Course on teaching skills

Teaching Skills for Conservation
West Dean College
Professional conservators in practice
April 11-16 1999
Closing date for applications: 12 February 1999

Course Leader: Robert Ferguson, Senior Lecturer in Education at the
University of London Institute of Education.

This five-day course is designed to offer participants an
opportunity to review their existing teaching skills and to acquire
new ones where appropriate. It is aimed at those in the profession
who, for various reasons, wish to develop and enhance their
teaching, training, communication and planning skills. The course
leader, Robert Ferguson, recognises that conservation training and
the education of conservators takes place in a variety of contexts
and conditions, from the lecture theatre to the workshop, the
seminar to the field trip. He also recognises that many of the
educational and training needs of conservators may not always fit in
with more conventional patterns of higher education.

The course is aimed to develop appropriate skills and will therefore
attempt to identify contexts in conservation where, for instance, a
traditional lecture might be required, or other occasions when
objectives-based training is essential. Participants will have a
chance to examine a range of approaches. These will include the
seminar, the tutorial and the training session - as well as the
lecture.

Planning and preparation are, of course, essential for the teacher,
trainer and communicator. These one week courses will therefore
involve the acquisition of skills in planning and presentation for a
range of purposes, from the individual session to the short course.
There will also be direct tuition in the writing of objectives and
the delivery of training sessions.

There will also be evening video viewings and discussions of the
ways in which the profession is represented in and through the
media. This will be designed to raise important issues about
advocacy and the profession, and we will consider some of the ways
in which conservation issues reach the wider public. There will also
be viewings and discussion of the various presentations made by
participants.

The course will be participatory throughout. All participants will
be involved in the design and/or presentation of projects as part of
the course. Participants will also be video-recorded so that they
can review their presentation and training skills. This will all be
undertaken in the spirit of mutual support and shared learning.
There will be plenty of opportunity for participants to share their
experience with others and to develop the approaches and skills most
relevant to their own courses and conditions of work.

The Course Leader: The main tutor for the course will be Robert
Ferguson from the Institute of Education of the University of
London. He has been working with conservators and curatorial staff
for the past fifteen years on the design and preparation of courses,
course materials, and the development of teaching, training and
communication skills. He has also worked as a consultant for the
Getty Conservation Institute, and has been a regular designer of and
contributor to courses and seminars at ICCROM in Rome. His work with
conservators and museum professionals has also been undertaken in
Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Hungary and Venezuela.

Robert Ferguson trained as a painter and graphic designer before
becoming a teacher of art. He then entered the film profession as an
editor and sound recordist before re-entering the world of initial
teacher education. He has written articles for various film and
television journals, for educational publications and for the
conservation profession. He has also scripted various educational
television programmes and contributed to programmes for the BBC on
youth culture, racism and other aspects of the mass media. His
latest book, Representing 'Race' Ideology Identity and the Media,
was published by Edward Arnold in 1998.

Additional lecturers have also been invited to address the course on
specific topics relating to teaching and learning. A detailed
programme will be available to course participants.

Bursaries: The Radcliffe Trust has generously provided a number of
UKP100 bursaries to be available throughout this series and the
bursaries will be awarded when applicants are selected for each
course. If you would like to apply for a bursary, please contact us
for an application form at the address below. Closing dates for
course and bursary applications February 1999.

    The College Office
    West Dean College
    West Dean, Chichester
    West Sussex PO18 0QY
    +44 1243 811301
    Fax: +44 1243 811343
    westdean [at] pavilion__co__uk

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:59
                Distributed: Wednesday, January 20, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-59-017
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