Agency And Autonomy Within The Collaborative Project 2025
I have worked at UAL in some capacity since 2016, as an AL or HPL on short courses at CSM to a 0.8 member of staff at LCF on the BA Menswear degree, I have taught across all three years of BA study and am currently year lead and project lead on year two projects which are predominantly industry focused/Knowlege exchange or collaborative.
One of the challenges I’ve observed in the collaborative project between BA Menswear Design students and BA Textile students (Embroidery, Print, and Knit) is the difficulty in working together due to personality differences and conflicts in aesthetics and culture. These tensions tend to surface particularly in weeks 4, 5, and 6 of the project when critical decisions need to be made about the collection—what it consists of, what fabrics to use, and which textile processes to incorporate.
A key issue I’ve identified is that students often struggle to shift their mindset from an individualistic approach to one that prioritizes the best outcome for the group. In creative disciplines, personal vision is deeply embedded in a student’s work, and asking them to compromise or merge their ideas with others can feel like a challenge to their identity as designers. However, I believe that learning to navigate this kind of collaboration is an essential skill for their future careers, where they will need to work within teams and respond to external creative influences.
For the 2025 Collaborative Project, I’ve restructured the approach to help facilitate more organic and productive partnerships. Menswear students have been placed in groups of three based on shared aesthetic elements in their work. Before the Christmas break, these smaller groups engaged in a focused research project together. They then presented their research to the Textile students, and we facilitated conversations to help students form collaborative partnerships based on mutual interest rather than feeling that they were randomly assigned by the university.
This shift is inspired by research on student engagement, particularly Chan, Graham-Day, and Ressa’s (2014) work, highlighting how meaningful engagement leads to a deeper understanding of learning targets and encourages ownership of the learning process. By giving students more agency in forming their collaborations, I hope to foster a greater sense of investment and enthusiasm in their shared creative practice.
I will be updating this case study at the end of the project on March 21st to reflect on how these changes have impacted the student experience.
Student research project examples:
Reflecting on my teaching practice, I see opportunities to further develop student independence and autonomy. Berger, Rugen, and Woodfin (2014) emphasize that “thoughtful teaching is done by and with students, and not just to them,” and I want to continue fostering an environment where students feel empowered to advocate for their own improvement.
Looking ahead, I think project briefs should challenge students to explore research methods beyond the university, whether through independent visits to archives or alternative sources. Additionally, I am considering how to give students more choices in how and when they present their work for feedback. Allowing them to shape the format and timing of progress tutorials or critiques could help them take greater ownership of their design process and aesthetic development.
Of course, I recognize that some students may struggle with working independently, so there may need to be more structured frameworks to guide them. I’m considering how we could build this incrementally across the degree, starting in Year One with projects that subtly introduce independent problem-solving and decision-making. By Year Two, as seen in this case study, students are encouraged to take more control over their collaborations and creative direction. My goal is to continue refining these approaches so that by Year Three, students have developed the confidence and skills to fully navigate independent creative work.
This project is an ongoing exploration of how to balance structure and autonomy in fashion education, and I’m eager to see how these adaptations influence student outcomes this year.
below is the lesson plan for the first day of the collaborative project:
Conclusions/Actionable Points:
Continue the strategy of organizing preliminary research groups based on shared aesthetics before the collaborative project begins. Encourage students to present their research findings to potential textile partners, allowing organic collaborations to form rather than assigning them randomly. This approach can mitigate conflicts and promote a sense of ownership over their creative partnerships.
Develop a structured, incremental framework that builds independent learning skills across the BA course. Year One could include “breadcrumb” challenges, encouraging students to make independent research decisions or solve design problems. Year Two and Year Three projects can increase autonomy by pushing students to conduct independent archival research or explore off-campus resources.
Introduce flexibility in how students present their work during tutorials and critiques. Allow them to choose the format, timing, and structure of their reviews to develop ownership of their design aesthetic and presentation style. Provide guidelines to scaffold this choice for less engaged students, gradually easing them into self-directed learning.
References:
Berger, R., Rugen, L. & Woodfin, L., 2014. Leaders of their own learning: Transforming schools through student-engaged assessment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Chan, P., Graham-Day, K. & Ressa, V., 2014. Beyond involvement: Promoting student ownership of learning in classrooms. Intervention in School and Clinic.
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