Carole Morrisons, Head of Social Purpose at LCF hosted a workshop for the LCF Fashion, Design and Development course. I’m currently on a teaching placement with FDD and so was invited along to take part. The conversation was incredibly rich with different pedagogical topics arising and thoughtful conversations on inclusive practice and widening participation. I was reminded of a quote that we discussed on the PgCert from Bruce MacFarlane’s book, Teaching With Integrity – a fab book places high importance on Ethics, inclusive practices, creating safe learning spaces and promoting transparency.

“Creating a safe and inclusive classroom environment is essential for promoting learning and well-being. Teachers must be proactive in addressing issues of discrimination, bias, and harassment, and foster a culture of respect and acceptance.”

This quote really got me thinking about positionality and how important it is to be transparent (with proper boundaries in place) to connect with our student on a human level. As teachers we can’t just transmit knowledge without connecting with our students because, how do we break down biases if we don’t at first acknowledge everyone’s differences. It’s important to understand students’ positionality and how we can adapt when teaching. My teaching experience of FDD has been very dynamic and I have already learnt so much from the students. I had to do some 1:1 tutorials a few weeks ago, the first year students are currently doing a project on ‘personal uniform’ and so many personal stories arose and so many learning exchanges between us transpired. Its rather lovely to action affirmative pedagogy styles intentionally. Being able to be both student and teacher is a peculiar yet incredibly invaluable experience.

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• Teaching with Integrity: The Ethics of Higher Education Practice, Bruce Macfarlane, 2004