Learning to Change Together: The Social Context of Architectural Learning

In architectural education, learning is often structured to inform and support change to sustainable design and behaviour. The built and natural contexts in which this learning takes place are considered an important element in informing the new ways of seeing and knowing our environments, which are...

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Main Author: MackIntosh, Lara
Format: Journal Article
Published: Common Ground Publishing 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ijae.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.230/prod.52
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/26839
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author MackIntosh, Lara
author_facet MackIntosh, Lara
author_sort MackIntosh, Lara
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In architectural education, learning is often structured to inform and support change to sustainable design and behaviour. The built and natural contexts in which this learning takes place are considered an important element in informing the new ways of seeing and knowing our environments, which are necessary for change. Yet the social context of learning also affects the opportunities for such transformative learning experiences. This paper discusses how this social context can influence the way in which the learner interacts with the built and natural environment and how this, in turn, can support transformation. Recent experiences of different models of learning in the US, New Zealand, and Australia are used to demonstrate the contexts—social, natural, and built—in which learning about the environment in general, and architecture specifically, takes place. An ethno-methodological approach has been taken to develop an understanding of how meaning is made through learning experiences, and how this influences behaviour. Through observations and documentation, the nature of social interchange, the role of the natural and built environments, and the effect of the learning experiences, both formal and informal, on behaviour are explored. Findings from this investigation will inform the development of a framework for architectural education.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-268392017-01-30T12:55:30Z Learning to Change Together: The Social Context of Architectural Learning MackIntosh, Lara Transformation Learning Architecture Social Context In architectural education, learning is often structured to inform and support change to sustainable design and behaviour. The built and natural contexts in which this learning takes place are considered an important element in informing the new ways of seeing and knowing our environments, which are necessary for change. Yet the social context of learning also affects the opportunities for such transformative learning experiences. This paper discusses how this social context can influence the way in which the learner interacts with the built and natural environment and how this, in turn, can support transformation. Recent experiences of different models of learning in the US, New Zealand, and Australia are used to demonstrate the contexts—social, natural, and built—in which learning about the environment in general, and architecture specifically, takes place. An ethno-methodological approach has been taken to develop an understanding of how meaning is made through learning experiences, and how this influences behaviour. Through observations and documentation, the nature of social interchange, the role of the natural and built environments, and the effect of the learning experiences, both formal and informal, on behaviour are explored. Findings from this investigation will inform the development of a framework for architectural education. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/26839 http://ijae.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.230/prod.52 Common Ground Publishing fulltext
spellingShingle Transformation
Learning
Architecture
Social Context
MackIntosh, Lara
Learning to Change Together: The Social Context of Architectural Learning
title Learning to Change Together: The Social Context of Architectural Learning
title_full Learning to Change Together: The Social Context of Architectural Learning
title_fullStr Learning to Change Together: The Social Context of Architectural Learning
title_full_unstemmed Learning to Change Together: The Social Context of Architectural Learning
title_short Learning to Change Together: The Social Context of Architectural Learning
title_sort learning to change together: the social context of architectural learning
topic Transformation
Learning
Architecture
Social Context
url http://ijae.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.230/prod.52
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/26839