West Dean College - Professional Conservators in Practice

["Marie-Odile Robbins" <westdean@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Could you please post this information to the 
Preservation Administrators Discussion Group?
Many thanks.
Marie-Odile Robbins
 
WEST DEAN COLLEGE
professional conservators in practice

*closing date for applications: 19 February 1999*

TEACHING SKILLS FOR CONSERVATION
11 - 16 APRIL 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 
£100 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.
Tel. 01243 811301, Fax. 01243 811343.E-mail: westdean@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx