From posts to people - my first BAPP campus session

The campus session at last. I'm aware that due to my recent disaster it has been a while since I attended the session, but I enjoyed the afternoon so much that I simply had to share my experience. Surreal, I think was the word of the day. I don't know about anyone else, but until I attended the campus day and actually met my course mates (and of course Paula), I had a hard time comprehending the reality of the situation. All the communication I'd had up until that point had been words on a screen or an array of voices on a group Skype. It is easy to get lost in the virtual world and forget that the people you are communicating with and reading about are going through this experience with you but in completely different circumstances. Seeing the faces of people whose blogs I had been reading, put everything into perspective and I suddenly felt involved in a whole new way.

(To the left -  Myself, Laura and Maddy in a group discussion)

We began the session by introducing ourselves and playing a few games. Although these games were primarily ice-breakers, they had some really interesting ideas behind them and it was fascinating to see how several people can interpret the same instructions very differently from one another. The first game was given to us in the form of a page split into 20 blank squares. Paula's instruction was to fill all the squares in one minute. We all gave each other blank expressions, puzzled by the ambiguity of the task. Once time was up, we all showed our pages and the diversity around the room was evident. I had chosen to fill my squares with a variety of things, such as symbols, pictures, words and numbers. Some students chose one medium, whilst others made patterns. The open ended manner of the task highlighted the individuality in the room and demonstrates how everyones minds work completely uniquely. Amusingly, it appeared we had all over thought the simple task and Paula had in fact expected us to fill each square with the same thing. Is this something we all tend to do in life? Always looking for the more complex route doesn't always benefit us and in this case it meant we spent more time worrying about whether or not we were doing it right and less time listening to the task's more blatant solution. The second game was to draw the person next to you in three minutes. As someone who is perhaps somewhat artistically challenged, this was not a simple as it sounds. I managed something that vaguely resembled eyes, nose and eyebrows -  a far cry from a portrait you may say. Again, the variety in people's approach was extraordinary. Some chose to go for a full body in less detail and others concentrated on getting the face right. This sparked a question in my head regarding what we deem the most important part of an individual, particularly one we have just met. I began with the eyes, and largely speaking, the eyes are what I notice first about someone. Those who began with the full form, perhaps that is what they look at first? An interesting exploration can be made from simply drawing the person next to us. 

The third and final game was the most exploratory in my opinion. This task was to create a concept drawing. A concept drawing is a compilation of shapes and lines portraying a theme or idea. The rules stated you could not draw a picture of an object but purely use lines and shapes to display our ideas. This task definitely showed the difference in the way our minds work and think, as many of us did the same or similar idea but there was no similarities between our end products at all. Below I have done a new concept drawing to depict the theme of "Love". Perhaps the most generic and overused theme, however I have chose to base mine on my love and relationship with dance. I have no significant beginning or end, as with dancing I can't pin point an exact start. I have also used a mixture of soft swirling lines and harsh jagged lines to show how things aren't always plane sailing.

As you can see I am not the most artistic person, but the concept remains the same and I think it is an excellent was to express thoughts in your head creatively. 

The learning part of the session brought the idea of an "Appreciative inquiry". Paula explained that an appreciative inquiry is something most organisations use to help expand and improve their working environment. It generally takes form in the 4 following stages:

Discovery - What has been done well? Discussion of what is good, usually taken from a questionnaire sent throughout an organisation.
Dream - What might be? Exploration into what people would like from the organisation, thinking big and creating a dream working environment.
Design - What should be? Creating opportunities to make the dream scenario happen. Making choices about what areas could be improved upon.
Destiny - What will be? This is where action plans are made to make the plans come into place. Usually creating a middle ground between the dream and the current state.

The inquiry is aimed to create a positive reflection on an organisation, as opposed to focussing on the negatives and what is wrong. In small groups we created our own appreciative inquiry on the BAPP course using the four stages we had learnt about. In my group, we discussed the pros of a distance learning degree and how it allows time for other work and professions. We all came up with some ideas about how the course could be improved, taken from our experiences so far. Below is a copy of what we discussed.

As you can see, our main areas of discussion were the location of the campus sessions - as some students have to travel a lot further than others, and the possibility of making the module information and calendars more individual as some of us got a little confused. Our solution for the campus sessions, was to make links with other organisations in order to make arrangements to use their space. We also discussed the possibility of having group sessions set up purely for the students in different areas to make it possible for more people to attend. We also came to the conclusion that it might be a good idea to have individual module sessions to help clarify what needs to be done and when. I think the appreciative inquiry is a really useful method for evaluating and improving an organisation and I definitely think it is something I will consider in the future. The session was very useful and I am looking forward to attending the next.