The passport, an integrated undergraduate studio-based architectural design learning, teaching and assessment instrument

Abstract

This paper presents a learning, teaching and assessment instrument for undergraduate architectural studio instruction, developed in the Department of Architectural Technology of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Cape Town, South Africa. It explains a rational approach to architectural education, which is studio-, project-, process- and problem-based (Ellmers & Foley, 2007; Skinner, 2002; De la Harpe, Peterson, Frankham, Zehner, Neale, Musgrave & McDermott, 2009) and involves complex learning activities (Van Merriënboer, 1997). Students’ dedicated and active participation is required to gain maximum learning benefit by developing a design proposal in response to a given project brief. This graphic instrument (Morkel & Voulgarelis, 2009) maps and manages the pragmatic constructivist didactic methodology by which it is underpinned by monitoring student participation and progress, facilitating assessment and enhancing student learning. It is called a “passport”, as without it there is no entry into the portfolio examination. The passport developed over time in response to a range of challenges presented in the undergraduate architectural studio. The authors aim to explain its value, application and relevance in terms of the prominent studio instructional themes identified in recent literature.