Reflection – Peer Micro-teach –
The history of the Schott Perfecto Jacket
Research-based education is focused on the students themselves engaging in the process and practice of primary research, rather than teachers imparting their research through their teaching.’ (Kador et al., 2018. P.2).
I was really inspired by my peer’s micro-teach session regarding object-based learning. I felt engaged in the process of this lesson. Participating as a student has been a totally new experience. It helped me to appreciate a students’ positionality.
This session was led by Rory in a calm and informative way and allowed me to be transported into this evaluative process of learning. The attention to detail by creating an interactive display offered a nice contrast to the off-white crisp paper that was on the table to form a simple backdrop allowing the item to take center stage. This was accompanied by black and white images of the jacket from different eras. It was almost like a still catwalk show.
Fig.1. Historical Images of the Schott Perfecto jacket. (Smith, 2025)
Fig.2. Historical Images of the Schott Perfecto jacket. (Smith, 2025)
Fig.3. Image of the Schott Perfecto jacket. (Smith, 2025)
Fig.3. Image of the Schott Perfecto jacket. (Smith, 2025)
Clear critically reflective questions were given to us to answer.
Fig.4. Image of the question sheet. (Smith, 2025)
Rory was unsure to hand out the historical timeline first before giving to us the question sheet to fill in. We voted and they decided to give this to us afterwards. This then allowed us to use our prior knowledge, to discuss with our partners the information required and to analyse the accompanied images to tell its own story. As a result, discussions were created and this encouraged us to reflect on our own memories of a biker jacket. One of my peers tried on the jacket to be immersed in the experience. Others including me touched the leather and identified with the worn imprints and imperfections of time. This brought about conversations about sustainability and the environment.
This single worn object generated deep research and imparted a wealth of knowledge to the class. Even though Rory was knowledgeable and engaging they allowed space for us to explore and discover.
We later received an historical timeline of the Perfecto jacket which solidified our discussions, or we learnt new facts.
Fig.5. Image of the historical timeline. (Smith, 2025)
Fig.6 Image of the documents used in the micro teach. (Smith, 2025)
Reflection
I learnt so much from this micro-teach session. You do not always have to have complex or large quantities of objects in a lesson to encourage learning. Sometimes simple and pared back presentations are just as effective. Creating space for exploration of objects generates valuable knowledge production. (Steele, 1998).
Yes, there should be aims and objectives, however sometimes these rules can be broken to allow for students to also lead the lesson with questions and inquiring thoughts.
I also liked the way Rory gave us a choice to receive the historical information before or after our questions. This gave us a sense of agency and set the tone for a collaborative space. I will be using this approach more in my lessons from now, for I know the benefits of this as a student. The freedom of students to learn before information is shared brings confidence and empowerment. It was ethically pleasing to re-use objects, to create new historical traces, new design inspirations that is good for the environment and climate change. I have learnt that it is okay to sometimes go with the flow of the learning environment and to allow the lesson to breathe and take its course.
Fig.7. Image of my feedback for the micro-teach session. (Smith, 2025).
References
Kador, T., Hannan, L., Nyhan, J., Terras, M., Chatterjee, H. and Carnall, M. (2018). Object-based learning and research-based education: Case studies from the UCL curricula. [online] UCL, p.2. Available at: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10051332/7/Blum_Chapter%2011_Teaching-and-Learning-in-Higher-Education.pdf [Accessed 18 Mar. 2025].
Steele, V. (1998), ‘A museum of fashion is more than a clothes bag’, Fashion
Theory, 2:4, pp. 327–36.
Image References
Fig.1. Smith, (2025) Historical Images of the Schott Perfecto jacket. [Photograph]
Fig.2. Smith, (2025) Historical Images of the Schott Perfecto jacket. [Photograph]
Fig.3. Smith, (2025) Image of the Schott Perfecto jacket. [Photograph]
Fig.4. Smith, (2025) Image of the question sheet. [Photograph]
Fig.5. Smith, (2025) Image of the historical timeline. [Photograph]