Scores on the doors...

2010 hasn't been a year in which I've flexed my reflective muscles so far. Time for a catch up then....

Where were we? Ah, yes. Business week reached its conclusion, with students presenting back to the 'client' (a ragbag group of art school tutors!) with their strategies and ideas.

Some were good. Some were disappointing. One or two were downright brilliant and definitely fell into the 'I wish I'd thought of that' category'.

It was rewarding to see how professionally many had embraced the project. I hope it stands them in good stead when they fly the comfy nest of college and meet the business world head on. And I hope in part it might have been a consequence of the inspired briefing they received (cough,cough...)

And so back the following week into the much more personable surrounds of the classroom.

It's been a recurring theme in the blog how I've been working hard to try and crack the nut of facilitating group discussions and activities. I'm a great believer in their value - more so now having dipped into Eric Sotto's 'When Teaching Becomes Learning' for our latest assignment - and I feel like I'm slowly getting better at making it happen.

With the deadline for their latest 'large' project fast approaching (The Student Roses: A yearly competition, with briefs set by 'real' agencies), I was keen to make sure everybody got a go at standing up and presenting their work and making constructive criticisms about others'.

So I stressed at the beginning of the session how this was going to be THEIR lesson, with THEIR input leading things; how even I'd become sick of the sound of my own voice and wanted to hear what they had to say (to which I received a heartfelt 'Well shurrup then!)

Anyway, present they did, with some enthusiasm. And when I pulled out my 'Come Dine With Me' score cards and suggest we take a vote, things got really interesting! Full and frank exchanges of views; constructive - and not so constructive - criticism. Even the odd outbreak of tactical voting.

It was, at last, a full blown group critique and real proof of what can happen when you give learners a chance to 'own' their lesson.