Abstract
This paper reflects on the increasingly blended (online and in-person) nature of the traditional campus-based design studio and its pedagogical implications. Despite the widespread digitalization of learning and architectural design and construction practices and the post-COVID intensification of remote and hybrid operations, the architectural design studio is taught in predominantly in-person or campus-based mode. Post-COVID interviews of undergraduate and graduate students (N=27) and instructors (N=32) of US architecture programs indicate a continuing preference for in-person or campus-based studio teaching and learning to maximize tactile, social, and vicarious learning experiences. However, the participants also favored small but meaningful blending of online and in-person practices for office hours, lectures, group critique sessions, final juries, etc. Thematic analysis of the interviews suggests blended practices in campus-based programs deepen learning by extending students' and instructors' social, cognitive, and teaching presence and fostering relational proximity and a learning community amongst studio participants.
Keywords
"small" blending; blended studio; blended design pedagogy; relational proximity
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.1263
Citation
Aishwarya Adikesavan, M. (2024) "Small” blended practices in the campus-based architectural design studio: Examining student and instructor experiences and pedagogical implications, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.1263
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Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
"Small” blended practices in the campus-based architectural design studio: Examining student and instructor experiences and pedagogical implications
This paper reflects on the increasingly blended (online and in-person) nature of the traditional campus-based design studio and its pedagogical implications. Despite the widespread digitalization of learning and architectural design and construction practices and the post-COVID intensification of remote and hybrid operations, the architectural design studio is taught in predominantly in-person or campus-based mode. Post-COVID interviews of undergraduate and graduate students (N=27) and instructors (N=32) of US architecture programs indicate a continuing preference for in-person or campus-based studio teaching and learning to maximize tactile, social, and vicarious learning experiences. However, the participants also favored small but meaningful blending of online and in-person practices for office hours, lectures, group critique sessions, final juries, etc. Thematic analysis of the interviews suggests blended practices in campus-based programs deepen learning by extending students' and instructors' social, cognitive, and teaching presence and fostering relational proximity and a learning community amongst studio participants.