Providing Authentic Workplace Team Learning in Architecture Design Studios

Many design studios globally teach architectural design using the master-apprentice model. A studio leader assigns an open-ended project brief to students and guides them through a design process to resolve the brief and propose a design outcome. Unsurprisingly, many studio leaders implement groupwork to prepare students for the current collaborative nature of architectural projects found in professional practice. However, putting students in groups only offers them an opportunity to work together; it does not teach them how to collaborate as a team of designers. So how can student teams in architecture design studios facilitate positive teamwork while stimulating a professional environment that provides authentic workplace team learning processes? This paper first reports briefly on team learning concepts found in architecture pedagogy, team learning concepts found in workplace learning, and critical tenets of student-centered learning. The purpose is not to provide a thorough review of team learning concepts, for researchers have already done so, but to synthesize team learning constructs from the two disciplines into an executable teamwork framework for students. I then propose a student-centered learning framework for students to understand, apply, and evaluate their team learning processes in design pedagogy. The paper concludes with recommendations for students and design studio leaders on facilitating effective team processes in the design studio environment.

keywords: authentic learning; team learning; architecture design studio

• year: December 2021 – April 2022
• for: Architecture, Media, Politics, Society
• download: Article