I recently fell into a rabbit hole about modernism, architecture and then Bauhaus. It eventyally got me into a reflection about my work, being a technician, everything we have been exploring during the TPP and my expectations of the PGCert. It seemed natural to turn this into a blog post.
At some point, I read something about the dual-teaching model, where the “Formmasters” (teaching from theory) and the “Craftmaster” (teaching from making, equivalent to the technician) were held in equal pedagogical relevance. Seeking more references, got to the theoretical, historical, and philosophical framework for the Bauhaus “learning by doing” model (Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung, 2025; CCCB Lab, 2019; Johnson and Oates, 2025).
(Gropius, 1923)
The Bauhaus’ acknowledgement of craft-teaching, and the importance of the Craftsmaster role in education deeply connected with my personal experience and frustration about the lack of acknowledgement of the technical roles in student’s learning. And I am not alone. As discussed by Clare Sams (2016) – a reading from Workshop 1A – technicians in HE view themselves not only as supporting staff, but as educators, artists and expert practitioners, yet do not feel supported or valued in their roles. It is discussed that technicians perceive their role also as teaching-based, through specialized knowledge of how to make.
Another UAL colleague, Verity Cleary (2024) framed it not as “learning by doing” but as “thinking through making”. In her literature review, she identified significant gaps in research about technician teaching in HE, especially compared to the academic teaching. One explanation offered is that “critical thinking and critical self-reflection” are traditionally seen exclusively as a cognitive, mental, and theoretical processes. However, Bauhaus proposed, Verity researched, and most technicians will tell you, the making process has an intimate relationship with critical and reflective thinking.
Wragg argues: “in some cases, what students can learn from technical staff can be of greater value than what they might learn from academics, especially in terms of real world applicability and graduate employability” (Wragg et al., 2023, cited in Cleary, 2024). Swedish Sloyd have technical teaching “about and through making” (Lindström, 2012). Then, in the words of Paulo Freire (from Dr Alex Standen’s guest lecture):
To put it into my own words: there is no product without making, and no making without critical reflection. In the Grow Lab I see it in the progression from conceptualizing a project with a desired outcome, to researching methods, adapting them to the lab’s context, executing, dealing with unforeseen circumstances, optimizing, and finalizing. Each decision offers opportunities for reflection and learning, for each decision will impact the outcome directly. A bacteria culture shaken or still will result in two completely different patterns of growth. Light, temperature, time, – everything impacts results. From an HE standpoint, workshop-based teaching creates developmental opportunities for not only crafting skills, but also cognitive, professional and personal (life) skills.
Yet at this point in my PGCert, I was left wanting more. More references, examples, and other job families’ perspectives. Although not surprised, I cannot help but feel disappointed that the course echoed such an academic-centered perspective, with other job families’ perspectives so rarely promoted, provoked or proposed. This perpetuates the invisibility of equally valid forms of teaching, especially technical teaching, with its own pedagogy, body of knowledge and legitimate place in HE.
And although the “next steps” are not clear to me yet, I believe there is something in:
- Documenting my pedagogical practice more intentionally
- Advocating for change – such as more diverse job families case studies at the PGCert
- Continuing my research – where else, besides Bauhaus, technical teaching is acknowledged and how?
Compilation of readings and references – not enough words to mention it all.
AI Use
AI (Claude) was used in this text to help reduce the number of words initially written. The prompt used was:
“I want you to help me reduce this text for max 550 words. For that please follow these rules:
1. I want you to help me reduce the word count without altering any meaning, or writting style. Keep it as close to original as possible
2. correct any typos, grammar or spelling mistakes.
3. Propose changes to the text by: highlighting in bold what is your new proposed version so i can check if i agree with the new parts. strikethrough parts i should delete. put any grammar, typo or spelling corrections in between **.
References
Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung (2025) Preliminary course, workshops and Bauhaus diploma: What made training at the Bauhaus so special? Available at: https://www.bauhaus.de/en/discover/article/preliminary-course-workshops-and-bauhaus-diploma/ (Accessed: 15 March 2026).
CCCB Lab (2019) Lessons from the Bauhaus for the 21st century. Available at: https://www.cccb.org/en/w/articles/lessons-from-the-bauhaus-for-the-21st-century (Accessed: 15 March 2026).
Cleary, V. (2024) ‘Thinking through making: What kinds of learning take place when HE students engage with creative arts technicians?’, Art, Design & Communication in Higher Education, online first. https://doi.org/10.1386/adch_00087_1
Freire, P. (2000) Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic courage. Translated by P. Clarke. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Gropius, W. (1923) ‘The theory and organization of the Bauhaus’, published in: German History Intersections. Available at: https://germanhistory-intersections.org/en/knowledge-and-education/ghis:document-203 (Accessed: 15 March 2026).
Johnson, M. and Oates, T. (2025) ‘The Bauhaus as education model: Enduring design and powerful knowledge’, International Journal of Art & Design Education. https://doi.org/10.1111/jade.12598
Lindström, L. (2012) ‘Aesthetic learning about, in, with and through the arts: A curriculum study’, International Journal of Art & Design Education, 31(2), pp. 166–179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-8070.2012.01737.x
Sams, C. (2016) ‘How do art and design technicians conceive of their role in higher education?’, Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, 1(2), pp. 62–69.
Standen, A. (2025) Learning from your teaching: Frameworks for reflective practice. Guest lecture. UAL, TPP PGCert. 11 February 2026.