We object! How object-based learning and materials research were embedded in information skills teaching at Central Saint Martin’s Library, to help students think critically about materials and sustainability.

conversation

Abstract

Responding to course demand for materials and sustainability research, and our commitment to increasing climate literacy, CSM Librarians designed workshops illustrating how materials research can allow students to critically evaluate the sustainability of their creative practice. The Librarians collaborated with the M&P Collections team to embed object-based learning and material literacies with information skills teaching workshops, also embracing the co-creation of knowledge.

Session and activities

This 15-minute paper will provide evidence of how a team of Central Saint Martin’s Librarians developed innovative information skills workshops to enable students to critically evaluate sustainability and materiality in relation to their creative practice. This was in response to course demand and UAL’s Climate Action Plan, which encourages students to critically engage with principles for climate, racial and social justice within their work. The Librarians innovated by collaborating with the Materials & Products (M&P) Coordinator and the broader M&P Collections team, to embed object-based learning and materials research with their information skills teaching in workshops targeted at Foundation and Undergraduate students at Central Saint Martin’s. Their outcomes focused on participants researching object and material stories, or lifecycles, both collaboratively and through research frameworks. This helped them to: Develop materials and sustainability research skills for their made and written work. Critically evaluate the sustainability of their creative practice. Foster a sense of community and belonging with their field of practice (Hooks, 1994). The team would like to use this opportunity to ask the UAL community how they help students build the tools to approach materials-based research with criticality, whilst acknowledging the uncertainty and anxiety that questions around making sustainable and equitable choices can provoke.