This post reflects on a seminar in which I was observed by a PgCert tutor, focusing on engaging students in collaborative innovation and critical thinking while facilitating rapid idea development and pitching. See the observation notes in this link.
Delivering a seminar for the MBA from LCF around Innovation and Fashion Business Futures was an enriching experience. This was my first engagement with this cohort – I will be supervising two students in their final Consultancy Project. My objective was to create a highly interactive and applied learning session that complemented the recorded lecture I shared a week before and they had previously watched. The seminar explored disruptive technologies and strategic innovation frameworks in fashion, with a particular emphasis on practical application and critical analysis.
Key Reflections on Engagement and Communication
A key priority was to foster student engagement and facilitate meaningful discussions. I sought to create an open and inclusive learning environment, encouraging students to actively participate by acknowledging their contributions and linking their insights to broader seminar themes. However, fostering critical engagement requires more than just participation – it demands the ability to challenge assumptions, question dominant narratives, and synthesise diverse perspectives.
My tutor’s observations highlighted that my communication style was effective in engaging students. By employing active listening techniques – such as non-verbal cues, backchanneling, and reinforcement through follow-up questions – I was able to establish rapport and maintain an interactive dialogue. A particular strength noted was my ability to bridge theoretical models, with real-world industry applications, ensuring that students understood both the conceptual framework and its limitations in practice.
One constructive piece of feedback was the need to manage participation dynamics, particularly in instances where a single student dominated the conversation. Ensuring equitable participation is essential, and I will adopt strategies such as redirecting questions to the group (e.g., “That’s a great question-what do others think?”) and setting clear expectations for time allocation during discussions. This also raises a broader pedagogical question: how can educators cultivate an environment where quieter voices feel empowered to contribute without the discussion being overly structured or constrained?
Refining Group Activities and Task Management
The seminar was structured around a group-based task in which students developed and pitched a future-proofing strategy for Nike. To set up the activity, I used a combination of slides and verbal explanations, incorporating structured prompts and brand imagery to provide context. While my tutor found the slides visually engaging, they also noted that certain aspects -such as font readability and colour contrast- could be improved for accessibility.
This is an important consideration, and I will be more mindful of inclusive design principles in future materials. This feedback also prompted me to reflect on whether my reliance on visual stimuli was inadvertently privileging certain learning styles over others. Would a greater integration of alternative instructional strategies, such as concept mapping or case-based debate, provide a richer learning experience?
Additionally, verbal check-ins were an effective method for gauging student understanding of the task. However, my tutor suggested incorporating a quick recap from each group to ensure clarity before students embarked on the exercise. I find this a very useful recommendation, as it provides an additional layer of confirmation and allows for the early identification of any misunderstandings. It also raises a fundamental consideration about scaffolding independent learning -how much structure should be provided to ensure comprehension while allowing space for students to take ownership of their interpretations?
Supporting Student Collaboration and Critical Thinking
Throughout the session, I actively monitored student discussions, offering guidance and prompting critical thinking through targeted questions. My tutor noted that my approach – encouraging brainstorming, suggesting mapping exercises, and ensuring time management – helped keep students focused and productive.
One key takeaway for me is the need for adaptability in managing time during interactive sessions. I made real-time adjustments, such as encouraging concise, structured pitches, to align with the time constraints. This flexibility proved effective, but it also highlighted a potential tension: in prioritising efficiency, do we risk sacrificing deeper inquiry? Encouraging students to think critically about emerging technologies requires both structure and open-ended exploration – striking this balance remains a continual challenge in my teaching practice.
Key Takeaways and Future Improvements
This seminar provided a valuable opportunity to refine my teaching practice, and I greatly appreciate my tutor’s insightful observations. Moving forward, I aim to
- Implement strategies to ensure balanced participation, such as actively inviting diverse voices into discussions while encouraging self-regulation among more vocal students.
- Enhance accessibility in my slide design by improving colour contrast and readability, while also diversifying instructional materials to cater to different learning styles.
- Introduce structured group check-ins, where students recap instructions to confirm understanding before starting their tasks, ensuring a balance between guided support and independent exploration.
- Continue to integrate industry insights with theoretical frameworks, while challenging students to critically evaluate dominant industry discourses rather than accepting them at face value.
Overall, I am pleased with how students engaged in critically assessing innovation strategies in fashion. Their discussions demonstrated a strong grasp of key concepts while highlighting the need for continuous refinement in pedagogical approaches. Additionally, this session prompted reflection on my voice – not only in terms of student participation but also as a tool to stimulate creativity and critical thinking. The way I use my voice to assert ideas, pose thought-provoking questions, and challenge students to think beyond conventional solutions is instrumental in shaping the seminar dynamic. Given the task of developing and pitching an innovative tech concept within an hour, my voice played a crucial role in guiding students through uncertainty, encouraging them to embrace rapid ideation, and instilling confidence in their creative instincts. Striking the right balance between assertiveness and encouragement ensures that students feel both challenged and supported, enabling them to articulate and refine their ideas more effectively.
I look forward to further developing my vocal delivery as a means of fostering deeper engagement and innovation in future seminars.