Facebook-enhanced face to face learning: The architecture studio

Abstract

Architectural design learning happens in a studio – as it has for almost a century. This is the place where conversation and interaction happens; an environment conducive to critical thinking, conceptualisation and design development. This paper presents work that is part of a current doctoral study by the author, entitled “The online architecture studio: towards an instructional-design framework for design-learning.” The study addresses three types of conversation that facilitate design learning, namely the conversation with the self (internal dialogue), the conversation between peers (horizontal dialogue) and the conversation between student and tutor (vertical dialogue). The use of facebook to facilitate these three relationships for conversation is investigated in this paper. A participatory action research methodology is used to reflect on the use of facebook in the final year of an undergraduate programme in Architectural Technology at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town. Quantitative data collected through two focus groups was related to relevant literature, in order to understand the significance of the use of facebook as a tool to facilitate reflective, collaborative and apprenticeship learning in support of the physical face to face studio.