Semi Draft of Report _ Assignment 1

Learning Landscapes for Architectural Education in Australasia: A Student's Perspective

Louise Barbour

N6881335

Supervisor: Lindy Osborne / Glenda Caldwell

Report – statement of research interests

DAB110 – 19.03.2012

Learning Landscapes for Architectural Education in Australasia: A Student's Perspective

Area of Research

Research will focus on the design and engagement of Architectural learning landscapes in Australasia. The research is taking particular interest of habitual behaviours of students within Architectural learning landscapes and students’ insights into those learning environments.

Question

What are the current architectural Students perceptions on his/her learning landscapes and how can their perceptions form future design and engagement of those learning landscapes?

Positioning the Research

Currently the Association of Architecture Schools of Australasia (AASA) represents 23 accredited architecture programs and recognised pathways, with one additional school subject to the approval process. These schools will form the foundation of investigation into the student’s perspective of the learning landscape at each institution. Previous analysis in ‘Understanding Architectural Education in Australasia’ during 2008 has been done into 20 of those accredited schools, programs, academics and students (Ostwald & A. Williams 2008). ‘Learning Landscapes in Higher Education’ by Neary et al. defines the concept of learning landscape by describing the changes that are being made to teaching and learning environments across the educational sectors. Although Neary et al situates the research in the United Kingdom’s education sector, it provides an excellent framework for determining which buildings/spaces the institution as a whole would like to keep, toss or create on their campus and what sort of building/spaces satisfy the three E’s – efficiency, effectiveness and expression (Neary et al. 2010).

While Neary et al and Oswald’s research will provide foundations and guidance to the proposed paper, there is a broad spectrum of existing relevant literature which covers:

· Personal learning styles within the architectural studio (Kvan & Jia 2005)

· Principles for development in Australian University learning environments (Jamieson et al. 2000)

· Primary school student's academic performance related to physical learning environment

· High school student's perceptions of the Library as a learning space (Limberg & Alexandersson 2003)

· Designing and setting benchmarks for new and refurbished learning facilities (Fleming & Storr 1999)

· Students choice of university with a focus on facility management (Price et al. 2003)

· Guideline questions to ask when constructing or renovating university learning space with a focus on Library space (Bennett 2007)

· 21st Century Learning environments (OECD 2006)

· Design education in Architecture : A Psychosocial Analysis (Franz 1990)

The study will take particular interest in how the student’s voice is represented in existing literature. Initial investigation indicates that the student body’s opinion is silenced or rather not seen as imperative to the design of the space even though students are the main occupiers of the environment. Another preliminary finding across the literature is that university students are not being distinguished by area of study. The study will magnify this area of research in hope to identify how an Architectural student requires and utilizes different learning environments to a business, law or media student.

Addressing the Research Topic

The following diagram illustrates four central topics to the research project:

Creating a theoretical framework encompassing literature reviews will mobilize the research project. Literature reviews will provide a knowledge base and identify gaps in research suitable for pursuit. Surveys will be the main source of primary research. 'Architecture Schools of Australasia' (Australian Institute of Architects 2011)will facilitate inviting students around Australasia to respond to a QUT Key Survey. The papers development will be reliant on the formulation, development and launch of surveys to key groups of Architectural Students. Subsequent structuring and coding of the data collected from the surveys will be used to support speculations and frame future learning landscapes of Architectural studies in Australasia.

Adoption of framework developed in conjunction with Lindy Osborne will underpin the survey questions to both this paper's target respondents of Students and Lindy's research target respondents of academics and facility staff.

Research Objectives

Through the analysis and evaluation of students' perceptions it is anticipated that the findings will inform and significantly impact on the way that architects, designers, campus facility managers and students approach the design and occupation of architectural learning environments in the future. A further objective is to take this research projects findings on students' perception of architectural learning environments and compare and contrast those findings with Lindy Osborne's conclusions on staffs', academics' and facility programmers' perception of learning environments of architecture.