Tutor-led Group Work Session on Learning Outcomes

After a period of time during which I did not have the opportunity to participate, finally, on 11 August I followed the TGWS (Tutor-led Group Work Session) conducted by dr. Ariadne Xenou on the topic: Learning Outcomes.

It was an interesting hour and a half, in which Ariadne explored the theoretical and practical contents induced by these two words and stimulated everyone's interventions.

First of all, it is essential that we students realize that the practice and research activity at level three (specifically in this unit which has the name "Practice and Research") is carried out independently and that we are expected to analyze and realize aware, equally autonomously, of the results of our learning path. 

In our learning log, it is also essential that we provide evidence of our progress, explicitly linking the research activity to the practical activity (informed connection).

In summary, it is essential that the project we have chosen does not develop in a separate way from the research we are conducting, so that the practical activity is always "informed" inspired and enriched by research. 

Learning outcomes must be kept in mind not only at the end of the unit, in view of the final assessment, but in each of the ten projects.

Learning outcomes are generally abstract and are articulated by me, and undertaken by the research and practice project.

With reference to my Tutor, the learning outcomes are, as stated by Ariadne, a sort of "joint learning contract", virtually stipulated by me and my Tutor in order to establish primarily reflective learning objectives that integrate and harmonize with the practice outcome.

It is a matter of personal development and self-reflection.

Learning outcomes are the goal and, once achieved, the result of my thinking and reflective learning process, derived from the self-directed project, which involves research and practice.

I extracted the definition of Learning Outcomes from our teaching material:


  1. Examine your emerging practice through a considered body of self-directed work. 

  2. Apply relevant research methods and subject knowledge to test, inform, and develop your work. 

  3. Present informed connections between your research and practice interests.  

  4. Articulate your creative ideas and critical thinking using suitable communication methods.

( from OCA Learn https://learn.oca.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=315)


Ariadne gave us some examples and asked us to rearticulate these sentences, turn them into direct, explicit questions (to ourselves) and find out the keywords. 

Selecting the main keywords helps us understand what we need to do to meet the criteria of our learning path.


  1. "How does my practice emerge through a considered body of self-directed work?. How can I examine this relationship?" 
  2. "How and which relevant research methods and subject knowledge can I apply to test, inform, and develop my work?"
  3. "How do I present informed connections between my research and practice interests?"
  4. "How and which suitable communication methods should I use to articulate my creative ideas and critical thinking ?"

(the keywords of each statement are highlighted in bold)


There is no specific structure for the evidence of learning outcomes, also because it has been explained to us that we are doing this work essentially for ourselves and to realize not only where we have arrived, but also how. 

However, the structure of our learning log is the mirror of our learning process: for this reason, in order to clarify for myself which learning log structure to pursue to make the informed connections between research and practice explicit, I have drawn a simple scheme. 


Learning Process 


My answer to the previous questions is supposed to be articulated through the structure and content of the learning log. 

As far as I am allowed by the publishing features of the Blogger-based site, I will take advantage of both the hierarchical structure (left sidebar) and the hypertext links, so that I (and whoever browses my learning log) have a clear idea of the path to follow and explicit evidence of the connection between my research and my practice.

I decided then to change the structure and some of the current content.

This change also affected the self-assessment of my learning process. 

I realized that I had approached the main project with an insufficient breakdown of a topic as rich in content as psychogeography: in fact, I did not follow a linear and coherent learning path, and this conditioned my practice to the point that I did at least one drift without a specific goal and, above all, I did not clearly define to myself what I wanted to create, and why. 

Even if the images I have created so far fully satisfy me from the point of view of composition and have content in line with the theme of the project I have chosen, it is necessary that I take a step back and focus on some sub-themes (not all) give what the theme of psychogeography is composed of. 

The detail of this recurrent activity is on the page My learning process.

I believe that this activity will also lead me to more consciously achieve my own style and my personal interpretation of drift.