Grounding the curriculum: learning from live projects in architectural education

Abstract: For more than twenty years architects in the UK have advocated the use of ‘live’ projects in architecture schools as an alternative to the more traditional model of studio learning, but the educational establishment continues to marginalize community-based approaches to learning. Recent debate, focusing on shortcomings of the studio culture in architectural education, has condemned the isolation of students from real world contexts and teaching methods that cultivate values of individualism and competition. As an alternative, many claims have been made about the potential for enhancing student learning by adopting live briefs and involving clients and users in the education of architects. Yet much of the literature remains largely speculative or descriptive and so far has neglected to investigate participatory design processes to determine their precise pedagogic value. The aims of this paper are to examine the nature of learning in student projects outside the studio environment, to locate that learning within a range of categories of learning, and to develop a conceptual structure for further exploration of alternative pedagogies in architectural education. The study is based on evaluations of two participatory design projects carried out with students at Lincoln School of Architecture in the UK. Students’ perceptions of the learning they acquired are compared with the intended learning outcomes identified by tutors at the start of the projects, and these are further contrasted with the ‘competencies’ that are typical outcomes of the traditional curriculum. The findings, which reveal significant contingent and emergent learning in the live projects, are then discussed in relation to recognized theories of learning, such as experiential learning, social constructionism, situated learning and collaborative learning. The objective is to identify an appropriate theoretical framework that may be used to draw attention to the valuable contribution of live project learning in architectural education and support arguments in favour of a more expansive and socially grounded architecture curriculum

The politics of culture and the problem of tradition: re-evaluating regionalist interpretations of the architecture of Geoffrey Bawa

The research examines regionalist interpretations of the work of the late Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka's most celebrated architect. Although sometimes labelled a 'romantic vernacularist' or 'tropical modernist', Bawa is best known as a 'regionalist' because of the way he attempted to blend local building traditions with modernist aspirations. The aim of the study is to show how regionalist interpretations of Bawa’s work have been constrained by a form of dualistic thinking that has its foundations in the ideology of Western modernity. Given their preoccupation with the modern/tradition dichotomy, the paper argues that critics have failed to acknowledge the extent to which his work is bound up with local struggles over identity in the context of a long-standing and violent ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. A further aim is to reveal alternative readings of Bawa’s architecture from outside the canon of critical regionalism to demonstrate the fundamental inadequacies of this perspective

Nineteenth century brickmaking innovations in Britain : building and technological change.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX94368 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Acute flaccid paralysis with anterior myelitis - California, June 2012-June 2014.

In August 2012, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) was contacted by a San Francisco Bay area clinician who requested poliovirus testing for an unvaccinated man aged 29 years with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) associated with anterior myelitis (i.e., evidence of inflammation of the spinal cord involving the grey matter including anterior horn cell bodies) and no history of international travel during the month before symptom onset. Within 2 weeks, CDPH had received reports of two additional cases of AFP with anterior myelitis of unknown etiology. Testing at CDPH's Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory for stool, nasopharyngeal swab, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) did not detect the presence of an enterovirus (EV), the genus of the family Picornaviridae that includes poliovirus. Additional laboratory testing for infectious diseases conducted at the CDPH Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory did not identify a causative agent to explain the observed clinical syndrome reported among the patients. To identify other cases of AFP with anterior myelitis and elucidate possible common etiologies, CDPH posted alerts in official communications for California local health departments during December 2012, July 2013, and February 2014. Reports of cases of neurologic illness received by CDPH were investigated throughout this period, and clinicians were encouraged to submit clinical samples for testing. A total of 23 cases of AFP with anterior myelitis of unknown etiology were identified. Epidemiologic and laboratory investigation did not identify poliovirus infection as a possible cause for the observed cases. No common etiology was identified to explain the reported cases, although EV-D68 was identified in upper respiratory tract specimens of two patients. EV infection, including poliovirus infection, should be considered in the differential diagnosis in cases of AFP with anterior myelitis and testing performed per CDC guidelines

Core competencies for pain management: results of an interprofessional consensus summit.

ObjectiveThe objective of this project was to develop core competencies in pain assessment and management for prelicensure health professional education. Such core pain competencies common to all prelicensure health professionals have not been previously reported.MethodsAn interprofessional executive committee led a consensus-building process to develop the core competencies. An in-depth literature review was conducted followed by engagement of an interprofessional Competency Advisory Committee to critique competencies through an iterative process. A 2-day summit was held so that consensus could be reached.ResultsThe consensus-derived competencies were categorized within four domains: multidimensional nature of pain, pain assessment and measurement, management of pain, and context of pain management. These domains address the fundamental concepts and complexity of pain; how pain is observed and assessed; collaborative approaches to treatment options; and application of competencies across the life span in the context of various settings, populations, and care team models. A set of values and guiding principles are embedded within each domain.ConclusionsThese competencies can serve as a foundation for developing, defining, and revising curricula and as a resource for the creation of learning activities across health professions designed to advance care that effectively responds to pain

Central Indiana STEM Talent Expansion Program: Student and Faculty Interventions

Funded by 5-year, $2M grant from the National Science Foundation, the Central Indiana STEM Talent Expansion Program (CI-STEP) at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) is creating a pipeline of students and a campus culture change to increase the number of undergraduates obtaining Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degrees. CI-STEP addresses initiatives needed for transforming the undergraduate STEM experience by propagating, expanding, and creating new evidence-based educational innovations in undergraduate STEM education at IUPUI

The effects of implementing recitation activities on success rates in a college calculus course

Over a period of six years, three different types of recitation sessions were implemented into the large enrollment section of a college calculus course. During the fall semesters, the results on the departmental final examination, the DFW rates, and the one-year retention rates of students as STEM majors were examined by the type of recitation session used with the large enrollment section. The three types of recitation sessions studied were: (1) optional mentoring sessions at the Math Assistance Center conducted by undergraduate students (peer mentors), (2) required mentoring sessions conducted by graduate students, and (3) required VGNA (Verbal, Graphical or Geometric, Numeric, and Algebraic) Concept activities, which were also coupled with mentoring sessions conducted by graduate students. The success of the students in the large enrollment section of the course, which included one of the three different types of recitation sessions, was compared to the success of students in the small enrollment sections of the course (enrollments less than 50 students). The effects of using each type of recitation session on raising departmental final examination scores, lowering DFW rates, and raising one-year retention rates is presented. The results of this study demonstrate methods of raising student success rates in large enrollment (lecture-format) courses

Longitudinal cohort study of depression, post-traumatic stress, and alcohol use in South African women who attend alcohol serving venues

CITATION; Abler, L.A. et al. 2014. Longitudinal cohort study of depression, post-traumatic stress, and alcohol use in South African women who attend alcohol serving venues. BMC Psychiatry, 14(1):224, doi:10.1186/s12888-014-0224-9.The original publication is available at http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-244X/14/224Background: In South Africa, alcohol use poses a public health burden. Hazardous alcohol use often co-occurs with psychological distress (e.g., depression and post-traumatic stress). However, the majority of the research establishing the relationship between alcohol use and psychological distress has been cross-sectional, so the nature of co-occurring changes in psychological distress and alcohol use over time is not well characterized. The objective of this study is to examine the longitudinal relationship between psychological distress and alcohol use among South African women who attend alcohol serving venues. Methods Four waves of data were collected over the course of a year from 560 women in a Cape Town township who attended drinking venues. At each assessment wave, participants reported depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and alcohol use. Multilevel growth models were used to: 1) assess the patterns of alcohol use; 2) examine how depressive symptoms uniquely, post-traumatic stress symptoms uniquely, and depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms together were associated with alcohol use; and 3) characterize the within person and between person associations of depressive symptoms and post-traumatic stress symptoms with alcohol use. Results Women reported high levels of alcohol use throughout the study period, which declined slightly over time. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were highly correlated with depressive symptoms. Modeled separately, both within person and between person depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms were uniquely associated with alcohol use. When modeled together, significant between person effects indicated that women who typically have more post-traumatic stress symptoms, when controlling for depressive symptoms, are at risk for increased alcohol use; however, women with more depressive symptoms, controlling for post-traumatic stress symptoms, do not have differential risk for alcohol use. Significant within person effects indicated an interaction between depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms; women reported more alcohol use than usual at times when they had higher post-traumatic stress symptoms, and this increase in alcohol use was further exacerbated for women who also had higher depressive symptoms than usual. Conclusions These findings suggest that interventions targeting post-traumatic stress, especially when post-traumatic stress is comorbid with depression, may reduce alcohol use among South African women who drink.Publishers' Versio

Development of a National Pain Management Competency Profile to Guide Entry-Level Physiotherapy Education in Canada

Background National strategies from North America call for substantive improvements in entry-level pain management education to help reduce the burden of chronic pain. Past work has generated a valuable set of interprofessional pain management competencies to guide the education of future health professionals. However, there has been very limited work that has explored the development of such competencies for individual professions in different regions. Developing profession-specific competencies tailored to the local context is a necessary first step to integrate them within local regulatory systems. Our group is working toward this goal within the context of entry-level physiotherapy (PT) programs across Canada. Aims This study aimed to create a consensus-based competency profile for pain management, specific to the Canadian PT context. Methods A modified Delphi design was used to achieve consensus across Canadian university-based and clinical pain educators. Results Representatives from 14 entry-level PT programs (93% of Canadian programs) and six clinical educators were recruited. After two rounds, a total of 15 competencies reached the predetermined endorsement threshold (75%). Most participants (85%) reported being “very satisfied” with the process. Conclusions This process achieved consensus on a novel pain management competency profile specific to the Canadian PT context. The resulting profile delineates the necessary abilities required by physiotherapists to manage pain upon entry to practice. Participants were very satisfied with the process. This study also contributes to the emerging literature on integrated research in pain management by profiling research methodology that can be used to inform related work in other health professions and regions