Planning and teaching for effective learning
Background
Design teaching in BA Architecture at CSM follows the ‘unit’ system whereby small groups of students from different year groups work on a design project, for the full length of the academic year, led by a pair of design tutors and practitioners. Tutors have, within the course structure and pre-established learning outcomes, full autonomy to define the unit’s agenda, study area, teaching approach and pedagogical tasks. Students apply for the ‘units’ of their interest and must choose 2 different units for 2nd and 3rd year. The idea behind this system is to create an environment of learning that mimics professional practice, promotes peer-to-peer learning, and offers a wide range of different approaches to design and architecture at BA level.
To maximise the learning opportunities within the ‘unit’ system, I have developed a teaching approach connected to research which takes the city as a laboratory and connects the learning to real-life situations. In my ‘unit’ (Studio 2), learning also takes place outside the institution, through site experience, observation, and engagement with a wider set of external partners and audiences.
Evaluation
So far, this approach has produced outstanding results in terms of student engagement (attendance) and achievement, and although it is not specifically designed to satisfy employability targets, it seems to prepare students to practice and professional life. This week (1st of week of March 20205), for example, I received an email from an alumnus (2023-24) who is taking his first work placement: “I’ve had the opportunity to participate in an international competition where our team won the first prize, and I’m now involved in the rehabilitation of a traditional barn in Viscri, a UNESCO heritage site. My experience in Studio 2 has been incredibly valuable – especially during the competition, where we worked on transforming a 32-hectare former industrial site into a cultural hub with minimal intervention for the well-being of the community.”
If signature pedagogies are “particular pedagogic approaches which enable students to learn to think and act as a professional”, blurring the boundaries between academia and the reality of practice (Shulman, 2005), then I see my pedagogical approach to the unit system as a signature pedagogy in architectural education.
Moving Forward
How it happens now … (elements based on Orr & Shreeve 2017)
- > how to improve/enhance:
Studio:
The limited student accessibility to studio space at CSM makes difficult to create a studio/student centred culture where students are using the studio as a social-learning-production space consistently, like a professional architects’ studio.
- > On the days we have our studio sessions I actively promote the studio as social space where learning is visible and open to discussion through active participation. I facilitate discussions amongst peers and group work, and I encourage students to stay and produce work in the studio to create an active studio space where cross poliantion can happen.
Brief:
The briefs must align with the course aims, learning outcomes and pre-defined format, but there is no pre-defined requirement in terms of teaching methodology, design approach or connection to real-life situations.
- > My approach is to develop briefs based on real-life situations, promote engagement with external partners and communities, and connect the learning to the policy context, independently from how “real” the live project is. Every year I work to find a new situation and establish new collaborations, building a new opportunity for learning and knowledge production.
Research:
“Research is a term used in a specific way in art and design but which lacks clear definition. It refers to a process of finding and exploring information on which to base the generation of conceptual, visual and material ideas.” (Orr & Shreeve 2017)
- > In my studio research is generated “by the students’ own interests and subjective responses to the world” (Barrett 2007) and in this way the students become bearers of valuable local knowledge. Because the university does not promote continuation or knowledge consolidation opportunities beyond the course structure or teaching contracts, my approach is to connect teaching to my own research work. In some previous years, I secured independent funding to further develop the research, involving the graduates as co-researchers. Those projects became the students first placement, as well as an opportunity to experience a live research project, consolidate their knowledge and see it applied to real-life situations and policy contexts.
Dialogic Exchange:
“Crits, reviews, tutorials: These discursive situations prompt critical thinking and self- evaluation and develop the language of the discipline.” (Orr & Shreeve 2017)
- > It is in the exchange between peers, student groups, with tutors and external partners that the learning happens in Studio 2. My approach is to situate those exchanges in the real–world and create situations where students become “co-constructors of learning rather than recipients” (Orr & Shreeve 2017). It means students have the opportunity to take ownership of their learning journey. It also means I learn while teaching.
References
Shulman, L. S. (2005) Signature Pedagogies in the Professions. [online] Daedalus, Vol. 134, No. 3, On Professions & Professionals. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20027998?seq=1 [Accessed 17 Mar 2025]
Orr, S., & Shreeve, A. (2017). Art and Design Pedagogy in Higher Education : Knowledge, Values and Ambiguity in the Creative Curriculum. Chapter 6 – Teaching practices for creative practitioners [online] Taylor & Francis Group, Milton. Available at: >https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328810465_Orr_S_and_Shreeve_A_2017_Art_and_design_pedagogy_in_higher_education_knowledge_values_and_ambiguity_in_the_creative_curriculum_Routledge> [Accessed 17 Mar 2025]
Anderson, J. (2019) ‘Live Projects: Collaborative Learning in and with Authentic Spaces’ in Reframing Space for Learning: Excellence and Innovation in University Teaching. London: UCL Institute of Education Press.