We presented a paper at the National Interdisciplinary Education Conference (Online) about our Dear Change Maker research, entitled: Dear Change Maker: Using Correspondence to Develop a Visual Reflective Practice.
It was a real pleasure to be involved in this conference – the presentations were really varied and related to specific ideas about interdisciplinary education as well as the broader interface of art and science, with some fascinating projects being explored. Many thanks to the organisers for including us in the programme.
Dear Change Maker: Using Correspondence to Develop a Visual Reflective Practice
We reflected on the nature of project – from our initial inspirations to the eventual outputs of the project. We thought about the nature of the images included on each postcard compared to the narrative text. We noticed an increasing confidence in the use of images, along with an increasing pride and privileging of the image – with the later postcards including narrative reflections on the images in the text.
We noted that although the text provided a chronological narrative reflection of the students’ engagements in their modules with us and their wider studies, the images often communicated emotion or more stand-alone conceptual ideas. The images were sometimes abstract and communicated more than the students necessarily initially intended when they began producing the image.
The final reflections of the students also included ideas about the nature of reflection, learning and the importance of an embodied, emotionally rich awareness of their work and growth.
