Extensive research on education innovation
Within the research programme ‘Research on education innovation’, BK Bouwkunde structurally looks into opportunities to innovate, improve, monitor, and research education. The 4TU Centre for Engineering Education has granted € 105.000 to both BK Bouwkunde and the faculty Industrial Design Engineering to set up, carry out, and extend three projects and one event to further develop and share knowledge.
The faculties are working together in efforts to further develop knowledge of engineering education. The Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment receives € 60.000 and coordinates the separate projects. These three projects bring together various streams of thought, ranging from an understanding of didactic methodology in design education to the possibilities for reducing study stress in order to boost health.
Project: ‘Study stress in design education’
In collaboration with the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering
This project explores the factors that cause excessive workload and stress in the first-year design courses in the Bachelor’s programme Bouwkunde. It also looks at potential solutions. A number of interventions will be attempted and monitored. For this purpose, project manager Remon Rooij and course coordinators Steven Steenbruggen and Frank Schnater will not only be working with colleagues from the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, but also with Christianne Wilmink from consultancy company Herzien Advies, a specialist in coaching and personal leadership. The results of the research will provide the insights needed to effectively encourage a healthy study environment. If you want students to broaden their horizons and develop an enquiring attitude, preventing unnecessary stress is an important priority, both for students and lecturers. This is why the decision was made to focus on first-year Bachelor's design courses, as Remon Rooij explains: “You need to start where it matters.”
Project ‘Pedagogies for MSc AUBS studio teaching’
In collaboration with the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering
Studio-based teaching is one of the most important building blocks of project education at both faculties. But how do different studios approach the relationship between design and research? How are design and technology integrated? How do students reflect on their design processes? The answers to these questions are key to gaining an understanding of the different methods used for design education in a study context. This project aims to systematically describe, compare and evaluate the design studio methods in the MSc in Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences, with an explicit focus on pedagogy and didactics. Project manager Roberto Cavallo and MSc coordinators Peter Teeuw, Inge Bobbink, Kristel Aalbers, and Peter Koorstra will work with colleagues from the Faculty of IDE in identifying and assessing different methodologies. The results provide a greater understanding of the similarities and differences in didactic methods and an overview of the various approaches.
Book: ‘Academic skills for practitioners in Architecture and the Built Environment’
This project, already launched, involves approaching several colleagues from the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment to contribute to this open access, ultimately bilingual, teaching aid for the Bachelor's degree programme Bouwkunde. The book aims to provide a theoretical basis giving background information that both students and lecturers can rely on. It will focus particularly on the relationship between design and research and the associated academic skills. Produced by an editorial team made up of Louis Lousberg, Sake Zijlstra, Willemijn Wilms Floet and Remon Rooij, the book will provide an overall impression and understanding of the academic skills taught in the Bachelor's degree programme. It will therefore also serve as a useful point of reference for the student intake from other Dutch and international universities.
Symposium: ‘Research on Education Innovation’
In late 2020, a multi-day symposium will be organised at the faculty, aimed at presenting and discussing the progress and results achieved in the Research on Education Innovation research programme. Roberto Cavallo and Remon Rooij are organising this event, at which colleagues and guest speakers will be invited to contribute to reflections on this faculty-wide initiative.
More information
Contact research leaders Remon Rooij or Roberto Cavallo for more in-depth information on the separate projects.