ARC571 Reflections on
Architectural Education
Seminar 3
Design Studio as a
Learning Environment
Monday 4 November 2019

Today:
• Introduction
‘Design Studio as a Learning Environment’
• Discussion Groups:
Feedback and further discussion
• Action Research - Teaching Innovation

The Purpose of Design Studio
‘Through a process of learning-by-doing, students
develop the skills required to produce architectural
designs, gain an understanding of the application of
technical knowledge to design situations, and explore
how theory and action inform each other.’
‘The word 'studio' means much more than a convenient
workroom. It evokes an image of creative cooperative
working in which the outcome: the architectural design
and the educational benefit in terms of skill development,
is greatly superior to that which could be achieved by the
individual student working alone.’
QAA Benchmark

Ecole Nationale Des Beaux Arts, Paris
Beaux Arts Tradition
• Ecole: study of classical painting and architecture
• Ateliers: students learn directly under a “master” with
the success of students reflected back on the master
• The Paris Salon: show of best works as chosen by a
jury displayed to the public
• Parisian café life: informal extension of the school in
which people came together to discuss design

Bauhaus, Dessau
Bauhaus
• New approach in art, architecture, and design
• Diverse and hands-on, spanning theory, carpentry,
ceramics, fine art, painting, weaving, geometry,
mathematics, business, photography, printing, etc.
“The art schools must return to the workshop. This world
of mere drawing and painting…must at long last become
a world that builds. Architects, sculptors, painters – we
all must return to craftsmanship!“
Walter Gropius

Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc)

Rural Studio – Rosie Lee Turner House

Sheffield School of Architecture Live Projects

Sheffield School of Architecture – Matter Reality

Live Projects Network

Centre for Alternative Technologies (CAT)

Hooke Park, Architectural Association

UCL Bartlett – Here East

Discussion Group 1
Design Studio as a Learning Environment:
Strengths and weaknesses?
• Discuss your thoughts as a group
• Make reference to given texts
• Relate to your own experience
• Prepare notes for group discussion

Discussion Group 2
Alternative Learning Environments:
1 – What are the possibilities?
2 – Explore one possibility in more detail
• Discuss your thoughts as a group
• Make reference to given texts
• Relate to your own experience
• Prepare notes for group discussion

Action Research

Action Research
• How do we describe and explain what we are doing?
• Critical reflection on own practice
• Explaining how and why things work
• Checking things are as they should be
• Providing evidence that things are working
• Making changes and improvements where they’re not
• Practice informs theory and theory informs practice
Used by practitioners:
• to investigate own work/practice
• to create own theories of practice
• ideally to inform policy as well as own practice

Theoretical basis
• Not only an abstract body of knowledge ‘out there’
• Located within your own practice
• Your knowledge and expertise = your theory of practice
• Practice informs theory and theory informs practice –
they are always transforming each other
What makes something action research?
(rather than everyday good practice)
• Production of evidence (authenticated and validated)
• Making claims public – sharing best practice

Developing and implementing
your own Teaching Innovation
• Start as a whole group
• Identify issues needing to be addressed
• Organise into small groups of 2 or 3
• Identify the issue you will focus on
• How might you address it?
• Implementation – weeks 7-10
• Evaluation – assessing impact
• Dissemination – written assignment

Deciding what to investigate
Try to identify something challenging and potentially
transformative – not just an alternative way of achieving the
same outcomes
• Address the tension when values are denied in practice
• Or when personally held values and those of the
organisation or ‘system’ are at odds

Possibilities to consider:
• Opportunities for risk taking and playful exploration
• Development of new skills and techniques
• Learning from other disciplines
• Exploration of collaboration and group working
• Peer/student-led learning
• Encouragement of discussion and debate
• Reflection on feedback and assessment
• Self-appraisal and judgement
• Challenging power relationships
• Developing visual literacy and communication
• Enabling autonomous learning
What are you hoping to achieve?

Who Takes Part?
• Research participants
- source of data, not objects of study
- it is about what you do, not what they do
• Collaborative colleagues
- getting others involved, working collectively
• Critical friends, validators and advisers
- a sympathetic person offering critical feedback
• Interested observers
- other students, tutors – invite comment

Data and evidence
• Collect a variety of types of data
• Qualitative/quantitative/both? – appropriate to research
• Records – field notes, observations, record sheets
• Interviews, questionnaires, marks, work produced
• Diagram the process and map the activity
• Think about how the work is communicated

Questions you should ask
• What is my concern? And why am I concerned?
• What kind of evidence can I produce to show why I am
concerned?
• What can I do about it? And what will I do about it?
• What kind of evidence will I produce to show that what I
am doing is having an influence?
• How do I evaluate that influence?
• How do I make sure the judgments I make are reasonably
fair and accurate?
• How do I modify my practice in the light of my
evaluation?

Dissemination
• Written assignment will present reflections and
research findings in a Journal paper format
• Collaborate to produce consistent approach so that
articles can be collated and published on-line
• Its up to you how far you want to go with this – what
audience do you want to reach?

Action Research
Proposal for Teaching innovation to be developed –
arrange a tutorial to discuss.
Proposal should outline:
• Who is in your group? (2 or 3 students)
• What is the issue you wish to address?
• How do you propose to address it?
• Which year group will you be working with?
• When and where will the action take place?
• How many participants, and how are they identified?
• How will you evaluate the impact?

Looking ahead:
Monday 18 November:
Seminar 4
• Topic for discussion?
• Teaching Innovation catch-up
• Assignment and dissemination discussion
We can also arrange tutorials as required
– email to arrange