Co-creating group critique as feedback : a case study on reimagining ‘crits’ with students

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experiment in collaborative pedagogical design in which students and staff at two art schools in Scotland and Finland worked together to redevelop approaches to group critique (crits). They focussed on how students might better understand the feedback they receive: asking what kinds of feedback are valuable and how the crit might better facilitate this. A workshop was developed that encouraged participants to reflect on previous experiences of group teaching, explored a range of models, and facilitated the collective imagining of possible alternatives, which were then tested and reflected upon with the same staff and students.

Group crits are a ‘signature pedagogy’ (Orr and Shreeve, 2018, p.88) in contemporary higher art education and exist in various forms, from the infamous ‘convener’ at Goldsmiths to ‘studio seminars’ at the Academy of Fine Art in Helsinki, and are often an important part of assessments in the United States. There have been several publications addressing different aspects of the crit in the past decade however despite this, literature aimed at students suggests there are still problems. The question arises as to how much meaningful change the analysis on crits has led to, and how to look for new ways to develop group teaching.

There is a significant potential for group critique to be understood as a key moment of formative feedback. We argue that by offering students agency and deepening their understanding of pedagogical processes, the co-creation of group critique can help us better realise this.