Pennefather: Research Statement
Research in the context of my activities is polysemic (has two or more meanings). The term research creation is best to use in order to describe the process through which sound is designed in productions from the initial seed idea through to its public presentation. Research in the co-development of software applications translates as experimental and usability studies that lead to multiple types of published outputs such as a journal, book chapter, conference, or online shareable media. Finally, since software development is facilitated in project-based learning environments, research can also mean the process of investigating teaching and learning interactions. How the research that I conduct is defined, published and consumed is influenced by the expectations of the communities of practice who appraise those results. These include peers from performative, medical, gaming, educational and technological disciplines. The research map below shows more detail as to the specific types of research I conduct.
Figure 1: Different types of research that I design and co-design with other investigators
Teaching Statement
Designing for and teaching in project-based learning environments is my passion. The teaching environments that I facilitate are experiential, practical, building on a type of social pragmatism defined by Dewey at the beginning of the 20th Century. It is in essence ‘learn by doing’. The basic tenet is this: provide learners with a way to practically apply the knowledge they are learning so that they might embody the experience of doing something (whatever you happen to be teaching) on their own, reflect on what they learned, then improve their subsequent iterative attempt. My role in the classroom is not to lecture about a specific subject but to integrate practical in-virtual class activities that move them towards learning outcomes aligned with 21st Century skills: collaboration, problem-solving, critical thinking and self-regulation. It can be anything from providing learners the freedom to develop their own in-the-moment games or activities to solve a specific problem, designing sound for a production, or to co-creating some type of interactive digital media artefact for research or learning. Classes taught include:
- THTR 308 is a sound design course for anyone interested in designing sound for live or virtual media. This class draws on my experience as a composer and sound designer for live productions on over 150 productions for the past 25 years;
- MDIA 470 Special Topics is a project-based course offered to all UBC students focused on developing emerging technologies. Students from all disciplines work together to solve problems through the co-construction of digital media projects working with UBC faculty, industry mentors, and the Emerging Media Lab;
- MDIA 100 Media Objects is a project-based course challenging first years to reinvent their relationship to media through a critical and pragmatic approach. They build. They critique. They build again. Short lectures and in-class activities centre on themes of media influenced by an interdisciplinary crew: Marshall McLuhan, John Cage, Julia Kristeva and Donna J. Haraway.
Through supervising grads and undergrads on dozens of digital media projects and some with real-world clients like EA, Microsoft, Ubisoft, researchers, and mobile web developers, I’ve developed a teaching and learning pipeline or cycle that is aligned with hybrid agile project development processes. Multiple learning outcomes prepare learners to transition into identified communities of practice they wish to work in upon graduation. To support industry mentors who want to teach in post-secondary, I’ve also written a book called Mentoring Digital Media Projects.
An upcoming book on Creative Prototyping with Generative AI is available to pre-order Barnes and Noble with an August 24th publication date.