Reﬂective Report – Taking Digital and Manual Notes

Introduction

As a computer aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) specialist technician in the School of Fashion, I work across eight courses interested in learning CAD/CAM software or those seeking to incorporate CAD/CAM into their projects. Initially, I was unsure about how to connect and find a common theme to make changes that would further help the student experiences with our pattern cutting software.

In order to create an artefact, I reflected on: conversations with students, discussions with colleagues, conservations around Intersectionality (Crenshaw,1990) the Critical Race Theory Framework for Education Policy (Bradbury, 2020), , as well as my own teaching practice. Through this reflection, I identified a connection between the various courses I teach on. The artefact will focus on the topic of taking notes, both in digital and manual formats.

The reason for looking into note taking is some students can be more advantaged or disadvantaged due to their individual privileges when they are engaging in the learning and retention of information. This can be visually demonstrated by using the ‘Privilege Walk’ (Bryan 2022). Having reflected on this, I considered the barriers (Adepitan, 2020) students encounter with regards to their notetaking methodology. I have observed this barrier through many conversations I have had with students. I have also seen students take notes for their independently submitted work as well as when they are notetaking for their personal use to build knowledge.

My Positionality

Due to the fact I experienced a diverse international childhood and lived in three different countries with different English dialects, I am familiar with language diversity as it is very relatable for me.

I was born in Belize, at age four I moved to Ghana, where my mother tongue Twi was spoken. I lived there for seven years before settling in England at the age of eleven. In all of these countries, the language of instruction in education was English, due to colonial history. Whereas at home and in social settings, we spoke our native languages and used various dialects (Bradbury, 2020).

Being a bilingual speaker, when I moved to a multicultural European city like London, I found it challenging to understand and speak English at times due to the different dialects used in Ghana and Belize. These are experiences that some international students with multiples languages may have also encountered when moving to England as children or entering the education system here (Bradbury, 2020).

Higher education teaching practices continue to be practiced in traditional ways (Freire,2006) Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, Continuum. to some extent and not sufficiently anticipate the linguistics (Bradbury, 2020) needs of students with intersectional identities as non-native English speakers compared to those accustomed to English education system and digital software. This is evident when using and instructing CAD/CAM software to teach which does not account for students who may be partial to a different dialogue or be bilingual. How can students who are non-native speakers take in instructions and take notes in English whilst learning a new software. (Bradbury, 2020).

As a result, I am taking the intersectional (Crenshaw,1990) approach within my research, as people’s identities have clearly complexed intersectional constructs involving many components including, diversity, class, disability, race, gender and social identity (Crenshaw,1990).

Context

In my CAD/CAM teaching practice, students are required to take digital notes in taught lessons. These notes help students create the portfolio notes required for submission and support them during their independent learning in supervised studio work. Research and observation strongly suggests that taking notes is invaluable to independent learning. However, multitasking during a lesson can be especially difficult for Neurodivergent students and indeed all students (this is the essence of Universal Design (Gibbs, 2019), when discerning what is important and taking notes.

From my own teaching observations, I have seen how some students have struggled to take notes during lessons, tutorials and independent work. This can impact their ability to understand and therefore retain information.

Reasons for this difficulty:

Notetaking is briefly introduced for 10 minutes in a lesson. As a result, students must learn both the software and take notes at the same time (Byrne, 2018).

There can also be a language barrier. We have a majority of the international students and if English is not their primary language, they are resorting taking notes in their native tongue. This greatly adds to the cognitive load. It can also lead to inaccuracies when translating later into English, especially if a direct translation doesn’t exist. In addition, neurodivergent students may find it challenging to keep up with lessons whilst taking accurate notes. My aims for this work were inspired by videos featuring Ade Adepitan (Paralympics, 2020) and Christine Sun Kim (Art21, 2023), Asif Sadiq (TEDx Talks, 2023) that expand on the intersectionality of disability, race, gender, equality and social identity.

I plan to create a workshop on notetaking methodologies, skills, and best practices for both digital and manual formats. This will benefit students for whom English is a second language and those with learning difficulties, as well as where these issues intersect. With that said, this intervention could benefit all students, addressing nuanced note taking and writing issues. The aim is that this intervention will address Universal Design and benefit all students across UAL. By assessing and reviewing the data through an intersectional lens, I can determine if it aligns with my expectations.

Why is the workshop important?

I support eight LCF courses (BA and MA). The UAL’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Annual Report (2022/23), from 2021/22 to 2023/24, Asian, Black, and Mixed students increased by 1-2 percentage points (ppt), now making up 12%, 9%, and 13% respectively. White students decreased by 4 (ppt), makes up 63% of the student population. With the increase in multicultural students, it shows that we need to ensure our teaching methods are more diverse to benefit everyone. (see figure 1)

Fig 1. *University of the Arts London – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual report 2022/23.- Disability data for students report.* (2022.2023)

The UAL Active dashboard shows that in the School Design and Technology, students with a declared disability decreased from 17.58% to 16.52% in 2023/24, whilst those without a declared disability increased from 82.42% to 83.48%. Not declaring learning difficulties is another barrier to closing the attainment gap. (see figure 2 & 3).

Fig 2. *University of the Arts London Active Dashboard – Student profiles: characteristics – the last 3 years of Students disability data* (2021-2024).

Fig 3. *University of the Arts London Active Dashboard – Student profiles: characteristics – the last 3 years of Students disability data* (2021-2024).

The data lacks an intersectional overview, excluding details on types of disabilities and diverse backgrounds. It does not show how many international students are neurodivergent, raising questions about data collection and not published.

Cultural barriers and fear of stigmatization regarding neurodiversity diagnosis can prevent access to academic and specialist study skills support and higher education institution funding (HDI). This makes it difficult to assess this data from students with intersectional identities. This could possibly lead to further marginalisation for these groups.

How can UAL close the attainment gap if it does not meet the diverse needs of its students? This intersectionality needs to be at the forefront. The data above supports the need for this intervention. (Carroll & Ryan,2005).

Feedback from Survey

I created a survey to generate feedback on how students use our support services to identify issues students faced when writing and notetaking.

The survey was sent to Academic Support, Student Disability Services and the Language Centre (see Appendix 1). The feedback explained the support we offered, such as one on one support and assistance for neurotypical and neurodivergent students (see Appendix 1 & 2). Having used these services during my PgCert, my reflection is that I can personally relate to students who need these valuable services.

Survey link: https://forms.office.com/e/cDMcKd7H9P?origin=lprLink

These services are used though Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels (See Appendix 3), whilst (see Appendix 4) where it highlights notetaking and understanding expectations, are key issues for students.

(See Appendix 5) where it further describes various support options. However, we need more diversified student resources of which I hope my intervention will be a useful addition.

Learning whilst notetaking in another language can be a challenge for students (See Appendix 6). (See Appendix 7) where it evidences the importance of clear communication as my question was misinterpreted, causing offence. It appears digital notetaking is likely the preferred method for neurodivergent students (see Appendix 8).

(See Appendix 9) which recognises the diversity of students, whilst (See Appendix 10) which shows notetaking is crucial for independent learning. To ensure inclusivity, we should remove barriers such as mandating students provide notes in English if they have already noted them in their preferred language.

Feedback from Peers, Colleague and Students

“Question – I would like to know what the student’s perspectives on notetaking are?”

My colleagues asked me this question because she wanted to know students’ perspectives on notetaking.

Often, we see students stop taking notes in the lessons or not one to supervised sessions. One student noted that while notetaking is important, it is challenging to learn the software, use the mouse and keyboard, and take notes simultaneously.

I met Amy (from my PgCert class), and we exchanged feedback about our interventions. Amy recommended exploring Microsoft OneNote (with dictation), Notion, otter.ai, and Riverside.fm for improving students’ notetaking and potentially using in my workshop.

Reflection

I decided to delay sending out the student survey until the Action Research Project (ARP) as it the end of term and I think this data need done by student at later date to avoid skewed data.

Link for survey: https://forms.office.com/e/wgaFvdTMye?origin=lprLink

Upon reflection, I realised that I should have provided more detail about my intervention in the email with my survey to Student Services for a clearer overview (see appendix 11).

Moving forward

Although I could not complete all aspects of the intervention, I plan to continue it in the ARP, with more resources and action plan. I will create and test the workshop, either with a small focus group or as a full session. I will focus on international students with time permit probability those who are neurodivergent.

I interviewed Ilga Leimanis on Tuesday 6^th August, an Academic Support Lecturer at UAL who had done her MA thesis on a similar area to my research interests. She provided me with some resources (see appendix 12) and in the coming months I will review to help design my workshop.

List of illustration:

Figure 1. UAL, (2022/23) University of the Arts London – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual report 2022.23. [Chart]– Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/432141/SPCB23435-EDI-report-2022-23.pdf (Accessed: 12 July 2024).

Figure 2. UAL, (2024) University of the Arts London Active Dashboard – Student profiles: characteristic. [Chart]– Available at: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638524920468662402 (Accessed: 12 July 2024).

Figure 3. UAL, (2024) University of the Arts London Active Dashboard – Student profiles: characteristic. [Pie-chart]– Available at: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638524920468662402 (Accessed: 12 July 2024).

References

Adepitan, A. (2020). ‘Ade Adepitan gives amazing explanation of systemic racism’. Interview with Ade Adepitan. Interviewed by Nick Webborn for ParalympicsGB, 16 October. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAsxndpgagU (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

As/Is (2015) What Is Privilege?. 4 July. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD5f8GuNuGQ (Accessed: 22 July 2024)..

Bayeck, R.Y. (2022) Positionality: The Interplay of Space, Context and Identity. Journal of Qualitative Methods. 21, pp.1-9 Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/16094069221114745 (Accessed: 21 June 2024)

Bradbury, A. (2020). A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: The case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England, Race Ethnicity and Education, Issue information, 23:2, pp. 241-260. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2019.1599338 (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

Bryan, J. (2022). Privilege Walk [Online]. University of Warwick, n.d. Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/dean-of-students-office/community-valueseducation/educationresources/privilegewalk (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

Byrne, C (2018) Why do dyslexic students do worse at university? The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/dec/06/why-do-dyslexic-students-do-worse-at-university (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

Carroll, Jude, & Ryan, Janette, (2005), Teaching International students: Improving learning for all. Oxon. Routledge. Available at: https://www.routledge.com/Teaching-International-Students-Improving-Learning-for-All/Carroll-Ryan/p/book/9780415350662 (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

Crenshaw, K. (1990) Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review 43 (6), pp.1241-1299. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1229039?saml_data=eyJzYW1sVG9rZW4iOiJjODZhMDgzZi01OGI2LTRmY2MtODMxYy1kNmIzZWU2NGI1NjciLCJlbWFpbCI6IjEzMzgwMzUxQGFydHMuYWMudWsiLCJpbnN0aXR1dGlvbklkcyI6WyI5ZDA5NDcxMy00Nzc0LTQ5ZmQtOTZkNS1kYzRmMTdlMDQ0NDQiXX0&seq=1 (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

Davies, M. (2022) ‘The White Spaces of Dyslexic Difference: An Intersectional Analysis’, in S. Broadhead (ed.) Access and Widening Participation in Arts Higher Education: Practice and Research. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 143–158. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97450-3_7 (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

Freire, P (2006) Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, Continuum. Available at: https://envs.ucsc.edu/internships/internship-readings/freire-pedagogy-of-the-oppressed.pdf (Accessed: 20 July 2024).

Gibbs, G.(2019) Gibbs’ The Reflective cycle explained. EPM, 3 May. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gbczr0lRf4 (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

GOV.UK (2024) Help if you’re a student with a learning difficulty, health problem or disability. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowance-dsa (Accessed: 22 May 2024).

Kim, C. S. (2023) ‘Christine Sun Kim in “Friends & Strangers” – Season 11 | Art21’. Interview with Christine Sun Kim. Interviewed for Art21, 1 November. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NpRaEDlLsI&t=1s (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

meganleanne44. (2015) Positionality statements. 6 November.Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpcIVzGYhVs (Accessed: 22 June 2024).

Sadiq, A. (2023) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right. 2 March. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

The Best Note-Taking Methods for College Students & Serious Note-takers (2023) Available at: https://www.goodnotes.com/blog/note-taking-methods (Accessed: 22 July 2024).

University of the Arts London (2024) Active Dashboard – Student profiles: characteristics 2022/23. Available at: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638524920468662402 (Accessed: 28 May 2024).

University of the Arts London (2024) Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual report 2022/23. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/432141/SPCB23435-EDI-report-2022-23.pdf (Accessed: 28 May 2024)

University of the Arts London (2024) Note taking, writing and referencing. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/assistive-technology/note-taking-writing-and-referencing#notetaking (Accessed: 22 May 2024).

University of the Arts London (2024) Student Services Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/students/student-services (Accessed: 22 May 2024).

Appendix

Appendix 1- Question 1