City of Glasgow College – External review 24 August 2012
Excellent practice
Real-life learning - Reading the Waves
Reading the Waves is a performance and networking event which takes place every
two months at a local art gallery in Glasgow. It is organised and managed by
learners from HNC Professional Writing Skills as an additional element of their
programme. Reading the Waves has been developing over the past six years,
having originated in one of the legacy colleges. Learners perform their written or
musical pieces in front of a live audience. They undertake voice workshops and
confidence-building exercises in preparation for speaking in public. The event also
includes performances by well-established professional writers and musicians. After
the events, these professional artists provide constructive feedback to the learners.
This feedback, and in some cases, ongoing contact, has a very positive impact on
the learners’ sense of themselves as developing professional writers. There is
generally an audience of 90-120 people and the event has a very high reputation
across the city’s writing community. As well as performing, learners coordinate the
event and manage its financial aspects. This results in very effective teamworking
and the development of useful enterprise skills. The project builds very clearly on
aspects of Curriculum for Excellence and introduces learners to real-life work
practices.
Following the formation of one single college, staff and learners on the programme
have identified enhanced opportunities for working in partnership with learners
across other subject areas. As a consequence, one event - Reading the World
Waves - involved presentations of writing by ESOL learners. These learners worked
with HNC Professional Writing learners to develop their writing and language skills,
with positive impact on the confidence of all learners involved. There are further
plans to collaborate with learners from other areas. On another occasion, the event
focused on opportunities for networking within the writing industry. The outcome of
that event is that four learners are about to undertake industry internships.
Reading the Waves has had a very positive impact on the college’s reputation within
the city. It provides an excellent channel through which learners can understand the
challenges and opportunities of their chosen profession.