At the intersection of space, place, and experience: An ethnographic case study of affordances in Architectural Design 1

This ethnographic case study explored the learning environment of a studio design course to describe how interactions in the studio environment shape students’ understandings and behaviors as they learn the fundamental elements of design and architectural practice. The purpose of the study was to understand the role of the studio environment in supporting students’ architectural knowledge and identity and provide insight into how individual-environment interactions shape how students make meaning of their learning experiences. I spent a semester as a participant-observer in a beginning architecture course at a large, public university, and gathered data through approximately 106 hours of studio observations, 39 in-depth interviews, course-related artifacts, and reflections on studio visits. Using a conceptual framework of affordances (Gibson, 1979; Greeno 1994), I describe the various ways the studio environment creates opportunities for social interaction and how studio culture intersects with the affordances of the studio environment. The study revealed the physical affordances of the studio environment were the open layout, public/private workspaces, and co-working in proximity to others. The structural affordances were long blocks of unscheduled work time, alignment between studio and other courses in the curriculum, the project brief, and the sequencing of the projects, tasks, and deadlines. The pedagogical affordances were formal and informal critique, mini-lectures, and demonstrations. Four characteristics of studio culture as defined by the literature—(a) a community of learners and architects; (b) centralizing feedback; (c) untimetabled design activity; and (d) experimentation and risk-taking—intersected with the physical, structural, and physical affordances of the studio in how beginning architecture students made meaning of their learning. Based on the findings of this study, implications were offered for architecture and design educators, faculty interested in adopting studio learning environments in non-design fields, and future research on studio learning environments

The Room Itself Is Active: How Classroom Design Impacts Student Engagement

A responsive case study evaluation approach utilizing interviews and focus groups collected student and faculty perspectives on examined how instructors and students utilized a newly redesigned active learning space at Iowa State University and the relationship of this design with environmental and behavioral factors of student engagement. The findings demonstrate how classroom design affords engagement through low-cost learning tools and a flexible, open, student-centered space afforded a variety of active learning strategies. In addition, this case study highlights the importance of conducting assessment on classroom redesign initiatives to justify and improve future classroom spaces

The Role of Faculty Learning Communities in Supporting Team-Based Learning

In this paper, the authors describe the faculty development initiatives and the role of faculty learning communities (FLCs) in supporting Team-Based Learning (TBL) at a large, research-intensive university. A systematic review of the initiatives found FLCs provided crucial support for both new and seasoned TBL practitioners and fostered connections between members, resulting in a need to give back to the community through mentorship. Results also showed members were eager to share their knowledge with the larger community and further research into TBL though scholarship, supporting the sustainability of the TBL community and further development of members\u27 teaching and scholarly practice

At the intersection of space, place, and experience: An ethnographic case study of affordances in Architectural Design 1

This ethnographic case study explored the learning environment of a studio design course to describe how interactions in the studio environment shape students’ understandings and behaviors as they learn the fundamental elements of design and architectural practice. The purpose of the study was to understand the role of the studio environment in supporting students’ architectural knowledge and identity and provide insight into how individual-environment interactions shape how students make meaning of their learning experiences. I spent a semester as a participant-observer in a beginning architecture course at a large, public university, and gathered data through approximately 106 hours of studio observations, 39 in-depth interviews, course-related artifacts, and reflections on studio visits. Using a conceptual framework of affordances (Gibson, 1979; Greeno 1994), I describe the various ways the studio environment creates opportunities for social interaction and how studio culture intersects with the affordances of the studio environment. The study revealed the physical affordances of the studio environment were the open layout, public/private workspaces, and co-working in proximity to others. The structural affordances were long blocks of unscheduled work time, alignment between studio and other courses in the curriculum, the project brief, and the sequencing of the projects, tasks, and deadlines. The pedagogical affordances were formal and informal critique, mini-lectures, and demonstrations. Four characteristics of studio culture as defined by the literature—(a) a community of learners and architects; (b) centralizing feedback; (c) untimetabled design activity; and (d) experimentation and risk-taking—intersected with the physical, structural, and physical affordances of the studio in how beginning architecture students made meaning of their learning. Based on the findings of this study, implications were offered for architecture and design educators, faculty interested in adopting studio learning environments in non-design fields, and future research on studio learning environments.</p

Phenomenography: A methodological approach for assessment in student affairs

With increased pressure to justify their work, student affairs professionals no longer question the need to engage in assessment (Schuh, 2013). Assessment activities within student affairs have increased dramatically in the past decades, but many of these activities focus on measuring participation and satisfaction. Although important, these activities neglect to answer a more important question: How do student affairs professionals contribute to student learning? (Schuh, 2013; Schuh & Gansemer-Topf, 2010). Despite the increased need to do assessment, many student affairs professionals continue to struggle with ways to measure student learning (Blimling, 2013; Bresciani, 2013; Bresciani, Gardner, & Hickmott, 2009). In this paper, we introduce the reader to one approach, phenomenography, which can be used to document learning in student affairs.This is an article from Journal of Student Affairs Inquiry 1 (2016): 1. Posted with permission.</p

Reframing as Defining in Student Affairs: Co-Curricular Learning Through a Different Lens

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the design concept of framing and the ways in which student affairs practitioners can apply the process of reframing in their work with students and in their assessment efforts. Similar to the way designers use frames to define the problem situation, students can be prompted and coached to view their curricular and co-curricular learning experiences in new ways. This chapter applies learning sciences theory and design concepts to student affairs assessment practice, beginning with the importance of reframing for student affairs and student learning. The chapter then employs transformative learning theory and Fink's taxonomy to understand and explain the use and importance of reframing. The authors utilize literature from the design and architecture fields to describe and illustrate the concept of reframing, drawing parallels to how student affairs practitioners can apply these concepts to assess and improve student learning.This accepted book chapter is published as Rands, M.L., Gansemer-Topf, A.M., Reframing as Defining in Student Affairs: Co-Curricular Learning Through a Different Lens in Applying Design Thinking to the Measurement of Experiential Learning. 2021. Chapter 5; 18 pages; doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-7768-4.ch005. Posted with permission. </p

The Room Itself Is Active: How Classroom Design Impacts Student Engagement

A responsive case study evaluation approach utilizing interviews and focus groups collected student and faculty perspectives on examined how instructors and students utilized a newly redesigned active learning space at Iowa State University and the relationship of this design with environmental and behavioral factors of student engagement. The findings demonstrate how classroom design affords engagement through low-cost learning tools and a flexible, open, student-centered space afforded a variety of active learning strategies. In addition, this case study highlights the importance of conducting assessment on classroom redesign initiatives to justify and improve future classroom spaces.This is an article from Journal of Learning Spaces, 6(1) 2017, 26-33. </p

The Role of Faculty Learning Communities in Supporting Team-Based Learning

In this paper, the authors describe the faculty development initiatives and the role of faculty learning communities (FLCs) in supporting Team-Based Learning (TBL) at a large, research-intensive university. A systematic review of the initiatives found FLCs provided crucial support for both new and seasoned TBL practitioners and fostered connections between members, resulting in a need to give back to the community through mentorship. Results also showed members were eager to share their knowledge with the larger community and further research into TBL though scholarship, supporting the sustainability of the TBL community and further development of members' teaching and scholarly practice.This article is published as Rands, Melissa L., Holly Bender, Meghan T. Gillette, and Lisa Orgler. "The Role of Faculty Learning Communities in Supporting Team-Based Learning." The Journal of Faculty Development 31, no. 3 (2017): 61-78. Posted with permission.</p

Make EU trade with Brazil sustainable

Brazil, home to one of the planet's last great forests, is currently in trade negotiations with its second largest trading partner, the European Union (EU). We urge the EU to seize this critical opportunity to ensure that Brazil protects human rights and the environment