Diversity in architecture training – Experience of aau on student-centered approach in teaching

Hội thảo “Đào tạo Kiến trúc & các ngành Thiết kế, Xây dựng trong xu hướng tồn cầu hĩa “ 
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DIVERSITY IN ARCHITECTURE TRAINING – 
EXPERIENCE OF AAU ON STUDENT-CENTERED 
APPROACH IN TEACHING 
TS. KTS. LÊ THỊ THU HƯƠNG 
KTS. PRIMA VIRIYAVADHANA 
Trường ĐH Assumption – Thái Lan 
Abstract 
Literature review shows that student-centered approach in education has been used 
widely in many universities and schools nowadays. In line with this trend, the 
approach has been applied from time to time at the Montfort del Rosario School of 
Architecture and Design, Assumption University, Thailand (AAU). The students of 
AAU have actively involved in several activities at school, both academic and non-
academic, which aim to develop their knowledge and experience in the study field in 
accordance to their interest, ability and personality. By sharing its experience on 
student-centered approach in architecture training, AAU also expects to learn the 
experience and view of the wider architectural community, including both educators 
and practitioners, to move forwards in this trend. 
Keywords: student-centered, architecture training, AAU. 
1. Introduction 
The School of Architecture of Assumption University (AAU), the former name of 
Montfort del Rosario School of Architecture and Design, was established since 1997 
to produce highly creative, versatile, and professional architects and designers through 
curriculums integratingmanagement and marketing disciplines as well as training 
inprofessional practices. Its vision is to be the leading international school of 
architecture and design in the region that operates within a diverse and international 
community. 
As Assumption University is an international university, the students who enroll in 
AAU each year are varied in terms of nationality, culture,background, as well as 
capacity for learning architecture and design programs. Figure 1 and 2 show the 
diversity of students at AAU from 2006 to 2015including 4 programs: Bachelor of 
Architecture, major in Architecture; Bachelor of Architecture, major in Interior 
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Architecture; Bachelor of Fine and Applied Arts, major in Interior Design; and 
Bachelor of Fine and Applied Arts, major in Product Design. 
Figure 1: Ratio of Thai and International Students in 2006-2015 - Source: AAU 
Figure 2: Ratio of Thai and International Students in 2006 – 2015 - Source: AAU 
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As architecture is an integrated study of art, science andtechnology, these three 
elements are considered importantfactors in the teaching and learning activities at 
AAU, withthe emphasis on current and future multi-disciplinaryapproaches, especially 
conceptual design approach whichenhances student’s creativity, individual differences 
andself-learning ability. Along with this line and in the context of diversity among the 
students, the school has gradually shifted to the student-centered approach in teaching 
and learning in order to accommodate the different interests and abilities of students 
while, to a certain extent, ensuring equal quality of students when they graduate. 
This paper, therefore, aims to share the experience of AAU, although still limited, on 
the teaching and learning activities in this shift. The concept of student-centered 
approach in education and training has been shortly reviewed and the experience of 
AAU on this approach is divided into two sessions including teaching methods and 
student activities. 
2. Student-centered approach inarchitecture training 
Student-centered approach in education, or student-centered learning (SCL), is not 
new in the literature review. Being different from the traditional ways of teaching 
where teacher provides lectures to student, this approach includes the teaching 
methods that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student who will play 
an active role in learning process. In contrast to lecture-based learning, active learning 
methods attempt to create a moreengaging learningenvironment that requires students 
to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.Usage of the term "student-
centered learning" may also simply refer to educational mindsets or instructional 
methods that recognize individual differences in learners. In this sense, SCL 
emphasizes on the students’ interests, abilities, and learning styles, placing the teacher 
as a facilitator for their learning1. 
In the field of architecture training, the SCL in design studios deals with the way 
individual students can build knowledge through the visual senses and learn by doing 
the design projects. The learner-centered characteristics such as self-discovery, 
learning from previous examples, and active learning are typically exemplified in the 
design studio culture2.In the architecture science subjects, one effective method is 
hands-on experiment in which thestudents have to engage in doing the real 
experiments by themselves or in the form of group work. For instances, the exercises 
for students may include observing shading devices of the buildings, measuring the 
1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student-centred_learning 
2Lueth, P. L. O. (2008) The architectural design studio as a learning environment: a qualitative 
exploration of architecture design student learning experiences in design studios from first- through 
fourth-year. Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. Iowa State University. 
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surface temperature of various surface color and texture under the sun and heat, 
observing the daylighting performance in architectural spaces, etc.3 
3. Student-centered approach in teaching methods: Experience of architecture 
program at AAU 
As students are the center of teaching, all AAU programs place their benefits for sake 
of the students. Since the enrolled students at AAU have different background and 
drawing skill, the school provides an Intensive Workshopof 10 days as a skill-
bridging program for all new students (Figure 3). 
Figure 3: Intensive Workshop as a skill-bridging program for all new students 
Source: AAU 
More importantly, AAU provides a monitoring system - student’s portfolio and 
advising day - to keep records of the student’s study results and designprojects: 
 Student’s portfolio: Students are required to keep an updated portfolio oftheir 
design projects and will be askedto submit their portfolio at the end of each 
semester to the school.The portfolio should be neatly organized in 
chronologicalorder and include thorough written descriptions, images,and 
photographs which document the design process ofeach project. A well-
designed portfolio is animportant part to help students keep track of all workas 
well as document their academic progress and self-development throughout 
3Demirbilek N. and Demirbilek O. (2007) Architecture science and student-centered learning. 41st 
Annual Conference of Architecture Science Association, Deakin University. 
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their architecture study. (See example at 
https://issuu.com/boonyaweetosakulchai/docs/portfolio) 
 Advisory system throughout the study period: A school-wide advising day is 
organized before every semester for the students to update their study results 
with their academic advisor and consult aboutstudy plan and course registration 
for the following semester. 
Regarding the teaching activities, the student-centered approach has been integrated in 
several courses including design courses, theory courses, as well as thesis preparation 
courses: 
 Structure of Architectural Design I-VII courses:Typically, each studio 
project includes site visit (for the students to work on practical site), lectures, 
desk critiques, mid-review and final presentation. After the site visit, the 
students need to do site analysis which also includes the user analysis based on 
their observation and interaction with the site and people around the site. They 
also need to find case studies of the project typology and explore their design 
ideas through different stages under the supervision of the studio lecturers. The 
topicand siteof design projects are changed every year in order to avoid 
plagiarism in design. 
Figure 4: Group discussion and studio presentation atmosphere - Source: AAU 
 Theory courses: more than 50% of the annual total courses provide fieldtrip 
for the students to learn from practice (Figure 4). The hands-on exercises are 
provided in some courses such as Design and Build Studio, Environmental 
System I and II, Fundamentals of Site and Landscape Planning, Fundamentals 
of Urban and Regional Planning, Methods of Research and Data Processing, 
and so on. Teamwork for mixed-nationality groups are also common in many 
courses in order to enhance the friendship between Thai and non-Thai students. 
These also benefit the students in terms of learning languages and sharing 
cultures. 
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Figure 5: Design and Build project - Bamboo structure - Source: AAU 
Figure 6: Students practise the construction workon the site next to AAU. 
Source: AAU 
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Figure 7: Fieldtrip at KhaoYai for Fundamentals of Site and Landscape 
Planning course - Source: AAU 
 Architectural Thesisis divided into two parts for two semesters. Semester I 
(Pre-Thesis) is focused on researching data including collection of all relevant 
facts for clarifying the thesis topic, analysis of information for narrowing down 
the thesis scope and specifying the thesis direction. Semester II (Thesis) takes 
on architectural design project including conceptual design, design 
development, and architectural implication that respond to spatial qualities, 
social environment, buildingtechnology, etc. In addition, in order to complete 
the thesis at AAU, all students are required to produce a 
publicationaccumulating thesis projects and publicly exhibit their works at the 
Thesis Exhibition day organized outside the school. 
Figure 8: Pre-Thesis and Thesis presentation - Source: AAU 
Besides, in order to ensure teaching and learning quality, the school provideswell-
equipped facilities for both lecturers and students. There are wide range and 
convenient facilities for students to learn theory courses as well as do their design 
projects like lecture rooms, studios, library, computer station, printing station, lighting 
and energy laboratory, material room, research room, mini-theater, exhibition hall, 
woodshop, etc (Figure 9). 
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Figure 9: AAU facilities for teaching and learning - Source: AAU 
4. Student-centered activities at AAU 
4.1. Academic activities 
In addition to regular teaching and learning activities, AAU also organizes several 
activities which aim tobring more knowledge, experience, as well as social interaction 
to the students, such as (Figure 10 to 12): 
 Student Development Activities: annual in-house exhibition, ASA exhibition, 
thesis exhibition (public), open-house exhibition, etc. 
 Lecture Series: in-house and guest lectures on several topics. The guest 
lecturers are well-known national and international architects, artists, designers, 
etc. who have won the awards in the architecture and design field. 
 Annual Vertical Competition: warm-up activities at the beginning of each 
year that enhance creativity of students by fun, such as W2 (Wear x WOW), 
Doomsday 2012, Happy New Year - Happy New You, Go Glow, Beyond a 
Bike. 
 Community services: in order to enhance the collaboration between the school 
and students with the communities, AAU organizes several activities that 
benefit the community and people around, such as Design for Life, Design for 
Hope, Universal Design for community, and so on. These activities are 
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integrated into the teaching courses and the students actively join from 
beginning. 
 International studies: 
- International fieldtrips open for all students: 2010 Shanghai World Expo; 
2011 Mini Expo Yeosu, South Korea; 2013 Tokyo and Yokohama. 
- International studies/workshops for senior students (third and fourth year): 
2105 Asian Coalition for Architecture and Urbanism- Tongji Workshop on 
“Everyone’s Country Park”; German International Studies 2013, 2014, 
2015. 
Figure 10: ASA Exhibition and Thesis Exhibition - Source: AAU 
Figure 11: Community service: Universal Designfor Bang Bo sub-district 
Source: AAU 
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Figure 12: International Fieldtrip - Source: AAU 
4.2. Enhancing school life of students 
In addition to the teaching, learning, and academic activities, AAU establishes student 
council and student clubs on the basis of nomination and volunteer of students. These 
council and clubs work closely with the school and university and regularly organize 
several activities benefiting students in different ways, including entertainment, 
pleasure, networking, etc.(Figures 13 and 14): 
 Student Council: The Student Council of AAU consists of representatives 
from each year thatare elected by the student members. The 
studentrepresentatives communicate with their fellow students,bring any issues 
to the council, and contribute to the Schoolactivities. 
 International student club: The International Students Club is a student-
organized group that helps connect foreign students and providecultural support 
in settling down and adjusting to the Thaisurroundings. 
 AU Clubs: Assumption University also overs a variety of student clubsand 
groups to explore personal interests and meetfellow students from other schools 
across campus. 
Figure 13: AAU Relationship camp - Source: AAU 
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Figure 14: AAU Charity camp - Source: AAU 
5. Conclusion 
As student-centered learning is important approach in education nowadays, the 
Montfort del Rosario School of Architecture and Design, Assumption University, 
Thailand (former name is AAU) has integrated it in the teaching methods through 
different ways. So far, AAU has achieved certain success on this approach and the 
school’s experience shows that in order to enhance student-centered learning, it is 
necessary to create a tight relationship between lecturers and students from the early 
years of their study. This helps the students be more confident to talk to lecturers, 
share problems with initial solutions if possible,and freely express their interest, 
opinion, and expectation in learning.Building this relationship as well as confidence 
for students also requires a great effort of all lecturers and the school in general.