MA Strategic Fashion Marketing Online 24/25
Branding & Communications
Week 21: Brand Growth
Session/artefact to be observed/reviewed:
https://moodle.arts.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=82967§ion=9
Please click ‘Complete the interactive lesson’
Size of student group: Asynchronous interactive lesson. Cohort size approx. 25.
Observer: Dr Rachel Marsden
Observee: Hannah Kane
Note: This record is solely for exchanging developmental feedback between colleagues. Its reflective aspect informs PgCert and Fellowship assessment, but it is not an official evaluation of teaching and is not intended for other internal or legal applications such as probation or disciplinary action.
Part One
What is the context of this session/artefact within the curriculum?
This is an interactive lesson featuring short form video explanations, as well as sections of text to read about key concepts and theories relating to brand growth.
I create the content and the Digital Learning team build the lesson in Moodle.
How long have you been working with this group and in what capacity?
I am the Unit Leader for Branding and Communications which started at the beginning of Block 2.
What are the intended or expected learning outcomes?
By the end of the lesson, students should understand:
- Category and line extensions
- Cobrand alliances
- Product-market growth selection (the Ansoff Matrix).
- Adaptation versus standarisation of global brands
- The country-of-origin effect
What are the anticipated outputs (anything students will make/do)?
- The students are directed to add examples of line/category extensions and cobrand alliances to the unit Padlet ahead of the live workshop.
- Each section has a short interactive quiz which asks the students to check their understanding as part of the feedback loop.
- A seminal journal article is linked to, and the students have been asked to complete a short true/false quiz afterwards.
Are there potential difficulties or specific areas of concern? No.
How will students be informed of the observation/review? Not applicable, no students will be observed.
What would you particularly like feedback on? Is the flow of lesson content suitably engaging, interesting and clearly explained, and are the quizzes effective in allowing students to understand if they are clear about the concepts. On the final page of videos, we edited and reused video material from a previous year another team member to streamline the unit production of new videos (the concepts remain relevant today). How does the student perceive the reused content?
How will feedback be exchanged?
Written if possible, or we can arrange a short Teams call if you would prefer to give it verbally.
Part Two
Thank you for sharing the content and Moodle page specific to ‘Week 21: Brand Growth’ for review. On first look, I really like the informal subtitles – ‘What you need to prepare’ and ‘What we’ll do together’ – this wording more gently, yet clearly, invite participants to engage with the learning materials (asynchronously and synchronously). It seems to soften the edges of instruction – what do you think? There might be a bulb icon error above the ‘Start the Lesson’ button as it would not load for me – do double check this. Also, ‘Start the Lesson’ could be clearer in that it is the next step to complete after engaging with the 2 readings and 1 recording – perhaps it is as simple as making the colour of the ‘Start the Lesson’ button darker? A suggested timeframe could be stated as to how long the asynchronous learning materials – the interactive lesson – will take to complete. I’d give an approximate window for this as there is a lot of varied learning materials and activities as part of the lesson, which are great to see. I wanted to know from the get-go what was ahead – could there be a page at the start of the lesson to outline this?
At the top of the Moodle page, the instructions (Please focus on the core text rather than the case studies if short of time) for the required readings are lost below the references and could be easily missed – I wasn’t sure where to locate the case studies. Also are these references formatted in the academic style required for the unit (e.g. Harvard referencing)? Perhaps state the instructions first – in bold? – to make them standout. For accessibility, is a written transcript or captions available for the ‘Episode 34’ on Soundcloud (as far as I can see unavailable on their platform)? These sources seem to reflect a commitment to decolonising pedagogy and curriculum – has this been a conscious choice in the selection of learning materials? Take a look at the relevant Academic Enhancement Resources from UAL here in case of interest. An additional reading is stated in the ‘Maintaining Brands: Reinforcement’ section that is on top of the 2 readings and recordings introduced at the start. I’d either make this transparent from the beginning/ state up front, or state as optional. As it’s a 23 x A4 page reading does this need to be factored into the time it might take to complete as a preparation activity?
Jumping into the ‘Brand Lifecycles’ section and your micro lecture, your tone is clear and wording well-paced, with closed captions and different playback speeds available for accessibility, also available to download/ further engagement via Panopto. In thinking about digital equity and the digital devices participants use to engage with Moodle and content, I’d imagine some of the slide text might be too small to view. I had to make the presentation full screen on my 13” laptop to read information clearly. As there is an increase in mobile learning/ mobile devices as the main device in learning, this might be an area to research/ for future consideration.
Images/ visuals shared as part of presentations often lack captions/ copyright as to where they have been sourced. There is a missed opportunity to set an example to participants here and consider the role of intellectual property. I wonder if the Academic Support Online course ‘From idea to industry: valuing your creative rights’ might be of interest to you and your colleagues, and your participants? Also, there is no reference list provided either until later in the lesson (specific to the ‘Brand Extensions’ section with welcomed hyperlinks). I realise this might impact the clear and simple aesthetic of the slides; instead, could these be provided in a separate area on Moodle at the end of Week 21 asynchronous content?
Introductions and/ or written content varies across the lesson pages, however, the content is well-selected and ordered – I certainly learned a lot from this experience. I don’t think the reused legacy video is a problem (perhaps be transparent with/ invite feedback from participants about this?). It is a brilliant idea to embed short multiple-choice quizzes and a Padlet activity (with 15 responses) to reinforce, test and share learning from the micro lectures, reading and wider content. These examples of active blended learning approaches, and technology enhanced learning, further encourage student engagement. By comparison, I’m interested to know whether their level of engagement is reflected in the live workshop (e.g. how many have engaged with the lesson and the Padlet)? Are participants familiar with completing quizzes and using Padlet and are they aware these are formative exercises (not grade bearing and more for self-assessment)? For some of the quizzes – specifically ‘Maintaining Brands: Reinforcement’ – the order of True and False are flipped. This might be intentional to challenge participants, but the inconsistency could also be confusing for some.
Overall, your resources make me think about accessibility, where I can see the ‘Accessibility score’ on your Moodle page are “perfect” (this seems an interesting ranking system I’d like to know more about). The links below provide some pointers on readable fonts, headings, structures, colours, layout and more, and creating accessible digital content and documents, that might be of interest:
- Dyslexia friendly style guide (there is also a PDF guide here).
- Create accessible digital content
- Creating accessible documents
I wonder if (some of) the above might serve as an opportunity and give agency to open up conversations within your team about developing online lessons and content? Feel free to select/ choose areas to respond to in ‘Part Three’ of the ROT form below (rather than responding to it all) and I hope it’s been helpful. Great to gain insight into your world of teaching and learning Hannah.
Part Three
Thank you, Rachel, for your review of practice. The following points have been elicited from your feedback.
| Category | Positive Feedback | Suggestions for Improvement |
|---|
| Tone & Structure | Informal subtitles are inviting and clear. | Consider adding a lesson overview at the start to outline structure and expectations. |
| Content & Materials | Well-selected and ordered content. Embedded quizzes and Padlet support engagement. | Flag large additional readings (e.g., 23-page PDF) earlier or mark as optional. |
| Navigation & Clarity | N/A | Clarify that “Start the Lesson” follows the readings and recording. Add estimated completion time for asynchronous content. |
| Reading Instructions | N/A | Move and bold reading instructions for visibility. Ensure Harvard-style referencing. Clarify location of case studies. |
| Accessibility | Captions, playback options, downloadable content noted. “Perfect” Accessibility Score. | Provide transcript/captions for the Soundcloud episode. Improve mobile readability (slide text may be too small on small screens). |
| Visuals & IP | N/A | Add captions and copyright info for images. Include reference list earlier or in a separate section on Moodle. |
| Inclusivity & Ethics | Materials reflect commitment to decolonising the curriculum. | Consider explicitly acknowledging this intent. Explore UAL resources for further support. |
| Quiz Design | Quizzes and Padlet well-integrated and engaging. | Ensure consistency in quiz format (e.g., True/False order). Clarify quizzes are formative. |
Overall this review will serve as a springboard for conversations with the Digital Learning team who build these lessons. I will work on improving the slide design and image credits.