Studio Emphasis
Reconceptualising the Graphic Design Studio: Immersive User-generated Mobile Devices for Thinking Outside the Box
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session David Sinfield
This paper explores ways of reconceptualizing learning environments beyond static classrooms to virtualize the graphic design studio. The driver for this is a desire to enable student-centred constructivist pedagogies that can be described as Dewey for the digital age. Outlined in this paper is an ecology of resources designed to stimulate rhizomatic learning environments that are focused upon networking small groups of guided student teams rather than a centralized teacher-centred environment. While ideologically driven, this re-conception also provides a flexible and scalable approach to utilizing limited physical teaching and learning space. The goal is not to fully replace the traditional studio or classroom environment, but to enhance it and provide a variety of rich spaces for the teacher to design learning activities and guide student enquiry that are unique to a specific context and the rapidly changing world into which our graduates will enter.
Shaping Students’ Learning Approach Through Design Studio
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Haifa Al Khalifa, Reem Sultan
In the Arabian Gulf, universities providing undergraduate degrees in interior design education claim that they are following the emerging concepts and trends of educational design process. School of architecture and design in the region to some extent are detached from the international debate and trends adopted by the international design community. The University of Bahrain established the interior design program in 2002, and since then the department of Architecture and Interior Design has continuously revised and reflected on the curriculum and the way of teaching, particularly on the design studio courses, including the briefs of the projects. This paper investigates the pedagogy of interior design courses - from the view of the faculty. The focus of this research is to explore the students’ development of their learning experience in three different design courses through tracking their drawings techniques and design thinking from the early stages of their studio design courses, commencing from the courses of Basic Design and Design One to Design Three. It is also involves examining the different learning approaches adopted by the faculty members who are participating in teaching and developing courses for the interior design program.
Examining Cultural Context in the Design Studio View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Marianne Holbert
In an increasingly globalized world, culture has become a tension point in the education and training of future architects. In professional practice, the pursuit of global markets lead firms to expanding international clients and multicultural contexts. Yet, the statistics within American architectural education and practice indicate a severe lack of diversity. In American architecture programs, the statistics show that 17% of students enrolled are Latino and 5% are African American. When the world is becoming more globalized and multicultural, why do both architectural education and practice remain homogeneous? Has traditional architectural education created a culture that favors some and pushes out others? Is there something that educators can do differently so that faculty and students are more sensitive to the cultural context? If architectural education seeks to empower the next generation of designers to engage in multicultural environments, it needs to adapt and create culturally sensitive learning environments. The study shares a new model of assessing cultural differences that impact instructional situations. It adapts the cultural dimensions of learning framework (CDLF) developed by Parrish and Linder-Van Berschot for the studio and creates a tool for comprehending the cultural dynamics of the course. The CDFL framework describes a set of eight cultural parameters regarding social relationships, epistemological beliefs, and temporal perceptions. It may be a useful tool for understanding learning preferences, and a platform to discuss instructional strategies. Through its implementation and use in the studio, faculty and students become more aware of the cultural forces at play in learning environments.
