Record of Observation or Review of Teaching Practice
Session to be observed/reviewed:
Seminar: Exploring Fashion Forecasting & Trend Research
Size of student group: 35 students
Observer: Eva Feld
Observee: Julia Redman
Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.
Part One
Observee to complete in brief and send to observer prior to the observation or review:
What is the context of this session within the curriculum?
Course: BSc/MSc Fashion Management, London College of Fashion, Unit: Product Management. The seminar is held after a morning lecture on the topic, followed by a guest speaker from WGSN. We will be in the second week of teaching on this unit, just after the introduction week.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
This will be my second week with this group, as Unit Lead and Lecturer.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
The students will start researching fashion trends and building mood boards for a SS26 collection, for a brand they have chosen to study for the unit assessment. They will be discussing their final choice of brand with me during the seminar.
LO1 An understanding of fashion forecasting and design management processes and their role in the creation of sustainable fashion product (enquiry).
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
To finalise their brand choice and begin building mood boards for colour, shape, prints & graphics and fabrics.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern?
This is a 40 credit unit for which the students will have to produce a 5 part portfolio for assessment. Keeping up with the workload is a challenge, so at this stage effective planning to achieve the desired outcome is critical.
How will students be informed of the observation/review?
They will have been verbally informed during the morning lecture.
What would you particularly like feedback on?
Am I communicating requirements and activities effectively?
How will feedback be exchanged?
Written feedback as per the requirements of this form.
Part Two
Observer to note down observations, suggestions and questions:
- Students all on time
- Adoption of Innovation & Trend, setting the associated task, clear verbal and written communication, additional help highlighted in form of previous student’s work
- 1. C Sprint 2026 Trend Analysis: Structure clear, content presentation very clear
- Natural, illustrative and very clear way of speaking to the students.
- Checked the student’s understanding
- Reiteration of the LO’s: mood board and 5th board distilling the information down, should provide orientation to the student’s brand SS 2026 suggestion. Brand DNA.
- Student question: What is the 5th board’s purpose? /Student question: What are the 4 board’s purpose? clarification: explanation of purpose (trend, market orientation, positioning) provided clear, insightful conversation with the students for clarification.
- PESTLE & WGSN STEPIC: introduced to help students guide their writing, highlighted “Qualify statements with research/ evidence/ citations.”
- Announced to visit each group/ table to help with the tasks for the remainder of the seminar: For each student the brand choice will be finalised and discussed.
I wonder:
- From the conversations of each group table, will the rest of the group benefit from what is discussed? If so, how could this be shared concisely?
- Would the groups waiting to be seen benefit from being given a specific time to make the most of the waiting time?
- Students seemed clear on the task which remained clearly outlined on screen. They seemed at ease and comfortable asking questions for clarification at all times, which is great. They were at ease to leave the classroom shortly and found adequate moments to do so. All students were working on the task on their laptops individually, sometimes exchanging some thoughts (therefore the joint group table set-up seems preferable).
Overall, a clearly structured and engaging seminar! Thank you for being able to observe it.
Eva Feld
Part Three
Observee to reflect on the observer’s comments and describe how they will act on the feedback exchanged:
Thankyou for your feedback Eva, it was great to hear that you thought my methods & communication were clear and insightful. You made a very good point about the group conversations, and how the rest of the group could benefit. As a result I have made a concerted effort to implement greater sharing of student questions with the wider audience, before sharing my thoughts/response with the whole class. As a technique, it appears to be helping me manage the time more efficiently, as I am not answering the same question more than once. Seems obvious now that I have implemented it, but your pointing this out gave me real food for thought!
I tend not to advise a time, purely because I want them to stay in the room, for the most part, and work on their portfolio whilst I am making my way round. I have found that if I give them a later time, they tend to disappear and not come back, which has an impact on their ability to achieve their desired outcome at summative submission. I think they really benefit from being able to use the time to discuss the assignment with their peers, particularly at this early stage, as they are formulating their ideas & strategies. However, your observation has inspired me to consider maybe introducing a more structured way of doing this.
I’m glad you enjoyed it too!