Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed: Coat Making 3: Cutting and Fitting Unit: Bespoke Tailoring Year 1: 3 March 2025 9:30-16:30
Size of student group:17
Observer: Victor Guillen
Observee: Maria Thelin
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:
What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?
This session is the third tailoring session in a 40 credit unit, Cutting and Fitting (1st year Bespoke Tailoring). For assessment, students need to produce a bespoke tailored jacket, a technical resource, a sketchbook and a material resource. During their tailoring sessions, we work on their bespoke tailored jacket.
They have previously completed a unit where they made a pair of tailored trousers and samples of components.
Resources for this session:
-A short presentation, outlining the content.
-A couple of worksheets with step-by-step guides to the processes.
-Videos showing how to make the jacket.
All of this is available on the student’s Moodle page. I also provide the students with printed worksheets.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
Since the beginning of the academic year. I am one of their lecturers, delivering their tailoring sessions, conducting personal tutorials, formative reviews, MTG sessions, briefings, assessment.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria related to this session:
LO3: Construct and fully finish a bespoke tailored jacket. (Process, Realisation)
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
In this session they will work on their bespoke tailored jacket (a classic tailored jacket cut in appropriate material, constructed using handcraft tailoring methods). We will make up the canvasses, machine the darts and the sidebody, and make the welt pocket. They will also take notes, photos and do sketches for their Technical Resource.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
Late attendance: Difficulties include students arriving late and missing the intro and first practical demonstration.
Low attendance: Another challenge is students who have fallen behind in the making of their jacket. Each step builds on the previous one, so if a student misses a session and doesn’t catch up it can be hard to keep them motivated and attentive.
I feel most of my jacket making classes have too much content, but there is no room in the timetable and curriculum to change this (we have tried)
Some of the resources need updating. I have made good progress on this over the years, aligning the techniques, but it is a work in progress.
How will students be informed of the observation/review?
The students will be informed in the previous week’s session. I will remind them again at the beginning of the session.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
I would appreciate any feedback.
How will feedback be exchanged?
Through this form.
It would be nice with an in-person chat if possible (TBA).
Part Two
Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
Hi Maria
Thank you for inviting me to your studio session, part of the Cutting and Fitting Unit: Bespoke Tailoring Year 1. You said you were open to feedback on different aspects of the session, so I’ve commented on a couple of things below. Sorry we’ve been unable to have a post-observation chat, but I hope you find the written comments below useful.
Demonstration and Explanation of Techniques
The session began with a demonstration. You ensured all students were attentive and engaged by drawing their attention to the front, checking student engagement (e.g. eye contact) before starting the demo. During the demonstration, you combined verbal instructions with practical actions, guiding students through cutting and placement techniques, clarifying which details to focus on (e.g. this doesn’t matter much because it’s on the sides), which can help students decision-making and strategy. You explained implications of certain cutting and stitching choices (e.g. You can do this… but if you do this, then…). This encouraged students to think critically about their tailoring decisions, reinforcing industry-relevant problem-solving skills.
Following the demonstration to the whole group, you monitored and continued to demonstrate using both verbal and visual input when supporting students individually. This hands-on multi-modal approach can make it easier for students to grasp complex techniques by both seeing and hearing how it is done.
I just wondered if giving the amount -and complexity- of information in some of the instructions/explanations/demonstrations, whether students would benefit from a more explicit way of checking understanding. While I thought your demonstrations were clear and well-paced, there may be a potential issue with cognitive load, so perhaps it’d be useful to have more regular and structured checks such as recaps (e.g. Can someone summarize the key points for this step?) or having students explain the process back to you before moving on could reinforce learning.
Encouraging Reflective and Strategic Learning
Throughout the session, you actively monitored student’s work, using both observation and direct questioning to encourage reflection and self-checking work as part of their development (e.g. asking students to double check marks on the fabric and measurements). You listened carefully to students and checked what they wanted to do before offering advice, options, or directions depending on the query (e.g. Do you want to… or are you trying to …?). This this encouraged student agency over their objectives and strategy, allowing them to explore different tailoring approaches while still receiving structured guidance. You also handled student mistakes with encouragement and reassurance, turning errors into learning opportunities (e.g. your response to student who said ‘I just did something wrong’ where you reassured them and explained how to fix it).
Providing Individual Support and Monitoring Progress
You maintained a strong presence around the studio, ensuring all students had access to support while working on their coat pieces. You moved between students, checking on their work, silently observing, asking questions about their work, or pointing to areas that students needed to aspects of their work that they needed to address to meet the task requirements. This suggested a balanced approach between offering guidance and allowing students to develop their skills independently. You followed up on students who had previously encountered issues, correcting as needed but also praising progress, reinforcing their learning while also helping them develop confidence.
This studio session combined strong demonstrations and hands-on skills development with tailored individual support and encouragement of reflection, strategy, student independence and decision-making. To further consolidate learning, I’d consider implementing more structured checks for understanding since students may respond ‘yes’ when asked if it’s clear or they’re following, but it may not always be the case.
Part Three
Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:
Thank you, Victor, for coming to observe my session and for the useful feedback.
Making mistakes
Thank you for your positive comments about my teaching approach. I am a strong believer in allowing students to make mistakes, and teaching them how to deal with them in a pragmatic way. Making mistakes is unavoidable when learning, and overcoming the fear of making them is essential for development, experimentation and creativity. It will also be part of my students’ professional careers. As you point out, turning mistakes into learning opportunities by encouraging the students to notice and solve them is an important part of their development to become independent learners and practitioners.
More structured and explicit way of checking understanding
You warn that the complexity of the demonstrations risks cognitive overload for the students, and advise me to check their understanding more often and explicitly. I’m worried the checks will create an even greater cognitive load, but it is a good idea and I will start to question students to check their comprehension. I will ask them to explain a process back to me after I have demonstrated it, as you have suggested. This extra repetition will hopefully bolster the memory and understanding of everyone.
I do something similar when we go over a technique that the students have been shown before. I ask the group to tell me each step, and in this way we create the demonstration together. I also occasionally introduce a small review of the previous steps before showing the next ones. In future,I will make sure to do this every time.
Checking the understanding of less engaged students
There is a big spread in skills and engagement among my students. Each step builds on the previous one, so if a student misses a session and doesn’t catch up, they will be working on a different technique from the one demonstrated. These students are most likely to suffer cognitive overload, as they have the combined information of the step they are working on and the one being demonstrated. I also think they are less likely to respond to me checking their understanding in a group setting. At the moment I check their understanding individually when moving around the studio. Because of the direct and practical nature of tailoring, I see straight away if they have understood the demonstration when they complete the task.
Supporting the students catching up
The students take notes during demonstrations, but most of the students who work behind schedule rely on hand-outs, instructional videos and individual support. In addition, I do short reviews of previous demonstrations when needed, gathering a small group of students who are working at a similar stage. This takes time, and is sometimes difficult for me to manage when working with bigger groups.
I allow my students to film when I do demonstrations. Students who work behind what I deliver in session find this especially helpful. They can then watch the demonstration when they are ready to start working on the relevant technique. Students sometimes share the videos with peers who miss a session. There are many possible issues with this, since I have no control over how these videos are used. However, the positive effect this has on student achievement outweighs my worries for now. I discuss the positives and negatives of student-made videos and the blended learning approach further in Case Study 2.
Thank you
Again, thank you for the feedback, and I look forward to seeing the benefits that the additional recaps and checks for understanding will bring.