Managing the dynamics of any classroom can take practice. Computational arts courses present special challenges, requiring educators who can both oversee an art or design critique and debug a student's code—sometimes simultaneously. In this section we present a selection of tips and tricks to manage a healthy classroom community, organize feedback to and from students, and open up channels for communication.
Find out more. Distribute non-anonymous questionnaires on the first day of class to get information about each student's background, goals, interests, skill level, and concerns. This can be a way to learn each student's name and pronouns and identify any learning difficulties early on. It can also provide helpful context when working with students from diverse disciplines or socioeconomic backgrounds. Follow up by having one-on-one conversations with students who have concerns about the class.2
Inclusivity is not just about the diversity of people but a habitat of learning that is inclusive and empowering for people.
—Taeyoon Choi1
Use a specific code of conduct. Many schools now require educators to include a code of conduct in their syllabus. Typically, this prohibits harassment and other discriminatory, aggressive, oppressive, or suppressive behavior. Classrooms that cover technical concepts often have additional needs. The Hacker School provides key examples of social rules that address these particular issues: “No feigning surprise” (e.g., “What?! I can't believe you don't know what the terminal is!”), “no “well-actually's” (when a minor and often irrelevant correction is made in a conversation, as in “well, actually…”), and “no backseat driving” (when someone overhears people working through a problem and interjects without invitation). These rules are “designed to curtail specific behavior…found to be destructive to a supportive, productive, and fun learning environment.” 3
Consider your language. Try to not say phrases like “this is easy” when presenting technical concepts. Instead, say, “You can do this.” This helps to not alienate students who might be struggling to learn introductory concepts.5
It is imperative that we engineer robust participation of people from a broad set of communities, identity groups, value systems, and fields of knowledge in this emerging media landscape, in all roles and levels of power. This will help to mitigate the pitfalls of disruption and potentially usher in a change that has justice and equity as core values.
—Kamal Sinclair4
We all have bugs. Don't be afraid to debug your code at the lectern. Ask your students for their eyes on the problem. Allowing your students to see you say “I don't know” can help diminish their own impostor syndrome.
Code isn't precious. Deliberately break your code in front of students. In repairing it, narrate your steps out loud.6
The only skill you need is to know (1) how to identify what you don't know / when you don't know something; and (2) how to look things up, how to read documentation, how to try & try & try and keep trying while things fail, until they work. That's literally the job of writing code.
—Jen Simmons7
Program in pairs. When giving exercises in class, direct your students to collaborate in pairs on one computer. One student should do the typing while the other observes, comments, and makes suggestions. Have students switch roles for each exercise.
Teach how to ask for help. Don't assume that your students will know how to ask for help. Lauren McCarthy provides her students with example questions to ask when they are confused: “Will you repeat that last thing you said? Could you do another example? Could you go through that again, slower? Will you explain that a different way? Can you explain that word you said? Can you please speak a little slower?” 8
No typing. When a student asks for help, resist the urge to repair their code directly; they need the firsthand experience of resolving the issue themselves. Francis Hunger advises: “Never touch the keyboard, mouse or trackpad of a student's computer. Just tell [them] what needs to be done—they own the keyboard, they own the problem.” 9
Adopt a “three before me” policy. Taking time to debug one student's problematic code can interrupt the classroom flow for the others. When a student encounters a bug in their code, require them to seek help from three of their peers before coming to the educator for assistance. The “three before me” classroom policy also helps instill an atmosphere of collaboration and comradery during studio time.
Use paper. Require students to bring a sketchbook to class. This can be an essential aid for rapid problem-solving, brainstorming, and paper prototyping.10 It can also help support a laptop-free lecture environment—as research shows that writing things down improves student recall and understanding.11
Follow a structure for critique. Students often struggle to give each other meaningful feedback on creative work, lacking a vocabulary or template for doing so. A variety of educators, educational theorists, and critics have outlined steps to help students better engage with each other's work. A common pattern asks students to start with description (“What do you see?”), followed by analysis (“How is it made? What does it make you think about or feel?”), interpretation (“What is it about? What is the main idea being explored?”), and finally, evaluation (“Is it successful? Does it explore the prompt in a compelling, interesting or unique way?”)12 This last step will typically require a conversation on what criteria are appropriate for judging the work.
Use collaborative notepads for critiques. Critiques in studio classrooms of 12–20 students can be impractical and awkward—both because of the total time required to discuss every student project, and because of the social dynamics of groups this size. For a more efficient critique, have each student briefly present their project at the lectern; meanwhile, during their presentation, direct the presenter's classmates to type comments into an online collaborative real-time text editor (such as a Google Doc or Etherpad). This has several advantages: peer feedback is instantly captured and organized; anonymous editing can encourage more honest contributions; shy students can offer feedback more easily; and the group is spared the repetition of statements like “I agree with what everyone else has already said.” For laptop-free classrooms, students can instead provide feedback to their peers on sticky notes.
Encourage weekly journaling. Help students become familiar with the field through regular online research. Golan, for example, requires his students to browse specific blogs and video-sharing sites and then write weekly “Looking Outwards” reports: lightweight essays about a specific artwork or other project they've discovered. In a Looking Outwards report, the student should explain what the project is and how it operates, explain what inspires them about it, research the project's chain of influences, and critique the project by discussing the possibilities it suggests or the opportunities it missed. Looking Outwards reports can be productively constrained in a variety of ways, such as by restricting them to projects that use certain media, or to work by specific artists.
Stage research sprints. Don't exclusively allocate studio time to technical content. To reinforce the principle that code always exists in a cultural context, arrange 15–20 minute “research sprints” in which groups of students are asked to quickly compile links to projects that exemplify a particular type of practice. Create an editable slide deck and have each group contribute one slide.13
Getting Feedback on Your Teaching
Allow time for questions. Allocate time throughout the term for students to ask questions on anything they are confused about, safely and without judgment. Many educators recommend asking students, “What questions do you have?” rather than, “Do you have any questions?” in order to elicit more responses.14 Post the questions somewhere visible, and over the following sessions, address each one in a class discussion.
Request exit tickets. At the end of a class, ask students to submit one or two questions about the content of the day's lesson. This can be done via handwritten notes, an online messaging tool, or a structured electronic survey. Such “exit tickets” are a way of getting instant feedback on your teaching and can help you understand your students’ comprehension.15 They can also function as an attendance record.
Students will remember your kindness a lot longer than they'll remember any particular homework assignment.
—Holly Ordway16