Welcome to Issue 1

Hello and welcome to the first issue of JUICE, the Journal of Useful Investigations in Creative Education! Launching a journal is no small task. It requires the belief and commitment of a dedicated team of individuals, and so I would like to begin by expressing my sincere thanks to all the authors and peer reviewers …

Distance Learning in Creative Arts Education: understanding the benefits of time and distance in the delivery of HE at the Open College of the Arts

Michael Young founded the Open College of the Arts (OCA) in 1987 with the aim of widening participation in the arts without prior qualification or restrictions. This article draws on my experience as a programme leader and tutor with the OCA and research from students and staff sharing a qualitative assessment of our flexible, open-access, …

Problem solver to problem causer – a narrative

If undergraduate research is the pedagogy for the 21st century, then as educators and curriculum developers we must redesign courses/programmes for a future that affords undergraduates the opportunity to take ownership of their own learning journey. We must provide them with a structure that encourages them to ask their own creative questions in order to …

A tale of two workshops

Whether dealing with latecomers, the prevalence of mobile devices, or the incidence of learning and language difference, approaches to facilitation can have dramatic effect on the experience and outcomes of education. Two contrasting examples are placed side-by-side in this narrative description of a hypothetical digital workshop. The first person narration takes its reader on a …

Using digital learning technologies to re-shape the first year undergraduate experience

This article is an abridged version of one of two case studies that were part of an application for Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). This case study focused on relatively small changes I made to the Year 1 programme while in the role of Year 1 Coordinator for a BA(Hons) Fine Art …

Inclusivity and diversity support for technicians at a creative arts university

This study focuses on one project-strand developed as part of a university-wide ‘Inclusivity Project’, a strategic plan looking at how changes to the Disability Student Allowance would affect learning, teaching and the student experience.  This project-strand was conducted during the academic year of 2017-18 at a creative arts university campus, with a total of four …

(Re)designing an integrated Fashion Contextual Studies programme: a Semio-philosophical view on HE creative teaching

This article presents a philosophical reflection of creative teaching. It focuses on the changes in a Fashion Contextual Studies curriculum at the University for the Creative Arts. Looking for answers in Structural Semiotics and Phenomenology, the work exposes the methods used to curate a new year 1 programme which aims at integrating Contextual Studies and …

Championing GradeMark for Assessment and Feedback in Film Production

This article focuses on the development of a community of assessment practice which aimed to ensure that all assessors were consistent with their assessment decisions. The community sought to enable students and assessors to be active participants in a feedback loop, and this research investigated the role that the online feedback tool Grademark could play …