Co-creating group critique as feedback: a case study on reimagining ‘crits’ with students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi35.1324Keywords:
fine art, contemporary art, education, critique, crit, feedback, co-creationAbstract
This paper presents the results of an experiment in collaborative pedagogical design in which students and staff at two art schools in Scotland and Finland worked together to redevelop approaches to group critique (crits). They focussed on how students might better understand the feedback they receive: asking what kinds of feedback are valuable and how the crit might better facilitate this. A workshop was developed that encouraged participants to reflect on previous experiences of group teaching, explored a range of models, and facilitated the collective imagining of possible alternatives, which were then tested and reflected upon with the same staff and students.
Group crits are a ‘signature pedagogy’ (Orr and Shreeve, 2018, p.88) in contemporary higher art education and exist in various forms, from the infamous ‘convener’ at Goldsmiths to ‘studio seminars’ at the Academy of Fine Art in Helsinki, and are often an important part of assessments in the United States. There have been several publications addressing different aspects of the crit in the past decade however despite this, literature aimed at students suggests there are still problems. The question arises as to how much meaningful change the analysis on crits has led to, and how to look for new ways to develop group teaching.
There is a significant potential for group critique to be understood as a key moment of formative feedback. We argue that by offering students agency and deepening their understanding of pedagogical processes, the co-creation of group critique can help us better realise this.
References
Amsterdam University of the Arts (2014) Feedback Method. Available at: https://www.atd.ahk.nl/en/theatre-programmes/das-theatre/study-programme/feedback-method-1/ (Accessed: 15 March 2024).
Armstrong, E. and Doren, M. (2023) Let’s Talk About Critique: Reimagining Art and Design Education. Bristol: Intellect.
Barret, T. (2018) CRITS: A Students Manual. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Blair, B., Orr, S and Blythman, M. (2007) Critiquing the Crit. Higher Education Academy.
Bovill, C. (2020a) ‘Co-creation in learning and teaching: the case for a whole-class approach in higher education’, Higher Education, 79, pp.1023-1037. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00453-w
Bovill, C. (2020b) Co-creating learning and teaching: towards relational pedagogy in higher education. St Albans: Critical Publishing.
Bovill, C. and Felten, P. (2016) ‘Cultivating student–staff partnerships through research and practice’, International Journal for Academic Development, 21(1), pp.1-3. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2016.1124965
Bunch, G. (2013) Art Crits: 20 Questions. A Commissioned Artist's Video. Available at: https://q-art.org.uk/portfolio/art-crit-video (Accessed: 25 June 2024).
Carless, D. and Boud, D. (2018) ‘The development of student feedback literacy: enabling uptake of feedback’, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 43(8), pp.1315-25. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1463354
Day, P. (2013) ‘The art group crit. How do you make a firing squad less scary’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 5, pp.1-15, Available at: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i5.178
Dinkins, S. (2021) ‘Inside-Out’, in T. Doud and Z. Charlton (eds) Out of Place: Artists, Pedagogy, and Purpose. Santa Barbara, CA: Punctum Books, pp.191-198.
Elkins, J. (2011) Art Critiques: A Guide. Washington: New Academia Publishing.
Fine, G.A. (2018) Talking Art: The Culture of Practice and the Practice of Culture in MFA Fine Education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Fisher, E. and Fortnum, R. (2014) On Not Knowing: How Artists Think. London: Black Dog.
Greated, M., Mantho, R., Salines, E., and Stevens, T. (2023) ‘Compassionate feedback’, in Belonging through assessment: pipelines of compassion. QAA Enhancement Project, pp.76-94.
Hattie, J. (2009) Visible Learning: A Synthesis of over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. London: Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203887332
Hattie, J. and Timperley, H. (2007) ‘The power of feedback’, Review of Educational Research, 77(1), pp.81-112. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487
Healy, J. (2016) ‘The components of the ‘crit’ in art and design education’, Irish Journal of Academic Practice, 5(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.21427/D7RB1V
It’s Nice That (2017) ‘The crit: a survivors guide and how to make the most of feedback’. It’s Nice That blog, 25 April. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/the-graduates-2017-crit-advice-040517 (Accessed: 18 March 2025).
Madoff, S.H. (2009) ‘States of exception’, in S.H. Madoff (ed) Art School (Propositions for the 21st Century). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp.271-285.
Mertler, C.A. (2009) Action Research: Teachers as Researchers in Classrooms. London: Sage.
Molloy, E., Boud, D. and Henderson, D. (2020) ‘Developing a learning-centred framework for feedback literacy’, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 45(4), pp.527-540. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2019.1667955
Moran, B.D. (2009) ‘Aesthetic platforms’, in S.H. Madoff (ed) Art School (Propositions for the 21st Century). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, pp.33-37.
Mulholland, N. (2019) Re-imagining the Art School: Paragogy and Artistic Learning. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Newall, M. (2019) ‘Cries, consensus and criticality: making artists in the contemporary art school’, in C. Brisbin and M. Thiessen (eds) The Routledge Companion to Criticality in Art, Architecture and Design. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, pp.14-31.
Orr, S. and Shreeve, A. (2018) Art and Design Pedagogy in Higher Education: Knowledge, Values, and Ambiguity in the Creative Curriculum. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315415130
Quaife, M. (2024) The Oscillating Art School. in F. Brümmel (ed) Applied Non-Didactics. Helsinki: Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts, pp.39-64.
Rowles, S. (ed) (2013) Art Crits: 20 Questions. London: Q-Art.
Smith, C. (2011) ‘Understanding students’ views of the crit assessment’, Journal for Education in the Built Environment, 6(1), pp.44-67. Available at: https://doi.org/10.11120/jebe.2011.06010044
Stringer. E. (2019) ‘Theory in educational action research’, in C.A. Mertler (ed) The Whiley Handbook of Action Research in Education. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, pp.139-160.
Thornton. S. (2008) Seven Days in the Art World. London: W.W. Norton and Company.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
