Dr Alke Groppel-Wegener

Senior Lecturer in Contextual Studies

A fractional member of staff, I am responsible for introducing first year undergraduate students to academic research and contextual studies through award specific study skills. I also teach Animation Studies in the second year as well as supervising third year animation reports and lead the MA Research Methods Seminar. I am on the editorial board of the Innovative Practice in Higher Education journal  and a member of both the RiT journal club and the TSL Group of the Faculty of Arts, Media and Design.

My undergraduate studies revolved mainly around the theatre – after reading Theatre, Film and Radio Studies in Erlangen, Germany, I moved to England to study Performance Design at LIPA. Based on this I developed a particular interest in not only the design of experiences (further explored through my MPhil), but also how creative practice is externalised and shared (an aspect of which I investigated for my doctoral thesis on the role of writing in design education). I have worked in the theatre environment for a few years, designing shows, conducting evaluative research and teaching Design for Performance on an hourly basis.
Since taking up my post at Staffordshire University in 2008, I have become particularly interested in learning and teaching in arts, media and design, especially exploring blogging as well as object based learning through research I have presented at national and international symposia and conferences.
I was a member of the management group for the Pairings Project at Manchester Metropolitan University, for which I edited the catalogue and gave the keynote address at the linked conference. I am currently writing the preface for the following publication.
I have completed a Post-graduate Certificate in Higher and Professional Education in June 2011, before being awarded a Teaching Excellence Fellowship in September of the same year. The work that I am doing as part of this is concerned with the linking of creative and academic practice and is documented at http://tactileacademia.wordpress.com.
In my spare time I make artist’s books, one of which is held in the Special Collections at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Teaching Excellence Fellow, Staffordshire University, 2011-10-25
PhD, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2005
Thesis: The Role of Writing in Design Education in the UK

MPhil by research, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2001
Thesis: Rethinking the Modern Museum

Post-graduate Certificate in Higher and Professional Education (with Distinction), Staffordshire University, 2011
BA(Hons) Performing Arts (Performance Design) (First Class), Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, 1999

I am a member of the Design Research Society and its Special Interest Group on Design Pedagogy.

Areas of expertise include experiential learning; object based learning; sharing creative practice; writing in design education.

I used to run a company that provided material to help parents plan themed parties for children.
These days I still occasionally work as a freelance theatre designer (mostly costumes), researcher for performance/museum projects and writer.

My research interests are focused on two main areas:
- Exploring ways of linking academic and creative practice and, within that, the role of writing in design and the potential the process of writing has if used (and taught) as a design skill.
- Investigating how architectural strategies can be used to create a performance element - and ways to evaluate that.

• ‘Beyond the Object –  an exploration of collections in arts, media and design teaching’ (2011) Networks Magazine, Volume 15, available at http://www.adm.heacademy.ac.uk/networks/networks-autumn-2011/features/beyond-the-display-2013-an-exploration-of-collections-in-art-media-and-design-teaching-and-learning

• ‘Creative Collaborations’ invited panel member of discussion for Craft Northern Ireland, Crafts Month August at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 10th August 2011

• ‘From Object to Academic Paper – the use of visual and tactile research methods to provide authentic context’ (full paper) at the International Visual Sociology Conference 2011, which had as its theme ‘Visual Research as a collaborative and participatory practice’, at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, 6-8th July 2011.

• ‘Developing Haptic Knowledge – The Betty Smithers Design Collection at Staffordshire University’ (full paper) at the Cabinet: Connection and Collection: Design Knowledge conference at the University of Plymouth on 17th May 2011.

• ‘The Importance of Sharing Practice’ Keynote address at the Pairings Conference, Manchester Metropolitan University, 12th May 2011

•  ‘Developing Digital Literacies in the Context of Creative Practice’ (full paper) has been presented at the Computer Assisted Learning conference 2011, one of the leading conferences in the field of education and technology organised by the Elsevier journal Computers and Learning, in Manchester, UK, on 13-15th April 2011.

•  ‘The Practitioner’s Blog: reflection-on-action in Web 2.0’ (full paper) has been presented at the Designs on eLearning conference 2010, an international conference on Learning and Teaching with Technology in Art, Design and Communication organised by the Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design, in Savannah, Georgia, on 15-17th September 2010. Paper available at http://www.scad.edu/forms/pdf/AlkeGroppelWegener.pdf

•  ‘Experiential, Embedded, Electronic: Integrating Academic Skills into the Art and Design Curriculum’ (full paper) has been presented at the Design Research Society conference 2010 held in Montreal, Canada on 6th -9th July 2010 (plus an up-dated version at the DRS Special Interest Group Design Pedagogy in Coventry, UK, on 28th January 2011).

• ‘Creating heritage experiences through architecture’ in Jackson, A and Kidd, J (2010) Performing Heritage, Manchester: Manchester University Press

• Groppel-Wegener, A. (ed)(2010) Pairings: Exploring Collaborative Creative Practice  (catalogue of the Pairings Project exhibition), Manchester Metropolitan University

Undergraduate

Module Leader on ‘Researching for Fine Art’ and ‘Researching for Animation and VFX’, an introductory module to research skills for Level 4 students
Input on other undergraduate modules in first term of art, media and design courses providing guidance on academic research and writing of essays.
Module Leader on ‘Animation Debates’, a contextual studies module for Level 5 animation students

Post-graduate

Module Leader on ‘MA Research Methods Seminar’, a module designed to build up advanced research skills at Level 7