Learning to search

Authors

  • Florinel RADU

Abstract

Two questions lie at the origin of this paper and of the experience it describes: is it possible to efficiently perform an education that aims at developing a research attitude and at acquiring research abilities for second year students in architecture? How can we describe thoroughly, but concisely, such an educational (learning and teaching) experience? The paper consists of the description of the process and students' and professor's critical comments. At the same time we will outline a possible framework for comparing different pedagogies in architectural design. We have considered this experience as: - an opportunity to raise and amplify students' interest in studying architecture and design; - an intermediary phase in educating architects, an edification of a platform allowing and asking (only delineated) future developments; - a panoramic opening to the contents of architecture and design, as well as to the learning paths. Architecturally, we wanted to make students aware of the complex reality and of the ways to approach it, focusing on the "opening the eyes”, not only in a perceptive sense but in a wider one, conceptual, operational and emotional. Pedagogically, referring to the educational vision of John Dewey, we were trying to meddle in learning, thinking and researching1. We will comment here only on those aspects that deal directly with the development of a research attitude. Obviously, applying a didactic strategy asks permanent actions of reevaluation and re-orientation, immediate decisions and actions, revisions and changes of routes, all conditioned by the specific aspects of the actual educational process. The point of departure was the previous enquiry of students' capacities and motivation through a series of interviews2 and by an overview of the content of their first year of studies. On the one hand, most of the students were strongly motivated for the study of architecture and exhibited a remarkable and diverse general intellectual development. On the other hand, their first year design education was directed toward basic design operations, especially focused on formal and graphical exercises3. At the same time, the interviews unveiled their lack of architectural orientation and of a personal educational project: they were just waiting to see what the school offered them.

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Published

2019-06-12

How to Cite

RADU, F. (2019). Learning to search. ARCC Conference Repository, 1(1). Retrieved from https://arcc-repository.org/index.php/repository/article/view/747