Studio-based Learning Research Articles

Online conversations around digital artefacts

Studio-based learning provides a model that can be adapted for online learning. In conventional teaching settings, studio-based learning follows an apprenticeship model where students work independently or in groups, under the guidance of a tutor, using real-world activities. The ‘Using OpenStudio in STEM learning’ project has been established to evaluate the use of online studio-based learning in the Open University (UK). This paper reports our findings from the first two phases of the project which gathered data from educators who present the modules and also from a survey of students. Educators representing distance learning modules from a range of STEM disciplines including Computing and IT, Design, Engineering and Environmental Technology participated in a workshop to share information about the use of OpenStudio on their modules. A simple model of OpenStudio activities was derived from the workshop to illustrate the process of 'showing and sharing', viewing and reviewing', commenting and critiquing', and 'reviewing and reflecting' involved. Two Computing and IT undergraduate modules were then selected for more detailed analysis, one at level 1 (first year) and another at level 3 (third year). Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from samples of students on these modules and analysed. Comparisons between the OpenStudio model, the survey findings and Kolb’s Experiential Learning model (1984) revealed the range of student views and the diversity of students’ experiences of the learning activities, and provided some thought-provoking insights into student behaviour in carrying out the OpenStudio activities. The data suggest that students enjoy the OpenStudio activities, especially the visual nature of artefacts and the idea that shorter comments may be made, rather than longer more discursive pieces of writing. In addition to learning about their subject area, students are also learning how to give feedback to their peers and how to use the feedback they receive, both of which are important skills. Many students are confident in their own ability and are able to evaluate the feedback they receive. However, some students may lack confidence in their own ability to give feedback on the work of their peers, particularly at level 1. Importantly, there needs to be an opportunity to complete the cycle of the experiential learning model in the activity by allowing students to produce another artefact. The experiential nature of the online studio activity presents an opportunity for students to reflect-in-action as well as reflect on their actions (Schön, 1983).

Mission: studio based learning in construction. The University of KwaZulu-Natal case study

Purpose – This paper aims to present the responses of students to various aspects of a cluster of discrete modules delivered using a studio-based learning pedagogy. Design/methodology/approach – A variation of a case study approach was used that included observations and a survey of student opinions on six constructs or themes after a period of eight weeks into the semester about their experience of studio-based learning in a three-module cluster. This paper only reports on the findings of the analysis of the self-administered survey of the views of students. Findings – The student responses were analysed using SPSS (version 22). It is evident that the distinguishing features of the studio-based learning form of instructional delivery were reflected in their views despite the instructional space being far from ideal. However, given that this was their first experience they were apprehensive about the benefits of the approach to them personally especially in terms of whether their acquired knowledge base was broad enough for them to be confident about their future careers. The mapping of the learning outcomes of the modules against the project phases demonstrated that only the mode of transmission had in fact changed. Students were reticent about taking responsibility for their own learning possibly because they perceived that as being too risky. Research limitations/implications – The research is limited because the findings are based on a single case and a sample of students who had experienced eight weeks of studio-based learning of a cluster of three discrete modules in a revitalised construction program. Originality/value – The findings of this study have implications for the way construction programs are delivered at institutions of higher education.

Using Architecture Design Studio Pedagogies to Enhance Engineering Education

Problem-Based Learning pedagogies that require high levels of inquiry and hands-on engagement can enhance studentlearning in engineering. Such pedagogies lie at the core of studio-based design education, having been used to teacharchitects since the Renaissance. Today, design assignments and studio-based learning formats are finding their way intoengineering programs, often as part of larger movements to implement Student-Centered, Problem-Based Learning (PBL)pedagogies. This spectrum of pedagogies is mutually supportive, as illustrated in the University of Michigan’sSmartSurfaces course where students majoring in engineering, art and design, and architecture collaborate on wickedlycomplex and ill-defined design problems. In SmartSurfaces and other similar PBL environments, students encountercomplex, trans-disciplinary, open-ended design prompts that have timely social relevance.Analyzing data generated in studio-based PBL courses like SmartSurfaces can help educators evaluate and trackstudents’ intellectual growth. This paper presents a rubric for measuring students’ development of increasingly refinedepistemological understanding (regarding knowledge and how it is created, accessed, and used). The paper illustratesuse ofthe tool in evaluating blogs created by students in SmartSurfaces, which in turn provides evidence to help validate therubric and suggest avenues for future refinement. The overall result of the exploratory study reported here is to provideevidence of positive change among students who learn in PBL environments and to provide educators with a preliminarytool for assessing design-related epistemological development. Findings of this study indicate design-based education canhave powerful effects and collaborating across disciplines can help engineering students advance in valuable ways.

Integration process of theoretical courses with design studios in undergraduate education: Case studies of architecture and interior design studios

The formulations of studios are the most critical problem of design studies, because the foundation of further architectural education is based on these design studios. This paper focuses on discussions of studiobased design learning systems and curriculum developments on integral design studios that aims significant and innovative frameworks. In this context, integrated design studios are the newest approaches of architectural education. In this education system every studio has its own integral course. Integral courses give support to the design studios. This support can be either theoretical or practical. Knowledge that is related with the context of the design studio can be explained in this integrated course in some cases, in some cases as simulation program can be explained in some parts of the course. The support of the integral courses to the studios must be evaluated deeply. This paper presents the positive parts and negative parts of the new integral studio approach in this context. By this way, strong and weak parts of this education system is put forward.

An Evaluation of Applying Blended Practices to Employ Studio-Based Learning in a Large-Enrollment Design Thinking Course

DSGN110 was a multidisciplinary course teaching first year students enrolled in in a variety of majors about design thinking. The course is offered for the majors of architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, community and regional planning, along with computer science and business students. By blending face-to-face and online instructional strategies, desired practices and learning outcomes associated with the more intimate nature of studio-based learning and learning through action were scaled and achieved in the large enrollment course. The quantitative analysis of the pre and post survey revealed significant change across all constructs and the qualitative data analysis supported these findings, demonstrating that a blended course design utilizing collaborative technology platforms offered an innovative solution to teaching and learning in a manner reflective of a studio-based pedagogy.

Book review: Studio-Based Instrumental Learning. By Kim Burwell

Book review: Studio-Based Instrumental Learning. By Kim Burwell

Critical Learning and Reflective Practice through Studio-based Learning in Planning and Architecture Education

Studio-based Learning is central to architecture and planning education. In terms of assessment and time spent, almost forty to fifty percent of the credits are devoted to the studios courses. Based on real life situations the Studio helps students synthesise various concepts in the process of finding solutions to complex problems. This paper attempts to connect the concepts of Experiential Learning, Reflective Practice and Critical Pedagogy to Studio-based Learning and, argues that, instead of being the ritualistic exercise it is currently perceived as, Studio-based Learning has an untapped potential to provide a transformative experience for the student. Such a transformative experience would include a re-examination of the current teacherstudent relationship, nature of studios as physical spaces, system of assessment and transformative nature of the studio exercise. Studio-based Learning

Developing Assessment Rubric in Graphic Design Studio-Based learning: Experiments in Active Teaching in a Case Study

Assessment is an integral part of the teaching and learning process as it determines whether or not the goals of education are being met. Assessment support learning and it is usually the forefront of student’s perception of teaching and learning process. It’s a fact that most creative art and design disciplines faced challenges in assessment. Many studies showed the lack of using some assessments techniques for art and design by teachers in higher education. Research like contest the measuring of creative process, discuss subjectivity and non-transparency, challenge unplanned assessment of creative outputs and the inconsistency in evaluating creative outcomes. So training and guidance on the use of rubrics will help reduce the discrepancies, and intrinsically motivate students to use them for learning.

Problem-Based Learning as a Model for the Interior Design Classroom: Bridging the Skills Divide Between Academia and Practice

The addition of problem-based learning (PBL) pedagogy to studio-based learning (SBL) environments may help bridge the divide between traditional design education and initial postgraduate jobs. This paper demonstrates how one instructor adapted a PBL model to the interior design studio, including planning, execution, and evaluation. The relationship between PBL and SBL is explored. Two realistic design problems were created for use by interior design students who participated in PBL sessions. All of the groups adequately answered the client’s design programmatic needs. Students learned to perform as team members, including how to collaborate and compromise while working toward an effective design product. The evaluation process was the most challenging component for students. The skills fostered by PBL would be valuable in the workplace.

Smartphones, Studio-Based Learning, and Scaffolding

This article describes how smartphones, studio-based learning, and extensive scaffolding were used in combination in the teaching of a freshman Introduction to Programming course. To reduce cognitive overload, a phased approach was followed in introducing programming concepts and development environments, beginning with the visual programming environment Scratch and culminating with Java development for Android smartphones. Studio-based learning, a pedagogical approach long established in the fields of architecture and design education, was used as the basis for a collaborative social constructivist—and constructionist—approach to learning. Smartphones offered students the potential to develop applications for a context that is both immediate and clearly relevant to the ways in which they utilize and interact with technology. The research was carried out over three full academic years and included 53 student participants. An exploratory case study methodology was used to investigate the efficacy of the approach in helping to overcome the barriers faced by novice programmers. The findings indicate that the approach has merit. The students were motivated and engaged by the learning experience and were able to develop sophisticated applications that incorporated images, sound, arrays, and event handling. There is evidence that aspects of the studio-based learning approach, such as the scope that it gave students to innovate and the open feedback during student presentations, provided a learning environment that was motivating. Overall, the combination of smartphones, studio-based learning, and appropriate scaffolding offers an effective way to teach introductory programming courses.

Supporting Reflective Practice in Software Engineering Education through a Studio-Based Approach

Learning is a lifelong process, especially in the fast-paced software industry. In addition to formal training courses, good software developers continually learn by reflecting on what they've done in the past. However, reflective practice is rarely taught explicitly in university software engineering education. One way to teach reflective techniques from the start is through studio-based learning.

Training Indigenous actors in Australia

For Indigenous students in Australia who aspire to a career in acting there is a diverse range of formal institutional training opportunities available. Whatever institution they choose to attend, the way in which Indigenous acting students make sense of their training does not depend so much on the specific content or structure of classroom and studio-based learning activities; rather, it is essentially defined by the much larger cultural and pedagogical frameworks within which these learning activities are embedded. This article is based on a postgraduate research project on the diversity of cultural experiences Indigenous students encounter during their training to be an actor. Becoming an Indigenous actor is, the article suggests, more than just mastering the technical aspects of training. It is also about an understanding of the day-to-day negotiations of the social, cultural, and artistic practices and processes involved in making Indigenous theatre. It involves navigating these entangled social and cultural traditions in institutional contexts.

Community Informatics Studio: Designing Experiential Learning to Support Teaching, Research, and Practice

IntroductionThis paper introduces a model of experiential to support teaching, research, and practice in library and science (LIS). concept we call (Cl) Studio uses studio-based (SBL) to support enculturation into the field of Community Informatics (Campbell & Eubanks, 2004; Gurstein, 2003; Keeble & Loader, 2001; Stoecker, 2005; Williams & Durrance, 2009). SBL approach is rooted in the apprenticeship model of in which students study with master designers or artists to learn their craft. This pedagogical technique is closely related to John Dewey's inquiry-based (Lackney, 1999). In this paper, we argue that the Cl Studio provides a novel research approach for examining LIS-led engagement by modeling actual environments where future LIS professionals can develop meaningful Cl projects.The paper begins with a review of the community and studiobased learning literature to provide a foundation for our research. We then briefly consider the research sub-questions, methodological approaches and findings from our three mini-case studies of the Cl Studio course offered over three semesters. study presents and discusses three related investigations that emerged from our overarching research question: How can the Cl Studio be understood as a model of experiential to support LIS teaching, research, and practice? goal of the paper was to provide an instructional model that can prepare future LIS-professionals to lead meaningful and civic engagement projects.This study is significant because federal agencies and foundations have recently called for public libraries to address needs by leading engagement efforts. The Promise of Libraries Transforming (Institute for Museum and Library Services, 2012), IMLS & MacArthur Foundation's Learning Labs (Institute for Museum and Library Services, 2011), and Knight Foundation's (2009) Needs of Communities in a Democracy are three recent examples recognizing the unique abilities that public, academic and school libraries offer to advance local and civic engagement. In this paper, we argue that the Cl Studio can provide LIS teachers, researchers and practitioners with a theoretical and methodological framework for advancing LIS-led engagement initiatives.Theoretical FrameworkWe begin the paper by introducing the CI and SBL literature as the foundation upon which we suggest a model for coupling these practices as a useful approach for advancing LIS teaching, research and practice with members.Community InformaticsCommunity examines how people in geographic locations interact with and communication technology (Williams & Durrance, 2009) and its application to enable and empower processes (Gurstein, 2007). researchers view informatics as the digitization of society, particularly as people's lives move online from physical to virtual spaces. O'Neil (2002) argued that theories for measuring the impacts of Cl projects fall into five key areas, including strong democracy, social capital, individual empowerment, sense of and economic development opportunities (pp. 78-79). Other scholars have argued that Cl can help support organizing projects and social justice goals. For instance, one area of study for Cl, which served as a project focus for each of the case studies in this paper, looks at the ways institutions such as public libraries, centers, social service agencies and churches can utilize public computing centers (PCCs) and media literacy workshops as interventions for addressing the digital divide, or the gap between the information haves and have-nots (National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 1999, p. …

Collaboration through Flickr & Skype: Can Web 2.0 Technology Substitute the Traditional Design Studio in Higher Design Education?

Technology has not only changed the work practice of designers but also how design is taught and learned. The emergence of digital technology has made computer labs a central learning space for design students. Since this change, studio-based learning in its traditional sense appears to be in decline in higher education institutions. This is in spite of the fact that characteristics of the studio have been identified as supporting interaction, active learning, and social engagement. These, however, are also characteristics connected to the use of Web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook, Flickr, and Skype. Could these services be utilized to revitalize studio culture in a contemporary sense? How can new technologies be used to facilitate interactions between students inherent to traditional studio culture? These questions were explored in practice by documenting student reactions to using Flickr and Skype during a five week project requiring collaboration between first year creative arts students at two geographically distant institutions in Australia. Findings provide a better understanding of how to expand the studio idea into the digital environment, in particular regarding the challenging task of offering the media design major fully online in the near future.

Critical Dialogue in Architecture Studio: Peer Interaction and Feedback

AbstractMost tutors in architecture education regard studio-based learning to be rich in feedback due to its dialogic nature. Yet, student perceptions communicated via audits such as the UK National Student Survey appear to contradict this assumption and challenge the efficacy of the design studio as a truly discursive learning setting. This paper presents findings from a collaborative study that was undertaken by the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, and Queen’s University Belfast that develop a deeper understanding of the role that peer interaction and dialogue plays within feedback processes, and the value that students attribute to these within the overall learning experience.The paper adopts a broad definition of feedback, with emphasis on formative processes, and includes the various kinds of dialogue that typify studio-based learning, and which constitute forms of guidance, direction, and reflection. The study adopted an ethnographic approach, gathering data on student and staff perceptions over ...

What can Training Researchers Gain from Examination of Methods for Active-Learning (PBL, TBL, and SBL)

In this paper we examine three “active-learning” methods that have evolved out of learning research in a variety of disciplines - problem-based learning, team-based learning, and studio-based learning. Our goal is to review and contrast these methods to identify their unique and similar features. We additionally outline which of their features holds potential for improving learning in collaborative contexts. We consider their common instructional features and learning principles, to determine which are potentially indicative of effective active learning.

Studio-based learning in interprofessional education

The recent growth of interprofessional education (IPE) in healthcare has been accompanied by exploration of teaching strategies to improve its effectiveness. Experts in IPE advise faculty to explore teaching models from other disciplines outside of healthcare. Studio-based learning (SBL) in design education embodies many of the features that are integral to effective IPE. Students work in teams to design new processes and products to solve complex and real-life problems. The purpose of this paper is to describe features of SBL that enhance IPE and examine student experiences of interprofessional learning from three healthcare design studios. Findings from an exploratory case study of these design studios involving students from a range of professions suggest that the students transition through learning stages in SBL that may enhance IPE. The paper goes on to discuss the unique features of SBL and how they offer new and complementary strategies for building interprofessional curricula.

Design Students Perspectives on Assessment Rubric in Studio-Based Learning

This study examined students’ perspectives on the use of assessment criteria and rubrics in graphic design studio at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. This assessment strategy was introduced with the desire to improve students’ participation and involvement in studiobased learning programme. At the end of the semester, a questionnaire was used to gather responses from a sample of 108 students about their opinions on the use of assessment rubric. Analyses of the data collected demonstrate that students were generally positive about the use of rubric in the peer assessment process. Descriptive statistics showed that 86% of the students agreed that assessment criteria helped them in their learning; they found the peer assessment process as a valuable learning experience and 46% contended that they needed training in the use of assessment rubric. The results further suggest 89% of the respondents agreed that the use of assessment rubric enabled them to socially interact. The conclusion drawn from the evidence is that using assessment rubric directed learning activities and can have positive implications for the learning experience in studio-based learning.

An Empirical Study of the “Prototype Walkthrough”

For over a century, studio-based instruction has served as an effective pedagogical model in architecture and fine arts education. Because of its design orientation, human-computer interaction (HCI) education is an excellent venue for studio-based instruction. In an HCI course, we have been exploring a studio-based learning activity called the prototype walkthrough , in which a student project team simulates its evolving user interface prototype while a student audience member acts as a test user. The audience is encouraged to ask questions and provide feedback. We have observed that prototype walkthroughs create excellent conditions for learning about user interface design. In order to better understand the educational value of the activity, we performed a content analysis of a video corpus of 16 prototype walkthroughs held in two HCI courses. We found that the prototype walkthrough discussions were dominated by relevant design issues. Moreover, mirroring the justification behavior of the expert instructor, students justified over 80 percent of their design statements and critiques, with nearly one-quarter of those justifications having a theoretical or empirical basis. Our findings suggest that PWs provide valuable opportunities for students to actively learn HCI design by participating in authentic practice, and provide insight into how such opportunities can be best promoted.

The Architecture Studio of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM): Has the Indoor Environmental Quality Standard Been Achieved?

Studio-based learning is a shared learning environment in which ambiguous problems are addressed. This paper primarily focused on the lightings at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)’s architecture studio and to find out whether it had achieved the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). A good design, involving a space in a building, requires sufficient daylight in order to perform a task. This can be achieved by providing enough means to let in diffused light from the sky, yet keeping out direct light from the sun to prevent heat gain and glare. The purpose of this research was to identify the importance of the IEQ in creating conducive studio-based learning environment. The IEQ is crucial for a learning institution since indoor environment factors can actually affect human comfort, health and productivity. Lighting is most important to students as high-quality lighting will improve students’ moods, behavior, concentration, and consequently, their learning. However, the effectiveness of learning in a studio cannot be fully achieved if the IEQ is being overlooked. Presently, artificial lights are being used most of the time in the UKM architecture studios in order to optimize students’ vision and comfort. Using an equipment, named LM-8100, and supported by a questionnaire survey to gauge the lighting comfort level from the students’ perspective, a lighting reading was taken for a duration of 10-hours for three days in the UKM third year architecture studio. The finding showed that the lighting setting is not within the range of the Malaysian Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). However, the students have perceived it as normal and thus, the situation does not hinder them to stay long inside their studio. This situation will affect the students’ ability to perceive visual stimuli in the short-term and health, in terms of students' vision, in the long run.