Teaching Beyond the Curriculum

Abstract

This study examines student learning outcomes in an undergraduate Materials and Methods of Construction Architecture course, analyzing a series of pedagogic adaptations from 2016 to 2023. The course typically provides foundational knowledge of building construction materials and techniques. However, challenges of the academic-industrial complex, including financial contracts with text book publishers and administrative inefficiencies, have hindered the course’s adaptation to a rapidly changing techno-cultural environment. These challenges have created a rift between cultural and technological changes and the slow implementation of pedagogical adjustments by academic bureaucracies. Consequently, building technology courses have become neglected, with an over reliance on rote memorization resulting in disengagement from the learning process. This study aims to revitalize students’ ingenuity, and enhance creative problem-solving skills for deeper comprehension. The study first analyzes a pre-Covid adaptation that focused on digital fabrication-centered design. Students created scaled physical material systems assembly models without the reliance of glue, developing robust intuition for material capacities and vulnerabilities based on real-world constraints. Subsequently, during the Covid pandemic, student-created video blogs became the primary course deliverable. This aspect of the study explores the positive outcomes of transitioning to online formats by creatively engaging “digital natives” who often struggle to balance school work and internet consumption. Finally, the study proposes a third adaptation to the course by integrating physical simulation models and Vlogs, as well as User-friendly gamified computational simulation techniques like Finite Element Analysis and Topology Optimization. The study concludes by highlighting the potentials and challenges of similar approaches for other building technology courses, including Structures and Environments.