The Future of Education

In many prominent US-based technical institutions, project-based learning in near-authentic professional contexts seems to be a central direction for the education of the future. In this model, students typically first design technical solutions, then build or implement them, and finally, almost as an afterthought, they communicate them to faculty and stakeholders during a final review. However, we know from research in the Learning Sciences that feedback and directed practice are critical  components for an integrated and effective learning process (Ambrose et al 2010). In this paper, we introduce a new model towards the technical education for the future which supports multiple feedback loops and the integration of the performative aspect of communicating the results of the project for multiple audiences. We draw experience from the field of Architecture to inform how the process and design spaces for technical education can be improved to incorporate more iteration and communication of ideas early on in the design process.

More specifically, in Architecture, the “studio” is a place where peers and educators design and create together, and opportunities to present one’s work abound. By having to present their work repeatedly throughout the design phase, students quickly learn the importance of quickly and efficiently communicating the core concepts of their work. They are forced to consider not only the quality of their projects, but how that quality is conveyed to experts and non-experts alike. The result is a stronger conceptual framing of the work, in addition to stronger communication and presentation of the work.

The repeated critiques of architectural work are embedded in the education system, in the curriculum, the expectations of the students and faculty, and even the physical educational spaces. Architectural studios and both maker-spaces as well as performance spaces. Concepts are designed, built, and presented within constantly utilized spaces that students and faculty are deeply familiar with (see the Figure below).

In this paper we describe a method of technical education that not only incorporates a higher-frequency of faculty and peer-based iteration reviews, but new types of technical education spaces that accommodate and encourage this form of interaction and thinking.