Study Exchange for Textile Design

Learning Outcomes

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• utilise a wide range of learning resources including digital skills to inform your practice
• communicate ideas effectively in a variety of written, visual and digital formats
• utilise presentation skills in an increasingly professional way.
• study independently and manage your time effectively, work to deadlines

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• evidence your progression of increasingly ambitious experimentation
• employ a critical approach to your practical skills in order to develop more refined and resolved design outcomes
• explore and apply materials, techniques and processes, to an increasing level and relevant industry context
• work and use machines and equipment safely in the studios and workshops within your exchange location with increased competence

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• test, evaluate and develop your creative ideas and practical skills within your discipline
• reflect on your work and exchange experiences to enable the development of your practice as a designer
• apply methods of enquiry and critical evaluation to demonstrate your ideas

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• how to apply the skills needed to practice professionally in textile design
• industry practice and professional design and the broader market contexts informed by your research
• how to utilise sources to further your design development

The Study Exchange module will allow you not only to develop your programme specific practice in a different environment, but will also challenge you to engage fully with the cultural context in which you will find yourself. The context encompasses both what you experience by being in that country and the input that you receive whilst studying in the host institution. It encourages you to analyse critically the nature of your exchange location and to address how its culture may influence your work and promote experimentation. Your project may not necessarily reflect the culture to which you have been exposed, rather it may be shaped by your reactions to the stimulus you have received.

You will be expected to outline goals and ambitions regarding your work, before the exchange begins. Your study exchange coordinator will discuss and agree your Learning Agreement with you before you leave on the exchange. On your return, you will demonstrate what impact working in an unfamiliar context had on your work.

The experience will develop your cultural and contextual awareness, your abilities to study independently, particularly drawing on your imagination and resourcefulness and it may naturally improve your language skills. The experience of going on exchange will better prepare you to tackle future work in new environments.

You will assemble a portfolio of work that demonstrates your experimental process, the products of your testing and examples of work, which creatively address the concerns and ambitions of your project.

You will assemble a portfolio of work that demonstrates your experimental process, the products of your testing and examples of work, which creatively address the concerns and ambitions of your project. Alongside this module, you will need to complete an essay for the Critical Thinking and Writing for Textiles 1module. To complete this assignment you will be supported with Blackboard materials, relevant academic staff, your personal tutor and module co-ordinator. The essay will be assessed separately under the Critical Thinking and Writing for Textiles 1 module. You will be advised on the timing of electronic submission requirements for the essay prior to your departure.

The teaching methods will vary depending on which partner institution your exchange takes you to and tutorials may be delivered in the language of the host country. Prior to applying for Study Exchange module, you are highly recommended to thoroughly research the environment and learning and teaching practices of your favoured institution. Guidance will be provided by your tutors and in the handbook on exchanges. As with modules hosted at WSA, learning and teaching activities are likely to include:

Teaching methods include

• lectures
• project briefings
• seminars
• face-to-face tutorials
• online electronic support

Learning activities include

• lectures
• project briefings
• seminars
• tutorials
• workshops
• peer group learning
• self-reflection
• study skills hub
• formative feedback will take place with your staff at the host institution. Blackboard and email support will enable you to keeo in contact, ask questions and seek advice on your module with a WSA based academic.

Relationship between the teaching, learning and assessment methods and the planned learning outcomes

In this module learning and teaching activities help you to explore and investigate your work and ideas in a culturally specific context. You will receive formative feedback from staff at your host institution. Online electronic methods such as Skype and email support will enable you to keep in contact, ask questions and seek advice on your module with a Textile Design studio based academic.

Depending on your host institution, lectures, project briefings, seminars and self-selected workshop inductions will help you increasingly locate your ideas with reference to historical and contemporary thinking, writing and art and design practice of the culture you are encountering. Such input will develop your confidence in your ability to experiment with ideas, challenge comfortable solutions and encourage unexpected outcomes. Through practical experimentation and the self-reflection required for your Critical Thinking and Writing for Textiles 1 assignment, you will create increasingly analysis-informed discipline-specific personal work.

The formal assessment will be through a portfolio of work that demonstrates your experimental process, the products of your testing and examples of work, which creatively address the concerns of your discipline specific project. Assessment of your portfolio will take place on your return to WSA and it will be assessed against the Study Exchange module learning outcomes, not those of the host institution.

Formative

This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.

Portfolio Development

• Assessment Type: Formative
• Feedback: Formative assessment on portfolio development will vary depending on the approaches prevailing at your host institution. You should inform yourself of the likely forms of feedback at your chosen institution before travelling. As at WSA it is likely to be in the form of verbal feedback in a studio setting.
• Final Assessment: No
• Group Work: No

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.