ROT Me > Jacob

Record of Observation or Review of Teaching Practice

Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: 

Size of student group:

Observer: Phoebe Stringer

Observee: Jacob Wu

Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action. 

Part One
Observee to complete in brief and send to observer prior to the observation or review: 

1. What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?
   This session is part of a series of workshops designed to develop MA students’ technical skills in theatre design. The focus is on enhancing their understanding of stage design principles, including spatial planning, layout interpretation, and how to translate design concepts into practical outputs. This workshop is essential for students to build foundational skills that will support their future projects and creative practice.
    
2. How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
   I have just started working with this group. Before today, I met them for two introductory sessions on basic model-making techniques and provided occasional one-to-one tutorials. My role is to facilitate hands-on learning, offering both technical guidance and creative support. 
3. What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
   
   By the end of the session, students are expected to understand the fundamentals of theatre ground plans and section plans. They should be able to interpret technical drawings, identify key elements of stage architecture, and demonstrate how these elements relate to real-world theatre spaces.
    
4. What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
   Students will be asked to identify and label each component that makes up a theatre. This includes stage areas, audience seating, backstage zones, and technical elements. They will also practice drawing simplified ground and section plans to reinforce their understanding of spatial organization.
    
5. Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
   One potential challenge is the lack of an actual theatre visit to contextualize the drawings. Without physically experiencing the space, students might find it harder to grasp the scale and relationship between different elements. I will address this by using detailed visual references and explaining common practices in theatre architecture.
    
6. How will students be informed of the observation/review?
   Students will be verbally informed at the beginning of the session. I will clarify that the observation is focused on my teaching practice and does not affect their assessment or progress.
    
7. What would you particularly like feedback on?
   I would appreciate feedback on my verbal explanation skills, particularly how effectively I communicate complex technical concepts in an accessible way for students with varying levels of prior knowledge.
    
8. How will feedback be exchanged?
   Feedback will be exchanged through a written short paragraph and notes taken by the observer. A brief follow-up conversation would also be helpful for clarifying any observations. 

Part Two 

Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions: 

I’ll Separate this into two sections, one with my initial rough notes taken during the observation and the other with my formal notes ect;

Notes:

Jacob notes;

• [  ] Ensuring students understand the task ahead and the context of their future career 
• [  ] Reviewing feedback with students openly, opening non TD students up to the curriculum and TD as a whole 
• [  ] Brining real-world career into his introduction, his experience 
• [  ] Giving thorough examples to students of standard practice in the industry 
• [  ] Made handouts in advance 
• [  ] I’m even learning about the basics of TD (such as how to plan a set around a fire curtain)
• [  ] Going over basic context for all students 
• [  ] Not using specific terminology, industry terminology ect. Checking if students understand basic terminology before entering a big speech 
• [  ] Extremely friendly exterior 
• [  ] Explaining safety and industry norms, like fire curtains 
• [  ] Good example used for the 3d tutorial, extremely thorough. Orchestra platform explained and demonstrated 
• [  ] Explaining risk assessments in the industry 
• [  ] Helping me better understand how to include TD students in my collab projects in the future 
• [  ] Classic “how big is the door” word of advice 
• [  ] Continuous references to how his lesson fits into the industry 
• [  ] TD looks so fun! Immediately wanted to learn more 
• [  ] How to work with other professionals in the industry, for example (please don’t mess around with the choices of the lighting department) 
• [  ] Taking good time for questions 
• [  ] Always learn autocad! Universally applicable 
• [  ] Testing students to make sure they understand mid-lesson 
• [  ] Teaching good industry etiquette 
• [  ] Reiterating safety, listen to your superiors 
• [  ] In-person physical models! 
• [  ] This lesson will affect my upcoming show to cabaret! I’ll be more conscious of the intricate TD details 
• [  ] The model comes apart for teaching!!! 
• [  ] Good Explaining of the upcoming task, reiterated instructions 

Formal Feedback:

 I thoroughly enjoyed Jacobs’s teaching seminar for the MA Theatre Design students, he was clear in his communication and had countless examples for the students to observe, such as AutoCAD, downloads, and an in-person model. I felt every avenue was thought of in advance and delivered with detailed verbiage, I need to get more examples for my own teaching demonstrations! 

Overall it was a strong and well-handled teaching session, next year during my Co-Lab project I’m going to ask if I can have Jacob in for a day to help my BA Theatre Design students make some more mock-ups on Autocad!

The only area for improvement would be more time spent on the talk, I loved what we were learning and wanted it to last longer! More demonstrations, please!!  

Part Three 

Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged: