Wednesday, October 17, 2012

What are Contemporary Pedagogical Practices for Post-Secondary Arts and Design Curricula and how are they Supported or Hindered by the Built Learning Environment? (Part 2 of 3)




By Mikael Powell (© Mikael Powell 2012)
  In the preceding, I reviewed how individuals may perceive the built learning environment for higher education and how that may affect learning outcomes. Now, I examine teaching approaches and how the built environment influences the educational experience. Within the maxim of ‘Form Follows Function’ (Sullivan, 1918, 1947), one might expect that the built environment, when correctly designed, should support the pedagogical practices occurring within. In the same logic, an educational facility that supports the instruction would ideally enable better learning outcomes than a facility that hindered the instructor. Therefore, I review pedagogical practices for university arts and design coursework and discuss how the built environment can support the educational process.


In order to review contemporary pedagogical practice, I consider the curricula and the learning theory espoused. Our current arts & design education is founded in historical experience, so I review the history of each field. In western culture, the origin of training for architecture, interior design and the arts is very different. Therefore, first I discuss the history of curriculum, learning theory and pedagogical practice, for architecture, interior design and the arts. Second, I explore those elements in contemporary times and offer some new approaches to coursework. Third, I describe features of the immediate built learning environment and relay some of their effect on pedagogical practices. Last, I provide a conclusion.

2.1A History of Architectural Curricula, Learning Theories and Pedagogical Practices

Around 1676, the first formalized technical societies began in French military schools, where students gained expertise through direct mentorship and the study of long-established rituals (Stratton & Mannix, 2005). Likewise, in the latter 18th century, prominent professionals actively practicing in the field presented instruction, often supported by a system of upperclassmen teaching underclassmen. During the summer months, students gained practical experience working on actual building projects. Founded in 1829 as a private school, the Ècole Centrale des Arts et Manufactures was the first non-military school of engineering for citizens. The following is an example of an early curriculum for architecture at the Gardiner Lyceum (often considered a secondary school) founded by Robert Hallowell in 1822, but operating only a few years:

First year

Arithmetic, Geography, Bookkeeping, Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration, and Linear Drawing.

Second year

Trigonometry, Surveying, Navigation, application of Algebra and Geometry, Differential and Integral Calculus, Mechanics, Perspective, Chemistry and Agricultural Chemistry. Instead of the last mentioned study, Civil Engineering is pursued by those who prefer it.

Third year

Natural Philosophy, Astronomy, Political Economy, the Federalist, History, Mineralogy, Natural History, Natural Theology.


Besides the above, Blair's Rhetoric is studied during the first and second years, and the Evidences of Christianity during the second and third years. The students in the two higher classes are also instructed in composition and declamation.

The short courses, of three- and four-months duration, included Civil Architecture,with Geometry, Architectural Drawing, and the mechanical principles of Carpentry; Surveying; Navigation; Chemistry; and Agriculture, with Agricultural Chemistry, Anatomy and diseases of domestic animals, and some Natural History” (Stratton & Mannix, 2005, p. 41)

Although other colleges claimed exclusivity in the professional arts, Rensselar Institute and West Point were the preeminent technical schools during the mid-1800’s. At that time, the contemporary classical model for higher education was increasingly questioned as an appropriate way to effectively provide technical training. Even the designs of colleges immediately after the Civil War were characterized by a movement away from contemporary college layouts and their elite curriculum that schooled mainly clergy and professionals to promoting education for the common man (Turner, 1988). Local Boston conditions made it favorable for a new institution because prominent Bostonians felt a citizenry knowledgeable in new development of industry would ensure a prosperous future and traditional methods of training were untenable. Therefore, in 1860, William Barton Rogers proposed four societies that comprised MIT – The Horticultural Society; the Natural History Society; a Department for Mechanics, Manufacturers, Commerce and General Technology; and a Department for Fine Arts and Education. With MIT’s school of Industrial Science opening in February of 1865, actual instruction began with the aim of educating the ordinary citizenry to work in industry. Within this, the MIT program became the first school of architecture in the United States. Modeled after practices of the Ècole des Beaux Arts in Paris, France, this American program was started by William Ware after extensive review of European institutes. In fact, an acclaimed graduate of that school taught at MIT every year until 1932, when Beaux Arts methods began to wane. Methods of the French academy were as follows:

The cornerstone of the Beaux Arts system was the "design problem" assigned to the student early in the term and carefully developed under close tutelage… The Beaux Arts teaching systems relied heavily on brilliant teachers and learning-by-doing. Competition was intense and the end results were beautifully drawn projects in traditional styles which were often defensible only on grounds of "good taste" and intuition... Projects were judged by a jury of professors and guest architects. (Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, 1988, p. 1)

In addition to the professional courses, the curriculum for MIT architecture students also included non-professional studies. John E. Burchard, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, compiled a comparative graph for his work to propose a curriculum for the School of Architecture in 1942 that reviewed the curriculum in ten year intervals starting with the school years 1890 – 1891. The movement away from classical education is apparent. For instance, in school year 1910 – 1911, non-professional courses were Mathematics (6 class hours per week per year), Science (9 class hours per week per year), English & History with Problem Analysis (6 class hours per week per year), Pol. & Economics (1.5 class hours per week per year), languages (2.5 class hours per week per year), General Studies (2 class hours per week per year) Military Science & Physical Training (2 class hours per week per year). This required 36.5 hours per week of preparation time. Compared to the previous decade in class per hour per year, this represented an increase of 1 class hour for English & History with Problem Analysis, a decrease in Language coursework by 8 class hours, an increase of .5 hours for Military Science & Physical Training and the addition of coursework in General studies.-Mikael Powell (MIT, 2011c).

The Modern movement emerged in the early part of the 1930’s influencing architectural education by encouraging an individualistic, non-competitive approach to designing and by promoting a closer relationship to arts and crafts. The German Bauhaus method followed, emphasizing practical instruction and hands-on shop work and construction site visits. The 1970’s brought attention to environmental issues in architecture, followed by urban panning, social issues and later, sustainability. Pause (1976), a curriculum historian noted, “Teaching methods have changed over this time from criticizing the student’s designs relative to the design standards of first the Beaux Arts and then the Modern Movement to role playing, setting examples and facilitating self-criticism.” (p. i).

2.1B History of Interior Design Curricula, Learning Theories, and Pedagogical Practices

While architectural training began in America just after the Civil War, Interior design had its origin just after World War I. Female enrollment had increased at the American institutions founded as land grant colleges, and curriculums in Interior Decoration were established. About a generation later, those programs became known as Interior Design and they were usually situated in Art, Architecture or Home Economics departments. Whitney (2008) describes:

While the curricula for these different programs looked the same, with a mixture of studio and lecture classes, the foci of each curriculum was different. Interior design programs housed in art departments developed the two dimensional and three- dimensional creativity of the designer. Programs housed in architecture departments stressed the architectural nature of the interior and aesthetics. Programs housed in home economic departments…emphasized matters of behavior, function, and document preparation. (p. 73)

Understandingly, beginning in the early 20th Century, several professional organizations were founded to cater to different constituencies within the programs. The various interior design organizations included: American Institute of Decorators (AID), American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Institute of Store Planners (ISP), International Furnishing and Design Association (IFDA), and National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA). In the late 1960’s Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) polled its membership to try to develop a standard curriculum for Interior Design studies in America. Its membership reported that the most important traditions to be included in an Interior Design curriculum are, listed in descending order of importance, 64% -General design in the direction of environmental design; 56% contract (commercial) design; 46% - historic knowledge; 32% - interior detailing; 32% business and office procedures; 30% - residential interior design; 29% - basic design; 20% - communication skills; 10% - family housing; 3% - crafts approach, 3% - general design with direction toward furniture design, or exhibition design or stage design; 2% - merchandising (Friedmann, 1968). The Foundation for Interior Design Education (FIDER), an accreditation body was formed in 1970 and its education standards served to make Interior Design curricula uniform.

2.1C History of Arts Curricula, Learning Theories, and Pedagogical Practices

Distinguished from architecture and interior design, formal art instruction occurred much earlier. Exploring curriculum in an historic context, one notes that art schools did not always exist in their present form. There were workshops in (about the fifth century B.C.) and Rome and Greece both had technical instruction in painting, sculpture and music (Elkins, 2001). Centers of study similar to our educational institutions today were established about the twelfth or thirteenth centuries. These early universities were formal and exclusive, and artists were not trained within the university system, rather, they were instructed in workshops, after having come from either grammar school or directly from their homes. Elkins, a historian, (2001) observed that “students spent two or three years as apprentices, often “graduating” from one master to another, and then joined the local painters guild and began to work for a master as a ‘journeyman-apprentice’”(p. 7). While there was a movement in the twelfth century to elevate their craft to a profession, that initiative suffered because most artists had no formal training in the curriculum of their more formally educated peers. That is, artists did not formally study grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. During the Renaissance, academies, which were established to raise the status of artists, rebelled against the traditions of the universities where subjects were taught outside of what had been established as the university curriculum. These academies were informal places where students learned to “speak, write, and act in a proper and noble manner. Poems were read, plays were put on, music was performed, and what we know call “study groups” got together to discuss them” (Elkins, 2001, p. 8). The first public art academy, the Accademia del Disegno, was established by Giorgio Vasari in 1562 in Florence, Italy. Rather than existing on a centralized campus, academy activities occurred in various buildings throughout the locale. Elkins (2001) explains the learning theory of the academy in this way: “Artists, it was thought, need a good eye and a good hand, but even before they develop those, they need mental principles to guide them: so “measured judgment” and a “conceptual foundation” must come before manual dexterity” (p.10). Thus, the first subjects taught to incoming students were geometry and anatomy, which supported the prevailing pedagogical practice of studying statues.

2.2A Contemporary Times – Architecture, Interior design, Arts Curricula
Nowadays similarities are evident between educational training for these three professions (Please see Table 2 for the comparison of curricula). All three fields place importance in the foundational coursework at the beginning of a student’s tenure, and they continue with increasingly sophisticated studio courses, leading to a capstone project. It is fitting to include the historical beginnings of each discipline because they share a reliance on Ecole des Beaux Arts-style studio coursework- much in the same manner as the 19th century. Indeed, Lackey (1999b) states:

the Beaux Arts tradition of education, the basic form… remain[s] unchanged. It can be argued that the studio-based learning model was first developed as part of arts education and training and only later adopted by architectural education in the 1800s. The origins of studio-based learning have their roots further back to the notion of the apprentice in the atelier and even further to the guilds of the Middle Ages centered primarily on the arts and crafts. (p. 3)

In the arts curriculum some themes, as reflected in the coursework, remain constant through history – the struggle of artists to be seen as professionals; questions about the need for coursework outside of the arts field; defining the relationship between the aesthetic and commercial; and the relationship of artist to the community. The idea that “art requires balance between theory and practice” (Elkins, 2001) remains a prevalent notion in today’s art curricula in America. Conomos (2009) summarizes some of the history of art education and offers regrets for a contemporary shift away from an apprenticeship model, by saying:

Evolving from the guild system and mentorship under a “master”, education has moved toward reliance on a curriculum and the exposure of students to multiple voices in their training. The cult of the artist personality, who was professional first and teacher second that prevailed in the early sixties, has evolved into the professional teacher who present part of a curriculum determined by a university or art school program. (p. 124)

Lastly, it is evident from comparing the three programs that each values a liberal arts educational background.


2.2B Contemporary Times – Architecture, Interior design, Arts, Learning Theories

Employed to facilitate the curricula for these disciplines, are many theories that help us to understand the processes involved in student learning and nearly as many ways to categorize these frameworks of acquiring knowledge. Some theorists sort them into categories of behavioralist, cognitivist and constructivist, or variations and combinations of these approaches. Each theory provides ways to explain how students learn and thus, aims to prescribe effective teaching methods. It is important to consider these categories as poles within a radar chart, rather than as distinctly separate entities. Reigeluth (1996c) explains that we accept the notion that rehearsals (with commentary) make learning a new skill more successful:

Behaviorists recognized this, and called them…practice with feedback. Cognitivists also recognized this, but…give them different names, such as cognitive apprenticeship and scaffolding…An analysis of instruction designed by some radical constructivists reveals a plentiful use of these very instructional strategies. (p. 2)

Therefore, it is difficult to label a particular pedagogical practice as wholly within the realm of an epistemological category in an arts or design curriculum. The following are descriptions of some learning theories that are relevant to architecture, interior design and the arts because of the variety of coursework required for each discipline.

Learning Theories in Literature

Behavioralist learning theories highlight actions that demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge. These acts are observed, measured, and analyzed in relation to a stimulus and reaction. Individuals’ thought processes and internal interactions are considered less important in the process. The environment plays an important role in shaping learning in association with the interval in which a student is rewarded and the effectiveness of reinforcement. Operant conditioning, as described by B. F. Skinner, is where a conditioned response receives a conditioned reward, and is analogous to behavioral-focused or behavioral informed teaching and learning. For example, the studious are rewarded by good grades (positive reinforcement) or meaningful class participation and attendance supplants the requirement to write a research paper (negative reinforcement). In general, behaviorism espouses a teacher-centered approach whereby experts package information in portions with behavioral objectives and measurable tasks that students perform (and about which they are evaluated).


Cognitive learning approaches generally explore the brain and memory processes as agents to explain how students learn, extending the reason for behavior beyond the stimulus/reaction framework of behavioralist methods. These theories recognize an individual’s existing knowledge, or schema, and how it is expanded or amended by newinformation. Understandingly, the internal processes of students committing items to short-term memory, long-term memory, and its availability for student’s later use are part of this philosophical framework. It is important to note that my focus here is college-level students and thus, the cognitive approaches utilized are beyond the Piagetian early stages of development. In general, cognitive learning theories espouse a teacher-centered approach in which the sage instructor packages information in portions to facilitate the encoding, sorting and retrieval of information.

Hein’s (2002) description of constructivism states that learners create their truths from the world around them and although knowledge can be wholly personal, there is a universality of shared perceptions. Constructivist teaching methodologies may employ independent work, cooperative learning, and group lecture within the same lesson plan. Beck’s (1997) discussion of contemporary education includes a democratic philosophy with a student-instructor relationship that is dialogical and downplays the role and authority of the professor. This is much in alignment with Freire’s (1970) remarks that “through dialogue a new term emerges--teacher student with students-teachers. The students, while being taught, also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow" (p. 67).

There are many models of how learning occurs within a constructivist paradigm. Powell & Kalina (2009) argues that a good teacher must differentiate between many methods to accommodate learning for students in a constructivist classroom. “In cognitive constructivism, ideas are constructed in individuals through a personal process, as opposed to social constructivism where ideas are constructed through interaction with teacher and other students” (p. 241).

Other relevant models of learning for arts education are apprenticeship, communities of practice, and self-regulation theory. An apprenticeship model of learning is founded on a traditional concept of learning by doing and by observing a master teacher. In addition, learners benefit from association with the physical environment and with practicing the discourse of an area of study. The communities of practice model

emphasizes the social nature of our humanity and acquisition of knowledge. Skills are learned in reference to social attitudes, and learning contributes to our ability to participate in the community and engage in the world. The self-regulation model focuses on “students’ self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions, which are systematically oriented toward attainment of their goals” (Zimmerman, 1994, p.ix). Etmer & Newby (1993), posited that student’s prior knowledge of the area of study and the degree ofcognitive processing required to learn the lesson, can dictate the most effective teaching methods. (See Figure 1 ).

Yang, Chang & Hsu (2008) found that “that the elements of constructivist teaching could not be defined because constructivism is a theory of learning, not a theory of teaching” (p. 528). Although the research of Yang, et al. was concerned with pre-college teaching, they highlighted the importance of personal epistemological beliefs to effective support of constructivist teaching methods (Yang, Chang & Hsu, 2008).


Survey of the Learning Theories Valued by Key Stakeholders in Arts and Design

To research specific information about beliefs concerning learning models for arts and design education, I solicited opinions from administration, students, faculty and staff on their theory of learning for introductory and advanced courses, first year courses and upper-class courses One university was contacted and offered participation in the online survey, conducted from February 20, 2011 to March 5, 2011. That institution, Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is working with Bruner/Cott Architects, in the pre-design stage to construct a new art school building to house the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. Stakeholder participants consisted of art department faculty (full-time and adjunct) and administration, university or college administration building committeepersons, and the architectural team. I conferred with university administration and sent an email that was forwarded to major stakeholders asking for participation in the survey.

I conducted this survey to determine the learning theory valued by each of the stakeholders for each course type. Etmer & Newby (1993), posited that student prior knowledge of the area of study and the degree of cognitive processing required to learn the lesson, can dictate the teaching methods of which is most effective. Therefore, I solicited opinions of introductory and advanced courses, first year courses and upper-class courses.

I asked about the model of learning that most matched the respondent, instead of inquiring about a specific learning theory in reference to one’s concept of teaching methods, because Yang, Chang & Hsu (2008) found that “that the elements of constructivist teaching could not be defined because constructivism is a theory of learning, not a theory of teaching” (p. 528). Although the research of Yang, et al. was concerned with pre-college teaching, they highlighted the importance of personal epistemological beliefs to effective support of constructivist teaching methods (Yang, Chang & Hsu, 2008). I also queried was whether there are significant differences between stakeholders and the foundation of their choice of favored learning theory. In addition, I asked whether their values for learning were theories long-held, or have they changed over time.

I sent emails to 80 persons who are connected with the university design program. 30 individuals attempted to fill out the on-line survey. Nineteen respondents completed

the survey at least partially and filed electronically. Therefore, 63% of those who attempted submitted. At least one person from each category participated.

Because of the small number of participants, I examined how the entire population responded to each question and then studied the differences and similarities of their responses for each question, instead of how individual categories of participants responded.

I presented the following models of how knowledge is acquired (Model I, II, III, and IV) which corresponds with a traditional view, a constructivist view, an apprenticeship view, and a community of practice view, respectively.

Individual categories of respondents were: A.) a member of the university administration or staff (primarily administrative or academic support), serving on an executive committee for the design of a post-secondary arts school, B.) a member of the university administration or staff (primarily administrative or academic support), not serving on an executive building committee, but otherwise involved in the design of a post-secondary arts school, C.) a member of the arts department administration or staff (primarily non-teaching) in a post-secondary arts curriculum, D.) a full-time faculty member in a post-secondary arts department, E.) an adjunct faculty member in a post-secondary arts department, F.) an architect or design professional involved in the design of a post-secondary arts school, either currently or previously, G.) a student in a college or university arts program, and H.) other.

This survey explores stakeholder’s personal views on how students acquire knowledge in relationship to the course content or in non-classroom learning spaces. I also queried whether a person’s belief about how students acquire knowledge has changed within the last ten years and the foundation of their theories of learning.

Lastly, I asked about the certainty of their answers – how well the responses matched their beliefs, or the degree to which the respondent did not hold a distinct idea about how knowledge is acquired by students. Throughout this survey I found that at least one of these four models explained the beliefs of respondents.

Of the four models presented, the traditional view was the only one chosen as not in alignment with participant’s theories of learning. For an introductory studio, the apprenticeship model was most favored; For an introductory general elective and a design history course, the constructivist model was most favored; The communities of practice view was favored for the advanced studio course and the non-classroom learning space (See Figure 2).

Etmer & Newby (1993) posit about the selection of an appropriate learning theory to course content. They suggest a continuum whereby an introductory course in which the learner is concerned with “knowing what” may be effectively accommodated by a behavioralist theory, and a learner grows to “know how” best in a cognitive learning environment, finally achieving “reflection in action” successfully in a constructivist framework. That concept is not embraced by the respondents of this survey. The constructivist theory for student learning was favored similarly for both the introductory and the advanced studio course. Also, this survey indicated the highest constructivist response for a art history courses, in which a student is likely to not have a comprehensive prior education and the course is likely to require a high cognitive effort. This is contrary to Etmer & Newby (1993) findings which favor a behavioralist approach for this course (See Figure 2).

Responses to my queries about the foundations of one’s belief on student learning indicated that stakeholders personal scholastic experience most shaped their view on how students learn. Stakeholder's contemporary experience was their secondary basis of learning theory. Lastly, two-thirds of the respondents reported that their theories of how students learn have changed over the past 10 years.

Although I did notice differences between individual categories of respondents, the survey population was too low to make statistical comparisons. When comparing the standard deviation of all responses, I noted that Question 4.4, which asked if the community of practice model was how they thought students would acquire knowledge best in an advanced studio course, had the most closely aligned responses. Question 7.4, which solicited their agreement or disagreement with whether their professional experience was the foundation of their views on student learning, had the most divergent responses. I noted the following things about future work in this area. Firstly, I must distribute the survey more widely to get enough responses to prepare subgroup analysis. It would be interesting to compare the epistemological views and foundation of beliefs between administration and department, full time and adjunct professors and faculty and staff. I found that the resource to compile new building prospects is the Higher Education Arts Data Services (HEADS) - Art and Design data Summaries. The HEAD survey lists

colleges and universities in America that are in the process of building or renovating art schools. Secondly, I found that it is politically difficult to obtain pertinent information from the university administration. Evidently, the design phase before the facility is built is vulnerable to challenges (both internal and external) from stakeholders and the community. Since the data I seek is not associated with a specific time within the building process, it may be easier to solicit information one year after the facility is complete.

2.2C Contemporary Times – Architecture, Interior design, Arts, Pedagogical Practices

A review of Table 2 illustrates the breadth of subjects included in architecture, interior design, or artist training. They all maintain some vestige of the Ècole des Beaux-Arts studio critique, presentation, and competition. Both the sciences and liberal arts are valued. Therefore, many different pedagogical approaches are typically employed. Lecture, studio work, project learning, competition, precedence study, site visit, professional association, co- teaching, online collaboration, gallery presentation, independent work, capstone projects, group work, web-based scaffolding, charette, and critique are used in all three fields. Hidden within the core coursework, however, is a struggle between traditional methods of manual sketching, mechanical drawing and presentation and computer aided design and drafting, with many universities on a dual system – relegating hand sketching and the use of mechanical drafting equipment for underclass students but requiring competency with computer design, drafting and illustration programs before graduation.

There are several new movements in pedagogical practices for arts and design. Educators Gül, Gu & Williams (2007) find that “3D virtual worlds have the potential to make a major contribution to design education as constructivist learning environments” (p. 40). They see the digital world as a shared tool facilitated by the professor. Other educators tout a learn-by- doing approach for graphic design instruction that employs an emphasis on meta-cognition and cognitive skills (e.g., Ellmers, Brown & Bennett, 2009; Hargrove, 2011) or problem-based instruction. The following two examples (2.3A, 2.3B) are analysis of my work. The first is a lesson plan in the foundation year that emphasized meta-cognition for both the professor and student. Secondly, I included a lesson plan on creative analogy, which utilizes an active physical workshop format.

2.3A Examples of New Approaches to Course work:The Reflective Professor: A Teacher’s Journal and Guide forProject One-“Designing a Place for Reverie” for 2nd year University Design Students

The following is a teacher’s guide that I developed to facilitate conceptual change. It invites professors to review the foundations of their educational approach and consider new models for teaching and learning through teaching and reflection upon a student lesson plan. The generative question for professors is “How might I teach reflectively?” The student lesson plan is a transitional project to initiate 2nd year design students into the studio training environment. The key concepts utilized are metacogniton and analogy and the generative question for participants is “How do I design a place for reverie?" The intent of the student assignment is to create a series of spaces that encourage reverie. The objective of this exercise is to determine the ‘essence’ of a space for reverie by careful observation and thought, then demonstrate ability to create an environment that conveys this character.

Student Lesson

Students must create a path within the confines of a 60’-0” x 60’-0” x 60’-0” volume that passes through a minimum of three distinct interior spaces. The circulation ‘path’ must change elevation as it traverses the space. The spaces should express a hierarchy making it evidently clear when one has reached the reverie space. At some appropriate location, built-in seating must be provided. A clear ‘entry’ and ‘exit’ must be evident in the scheme. Students should keep a sketchbook of three-dimensional sketches (preferably perspectives) that are associated with the development of this project. The final deliverables are floor plans @1/4” = 1’-0”, section/elevations @1/4” = 1’-0”, model @1/4” = 1’-0” and a minimum of (3) material samples. In addition, students must produce a precedence study.

The main concepts explored in the student lesson are metacognition, which is concerned with how persons think about their cognition, and analogical reasoning, which is a form of problem solving intended to be ubiquitous in the studio and permeate throughout discussions with other students encompassing the way students explain their work, solve design problems, and categorize their analogical thinking.

Metacognition skills are valuable for students because it is important for them to be self-aware, self-regulating and understanding of their command of executive functioning as well as able to adapt their environment to serve their thinking processes. New research shows that analogical dialog for design students is helpful when one comes to an impasse in their design process (Ball & Christensen, 2009). This project allows the chance to explore the therapeutic benefits of analogy. Traditionally, concepts of analogy and metacognition are seldom incorporated into instruction, even though they are very important in early design education (e.g., Casakin & Goldschmidt, 1999; Oxman, 1999).

Professor’s Journal and Guide

The purpose of the self-directed teacher’s guide and journal is to facilitate conceptual change. It invites professors to reflect upon the foundations of their educational approach and their existing understanding about teaching and learning. They are confronted with teaching and learning outcomes that are discrepant with their existing framework and then offered new models for teaching and learning for consideration. Through teaching a lesson plan, they have the opportunity to test out the new methods. Afterwards they reflect upon the outcome and decide whether they can accommodate the new concepts or, on a smaller scale, assimilate new methods. The professor’s lesson plan is largely a reflective intervention.

Analogical Reasoning research

Design celebrities often cite metaphorical objects as important in their design process and thus, conventional wisdom gives support for the use of analogy in design education. Casakin & Goldschmidt (1999) explored the use of analogy in successful design solutions of first and second year architecture students, advanced fifth year architecture students and experienced professional architects, and found that “visual analogy improves the quality of design across the board, but is particularly significant in the case of novice designers” (p. 153). Lesson 1 relies heavily upon analogical understanding as the foundation for the first exercise – the precedence study. Analogies are a good tool to resolve design issues.

Researchers found that “analogical reasoning is a core design strategy that is instantiated coincident with situations of design uncertainty, serving to facilitate the resolution of such uncertainty” (Ball & Christensen, 2009, p.183). There are many rationales for analogy; Four main categories of purpose are:

problem identification -noticing a possible problem in the emerging design, where the problem was taken from an analogous source domain; Solution generation- transferring possible solution concepts from the source domain to the target domain; Explanation- using a concept from the source domain to explain some aspect of the target domain to members of the design team; and function finding- involving the active mapping of new functions to the design form currently being developed”(pp.173-174). The latter purpose was found to be generative-“whereby solution ideas are produced that are then explored and evaluated in subsequent simulation runs. (p.183)

Therefore, the aim of the analogical presentation in Lesson 1 is to encourage the use of these for categories of analogy with emphasis on function finding reasoning. In addition, research has shown that students obtain a deeper understand of analogy when they develop their own and when they analyze characteristics of fit and noncongruence of the analogy (Dunbar, 2001). The presentation sets a foundation of mutually aligned prepared analogies. The group discussions after the analogy presentation provides and opportunity for students to create and analyze their analogies.

Metacognition Research

There are two roles for metacognition in the studio. First, students receive instruction on metacognitive skills to benefit learning in a number of ways. Second, professors maintain a consciousness about the needs of their students and their teaching approach. Lesson 1 introduces student-learning strategies that permeate the entire lesson plan. This Journal and Guide is a tool for the professor’s metacognitive reflection. For students, the problem-based generative nature of Project One is ideal to support transfer of these skills for future work (Perkins, Simmons & Tishman, 1990, p. 296,) in a way that didactic coursework does not. In the development of this project, it is important for students to consider if elements are the essence of the analogy or if the reasoning represents a metaphorical solution or a “duck” (a pejorative used to describe a building that projects its meaning in a literal way). Schraw (2002) differentiates between three types of knowledge- declarative, procedural, and conditional. Declarative knowledge entails introspection about one’s learning; Procedural knowledge is concerned with ways of doing things and conditional knowledge is used to regulate between the two previous types.

Lesson 1 begins with an unpacking of assumptions of knowledge and provides an introductory review of each type, focusing on procedural cognition. Researchers have

found that incorporating metacognition into coursework improves the learning outcome. Students in their second year, after having completed foundation studies, are often

given more complex projects that require synthesis of their earlier concepts and their own dedicated studio space. Awareness of one’s thinking can aid self-regulation and enable students to effectively fashion their learning environment. Conversely, Hartman (2001) says that professors who teach metacognitively often have better educational results in the classroom and effective interactions with students. Moreover, openly modeling metacognitive behaviors by demonstrating how one may approach a task and sequence concepts can be successfully achieved by “thinking out loud”. These executive management strategies represent one general type of metacognition listed by Hartman. The other general type is strategic knowledge. While the former helps “you plan, monitor and evaluate/revise your thinking process and products, strategic knowledge about what information/strategies/skills you have, when and why to use them, and how to use them” (Hartman, 2001, p.150) are facilitated by this Journal and Guide.

Following the conceptual change model of Strike & Posner (1985), the professor’s introduction of the lesson plan begins with discovering the foundations that are the basis of the professor’s educational approach. Each basis is reviewed, highlighting the inadequacy of each conception and the need for an example that more successfully meets the needs of second-year university design students. The professor’s lesson plan introduction concludes with information about the major categories of research that informs the lesson plan and the possibility that they may better serve the needs of the lesson.

Each lesson begins with a professor’s introduction, which highlights new research and specifically discusses how it applies to the lesson, in the hopes of giving the concepts initial plausibility. The professor actually teaches the lesson and then afterwards writes the reflection for the lesson, which serves to defend the new concepts in relation to the four foundational models presented in the introduction to the lesson plan. The professor is invited to reflect upon the classroom experience and how well the new concepts supported teaching and learning or how they fell short, how the professor may revise the lesson plan in the future, whether there is a need to make adjustments to the lesson plan and about their thinking processes as they presented the plan. This analysis should make clear the fruitfulness of the new concepts. The student lesson plan presents metacognition, analogy, transfer, discussion, criticism, problem based learning, disciplinarity, developmental issues, types of knowledge and assessment. Finally, the professors reflection on the lesson plan invites them to engage in a concluding self-assessment to unpack the experience of teaching the lesson plan, list best practices and deficiencies for ongoing improvement of this lesson plan and evaluate their reflective skills. Table 3 outlines the full 5-part lesson plan.

2.3B Further Examples of New Approaches to Course Work

Utilizing Descriptive Explanation for Studio Presentation is a 6-hour workshop that I developed for 1st semester, 2nd year architecture, interior design, and arts students that takes place in their studio over a weekend and utilizes acting technique to support the instruction (Refer to Table 4. for the lesson plan). Frequently, incoming design students do not use descriptive dialog, a skill which is essential for academic advancement and professional employment. Most students do not enter their first design studio describing projects in analogy, essence or metaphor. Often first year postsecondary design students have not been exposed to the concept of descriptive explanation as a way to support creativity throughout their academic career and into professional practice. Students regularly are not able to differentiate between various types of verbal description and to discern the essence of imagery content. Students seldom utilize descriptive dialog as a way of explaining concepts and reviewing others’ work.

This instruction gives students needed information to distinguish between types of verbal explanation and to use descriptive dialog as an aid to support creativity while providing a framework and environment to practice descriptive dialog (modeling the instructor and each other). Learning this process should increase the transfer of this conceptual design process forward to other projects and professional practice. The workshop takes place in the student’s architectural studio at school so that students are using their own workspace and presenting their work to the group in the same room that future student presentations and critiques occur.

Instructional Strategies

In general, the skills the learners are required to do are largely intellectual and attitudinal. The workshop is for 15 students, the same size as a studio class. Students are instructed to wear comfortable, loose-fitting, modest clothing. There are two other evaluators/assistants helping me. The content is laid out in a straightforward way and the delivery format is instructor-led. There are many opportunities for learners to participate in each module as well as a way for learners to give feedback. For follow-thru, 3rd year studio professors are asked to consider the aims of this workshop in conducting their student presentations. Student groupings are used to build student confidence by working in their smaller groups of five and then presenting to the whole class at the end. Each module follows a format of overview, presentation, example, student brainstorm or student online interaction, then presentation (our web-based platform allows student to search the Web and upload into the course site during class) and flipchart. The centering, creativity, and relaxing exercises support the attitude for the presentation performances. In addition, students are given a handout of the slides with notes at the end of each audiovisual presentation. Scheduling the workshop over two days allows student to have a break and think about the material overnight, be able to relax before the final presentation after lunch and provide a way to have dessert and punch to celebrate their final accomplishment of the goal. Refer to Figure 3 for the instructional analysis of the lesson plan.


2.4A Features of the Immediate Built Learning Environment

The design of university architecture can convey administrative intent and values. Goals for arts and design programs such as to perpetuate design culture, become a part of the professional establishment, foster individual growth or unify the department and programs can be expressed in the design and layout of spaces. Architect, Gary Moye (1994) describes the seven main elements that we experience in university architecture as coherence, variation, openness, light, comfort and longevity (See Figure 4). These elements can enrich a design tasked to create interactive spaces, community galleries or areas of introspection.

Figure 4. adapted from Gary Moye (1994), Facilities Program: International College, University of Oregon [NOT INCLUDED]


2.4B Effects of the built learning environment on pedagogical practices

If one were to subscribe to the maxim, “form follows function” , coined by architect Louis Sullivan (1947), then it would follow that the design of learning environments should be congruous with the instructor’s particular concept of how students learn. Straits & Wilke (2007) describe models of teaching as having either a transmission or participatory approach. They remark that in “participatory classrooms students, manipulatives and problems are central; whereas in transmission-based classrooms the instructor and his/her words are the focus” (Straits & Wilke, 2007, p.59). Rengel (2007) states that architectural designers rely upon functional focus as an important component of spatial design to shape built learning environments. Rengel (2007) adds that:

Most spaces have a functional focus. Depending on their nature, they may sometimes even have more than one. In most teaching classrooms, for instance, there is one main focus: the front of the room, where the lecturer stands. A restaurant, in contrast, may not have a single communal focal point, and instead may be designed to highlight each seating section so that each becomes an individual focus. An office space may have both an individual foci at the workstations and a central team-oriented area. ( pp. 73–4).

When describing the architecture for a teacher-focused approach in line with behavoralist and cognitive theories, Hebdige (1979), a cultural critic, states that “the hierarchical relationships between teacher and taught is inscribed in the very layout of the lecture theatre where the seating arrangements – benches rising in tiers before a raised lectern – dictate the flow of information and serve to ‘naturalize’ professorial authority” (p.13). Functionally, this layout supports a one-way “banking” model of education (Freire, 1970) and demonstrates the tacit power of physical elements in support of learning theories.

With regard to constructivist physical environments, Graetz and Goliber (2002) describe how architectural layouts and furnishings can support constructivist thinking (instead of traditional teacher-focused presentations). They note that successful universities will plan “for small groups of students gathered around tables and engaged in discussion. They will anticipate movement, not just of students and instructors, but of tables, chairs, white boards, data projection, and laptops” (p. 20). This environment encourages an individual group focus for cooperative learning strategies. Rashid (2008) prepared a white paper for furniture manufacturer, Herman Miller, Inc. to explore how furniture and arrangement in university classroom affect instructor and student behaviors and learning outcomes. His work utilized two prototypical classrooms – one laid out with desks in a traditional manner statically oriented toward the front of the room and the other equipped with moveable tables and chairs with castors. Rashid’s findings indicated that student perceptions of classroom experience were significantly improved in the innovative classroom. Rashid concludes, however, that learning environments are complex systems so “it is necessary to explore more systematically other potential impacts any physical changes and their interactions may have on learning outcomes” (p. 29).

The functional focus for a learning environment that values the apprenticeship model might highlight the main work area while spaces designed in line with communities of practice theory might generally focus on several group interaction areas. Designers for learning spaces commensurate with self-regulation theory may have individual focus areas.

When there is not a good fit between the rationality for the building layout and the actual tasks performed within, the learning process can be affected. Jamieson (2003) offers that the traditional physical environment for learning was shaped for didactic instruction.

Classrooms were traditionally designed for one-way, formal instruction, which is also in line with a traditional view of how knowledge is acquired. Jamieson (2003, page 119) remarks “these same facilities now threaten to impede the implementation of more student-centered and flexible learning approaches being introduced in higher education worldwide. Recent attempts to create new teaching and learning facilities on university campuses have often resulted in celebrated architecture that has proved to be educationally problematic”.

2.5 Conclusion

Examination of contemporary architecture and design curricula reveals scholastic training that, by subject, is largely unchanged from its America origins, although the level of competency for non-core course has varied over the years. However, many of the standard studio methods are directly founded in the 19th century French tradition. The many examples where the built learning environment “stays out of the way” of the teaching are seldom noticed. Occasions when the classroom supports professorial teaching methods are expected and rarely noted. Anecdotes of conflicts between the architecture and teaching are much more prevalent.

I believe that the built environment for arts and design education will substantially change in the immediate future. The traditional space works against the intimacy created between the designer and the digital tool. Both the advent of smaller, faster computers and expectations of the ‘Millennial student’ will cause architects and educators to reconsider the traditional need for 36” x 48” drafting tables and high stools and tall, cavernous rooms with perimeter wall space in new facilities and renovations.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

What is the Common Rationale for Determining the Method, Manner and Values Assessed in Contemporary Summative Evaluations of Physical University Environments for Learning? (Part 3 of 3)




By Mikael Powell (© Mikael Powell 2012)
Although exploration of individual responses to the built environment and its effect on learning, and how the environment supports or hinders pedagogical practices are important in determining the educational experience, the evaluation process itself, plays an important role in the assessment of physical university environments for learning. Architectural practitioners have long employed methods to rate the effectiveness of higher education facilities. Concerns about the facilities and how to judge them were formalized (Preiser, Rabinowitz & White1988) in both traditional research (especially through environment- behavior research or Environmental Psychology beginning in the 1970’s) and through an architectural assessment called Post-occupancy evaluation. In the later, evaluation criteria are generally determined apart from the users of the space (Preiser, Rabinowitz & White 1988). Increasingly building evaluations are highlighting strengths and deficiencies without the framework of conventional POE models. The use of case study to analyze buildings is becoming increasingly common. Also, tenets of critical pedagogy offer methods that allow the professional to analyze the built learning environment to discover elements that effect social change, cultural diversity, economic equity, and political enfranchisement while offering the potential to empower the users of the space.


I use 'assessment' to mean a common, thorough, methodical way of evaluating the room or building after it has been in use and I focus on educational settings. Inherent in my exploration is the need to understand several variables- whose input will constitute the assessment (the user of the space, whether student or instructor or administrator), who will set the criteria, the method and manner of evaluation, and the spatial qualities rated. The following is an overview of relevant literature that surveys the key authors and main issues associated with this topic. Specifically, this review explores the extent of literature concerning contemporary methodologies of architectural assessment, the Case Study method, and a critical interpretation of representation concerning architectural spaces. I investigate three questions in this search:

1. What is the theory and practice of the most common contemporary method of assessment?

2. What is the effectiveness of the Case study in architectural assessment?

3. What is prevailing theory behind art and architectural critical interpretation?

In summation, I review the major elements and conclusions and suggest areas of future work. My goal is to discover if there is development of critical architectural interpretation criteria or processes systematically utilized in post occupancy evaluations for educational facilities.

3.1A What is the theory of the most common contemporary method of assessment?

Post-occupancy evaluations are a relatively contemporary method (originating around the 1960’s in America) to determine whether design decisions made by design professionals are delivering the performance intended as evaluated by those who use the building. These assessments are intended to provide several benefits from long-term to short-term advantages, unlike the traditional publication in architectural trade magazines which tend to highlight buildings that photograph well or those designed by architectural celebrities, or those of particular interest to architectural critics. Some of these benefits include the identification of spatial problems and successes, the opportunity for user involvement and the establishment of prototypical spaces. Preiser, Rabinowitz and White (1988) describe the intent of a POE as “to compare systematically and rigorously the actual performance of buildings with explicitly stated performance criteria; the difference between the two constitutes the evaluation” (pp. 3- 4). Since the latter 1980’s in America, the Performance Method concept has been widely employed as the foundation of the evaluation. Performance criteria are usually developed by the university administration (in response to their goals for the institution) and performance measures are determined by the post-occupancy evaluator.

It is important to note the subjectivity of the process. The actual building ratings are dependant on the performance criteria developed by the administrators. The performance is derived directly from those values that the university deems important which are not necessarily the values of the evaluator or the users of the space. Moreover, the building evaluation result is reliant upon the goals of the evaluator and the performance measures developed to test the criteria. Lastly, the users of the space may give varying responses at different times and different users may give a different response. Preiser, Rabinowitz and White state, “there are no absolutes in environmental evaluation because of cultural bias, subjectivity and varied background of both the evaluators and building users” (1988, p.33).

Within this framework, the information can be described as either quantitative or qualitative. Some aspects of the building examination i.e. the quality of lighting or the performance of building element and mechanical systems are defined in terms that are computative and comparative. Other characteristics of the analysis deal with each of the user’s opinions of security, comfort, aesthetics etc… and those can be described as qualitative portions of the evaluation. I found no documented evidence where the qualitative aspects of the building influenced perception of the quantitative performance although Preiser, Rabinowitz and White surmised as such .

3.1B What are practices of the most common contemporary method of assessment?

Post-occupancy evaluations originated at a time when electronic computation was at its beginning. Thus, the format of POEs was favorable to collect large amounts of data and to sort and compute values for a building. The first evaluation of schools in the mid-1970’s were noted for being very wide-ranging and detailed (Preiser, Rabinowitz & White 1988) however, the evaluation structure was rudimentary (Preiser, Rabinowitz & White 2005). Eventually POEs were grouped into three levels of sophistication- indicative, investigative and diagnostic, with each successive level costing more money and involving more effort and time. Within each level there are three phases (1) Planning the POE, (2) Conducting the services and (3) Applying the data to produce the deliverables) which document the appropriate amount of work per each level. Methods employed may include utilizing questionnaires, site visits, personal interviews and document review and analysis. The authors remarked that although this format was easy to comprehend, it was often not comprehensive enough for the task.

While the Performance Method was one technique that originated, other ways did develop. One was by Pena & Parshall (1983). They were interested in architectural research for both evaluation of existing buildings and for the programming of new spaces (the collection of pertinent information to initiate design work). They authored two books, the first on Post-occupancy evaluations and the next on architectural problem seeking. Within their method, the evaluation strategy used the same format as in the initiation of an architectural project and they categorized their efforts into four key elements (which correspond to the phases of the Preiser, Rabinowitz & White) used throughout the POE. The establishment of purpose, the selection and analysis of quantitative information, the identification and examination of qualitative information and statement of the lessons learned. Other POEs of the era add human needs questioning as information needed to evaluate the building.

It is important to note that while a Post-occupancy evaluation is said to get its name from the ‘certificate of occupancy’, which is commonly issued in America allowing a new facility to operate, there are other monikers that have evolved from the initial POE model. One is the Building Performance Evaluation (BPE). The integrative framework of this evaluation (Preiser, Rabinowitz & White 2005) covers concerns like building code related issues, life safety requirements, space utilization and human personal, cultural and social needs. A Facility Performance Evaluation (FPE) is a new term coined in the early part of the millennia that carries the concept of the traditional Post-occupancy evaluation further to include ongoing assessments. The website of the United States department of General Services (2009) outlines their use of FPEs as “to better understand the impact of early design delivery decisions on long term efficiency and effectiveness of buildings and to better understand the impact of building delivery processes and decisions on customer response both initially and over the life cycle of the building”.

Interdisciplinarity

POEs have been used extensively in Brazil for primary and secondary education since the 1990’s (Ornstein 2005). The main POE practitioners for education have been the Center for Research in Technology of Architecture and Urbanism (NUTAU) and the School of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU) of the University of São Paulo. Their evaluations “consist of interfaces between evaluations made by specialists based on the survey of users’ needs and satisfaction” (p. 135) so their efforts are clearly “multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary”(p.135). They employed experts in many fields into the POE process. With this in mind, the methods used most often are qualitative in nature. The author states “POEs have most recently been applied to public school facilities, especially in the city of São Paulo, and have been characterized by a systemic and integrating vision of a built environment. In this case, the search for a global and holistic understanding of the entire process has been essential” (p.136). Tools used to rate user satisfaction include observations, interviews, questionnaires and focus groups.

Participation

The Scottish Executive, the executive arm of the Scottish government, was recently involved in facilitating building evaluations with local officials on one of the largest school renovation projects in Scotland (Watson & Thomson 2005). The activity is centered on primary and secondary school buildings and the key element in their Post-occupancy evaluation is participation. They inform that, “stakeholders say, in POE reviews, that they want to be asked and they frequently identify design improvements and operational adjustments for their benefit” (p. 129). Some of the many advantages of the collaborative process listed by the Scottish Executive are:

Post-occupancy evaluation enables local education authorities, schools and designers to work in partnership to achieve the best schools possible. Buildings derive their value from their utility, and the utility is itself dependent on the occupants so the method provides a structure to “negotiate” both building and use simultaneously. The focus on building use provides a “common denominator” to evaluation that is inclusive of all interested parties. Consequently, it is egalitarian, in that it creates a forum for all participants to equally express opinions about how buildings are functioning for use. The process is accessible to all people, to present their views in their own ways. Thus it reflects individuals and celebrates diversity of opinion about building needs. (Watson & Thomson 2005, p. 130)

Therefore, comments about the Post-occupancy evaluations were solicited from the stakeholders in the school who were determined to be “teachers, students, non-teaching staff, parents, the local education authority, design and building team, sustainable building experts, facility and maintenance staff, and service suppliers, private investors, future generations (represented by a specialized sustainability architect), independent experts and peers” (p. 131). Sanoff (2002) describes his extensive use of user participation in Post-occupancy evaluations for K – 12th grade schools. His POEs are used primarily to evaluate existing schools where there will be an addition or replacement facility (in the case of natural disaster). Sanoff employs stakeholder workshops to explore and define issues. He advocates that this medium facilitates the dissemination of ideas through small cluster interactions and then group sharing. Sanoff informs that individuals learn from arguments and the sharing of opinions as it serves to remind them of their own concerns and values which subsequently they are better able to document.

Quality Indicators in the Design of Schools (QIDS)

In the early 1990’s the Scottish government began a review of school facilities as a reaction to a series of lawsuits plaguing the government (Tombs 2005). The assessment of the facilities laid out several recommendations that respond to quantitative aspects, without particular attention to the qualitative experience of the schools. In response, the architectural community in Scotland began a dialog to place the experiential aspects of a building into a formal assessment. The qualitative categories of assessment determined by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland in conjunction with Keppie, an architecture firm, became the Quality Indicators in the Design of Schools (QIDS). These indicators contribute to the common POE by developing three areas of inquiry:

1. Functionality- Uses and spaces, Access, External environment,

2. Build Quality - Engineered systems and performance, Construction

3. Impact - Character and form, Internal environment, Social integration, Sustainability + ecology (Tombs, 2005, p. 70).

These qualities were rated by stakeholders with a score from 1 – 10. Certainly, within these areas of inquiry, the personal and socio-cultural responses to the built environment perceived by individuals (as outlined in Section 1 of this paper) are addressed. Tombs described the benefits of the QIDS as supplying information to “those preparing briefs for new school buildings, and to provide appropriate trigger points for debate and discussion amongst all the stakeholders” (p. 69). This QIDS method for Post-occupancy evaluations was used in 2004, when the Educational Institute of Scotland evaluated several new and renovated schools. Although they only distributed a small number of questionnaires, the government found value in their efforts because the large return rate indicated interest by the respondents and comments illustrated the concerns of each group of participants. Tombs remarked, “for architects, the clear architectural vision, the scale and proportion and the issue of colour and texture, might be important, whereas for the janitorial staff, the management systems and controls, and artificial lighting system etc may be far greater significance” (p. 70).


3.1C General Criticism

There are several concerns often cited about the effectiveness of Post-occupancy evaluations. Firstly, the institution often commissions POEs. The values of that entity frame the evaluation (Preiser, Rabinowitz & White1988) and serve as the primary recipient of the information (Hewitt, et al. 2005). This may be problematic if the purpose of the evaluation is to provide incentives for a building addition or new facility. Often designers have needs for different information. It would be advantageous to review the results as referenced to other priorities and other stakeholders. Likewise, the performance measures developed by the evaluator also serves to influence the process (Preiser, Rabinowitz & White1988). Moreover, Rev. Dr. Charles Doidge at The Leicester School of Architecture maintains the need for setting up a national system of Post-Occupancy studies within the design curriculum. He advises that oftentimes architecture students are not introduced to client and user issues to the point that they could be an effective part of a POE team.

Second, as Doidge (2001) goes on to state “The greatest obstacle to POE studies is that professionals must guard their reputation and avoid litigation” and he adds that such studies “have been conducted for at least half a century but the results are not encouraging. Most take the form of ‘internal enquiries’ either to ‘whitewash’ or to ‘apportion blame’ and are rarely published”(p. 2). Indeed, Lackey (1999a) reports that in most instances there is “no clear economic incentive for conducting the POE in the first place. Client organizations are not quick to support the POE due to the potential for bad publicity if problems are uncovered so soon after a large expenditure of public funds”(p. 5). In addition, since the performance criteria and performance measures are not developed by the users it is useful to critically consider the following: What are the consequences of false positives or false negatives (if an evaluation of a university space is inaccurate) who will gain and who will loose?

Thirdly, a critic might argue that the most important criteria for school design are flexibility. Ponti (2005, p.85) states that “The pedagogical and didactic activities are continuously changing” and therefore, the ability to easily change the environment to adapt to new pedagogies is paramount, whether the changes are daily or annually. Also, in regards to the lifecycle costs of the facility, long-term adaptability to accommodate multiple uses is prudent.

Fourthly, Grannis (1994) points out instances in which environmental-behavioral research would aid in the design of effective spaces for higher education. A review of the Yale University Arts and Architecture building in 1987 gave many examples of a building not designed to fit the behavior of the inhabitants and how the students retaliated by vandalizing, defecation, trashing and eventually trying to burn down the facility. It is unfortunate that increasingly POEs are conducted by specialists with expertise in a facility type:

Rather than academic researchers, the focus has shifted increasingly away from theory building and hypothesis testing and toward applied problem solving. While professionally conducted evaluations provide useful information about specific facilities or settings, they often lack the scientific rigor necessary to generalize their results to other settings and consequently do little to extend the theoretical base of environment- behavior studies (p. 216).

Lastly, Tombs (2005) remarked that developing quality indicators within the framework of a POE was not without criticism. Some individuals in the design professions were skeptical of the categories of quality. They saw the indicators as giving less emphasis to epistemology/pedagogical practices which they maintain “is required to be a headline item, because without an appropriate understanding of these matters, a very fine building may not end up delivering the places/spaces within which appropriate teaching can take place i.e. the school might be a very poor performer!”(p. 70).

3.1D Consideration of the Assessors: Demographic Information


Another thing that is lacking in the traditional POE is a thorough consideration of the users in the space, their values, mannerisms, and concerns about their environment in regards to the methods of the post-occupancy evaluation. Because students are an important user of the facility, it is important to know demographic information about the typical college student in general and the arts and design student in particular.

When considering the makeup of students in post-secondary educational institutions it is important to distinguish between assumptions of student populations by the institution, student assumptions about their educational experience, and the actual demographic statistics concerning college coeds.

Many research studies have verified the general disparity between the institutions expectations and assumptions of college students and actual conditions. Barefoot (2000) describe how the institution’s expectations are highlighted in the design of programs developed to stop the attrition of freshman in universities. Many of the administrators still had the view of incoming freshmen as similar to when they had attended college many years previous. Barefoot (2000) noted that the foundation of those programs still had “the same basic structure that was designed for a population of white, middle- or upper-class males who constituted the vast majority of college students until the last two decades of this century”(p.12).

But, students too, have assumptions about their future educational life and support that are not in line with their subsequent experience. The College Student Experiences Questionnaire Assessment (CSEQ) and the College Student Expectations Questionnaire (CSEQ), both administered by the Center for Postsecondary Research, examine the amount of effort students expend in their post-secondary education and student goals, respectively. Findings indicate that students, who thought they would never use the library as a silent place to study, actively did so more than three times as much as expected; likewise, students who thought they would use the library to study often, actually used it half as much.

The US Census Bureau reports the rising number of non-white citizens in the United States. By the year 2051, Whites will be about half the population, with Hispanics at a quarter and African Americans about 15%. This represents a reversal of the positions of Hispanic and African Americans since 1980. Likewise, the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2009) reports increasing enrollment of minority students. Also, the numbers of male and female coeds have changed since the early to mid nineteen seventies. At that time males outnumbered females, but the male population was rising at a low rate. The number of female students on campus in second and fourth year post-secondary institutions overtook the male students around 1977. Since then, the rate of female students has increased, widening the gap between male and female students on campus. The traditionally aged student (18 - 24 years old) currently makes up about 59.4% of the total college enrollment. That number is expected to grow at 16% until 2014. When one considers undergraduate students, only 67.3% were 24 years old or younger in 2003. In contrast, in 1970 69.2% of all enrollments were by traditional-aged students (NCES, 2005). It is likely that growth in student populations of 25 – 29 year old college students is from recent graduates continuing on to higher degrees.

Nowadays 32.9% of in-coming college students label the political scene in America as “very important” compared to the lowest recorded the involvement of 28.1% in 2000 or 31.4% in 2002. The number of freshmen calling themselves “conservative” increased from 20.7% to 21.3% between 2000 and 2002; and those identifying themselves as “liberal” decreased from 29.9% to 27.8% in that same time frame. Students claiming to be centrists grew slightly from 49.5% to 50.8% between 2000 and 2002.

While the media often portrays college students as being unbridled partiers, statistics indicate a decline in beer drinking to 46.5% in 2002, the lowest recorded record. The highs record was 73.7% in the early 1980’s. Likewise, consumption of other alcoholic beverages is down as well.

3.1D1 Values of the general population of contemporary college students

To examine the complexity of the typical college student it is useful to consider general student characteristics to examine contemporary coed values and expectations and review the psychological makeup of students. Every generation can be characterized by their lived experience and similar traits (Coomes & DeBard, 2004), (Coomes, 2004a). The generation of students currently in college was largely born in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s in an area labeled as the “Millennial’s”. Besides sharing similar traits they also have a shared history. This generation, the largest in U.S. history, grew up with MTV and has a deal with the aftermath of 9/11 as adolescents or young children. In regards to student values toward education, administration, and evaluation, deBard (2004) characterizes the Millennial generation as cherishing a committed loyalty to institutions, a system in which there is accountability and feedback on demand. (See Table 4 which compares values between generational traits). Likewise, Richard Sweeney, University Librarian, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2006 indicate that contemporary students value more flexibility for their convenience and more options to choose.


When considering the whole student, Perry (2003) informs that "the first year of college is a transitional period in students' lives in which psychological control is diminished or undermined due to the emphasis on success/failure, heightened academic competition, increased pressure to excel, frequent academic failures, unfamiliar academic tasks, new social networks, and critical career choices" (p. 316). Perry and other researchers have studied the effects of the location of perceived control- whether students felt that their educational outcomes were controlled by them or beyond their control. Lavender, et. al (2010) showed that the typical student exhibited better “task-persistence, affect , motivation, and creativity” (p211) when they had an enhanced attribution of personal control.

3.1D2 Demographic information concerning the contemporary Arts and Design college student

When examining the subpopulation of Arts and Design coeds, it is important to consider how they contrasts or align themselves with the larger student population. The Higher Education Arts Data Services Art and Design Data Summaries (HEADS) 2009-2010 solicits information from American post-secondary arts and design schools. Their findings indicate that nine post-secondary arts and design institutions graduated a total of 396 Doctoral Students. Among these, females comprised 71% and Whites are 67 %. It is important to note that like the general population of students, arts and design students have a higher percentage of female students although they are less prevalent in the Master’s program. The Department of Education had the racial- ethnic distribution in college enrollment in 2007 - 2008 at about 67% for White/non- Hispanic students, which is larger than the arts school enrollment in 2009-2010, which is 58.1%, but matches the graduate doctoral student’s gender mix. The U.S. department of education in the 2007- 2008 school year lists the percentage of minority males to total college enrollment as Black, non-Hispanic male- about 4.9%, Hispanic or Latino males – about 5.1% and Asian males- about 3.1% . Arts and design schools have much lower male minority enrollments for each of the groups mentioned except Asian males. Statistics from the College Arts Association confirms increased enrollments in arts curriculums, although the total number of students majoring in art is only about 5.5% of the total population.

3.1D3 Values of the subpopulation of Arts and Design college students in regards to their educational experience

To study the personal goals of art and design students one must look at their values and expectations as they differ from the general college population. Lavender (2010) states “College art instructors, like their colleagues in other disciplines, routinely cite phenomena such as student non-responsiveness to instruction, sinking motivation, and under-preparedness (i.e., insufficient academic or behavioral qualities”( p. 199). Likewise, due to the cut-back in art training in secondary and elementary schools, students may enter college with a greater assumption of their skills and unreasonable expectations of academic success.

3.1D4 Conclusion

There must be institutional responsibility to assess educational facilities, taking into account the make-up and values of college students. Grannis (1994) points out instances in which effective inquiry would aid in the design of successful spaces for higher education. A review of the Yale University Arts and Architecture building in 1987 gave many examples of a building not designed to fit the behavior of the inhabitants and how the students retaliated by vandalizing, defecating, trashing and eventually trying to burn down the facility.

There are other types of existing building reviews. Pomona College was listed in Princeton Review’s The Best 371 Colleges, 2010 edition as best in the nation for its classroom environment. A student remarked on its “state-of-the-art facilities”. Princeton Review evaluates university facilities in categories of: a). Housing- coed dorms or same-sex dorms; accessibility to handicapped; b). Special academic facilities /equipment-

Percentage of Computers in classrooms, dooms, library, dining areas; percentage of wireless networks. The Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design creates profile sheets of essential information for prospective students to evaluate for all the art schools within its purview yet there is no mention of the facilities and the value that might bring to students.

A post- occupancy evaluation to solicit information about the likes and dislikes of the facility that considers students, should query about matters that concern student values. I created the following questions that should appeal to the surveyed population:

1. Are the common spaces arranged in a manner that promotes community-building?

2. Does the art facility and its spaces support my level of trust for the institution? Is the layout straight-forward or misleading?

3. Does the educational space allow me to do meaningful work in class, or am I constantly moving chairs and equipment or reconfiguring the learning environment to facilitate classroom activities?

4. Are there internet and virtual classroom capabilities everywhere on the grounds of the campus?

5. Does the classroom and overall facility layout contribute to my sense of being in control of my educational outcomes?

6. Does the classroom and facility layout project institutional control? Are rooms and corridors positioned to monitor participants in spaces?

7. Is there a hierarchy of accoutrements or amenities that serves to indicate the ‘nicer’ parts of the building and label my position in the institution?

8. Is the Post-Occupancy Evaluation administered in a way that allow for access to answer 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week online within a determined evaluation period?

9. Does the Post-Occupancy evaluation offer an ombudsman option that allows me to give constant feedback whenever I want after initial building questions are submitted?

10. Does the facility have integrity? Is the design trying to project an image that it is not?

Rhatigan & Schuh (2003) wrote an article in which they described how little interactions with students where faculty and administration extend themselves to support, encourage or listen to their concerns, have the potential to make great changes in student’s lives. They describe these opportunities as “small wins”. A Post-Occupancy evaluation can be a diminutive way to give students some control of their environment and demonstrate that their opinion is valued. Part of asking about their likes and dislikes of the facility is considering the issues that they value when it is not the same as the creators or initiators of the building evaluation. Rhatigan & Schuh state “small wins can produce results that are electrifying and, in some cases, life changing…What kind of campus environments are you creating that allow and support each student to feel comfortable in his/her “skin”? What “small wins” are you creating?” (2003, pp.425–426).

3.2 Case study Method of Assessment for the Built Learning Environment

A case study is a systematic way of doing research that exemplifies one incident or process. Many disciplines use case studies to further their understanding of a particular item or occurrence and the format and methods employed vary from study to study and across fields of inquiry. Stake (1997a) reminds us “people have different notions as to what a case study is…It belongs to science and to social service” (pp. 401-402) and indeed to many other discourses.

The interdisciplinarity of my scholastic program and my background heightens my interest in the case study as a post-occupancy evaluation method for the built environment. In the following, I study the make-up of case studies to examine their use in the social sciences and architecture and discover how they are shaped by their corresponding philosophies. Likewise, Filemyr (1999), a noted researcher of interdisciplinary studies, approaches “knowledge from a perspective which incorporates, ..the social sciences and natural sciences…not simply to add multiple perspectives but to create a more cohesive framework from which to effectively engage in authentic inquiry”( p.8). Therefore, I am not concerned with creating a discipline-accepted architecture case study or a case study in line with the education discourse, or one that blends formats, but rather to understand the foundation of case studies within the discourse of their disciplines. Therefore, I inquire as to what is the typical education case study model for researching educational facilities and what is the standard architectural case study for the same building type. Last, I conclude with a discussion of what case study model can best serve the architecture community that is concerned with educational issues in designing new school facilities.

3.2a Social Science Case Study Model

Stake (1997b), a noted professor of Education and long-time researcher of case study method declares that case studies are now “one of the most popular, and usually respected, forms for studying educators and educational programs” (p.401). In the following, I outline his commentary on the elements of case studies in regards to purpose, process, and conventions, as well as, researcher, interactions, intended audience, and establishment of credibility.

Stake examines the purposes of case studies and admits that in themselves they do not remedy particular issues but they shed light on problems within their cases that may be transferable to other situations. It is that deep inspection of the case that is the purpose of case studies and while one may not find “particulars [are] generalizable, but the systematicity” (Stake, 1997a, p.403) may relate to other instances. Therefore, the extent of the case must be discerned through clear boundaries. Stake says that the researcher should try to get the reader involved in the case. Stake also says what a case study is not:

It is not like a newspaper story. There are some important similarities. Both are trying to develop an understanding through the description of what, where, how when and why. Both use narrative and testimony. The difference is in the use of theme. The reporter tries to tell the story primarily to be interesting to the reader. The case researcher starts out looking for what is meaningful to researchers but simultaneously tries to discover what is meaningful to the case people. Really, the case is precious [paramount]. (Stake, 1997a, p.404)

Also, if one were looking for trends across several different instances, case study research is not the best method to discover those patterns.

Of the researcher, it can be said that “this was his story, …his construction of truth” (Stake, 1997a, p.409) and Stake relishes that oftentimes personal and administrative weaknesses are discovered and highlighted in a case study. I find it important to understand the purposes, beliefs and expectations of the researcher. Stake pays particular interest to the issues researchers bring to the case and what one learns from acquaintance with the case. Stake (1997a) describes the process of deciding on the case to investigate in detail. He stresses the importance of setting the limits of the case and within those boundaries discovering the ordinary occurrences and key players. Then you need to set the format of the case study as well as the focus and theme. Research questions and pertinent issues are derived from the key issues. Lastly, you should look for “patterns, co variations, and regularities that beg for better interpretation” (Stake, 1997a, p. 408). It is not uncommon in the practice of case studies to employ objectivity or subjective interpretation or to interact with the subject or the phenomenon.

Careful review of the case study will determine whether the case is meant to be relevant for greater situations. It is very important to know the audience, usually fellow researchers, who Stake (1997a) says, “have appreciated deep, self-referential probes of problems” ( p.401).

Lastly, in establishing the credibility of the case, Stake advises researchers to consider which reader would find the case study useful, elements within the study that reinforce the accuracy of the work, and the overall rigor of the research. It is helpful to the reader if documentation is included in the case study that reinforces the research.

3.2b Architectural Case Study Model

Like Stake’s assessment, there are several claims to a model for architectural case studies. One is an academic version developed from architecture and design practitioners in a university setting. Another is developed in a commercial environment for practitioners directly involved in the architecture and construction industry.

Dr. Dilanthi Amaratunga, director of the Research Institute for the Built and Human Environment at the University of Salford (Amaratunga & Baldry 2001) concurs with Stake’s (1997a) understanding of the requirements of case study that examine the process of a singular instance. Amaratunga & Baldry (2001) writes that in architecture “case studies are tailor made for exploring new processes or behaviours or ones which are little understood. In this sense, case studies have an important function in generating hypotheses and building theory in built environment research” (p. 13). Amaratunga & Baldry describe philosophies of conducting architectural research. “In research design, therefore, the issue then becomes not whether one has uniformly adhered to prescribed canons of either logical positivism or phenomenology but whether one has made sensible methods decisions given the purpose of the study, the questions being investigated, and the resources available”(p.3). A case study is interpretive– It does not need to control behavioral events in the case. It reports and interprets. It can be positivistic or phenomenological and she argues that mixed methods can make environmental behavioral research better when it is suitable for the research question. Ultimately, the purpose of case study research is to add to existing knowledge in a way that advances understanding by providing a solution or asking better questions. Amaratunga & Baldry say that a case study should not be used to reinforce a known fact, rather, this type of research “is able to draw on inductive methods of research, which aim to build theory and generate hypotheses rather than primarily to test them” (p. 14).

Purpose of architectural case study for practitioners

Architectural Record (2006), a national award-winning magazine, is a commercial publication that has a circulation of over 70,000 and is a publication of the American Institute of Architects, a non-profit organization of the architectural community that has over 300 state and local chapters throughout the United States. The magazine has been published for over a century for the purpose of stimulating and informing its patrons (Architectural Record 2009a). Regularly published case studies present “a comprehensive look into construction goals, plans and implementation. The very best of analyses, case studies and write ups by expert architects” (Architectural Record 2009b).

The intended recipients are design students, and those individuals involved in the architecture industry around the world. With these two models in mind, the following is a collection of architectural case studies.

3.2c Environmental Behavioralist Case Study Model

In architecture, there is a movement called ‘Evidence-Based Design, which encourages a process to bring verifiable behavioral research into the design of architectural spaces (Hamilton & Watkins 2009). The purpose of Environmental-Behavioralist case study is to address the needs of the users of the space, to seek verifiable answers and to evaluate satisfaction of those needs. Good basic research advances environmental behavior knowledge and aims to close the gap between environmental design and architectural practice. The researchers are those academic professionals and the intended audience is the architectural community. Empirical methods establish credibility for case study and the foundation of this research is positivist in nature.

3.2d Case Studies

Education Facility Case Study

Dr. Rena Upitis, ( 2007) presents a typical education case study model for researching the design of school buildings. She offers a collective case study in which she analyzes four school projects. She reports that these schools illustrate “how schools can provide students with opportunities to develop ecological mindfulness through practical activities that are enhanced by natural and built environments” (p. 1). I focus on the first school project, The Shearwater Mullumbimby Steiner School, New South Wales, Australia. This school, founded in 1993, with 37 students, is located on the edge of a rainforest. Less than a year later, the student population increased and land was purchased to construct a new building. By 2005, there were over 500 pupils total in grades K – 6.

Purpose of Education case study

Upitis (2007) outlines previous research on environmental consciousness, place-based education, and curriculum theory in the case study introduction. She wants to highlight “four educational institutions where beauty and a sense of place are paramount”(p.5) and show examples of locations where adults and students, working in consort, make an ecological statement. Therefore, this is an instrumental case study, because, as Stake (1997b) indicates, the research is meant to further a movement toward environmentally conscious education.

Researcher, Interactions, and Intended Audience

Upitis (2007) is a doctor of Education, professor of arts education in Canada, a noted scholar, and her interests include how architecture affects learning in the school environment. Her beliefs are stated in her case study: “The driving premise of this paper is that students should be schooled in built and natural environments that afford them ways of understanding of how their daily physical actions and social choices affect the earth” (p.1). Upitis begins her research with information compiled from published articles and augments her data by conducting personal meetings with the architect and school officials and by visiting the school. Konrad Korobacz, one of the schools founders and the current administrator, felt the tremendous growth of the school was partially due to the school’s relationship with its location. Upitis brought her ideas that the “learning of the core curriculum subjects through a study of place” (p.4) was important. Upitis took her experiences from the case study and expressed them (Etic2) by proclaiming, “Here is an example of how the flora and fauna of this setting are embodied in the curriculum and involve learning through manual or practical skills—what Dewey called learning by doing” (p.6). She concluded that “schools and curricula that focus on a sense of place are able to support the practical activities that lead to meaningful relationships between members of the community, and between people and the land” (p.10). Her audience is educational researchers.

Establishing Credibility for Case Study

The case study is presented in a cohesive, consistent manner. It is not rigorous (it is less than 1000 words), but is part of a collection of selected case studies of which the entirety adequately supports the research. All pertinent information is included in narrative form. The boundaries of the case are clearly identified as the school and surrounding site. This research was funded partially by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the information is disclosed by the author. Dr. Upitis personally photographed all the images included.


Architectural Case Studies for Education Facilities

Architectural Record magazine published a collection of exemplary schools designed and constructed in the 21st century. These schools are meant to be examples of both environmentally sustainable architecture, and buildings designed to meet the needs of students in a community context. Both schools have achieved the certification of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the non-profit organization that rates the environmental performance of buildings. Educators in these schools say that the environmentally conscious building systems in the facilities heighten awareness of the environment for students and instill a since of stewardship. Moreover, the design of the spaces incorporates daylighting for better illumination. Of the collection of case studies, I will focus on two schools - the Rosa Parks School, in Portland, Oregon, and Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, Colorado, both authored by B.J. Novitski (2008).

The Rosa Parks School is a kindergarten through sixth grade facility for 550 students in a renovated subsidized housing complex. This case study exemplifies collaboration between the public housing authority, school district and private non-profit youth organizations to create one shared facility. (See youth organization section in attachment 2). In addition, it is designed with the maximum use of daylighting to illuminate spaces.

The Fossil Ridge High School is in the Poudre School District in Fort Collins, Colorado. This school is exemplary because it has a large square footage and yet it accommodates a divided curriculum that is separated into three distinct learning communities.

Purpose of the Collection of Architectural Case Studies

Joann Gonchar AIA (2008), a senior editor who focuses on building science and technology issues at Architectural Record, writes the introduction to collection of case studies. Within the mission of the magazine, the goal of this works it to provide an “in-depth look at completed schools that employ high-performance strategies”(Architectural Record 2008) with emphasis on innovative and successful strategies.

In congruence with the architectural case study model for the academic community, both studies are presented to advance building and curriculum theory. The Rosa Parks School highlights a method of collaboration between entities to control costs by limiting redundancies, although the crucial process of working together between the school board, designers, and the boys and girls club was hardly outlined. This case study did, however, provide new information in that regard. The other major issue of the project – the extensive use of daylighting, however, is hardly novel to the architectural community. The Fossil Ridge High School facility is over 300,000 square feet and the case study touts the concept of creating three distinct learning areas within the footprint. However, the process of designing the spaces and their realized effectiveness is given short-shrift. The second major amenity of the building is its environmentally conscious building systems. Here, the case study does well in documenting a particular case in which the daylighting systems provided too much illumination at times.

For architectural practitioners these short case studies introduce greater concepts of flexibility, collaboration, environmental sustainability and development of community that can be inspirational, but they do not provide the in-depth coverage nor do they discuss implementation of curriculum at a comprehensive level.

Researcher, Interactions and Intended Audience

B.J. Novitski (2008) is managing editor of ArchitectureWeek publication and he brings that experience working for a commercial trade magazine to the projects. He conducted interviews, obtained construction documents, compiled photographs and collected data. He discovered from acquaintance with the Rosa Parks educators that “many of the buildings' high-tech and high-performance features also serve to instill in students an awareness of their surroundings” (Architectural Record 2008). In the Fossil Ridge High school, B.J. Novitski learned from a teacher that the she felt a strong sense of communitiy from the students due to the building layout and Novitski conjectured that some studens may enter the architectural profession because of exposure to this new facility . Joann Gonchar (2008) concludes that “each of the schools, in its own way, establishes a strong connection between building and context” (Architectural Record 2008). Each case study is approximately 1000 words in length and includes photographs, list of project team members, and manufacturers of major products and building systems. For instance, the Rosa Parks school case study lists the owner, architect, general contractor and building consultants. It also credits the masonry subcontractor, painter and manufacturers of the curtainwall, acoustical ceiling, paint and coating, kitchen appliances, resilient flooring and carpet. This group of constituents is presumably the case study audience. Adjacent to the case study are advertisements for building products and materials.

Establishing Credibility for the Case Study

Due to the format of this case study, it seems unlikely that the case study serves to discover unsuccessful elements of the building projects to hold up the deficiencies to the architectural community and its associated entities. Data is presented to support some of the quantitative performance but no further research information is given to substantiate either learning performance enhanced by the built environment or affectation derived from it.

Environmental-Behavioralist Case Study for Education facility

Cherulnik (1993) reports on the Jones dormitory redesign case study for Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. It was conduct by Andrew Baum and Stuart Valins, researchers who have studied crowding behaviors in human populations. Over a period of three years, they studied two areas of one floor in the existing dormitory at the university. The spaces varied in social density within their residential units. The researchers incorporated observation, questionnaires and discussion groups to obtain their data. Results were used to influence the re-design. Cherulnik reported:

The project succeeded in demonstrating a promising approach to environmental-design research, one rooted firmly in the traditions of social science. It began with a sophisticated conceptual analysis bringing together several separate theories and extensive supporting research from such diverse traditions as ethnology, laboratory experimentation, and naturalistic quasi experimentation. It continued with dedicated research in the context for which new design solutions were sought, research that was conducted using state-of- the-art methods. Finally, the design inferred from that research was evaluated with the assistance of careful arrangements that provided experimental comparisons in a natural setting. (Cherulnik 1993, p.129)

Much like the architectural case study model for academics, the purpose of this case study is to inform the new redesign and it was essential in the theory supporting design of the new space. Likewise, this study goes beyond simply documenting existing fact. For the architectural practitioner, the case study is specific and comprehensive, delivering research information without inspirational appeal. In addition, unlike tenets of the architectural case study model for practitioners, the physicality of the layouts is illustrated in one simple line drawing.

However, the Jones dormitory redesign case study is a good example of Environmental-Behavioralist research in that it is detailed in context, description of place, method, and results. It goes on to provide favorable comments from students after the dormitory had been renovated. Directly, results of this study were incorporated into the six-stage research that culminated in a post-occupancy evaluation, but a greater audience of professionals will find this work beneficial.

3.2e Conclusion

First, although case studies have a scope that can employ a positivist, phenomenological or mixed approach, the audience for case studies and the discourse it functions within have a definite preference. The Environmental-Behavioralist Model has a distinct positivist foundation. Many of the tenets for the Social Science Model are interpretive.

All case studies presented are successful within their own genre. Movement between models for interdisciplinary fields could result in a case study approach unmoored to any discipline or potentially deemed inadequate by others groups. For instance, the educational case study falls short in regard to meeting the needs of the architect or the environmental behaviorist. Very little is mentioned about the collaboration between design professionals, builders, local authorities, and the school administration. The challenges to constructing a facility in a remote location are formidable. Infrastructure and building systems are particular concerns. While the education case study discusses curriculum, it is not clear about the comfort of the space or how this location for the school varied from the home environment of the students. However, these ‘shortcomings’ are not a fair assessment because they predispose an environment of shared values between constituents of the different case study models; the educational case study is not constructed of a philosophy that seeks a computational evaluation of the school in the form of quantitative data. Likewise, the architectural model for academics is one moving toward positivism in its quest for legitimacy. Certainly, the evidence-based design movement embodies that initiative.

Lastly, within the philosophy of the architectural practitioner model, I challenge the hermeneutics of case study research. In these case studies building product advertisers are highlighted, thus, it is unlikely that unsuccessful systems would be illustrated. In addition, there is a high commercial aspect to the case study. Architects, contractors, school officials inevitably want to be shown in good light. Certainly, nothing which would fuel a lawsuit between any of the stakeholders involved would be published in the case study.

With all this in mind, it seems unlikely that one case study model can best serve as a post-occupancy evaluation for the architecture community that is concerned with educational issues in designing new school facilities. Perhaps each type of case study, created to meet the expectations of its discipline, can provide a valuable understanding of the completed school facility when considered in consort with the views from different professions.

3.3A What is prevailing theory behind art critical interpretation?

In a presentation paper for the National Art Association conference Shirley Yokley (1995) explored the process to introduce a ‘critical theory of representation’ into the classroom. She defines that theory as being within the tenets of critical pedagogy and the benefits of such critique of representation are transformative in that they expose the institutional politics at the foundation of art and popular imagery. Giroux (1992) describes the foundation of critical pedagogy. There needs to be an inquiry and examination of presumption and a discourse that enables potential. Freire’s (1970) liberatory pedagogy looks at change in regards to how one perceives existing knowledge and the creation of new knowledge. Not interested in ‘banking education’ where the knowledge moves directly from the teacher to the student and back in a hierarchical discourse, Shor and Freire (1987) yearn for shared construction and reconstruction of knowledge. Yokley’s goal is to encourage students to critically relate the meaning underlying art to their personal experience as it is lived within their society and culture. Her classroom methods involve the selection of artwork that easily lends itself to deep review. Yokley (1995) remarks that “by juxtaposing Faith Ringgold’s Tar Beach with Jacob Lawrence’s Daybreak a Time of Rest, developing dialog around the theme of “flight to freedom” and problemizing the historical and cultural conditions within the contexts of the works, students can engage in-depth discussions of issues of racism, classism and feminism”(p.2). Her classroom discussions frequently encounter issues involving epistemology and the manifestation of power. Yokley (1999) goes further to say that in education “critical pedagogy takes a skeptical look at what knowledge is taught or produced, what hidden knowledge is reproduced, how power is maintained and at whose expense”(p. 18). Her classroom lesson that trains pupils to interpret an art piece of Frida Kahlo as contrasted to another work of the same era by Leonora Carrington helps students to realize the manifestation of power and political control.

3.3B What is prevailing theory behind architecture critical interpretation?

As students need training to develop self-reflection skills and to recognize cultural and political conditions around them, it is also true that they often need specific education to discern conditions in their immediate environment. After de-briefing the research team that conducted a Post-occupancy evaluation of state schools in the city of Campinas, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, Kowaltowski, et. al. (2004) discovered that evaluation respondents are often unaware of key conditions.

In line with a critical interpretation for higher education, professors of architecture Dutton & Grant (1991) want to:

move the theory and practices of [architecture] into more critical terrain… architecture unavoidably frames the world. It structures experience, reinforces assumptions about culture and politics, and orients attention toward certain types of knowledge and ideologies. Schools can never be understood as neutral sites. All pedagogy, by its very nature, represents some theory and thus serves certain cultural and political ends. (P. 38)

Dutton & Grant write about a politics of difference and a politics of voice. They define ‘difference’ as a self-identification by class, gender, sexual orientation etc.. and admonish all actions which homogenize the population, creating a universal culture or curriculum which only serves to repress difference. The politics of voice recognizes that “all forms of education, curriculum, and pedagogy are about someone's story. The question, of course, is whose story is most privileged.” (p.38). Dutton & Grant are not advocating for a politics of representation Aronowitz (1991) which would allow for a multicultural effect of giving the minority a ‘time on-stage’, rather, they advocate for critical review of institutional actions that minimize and prohibit. The authors point out the benefit of this recognition in that “coming to voice, within relations of difference characterized by asymmetrical relations of power, should be an empowering process.” (p.40) .

To highlight their points, Dutton & Grant describe the design of the National Heritage Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh. These traditional rooms were designed, in an on-going effort, to celebrate national heritage, ethnic diversity and encourage ‘voice’. Heritage rooms include Scottish, German, Swedish, Russian, Early American, Israeli , Armenian , African and Ukrainian. Dutton & Grant provide a detailed description of the process for the design and construction of the African classroom. They remark how the classrooms in general, successfully evoke a multicultural experience while providing an exchange of culture. But they admit “from the frame of critical pedagogy, concerns still remain. For example, although the rooms depict the "voices" of other nationalities, this representation runs the risk of essentialism the attempt to portray nationalities or ethnicities”(p.41)

Lucin Kroll (1984), an architect, describes conditions on the University of Louvain campus in Belgium, where he accepted a commission to design a facility to counter the institutional feel of adjacent buildings and celebrate diversity. He remarked "Of the new mixed-use facility, the building forms are not static. Walking through the site they change constantly, always in an unexpected fashion. The materials of the windows, their colors, curtains, balconies, and plants increase the sense of diversity. They reinforce the individuality and the autonomy of the occupants, and not the power of the central administration.”(p. 167) Kroll also puts heavy emphasis on user participation. In regard to the structure of one of the buildings, Kroll had the structural engineers develop a column plan that was not in the traditional grid pattern, thus ensuring an atypical layout in future renovations.

Critical interpretation of architectural forms in the university setting reveals systems that are not benign. Hebdige (1979), a cultural critic, remarked that ubiquitous and inherent in the architecture of modern schools are manifestations of values. If one considers a prevailing epistemology and pedagogical practices then, as Hebdige describes “the hierarchical relationships between teacher and taught is inscribed in the very layout of the lecture theatre where the seating arrangements – benches rising in tiers before a raised lectern – dictate the flow of information and serve to ‘naturalize’ professorial authority” (p.13).

To counter the painting of architecture with a brush so broad as to make it implicit with an overwhelming authoritarian power, it is important to note the role of social architecture outlined by C. Richard Hatch (1984). Although he acknowledges, “Architecture is ... the reification of social roles and a set of three-dimensional statements about power relationships,” he also remarks that “social architecture [an endeavor which involves user participation] is to be a driving force in the reformation of society”(p.9).

Another university professor, Piro (2008), comments on the expression of power through surveillance technologies and architectural layout in school environments. Piro said, “this kind of regulatory control resulted in maintaining power of one group over another"(p.30). Piro illustrates this concept with an historic review of Jeremy Bentham’s “Panopticon,” a circular prison building overtly designed to visually monitor and control inmates. Foulcault (1979) stated “The promise of the Panopticon was that it could ‘transform individuals: to act on those it shelters, to provide a hold on their conduct, to carry the effects of power right to them, to make it possible to know them, to alter them”(cited in Shah & Kesan, 2007, p.12). In addition, institutions like temples can serve to exemplify and intensify control. All this is in alignment with Michel Foucault’s critical studies on the general ordering of the visible and the visible and his concept of the archaeology of knowledge.

Not all university buildings, of course, have the perception of institutional control. Christian Kuhn (2005) explores the success of Building 20, formerly standing on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This laboratory facility, initially constructed for radiation research during World War II, was designed in an afternoon by a graduate student and constructed in six months. Although it eventually was in use for over fifty years, it was originally thought to be a temporary structure and therefore did not have to meet the normal cadre of building codes. Kuhn claimed that the building was one of the most prized on campus because of the unpretentiousness of it. The provisional character of the building allowed its inhabitants to create and re-create spaces and personally identify with the built environment.

3.3C Criticism and Commentary

While critical thinking may bring recognitions that empower an individual, Doddington (2007) also warns of the dangers for placing it in too high of regard. She acknowledges that the enhanced scrutiny may support the foundation of sound reasoning but she warns that it should not be taken as the only ‘good’ thinking. Certainly our experience of architectural spaces is also driven by our senses and emotions. Doddington remarks “We begin life utterly embodied and drowned in sensation, and the assumption that we should move away from this towards mindful objectivity... seems to have become a denial of the full richness of personhood…” (p.458)

Piro (2008) also advises caution when reviewing the works of Michel Foucault. He says" It would be simplistic, and probably unfair, to criticize schools because of their focus on control, discipline, and regulation. These features can contribute to the creation of a solid social fabric. Indeed, many of Foucault’s ideas on the struggle for self-freedom against forms of control and discipline have been criticized by some as extreme and anarchic."(p.44)

3.4 Conclusion

A Post-occupancy evaluation, defined as a common, thorough, methodical way of evaluating the room or building after it has been in use is very much a progressive document- fundamentally affected by the electronic age and the move toward assessment specialists. Founded within an era of modern thinking it is often still in search of the answer(s) to questions posed by the institutional authority.

Critical pedagogy seeks to empower the individual. Tenets of a critical interpretation for architecture encourage user introspection and recognition of the political aspects of the built environment.

Updating the traditional POE to assess the built environment for teaching and learning is appropriate. In addition, it seems appropriate to consider congruence of the architecture to the prevailing epistemology and pedagogical practices.

Within the spirit of the times, the common contemporary Post-occupancy evaluation, framed by the authority and charged to find a quantitative ‘answer’ to building performance, is inadequate to gauge the experience of the built environment by the users of the space. The traditional POE predisposes a linear relationship to learning such that the manipulation of one variable (such as an architectural element) proportionally affects another (like educational outcomes). Tenets of complexity theory which describe the educational experience as a self-organizing, emergent, recursive, organism is a more appropriate framework in which to explore post-occupancy evaluations of the built learning environment. Moreover, the independent political, social, and cultural aspects of the environment – the personal truths experienced by each individual are not given voice within the traditional POE. These realities require further inquiry.

4.0 Final Comments and Proposition

I believe that the preceding exhibits a mastery of pertinent issues within my research domain- the influence of the built environment on learning. These qualifying papers discuss social and cultural aspects within my areas of study and set an appropriate foundation for my doctoral dissertation. Moreover, they demonstrate my facility to begin. In my dissertation, I look to explore Post-Occupancy Evaluations of University Spaces: Assessing within a Complexity Paradigm, how the Built Environment Influences Learning for Contemporary Post-Secondary Design curricula.

These qualifying papers address how one can rate the impact of the built environment on learning for university arts and design curricula, by analyzing an individual's personal response to a space and how that affects learning, how pedagogical practices are affected by the built environment and how the influence of the environment on learning can be assessed.

Findings indicate that there are a variety of variables, of differing importance, both innate to human nature and a part of one’s unique affectation, regarding personal perceptions of social or cultural issues, and human comfort, that individual’s may respond to in their educational experience. Research and literature has addressed these variables with a linear way of thinking, showing causation between one component and learning, giving rise to a pattern book approach to design.

A review of teaching approach and how it is affected by the built environment reveals traditional pedagogical practices that are ripe for change, from both emergent technologies as well as a move toward constructivist methodologies for traditional practices. However, little is written about the architectural space needed to accommodate virtual and online supplementation. Most literature details anecdotal examples of outlying conditions.

Examination of the typical POE reveals a tool that is largely limited and ineffective. The POE says what is functional, but not what is optimal. Moreover, it doesn’t say what is happening in the space (the inter-relationships).

My dissertation work will focus on this issue from a complexity paradigm, looking at the matrix of components and their interrelations to reveal the intricacy of the question through a clear comprehensive model that laymen can understand. It will probably involve determining what is needed to include in the model, then creating the criteria to assess, and then creating the tools to assess. In the end, I intend to inform a cost/benefit ratio for post-secondary A&D facilities in regard to student learning. This clearly extends beyond the shortcomings of the traditional Post-Occupancy Evaluation.

5.0 References


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