engineering, English, Events Management, Film, Geography , History, Journalism, Law, Marketing ,Mathematics, Media, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Psychology, Public Relations.

The case example discussed here is taken from psychology.

Activity:

A group of psychology students were tasked with creating a series of team building and assertiveness workshops for Sheffield high schools, as part of then Big Challenge.

The Big Challenge is a competition delivered by Sheffield City Council open to all Sheffield schools and colleges. The teams receive £25 at the start of the competition and during the period of the Big Challenge all teams seek to increase their investment by as much as possible. There are several prizes to bewon. It was recognised that not all pupil teams participating were going through to the competition stage due to a lack of confidence, where they had to do a Dragon's Den type pitch.

The students met with Sheffield City Council and school staff to ensure that the workshops that they were creating would be suitable for the pupils that they were delivering them to. The students decided to focus the Big Challenge workshops on managing team relations. Many of the Big Challenge teams would be made up of friends, and this would help them manage their team relationships and any problems and disputes that they may encounter. They also discussed the theory for the workshops with their academic tutor - ensuring that the workshops were accurate and that the attendees would benefit from them in a positive way and develop in confidence.

The psychology students delivered a series of interactive workshops to Big Challenge pupils. The workshops consisted of a range of tasks and activities to promote trust and develop teamwork and build confidence. This directly linked to their module learning outcomes. Through working on this learning opportunity the students have developed their communication skills, presentation skills, creativity and time management skills.

Impact:

“Taking part in the Venture Matrix certainly gives our students a head start when it comes to setting up their own business. The experience they gain is invaluable and means that they are much more likely to be successful and to survive in the commercial world.”

Sheila Quairney, Business and Enterprise Manager, Sheffield Hallam University’s Enterprise Centre.

Learner Outcome:

"After completing my Venture Matrix project I graduated with a BSc in Psychology and went onto study an MSc in Occupational Psychology. In 2013, I returned to the Venture Matrix as a Graduate Researcher. My main project was to conduct employability research and I supervised the psychology students with their projects, and I also delivered some staff training. This journey has vastly developed my academic and employability skills, and has inspired me to set up my own business delivering business psychology services, specialising in training and development."

Simon Kilpatrick, Business Psychologist, Intrinsic Links

The examples of curriculum development for enterprise related outcomes were originally outlined by Neil Coles at the International Enterprise Educators Conference under the heading 'From Archaeology to Zoology; an A-Z of enterprise in the curriculum'. For his work in contextualising enterprise for any subject, Neil won the 2013 National Enterprise Educator Award.

Resources:

N/A

References:

• Venture Matrix. Sheffield Hallam University. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.shu.ac.uk/employability/course/venture-matrix/#. [Accessed 18 August 2015]. 

Author/Contact Details:

• Neil Coles, Senior Enterprise Learning Officer, Cardiff University (enterprise@cardiff.ac.uk)
• With thanks to Charmaine Myers, Project Director, Venture Matrix scheme, Sheffield Hallam University (C.E.Myers@shu.ac.uk)

Objective:

To develop an interdisciplinary network of exchange which promotes innovation, design thinking, new-product development. Bringing together a students from across the University, who value innovative thinking, ideas generation and interdisciplinary working as part of their student experience.

• Developing problem-solving skills as team members
• Analysing information (and working with limited information)
• Negotiating and cooperating with one another.
• Listening and leading
• Group Decision making (consensus building)

Introduction: 

Interdisciplinary has been recognised as a key contributor in solving complex global social problems (BIS, 2009; 2009a; DIUS, 2008, QAA 2012). It therefore follows that graduates as societies leaders with a genuine interest in making the world a better place must have the ability and confidence to work across disciplines. In today’s global economy and in society as a whole, we are faced with many complex challenges which require new ways of working and graduates need to be prepared for this through the integration of interdisciplinary working within their under graduate (UG) curriculum.

Activity:

The 24 hour design challenge: Second year students from across 3 schools within the university were invited to register for this event, places were limited to 40 students, a maximum on 10 students from a single discipline area.

• Students were placed into interdisciplinary teams on arrival between 4-6 members.
• Students were presented with a list of rules of play (mainly that the judge’s decision was final, could not swap teams, shared IP)
• They were presented with an open “complex” challenge – eg: “future extremes”, “sustainable solutions to global challenges”, the ageing population”
• We provided a guest lecture to enhance the theme.
• The teams were given an information pack containing a pencil, pad, pen drive (with a template for presentation) and the title of the challenge
• During the remaining hours of the first day the teams were encouraged to brainstorm around the team using their team’s skillset, knowledge and understanding.
• At 3pm on the first day we provided a 1 hour expert drop in workshop – (invited staff from various disciplines to be available to discuss the students ideas), some student teams took this opportunity just to pop in and get some feedback.
• The teams had a print slot allocated in the morning of the next day, to print off their design board
• The team presented their ideas to a panel of judges in a dragons den format (5 minutes presentation, 5 minutes questions)
• Winning team’s announced, Certificate and Prizes.

Impact:

The impact on learning was evident through the student feedback, we categories it into skill development, Collaborative working, Entrepreneurial development.

 “There is never a stop-point in learning – there is always room for more”. (2015 student)

 “Competing in this design challenge was a thoroughly enjoyable process. As an engineer, it is important that I develop the ability to work with multiple disciplines and in the 24 hours we were given I have been given a massive insight into how completely separate skill sets can come together to generate an idea. I also find it incredible that after only a day, I came away with a team that I had formed a friendship with and now have an insight into demonstrating an idea to someone who has the means to make it a reality. Overall I cannot fault the opportunity of taking part and enjoyed every stress inducing minute of it. I would definitely do something similar again.” (2014 24 hour design challenge).

Skill-development:

“....in the 24 hours we were given I have been given a massive insight into how completely separate skill sets can come together to generate an idea” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “It was an enjoyable challenge, bringing in different skills we have learnt throughout our time here so far. I would defiantly recommend it to anyone and do it again” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “…enjoyed every stress-inducing minute of it. I would definitely do something similar again” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “I learned a lot from my peers in my team and this experiment will benefit me in future group projects” (student quote, 2014 challenge).

 Collaborative working:

 “....I really enjoined the challenge and it was good to start viewing things from different discipline angles” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “This design challenge was great. I love working with all of my team who were from different specialisms” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “It has shown me what some of my lecture have been trying to tell us which is that collaboration and working with people from different specialisms is when design can really take off and become exciting” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “I really enjoyed the 24 hour challenge as I valued meeting new people and exploring different areas of study” (student quote, 2014 challenge).

 “It was really helpful to speak to the different tutors and pick their brains about our ideas, as I would never normally come into contact with tutors from these courses” (student quote, 2014 challenge).

Entrepreneurial development:

 “The challenge has made me even more interested in working with people I don’t know and also has inspired me to think about business ideas for my future career” (student quote, 2013 challenge).

 “It was a great experience, thank-you! It is a great insight to the business world that we are entering” (student quote, 2013 challenge)

 “Overall it was a great experience and I now have contacts and friends on completely different courses to me who I will no doubt be calling on for help on future projects as well as the one we started” (student quote, 2014 challenge).

Comment from external Judge: “Judging the 24-hour design challenge was a pleasure and revealed an impressive arsenal of talent the University of Huddersfield has amongst the students. Each multi-disciplined team presented well thought out and researched concepts which impressed the judging panel and stimulated much debate. Being spoilt for choice meant the pressure was put back on the panel when it came to us choosing a winner.  In my experience, great ideas occur when a creative person or team is constrained by time and/or budget. When placed under pressure, right brain instinct coupled with pragmatic decision making, causes inventive and exciting concepts and solutions. Events like the 24hr Design Challenge are a great example of where you'll see this in action.”  (David Bailey Creative Director UX&D, BBC Future Media). 

Learner outcomes:

The learning is not within the task objective, but within the team process, networking and cross-fertilization of skills and often the desire to complete the task can mask the transferable learning that has been gained. It is therefore key, that once the discussion of the challenge itself is complete, that the de-brief encourage the teams to explore the skill development within the task and team work itself. As a facilitator, it is important that you allow the teams to explore their team process and find the learning within that. Within the dragon’s den the teams are asked to reflect on this experience. 

Resources:

• Post-its or similar sticky pads
• Pens 
• Pads
• Pen-drives with template (if you want a professional finish) – for fun or shorter challenges flip charts works just as well
• Lunch on the first day works well
• External judges (or internal)

References:

BIS (2009). Skills for growth, the national skills strategy, Department for Business Innovation and Skills. Nov 2009 (pp. 1-78). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228764/7641.pdf

BIS (2009a). Higher ambitions: The future of Universities in a knowledge economy, Department for Business Innovation and Skills. (pp.1-78).

DIUS (2008). A new ‘University Challenge’. Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. (1-20).

QAA (2012). Enterprise and entrepreneurship education: Guidance for UK higher education providers

September 2012. Quality Assurance Agency. Retrieved from http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/enterprise-entrepreneurship-guidance.pdf Page 1-32

Links to other information:

• Power, E. J.  (Dec 2014) The 24 hour challenge: creating a multidiscipline environment for, design and entrepreneurship in engineering and design. Enhancing Employability through Enterprise Education: example of Good Practice in Higher education HEA case study. P22, In Owens, J. and Tibby, M (2014) Enhancing employability through enterprise education: Examples of good practice in higher education. The Higher Education Academy UK.
• http://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2013/november/ice.php
• http://www.hud.ac.uk/schools/artdesignandarchitecture/placementsandenterprise/honeypotandice/

Contact details: Dr E. J. Power, University of Huddersfield

Objective:

• To provide recent graduates with real world experience in a professional gallery environment.
• To enhance recent graduates in communicating about their works with others.
• To build recent graduates confidence when approaching professional galleries and arts organisations.

Introduction:

THIS Project is a North Wales based social enterprise, promoting arts and culture through a wide range of services and activities, including exhibitions, concerts, training and events, the management of pop-up and semi-permanent gallery / event spaces, and providing studio spaces for professional artists. Based in Wrexham, it serves North Wales and wider region, and has a close relationship with the region’s key education and arts organisations.

This exercise saw a group of recent graduates of Fine Art (at the North Wales School of Art and Design, Glyndwr University), gain real world experience in a faced-paced, professional gallery environment. 12 student artists volunteered with THIS Project in Galeri 3B, one of its premier exhibiting venues, and over the course of three days went through the process of preparing, curating, installing and managing an exhibition within the gallery, featuring their own work and the works of fellow recent graduates.

Activity:

Over a three day period in September 2014, students shadowed and supported the THIS Project team, as it went through the process of the clean down, set up and installation of new exhibition works at Galeri 3B.

The graduates worked as a team, and took responsibility for hanging their own works. Though this is something they had experience of from their University exhibitions, the challenge of working to tight time-scales, in a new environment, was one they had to successfully adapt to.

The students then prepared written statements about their works, and displayed these alongside them at the exhibition.

The main purpose of the exercise was for the Graduates to understand the importance of being able to hang their own work, have clear ideas about how they would like it to be displayed, and the ability to communicate these ideas effectively, as well as being able to communicate confidently about their own work with a variety of audiences.

We hope it gave the graduates the confidence to be able to approach other galleries in the future, and experience of how to act in a professional gallery environment.  

Figure 1. The students' exhibition poster

Impact:

For THIS Project as an organisation, working with the graduates was a great opportunity to build networks with emerging artists, and to build connections between art students and graduates, and the general public in North East Wales. The effective display artwork is an important factor in the self-promotion of the artist, and so this was something we were keen to give students opportunities to develop their skills in.

Student Feedback Included:

 “Well I was glad for the opportunity to show our work again to the public. I thought you did a good job of assisting us in organising and handling our art work. The space was excellent for obvious reasons. Yeah it was the first time I had art work in a gallery, and you offered me to volunteer at the gallery. Which allowed me to see and be a part of art events of Wrexham, and to see other working artists.”

“I would say it helped in the sense that it gave me some experience as to what it’s like to exhibit your work in an actual gallery as opposed to just in Uni,  also it forced me to really think about how I should price my work and compare my decision to what others in my class priced their work and get a vague idea of how much people expect things to cost, it was also helpful and interesting to hear feedback from the general public, as their opinions were different to what some lecturers thought, and I think they tend to be more honest than when asking friends and family.”

Learner outcomes:

Some of the outcomes achieved by the students involved in the project included;

•          Working in a professional environment.
•          Displaying and exhibiting work.
•          Writing statements and pricing work.
•          Interacting with the general public.

References:

• THIS Project Website > www.thisproject.co.uk
• North Wales School of Art and Design Website > http://nwsad.co.uk/

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Objective:

• Know about a range of ideas and concepts about enterprising mind-set and entrepreneurship
• Reconnecting with your creativity 
• Introduction to design thinking and exploring a challenge 
• Apply design thinking to addressing a challenge 
• Developing a chosen idea (including proto-typing if possible) 
• Introduction to engaging others in your ideas (moving beyond a ‘Pitch’) 
• Introduction to crowd funding and funding the idea from within the student and stakeholder audience (external if possible)

Introduction: 

This session suits larger groups of learners being introduced to the concept of enterprise, creative thinking and solving complex challenges. Working with interdisciplinary groups works best to encourage maximum creativity and adds depth to the chosen solution. An introduction to effective engagement with audiences which moves beyond a pitch is introduced and the session closes with the audience crowd funding the idea using specially designed local currency. 

Activity:

This is best run over a 4-6 hour period and can be split between 2-3 sessions to allow for further research into the challenge. Session starts with some team building activities set firmly within the context of the challenge. This can help students to better appreciate the challenge area and develop empathy with various perspectives/realities in relation to the challenge.  

Then follows some creativity exercises with an introduction to design thinking. Teams then apply this process (as time allows) through to completion with ideally prototypes being developed (if not posters/electronic adverts etc). 

Then the large group is introduced to the need for effective and authentic engagement of themselves and their ideas (moving beyond the ‘pitch’). Individual or group presentations are developed and practiced. Depending on timing and group size, there can then follow a couple of rounds of presentations with a final selection presenting to the whole group. Ideally this should include at least one external stakeholder/s linked to the challenge context (clinical/engineering/finance etc) able to provide authentic feedback. 

It can be fun then to introduce/revisit the concept of crowd funding and provide everyone in the audience with some currency (we have developed some university notes) and get them to fund their favourite proposal. Of course it could be that there will be some real funding available…

Impact:

This works best with some facilitators to help support the various groups as they progress through each activity and often can make a significantly positive impact where groups from different curriculum areas meet for the first time. Utilising external stakeholders to share their challenges can also help to add real value and excitement for learners. Learners tend to enjoy the active nature of the workshop and the rigours of presenting to an external stakeholder with potential solutions to the challenges set. 

Learner outcome:

Tend to see an increased awareness of wider enterprise and boost in confidence in terms of team working, design thinking, negotiation and engagement with audiences. A useful taster for deeper enterprising learning. Skilled reflection is vital throughout and post session/s through on-going programme.  Depending on the nature of the ‘challenge’ this can be extended to a module/programme duration.

Resources: 

• Team building activities based in context – e.g. Clinical setting/Engineering/Creative/Education. 
• Usual flip charts and pens etc. 
• Raw materials for prototyping if possible 
• Electronic devices to film short presentations 
• Bespoke Currency for crowd funding session 
• Prizes 

References:

Brown, T (2008) Design Thinking, Harvard Business Review, June 2008  (pages 85 – 92)
Dweck, C (2006) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, By Dweck, Carol S. ( Author ) Dec-26-2007 Paperback
Krueger, N.F.Jr. (2010) 13 Looking Forward, Looking Backward: From entrepreneurial Cognition to Neuroentrepreneurship in Acs, Z.K and Audretsch, D.B. (eds.), 2nd Edition of the Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research, Springer 
Westfall, C (2012) The New Elevator Pitch: the definitive guide to persuasive communication in the digital age, Marie Street Press  

Objective:

• Develop and demonstrate their understanding of their customers, by describing their characteristics and motivations.

Overview: 

This activity should be undertaken individually by the entrepreneur, then to be discussed with the business development provider or peers in a group situation.  Asking the entrepreneur to explain their answers will help them to deepen their understanding of their customers, help to identify where there are information gaps and therefore what additional market research may be required.

Activity: 

Instructions

Invite the entrepreneurs / small business owner to consider their customers and to describe them in terms of each of the following categories:

• Demographic, who are your customers?  What is their typical profile in terms of age, gender, income, employment status etc.? 
• Geographic, where are your customers and where do they buy your products / services?
• Psychographic, what’s important to your customers? What are their values and aspirations; what kind of lifestyle do they have? 
• Behaviour, how often and when do your customers buy?

And then describe what the benefits the product or service brings to customers.

My customers …..

The benefit of my product / service to my customers is …..

Skill Development:

By developing analytical and reasoning skills within entrepreneurial learners, it is possible to test assumptions and explore research findings with a clear context of start-up.  This activity focuses upon the understanding of the potential customer and requires research and reflective skills.

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If you would like to have your Case Study featured, please download the template and email the completed version to hello@etctoolkit.org.uk.

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