During a PgCert session, we had an extensive discussion about the challenges of ‘group crit’. My own experiences from a teaching perspective had been mixed. In a recent undergraduate session, only five students attended—one arrived extremely late, another didn’t speak at all, and the discussion was dominated by two male students who focused on technical aspects while avoiding conceptual discussions.
Other tutors shared similar struggles. Shockingly, one course had to implement security measures due to fears of student aggression in crits. Others noted how students often felt defensive rather than receptive to feedback, creating a barrier to learning. I shared my own frustration: students rarely attended – I suspect because they didn’t find the feedback useful.
One PgCert colleague introduced me to Das Theatre’s feedback method, which she had used successfully. She shared slides and a video explaining how this approach:
- Empowers the artist receiving feedback.
- Moves beyond judgment to constructive discussion.
- Encourages shared responsibility in crits.
- Prevents dominant voices from controlling the conversation.
- Allows the presenter to relax, rather than defend their work.
- Shifts focus from evaluation to exploring universal themes.
A key feature is that presenters choose from ten feedback options, giving them agency in the process. Inspired, I decided to try it in my own class.
I introduced the feedback options to my students and modelled the process by offering my own work-in-progress for critique—a practice inspired by bell hooks’ idea of teacher vulnerability.
The method I chose was called ‘concept reflection’. Students listened to my work without context and wrote key themes on post-it notes. They stuck their post it notes on a board, where I wrote the words ‘The Work’ in the centre and put the post-it notes that I thought strongly related to the work nearest the words, and the concepts that did not relate so strongly further away. I read them as I curated, and honestly found this process so useful! I was astonished that ‘intimacy’ appeared on five different post-it notes—something I hadn’t consciously considered in my piece.
Next, I invited a student to select one concept close to the work and one that was more distant. I then spoke for two minutes on each, reflecting on their relevance. This exercise prompted deep thinking about my artistic intentions and how the work communicated.
This approach transformed the crit into a meaningful dialogue rather than a defensive exercise. The students engaged generously, and their insights were invaluable. Even more gratifying, one student stayed behind to say how much they had gained from the session, while another simply said ‘Great session!’ as they left.
I look forward to the next session, where students will bring their own work for critique. This experience has reshaped my method of delivering group crits—turning it into a collaborative process that fosters deeper artistic and conceptual reflection.
Refs:
Das Theatre feedback method (no date). Available at:
https://www.atd.ahk.nl/en/theatre-programmes/das-theatre/study-programme/feedback-method-1/ (Accessed: 15th March 2025)
hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress. Routledge.