An exploration of socratic learning in a webinar settings

Abstract

Although digital technologies have started to impact the architecture studio, this field is largely underresearched. Limited empirical results are available on Socratic learning, enabled by student-tutor interactions in the crit, especially associated with the synchronous online studio. This study is situated in a blended undergraduate programme in architecture at a University of Technology in South Africa. The part-time programme was designed to broaden access to the architectural profession, by enabling previously disadvantaged and non-traditional working students to upgrade their qualifications, through a blend of office-based mentorship, on-campus blocks and online learning. The aim of this research was to explore the student-tutor interaction in the live online crit, facilitated via a webinar platform. A better understanding is needed of how Socratic learning is mediated between the concrete and the abstract, to address challenges in the studio related to increased student numbers, diversification of the student body and utilisation of available learning technologies.1 Drawing on learning design, online learning, Socratic learning and design critique literature by Laurillard,2 Gunawardena,3 Lam4 and Blair5 respectively, four modes of student-tutor interaction were identified. These are Negotiation, Exploration, Application and Reflection (NEAR). A focus group interview of recent graduates and three online crit protocols provided the data. All four modes of interaction were found in the focus group interview and observed in the live online crits. The data was thematically analysed and the crit protocol analyses were translated in notations to visualise the student-tutor interactions. The crit notations, read in relation to the graduates’ reporting, revealed patterns of interaction and insights about which party took the lead (the student or the tutor) and when, how the use of media impacted on the learning episodes, how the modes of interaction were sequenced in the live online crits, and how and when the most valuable learning interactions occurred.