Project Based Learning: A majority of the Fashion Design Program is project based. Mostly individual but a few group projects including our club fundraiser, our yearly fashion show where all 7 courses of Fashion Design work together as one, and our annual collaboration with the chemistry classes on campus.
Lecture: While there is an emphasis on pivoting away from lecture based teaching, I do think that when utilized correctly, it is very important. Lecture should be kept brief, I like to try and keep mine under 20 minutes to provide instruction for the next task. Utilizing slideshows that have visuals, and incorporating video, as well as getting student feed back throughout are useful.
Discussion: Discussion both as a whole class or in small groups is great for student interactions. It also gives immediate feedback on if the students are understanding the lesson and the materials they are interacting with.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL): UDL's are important to try and engage all students. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all lesson plan so by providing students with many different means of receiving, interacting, and displaying information is very important.
Think Pair Share: A little more in depth that just a straight discussion. Students have time to think and prepare their answer, discuss it with a partner or small group, and then enter a larger discussion with the class.
Hand Outs/Worksheets: I plan to give students worksheets to follow along with both lecture and any videos we are watching. It helps keep students engaged and gives them a path to follow.
Field Trips: When possible field trips that relate to subject matter can be a great way to get students out of the classroom and interacting with information in new ways. It also provides a real life experience which will stick with them for much longer than any lecture will. We also take field trips to the LA garment district so students can source fabrics for their projects. We also visit colleges that have Fashion Design programs like LATTC, Otis College, Long Beach, FIDM, Cal Poly Pomona and more!
Guest Speakers: I utilize guest speakers by inviting industry professionals into the classroom. This gives students the opportunity to put a face to a place in the industry. They are able to interact with people who are the tangible representation of who they hope to become. Its motivating and they learn a lot from the speakers.
FCCLA Portfolio: In our classes students compete at the Regional, State and National Level in order to gain leadership skills and scholarship money. The portfolio they create for the class and competition, is also a good resource for college applications. Many of our students use their portfolio as their application portfolio for many college programs. They also show students what they will be doing in the industry as far as tech pack, color stories and illustrations go.
Team Building: Students work in groups in order to build career ready skills. This stretches their skill-sets and allows them to build relationships with their classmates. They all are assigned tasks and roles and in order to be successful, they all must do their part.
Scaffolding: Not all students are going to grasp information at the same speed, this could be for numerous reasons. However it's important to use scaffolding to help struggling students meet objectives. This can be done in many different ways whether it be partnering them up with other students or giving them modified work. Whatever the case it is important that we engage all kids and for those who are struggling we help them to keep moving forward.
Retelling: This will be utilized in class to check for understanding especially before students jump on expensive sewing machinery. For instance: students should be able to tell me how to thread a sewing machine, by speaking out the steps while doing it, so that they do not damage the sewing machine. Retelling will also help prevent expensive mistakes from happening in the lab.
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Gordon, D., Meyer, A, & Rose, D. H. (2015). Universal design for learning: Theory and practice. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from vbk://9781930583542. Slavin, R. (2017). Educational psychology: Theory and practice, 12th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from vbk://9780134524290.