Premium
What Works in the Architecture Studio? Five Strategies for Optimising Student Learning
Author(s) -
McLaughlan Rebecca,
Chatterjee Ishita
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of art and design education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.312
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1476-8070
pISSN - 1476-8062
DOI - 10.1111/jade.12303
Subject(s) - studio , context (archaeology) , dynamism , isolation (microbiology) , architecture , pedagogy , design studio , mathematics education , teaching method , psychology , computer science , visual arts , art , telecommunications , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Good teaching requires pedagogical dynamism: a willingness to vary one’s teaching approach relative to the context (and cohort) at hand, and to any new challenges that may arise from that context. This requires that teachers obtain a broad knowledge of teaching strategies and tactics. Given the demands of contemporary higher education, finding the time to obtain this knowledge can pose a challenge to full‐time academics. This is exacerbated in the case of part‐time and practitioner‐teachers who often work in varying degrees of isolation from the communities of learning to which they contribute. An analysis of the teaching practices of eight high‐performing practitioner‐teachers, alongside data obtained from 74 students, within a master’s‐level architectural course at a large Australian university, has been used to delineate five strategies for optimising student learning within the architecture studio. These include: setting up a challenge that clearly articulates the role of the student within it; early and frequent assessment tasks to assist students in rapid skill development and reflective practice; communicating clear expectations around performance; facilitating a strong peer culture; and enhancing motivation via high expectations. This article details the tactics by which these strategies can be achieved. This article delivers directly applicable advice for architectural educators, but it also provides practical insight into the specifics of architectural teaching that may assist educators working in other disciplines.