Mary Davies’s research while affiliated with University of Wales Trinity Saint David and other places

PowerPoint of presentation to Research-Teaching Nexus meeting, Gregynog, 2011

This article looks at issues surrounding the academic dissertation within the particular context of the Art and Design school. To begin with, questions of objectivity and authorial voice are examined, suggesting that current practice does little to foster student identity. A discourse framework is then established largely based on the work of Bruner, with exposition and narrative posited as the primary problem-solving modes. This discursive framework is then transposed into the visual domain, where several possible discourse structures are suggested. A case study is offered that highlights the benefits that can be gained from the use of a visual dissertation. In the conclusion we argue for educators to consider these alternative modes of discourse.

This article reassesses the traditional requirement of a written dissertation for the awarding of an Honours degree classification within UK art schools, in the light of the academic principle of student inclusivity. It proposes an alternative, what is here termed a visual dissertation, equally rigorous as the written form, but structured as a visually driven argument, in which images take the lead, supported by text, an arrangement more suited to dyslexic students and students with a predominantly visual/wholist cognitive style. This article reviews several strategies for structuring such a presentation, and is illustrated with case studies of students from the Faculty of Art and Design at Swansea Metropolitan University. It is followed by a review of the case studies and re-evaluation of the hypothesis that underpins this research.

This paper assumes the following: • That between 15 and 25% of art and design students are dyslexic and /or dyspraxic. (Beverley Steiffert, 1998) • That a high proportion of these students are still under-achieving in higher education (David Grant, 2002) • That cognitive modelling (drawing and model-making) is central to art and design activity. (Bruce Archer, 1978) • That different areas of the brain are engaged when drawing from life and when drawing from imagination. (Passingham 1987.) • That getting clearer about the nature of these differences in cognitive styles will enable more appropriate teaching methods and learning strategies to emerge (Jerome Bruner, 1970) Drawing from life or observation can be likened to copying from a board, which due to the role short-term memory plays, can be a very difficult task for many dyslexic and dyspraxic people. In simple terms, they lose their place (tracking) and forget the words. In addition, drawing from the mind's eye or imagination involves not only being clear about one's own orientation to the image, (can you see all four of the dog's legs or are only three visible?) but also remembering to keep that constant, and knowing where the perimeters are. In other words, selecting, remembering and defining where the representation of the image ends. A programme of exercises was set up in October 2004 by Howard Riley, at the Faculty of Art and Design, Swansea Institute, University of Wales, creating opportunities for students to draw both from life and from imagination guided by a set of instructions.