Collaboration is Uncomfortable

Abstract

Artist/Teacher/Researcher: I see this identity as one of collaborations. It is one that I share with my colleagues and students. Each day, with others we question, develop, think, create and rebound ideas, changing and moulding them, as we do materials and matter, backwards and forwards, in dialogue with one another. In the absence of these interactions, alone in my flat, I've been thinking of the comfort that comes from not having my ideas challenged, although we continue our learning digitally, it feels stunted. Without our community we must travel a road upon which our own ideas are absolute and this I believe limits the learning experience. It is being outside of one's comfort zone, having ones ideas challenged and being asked to see something differently that I believe is at the core to learning, but it comes at the cost of feeling uncomfortable.

‘Stream and Learn’: An Experiment to Reconnect Design Students with Theoretical Contents during the Pandemic

“…As we can observe in Figure 2 , even though 7.2 per cent diverged on their ease to distribute and share tasks as a group, most students (74.3 per cent) declared they had no issues in sharing and distributing tasks among group members, even considering their physical separation, leaving the remaining 18.6 per cent feeling neutral. We can therefore gauge students’ ability and resilience if the right methods are implemented and the importance of continuing to propose group assignments, even in these conditions, as they can offer interactivity between peers and tend to be more motivational, especially to design students (Newman 2020 ). By incorporating such digital communication tools in the learning framework, educators can not only track students’ productivity and advances, but also adapt to different learning paces and ensure interactivity in the communication with their students (Park 2011 ).…”

Assessment for Learning of Design Teamwork Skills

“…As discussed by Newman (2020), learning happens at the limit of one's comfort zone. The author makes a point that discomfort and challenges stimulate development.…”