Abstract

Shaped by technological advancements and external forces, the narratives of contemporary architecture practices shifts from the celebration of the master architect to the collaborative team player in explorative enterprises. Curiously, our studio culture remains lukewarm to such disruptions. The studio pedagogical framework embedded in our design studios of how design tutors teach plays a quintessential role in shaping future architecture educational discourses. It is argued that the traditional one-on-one desk crits has limited potential for breeding new modes of cross-industry design practices. To date, the relevancies of such ubiquitous hierarchical ‘Master’ and ‘Apprentice’ teaching pedagogical structure remains unchallenged. This paper argues for a collaborative design studio characterised by collective actions and mutual support as an alternative. This research examines the repercussions of an experimental model of facilitating architecture design studios with a reinforced focus on collaboration (Collaborative Team Learning - CTL) comparing against the traditional one-on-one (OOO) studio pedagogy. CTL’s pedagogical strategy situates the design tutor as an ‘enabler’, engaging students in a cross-pollinative and collaborative approach. At the end of the academic year, students were invited to complete a paper-based questionnaire to gauge their learning experience. Preliminary analysis revealed that CTL students accomplished improved academic performance, instillment of self-directed peer-to-peer learning and lower attrition compare with OOO students. This research advocates that these CTL experiences play a pivotal role in inculcating collaborative mindsets for emerging modes of architectural practices that centre on effective communications, emotional intelligence and negotiations.

Keywords

design studio pedagogy, learning experience, collaboration, student engagement, cross-pollination.

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

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Jul 9th, 12:00 AM

Crossing the Finish Line Together: Collaborative Team Learning in Design Studios

Shaped by technological advancements and external forces, the narratives of contemporary architecture practices shifts from the celebration of the master architect to the collaborative team player in explorative enterprises. Curiously, our studio culture remains lukewarm to such disruptions. The studio pedagogical framework embedded in our design studios of how design tutors teach plays a quintessential role in shaping future architecture educational discourses. It is argued that the traditional one-on-one desk crits has limited potential for breeding new modes of cross-industry design practices. To date, the relevancies of such ubiquitous hierarchical ‘Master’ and ‘Apprentice’ teaching pedagogical structure remains unchallenged. This paper argues for a collaborative design studio characterised by collective actions and mutual support as an alternative. This research examines the repercussions of an experimental model of facilitating architecture design studios with a reinforced focus on collaboration (Collaborative Team Learning - CTL) comparing against the traditional one-on-one (OOO) studio pedagogy. CTL’s pedagogical strategy situates the design tutor as an ‘enabler’, engaging students in a cross-pollinative and collaborative approach. At the end of the academic year, students were invited to complete a paper-based questionnaire to gauge their learning experience. Preliminary analysis revealed that CTL students accomplished improved academic performance, instillment of self-directed peer-to-peer learning and lower attrition compare with OOO students. This research advocates that these CTL experiences play a pivotal role in inculcating collaborative mindsets for emerging modes of architectural practices that centre on effective communications, emotional intelligence and negotiations.

 

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