The academic acclimatisation difficulties of international students of the built environment

Teaching models common to Australasia can be antithetical to those of its Asian neighbours. Australasian andragogy is a bottom-up student-centred mode of knowledge transmission promoting extroverted learning styles, whilst in Asia andragogy is commonly a top-down teacher centred model promoting introspective learning. Yet these teaching styles are in opposition to the cultural-systems attributed to Asia and the West. Such socio-cultural differences are recognised in this research as contributing to the difficulties international Built Environment undergraduates experience when asked to learn in multi-disciplinary collaborative teams. This paper presents the initial stages of a study currently running as a reflexive research program aimed at resolving these learning difficulties. The primary aim of this program is to inform a new culturally inclusive andragogy for design teaching. The outcome of the research questions are addressed through a triangulated analysis including: the formative appraisal of student satisfaction through questionnaires; the summative evaluation of student achievement through the analysis of grades and the assessment of knowledge and skills gained through the measure of student design projects; and illuminative evaluation through focus group discussions and the observation of tutorials.<br /

Different yet similar: a study on Mongindong performed by diris, gustimin, pariama and tulai from Murok Village and Baba Village on the Labuk River, Sabah

The oral traditions of the Dusun Labuk include tangon, runsai, mongindong, mansuak, and kurilang. Mongindong [cradle song] is typologically informal yet functionally important in the traditional daily life of the Dusun Labuk. Seven mongindong were collected from four Dusun Labuk community members in Beluran, located in the east part of Sabah, Malaysia. It is important to note that the informants were reluctant to perform more than one mongindong for documentation purpose because they perceive that each of them owns only one mongindong, and therefore, two mongindong, although different in musical structure, are perceived as “sama” [the same] when they are performed by one informant. Furthermore, under certain circumstances, the informants perceive the mongindong performed by one person is “sama” [the same] as the mongindong which is performed by the other person. However, by viewing the tune and text of each collected mongindong, the researcher perceives each mongindong to be different from one another. Taking this into consideration, this paper describes the mongindong of the Dusun Labuk and suggests a possible way to analyse them. Findings from the analysis lead to an understanding of the similarity between the mongindong held by the informants. Nevertheless, further study on the culture of Dusun Labuk and the community members’ knowledge of oral traditions is necessary for a deeper understanding of mongindong

Evaluating architectural design schemes for Anganwadi Centre in Ajjarkad, Karnataka, India by architectural students through community participatory methods

Anganwadi is a holistic health and education initiative that provides basic health care, nutrition and educational programs to rural mothers and children. It is part of the Indian Government’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme, introduced in 1975 and is today one of the largest child development initiatives in the world. The early developmental years of children aged 0-6 years spent in an Anganwadi or equivalent early learning centre influences children’s physical, emotional and intellectual development. A child not only engages in active learning but also engages in passive learning from its physical and environmental surroundings for which is manifested in the architectural design of the building. A collaboration between architecture students from three universities in India, Australia and Malaysia as well as the office of the Deputy Director of Women and Child Welfare, Udupi District was initiated in 2018 for the proposed design of a purpose-built Anganwadi centre for Ajjarkad, Karnataka. The project was executed through a student global learning program known as iDiDe (Intercultural dialogue through design). This study evaluates the seven design schemes created with Ajjarkad community input and co-design participatory methods based upon sustainable integrated architectural parameters, including space efficiency, environmental resilience, children physical rating scale and cultural value. The issue of “fit for purpose” and “architecture design robustness” and subsequent construction of an Anganwadi centre are rarely interrogated at an integrated design level. In evaluation, this paper discusses the synthesis of architectural design, the pedagogy and cultural attributes that aid the formulation of architectural design parameters for Anganwadi building. The study found that through co-design participatory methods, the design process was shaped through community engagement and the outcomes thus satisfied the stakeholders as fit for purpose

Promoting participation through the universal design of built environments: making it happen

Environmental design is a determinant of social inclusion and people&rsquo;s participation in life roles. Design that does not cater for a diverse range of ages, abilities and cultures restricts people&rsquo;s access to, and use of, domestic or public premises. Universal design is an approach that acknowledges diversity of populations and encourages designers to create objects and places that are usable by the greatest majority of users. Although there are potential benefits to the widest application of universal design within society, such application is not mandatory within Australia. This paper presents findings from an Australian qualitative study that explored universal design as a means of facilitating greater environmental access for all. The views of experts working within the field of architecture and environmental access were explored regarding factors that restrict or facilitate application of universal design to the design of built environments. Study findings revealed a number of themes relating to factors that may restrain, &lsquo;what&rsquo;s holding us back?&rsquo; and factors that may facilitate application of universal design, &lsquo;making it happen&rsquo;. These findings have direct relevance to those involved in the planning and design of built environments, policy developers and educators

Readiness for interprofessional learning : a cross-faculty comparison between architecture and occupational therapy students

Health and wellbeing includes a need for built environments to accommodate and be inclusive of the broadest range of people and a corresponding need to ensure graduates are ready to engage in this field of interprofessional and inter-industry practise. All too often, interprofessional education in higher education is neglected with a tendency towards educational silos, particularly at a cross-faculty level. This paper reports on an initiative that embedded universal design practice education into the curricula of first year architecture and third year occupational therapy students and evaluated the impact on students&rsquo; readiness for interprofessional learning. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) was given to students at the beginning and end of the semester during which students participated in a variety of online and face-to-face curriculum initiatives. Results showed that at the beginning of semester, occupational therapy students were significantly more positive about interprofessional learning than their architecture counterparts. Post-results showed that this trend continued but that occupational therapy students became less positive on some items after the interprofessional learning experience. This study provides insights into the interprofessional learning experiences of a group of students who have not previously been studied within the available literature

Traversing the international rainbow of academia and architectural practice

In the context of contemporary tertiary education immersed as such in internationalisation strategies and internationalised curricula, the cultivation and promotion of international awareness in Australian graduates can be expected to lead to desirable lifelong attributes. Consideration of the need to be prepared for a globalised professional and cultural climate is integral to sustaining and growing the future and the fortunes of many. For the architectural community, the combined phenomena of globalisation and internationalisation strategies herald implications for the education and professional preparation of architects which traverse academia and architectural practice. This paper presents the case for exploring potential benefits of establishing closer links between academia and architecture practice, discusses the relevance of international student practice experience for the twenty first century and looks at its role within an intemationalised curriculum in preparing graduates for the future. Analysis of a survey of work experience as a component of Australian architecture courses is used to gauge the extent of current programs that seek to integrate the academic curriculum with practice experience, and the Deakin study (a work in progress) of architecture students in international practice contexts is presented as a vehicle for exploring the degree to which the combination of professional practice education and cultural experience may be beneficial to architecture students, academia and the profession more generally.<br /

Enriching student experience and inter-professional learning of inclusive design with Second Life

This position paper reflects rapid advances in immersive 2D and 3D eLearning technologies and the expanding pool of ideas and applications in higher education across two professions. Inspiration has been drawn from examples in design learning, and various multidisciplinary collaborative projects through developmental research in Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs). Linden Lab\u27s Second Life (SL) is the most mature and popular of the &lsquo;persistent&rsquo; virtual worlds. The study described in this paper aims to increase the authenticity of student learning through a range of SL simulated &lsquo;life experiences&rsquo; relating to accessibility and mobility in the built environment. Significantly, the successes of such initiatives lie in several elements: teaching champions with vision and courage; detailed scripting of precise role-play encounters for first-time users to provide supportive &lsquo;blended learning&rsquo; contexts; careful and vigilant strategic management of facilities and resources, and a robust design program. This paper focuses on the crucial alignment of these elements to the specific challenges of designing and navigating conception and development processes, to enable the execution and delivery of a tightly defined script for meaningful and memorable learning outcomes. This innovative pedagogical approach lacks time-tested outcomes, but is recognised equally as opportunity and challenge; risk and reward.<br /