VIRTUAL New Schools of Thought

Abstract

A student-centered approach to course design ensures that the course’s content, structure, and delivery evolve in concert with the continually changing characteristics of the student community. This paper examines how critical engagement is fostered in Appreciation of Architecture, a large-format General Education course with an average enrollment of 200-250 undergraduate students. The guiding principle of the course is that students come first. This paper argues how exploring ideas in a deliberate, curious, and reflective way is a function of learning both in and by one’s community. The first section of the paper details how members of the class are invited to play a role in developing the course’s structure. It examines how student feedback influences the ways in which the course unfolds, including ground rules for discussion and exam format. The second section demonstrates ways in which a low-pressure learning environment welcomes moments for nurturing peer-review and open-mindedness. This paper concludes by positioning this approach in a contemporary architecture discourse centered on rigor, backwards design, and empathy. Ultimately, it argues that teaching should be viewed as a design project. This means, as teachers, it is imperative to keep iterating and to not be fearful of the unknown.