EDUCATE _ Environmental Design in University Curricula and Architectural Training in Europe _ Results of Course and Curriculum Development _ University of Rome La Sapienza

Authored by E. Cangelli, S. Baiani, M. Cagliozzi, B. Celniku, L. Fais, P. Colletta from page 158 to 186 , and from page 324 to 347. | Following the publication of the “Framework for Curriculum Development” in February 2011, under the coordination of the Technische Universität München (TUM), the EDUCATE project partners have concentrated on testing its contents in terms of learning outcomes, cognitive framework, curriculum structure and pedagogical methods at every level of education and within professional training. The testing has been structured in a series of stages. Initially, the proposed framework has been compared to current educational practices at participating institutions and has been ratified by the national Chambers of Architects against their qualification criteria. Subsequently, new and/or adapted course and module syllabuses have been developed by each organisation involved and have been compared amongst EDUCATE partners to guarantee consistency of pedagogical objectives and targeted learning outcomes. At this stage, a Pilot Study of a total of 5 months of duration (depending on the individual course structure and calendar of each institution) has been launched to test the pedagogy devised and measure the integration of the features provided by the EDUCATE Portal (February to July 2011). The number of students involved in the testing has been consistent with current practices of studio teaching. A total of 1,130 users have been registered with an individual account on the EDUCATE Portal, including experts, part-time and full-time academic members of staff and students at various levels of their education. In collaboration with Chambers of Architects, building professionals have also simultaneously been invited to trial the use of the EDUCATE Portal to support professional development, although their level of involvement has varied across European countries due to contingent reasons, as for example the specific organisation of Continuing Professional Development activities in different countries. Interim results of the initial testing were presented at a Consortium Management Meeting held in Munich at the Technische Universität München (TUM) in June 2011 and were assessed by the EDUCATE Advisory Board, so as to measure initial responses by students and practitioners, compare impacts among partner institutions and consolidate outcomes towards the subsequent testing phase. The analysis of the results of the Pilot Study have lead to further refinement of the pedagogical developments devised by partners, with specific reference to the use of the EDUCATE Portal that, during the Field Testing (September to December 2011), has continued to interactively enhance exchanges of knowledge, facilitate review of students’ work and promote dissemination of best practice of sustainable environmental design. This stage of work has provided further information on the development of educational provisions put in place at partner organisations following the uptake of the principles and practices of the “Framework for Curriculum Development”. Further to this, the Field Testing has also gathered additional data and information on the effectiveness of the EDUCATE Portal in supporting the integration of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency in academic and professional education. At the conclusion of the Pilot Study, an International Student Award under the banner of EDUCATE Prize was launched, to which staff and students from all the partner institutions – as well as from other European and non-European academic organisations – have been invited to participate. The international character of the EDUCATE Prize, the free choice of the themes analysed by the submitted proposals (i.e., the brief did not prescribe a precise site or programme for a building design), and the diversification between different categories and levels of entry, have been arranged to reflect the flexibility, autonomy, individuality, cultural diversity and innovation of approaches that characterise contemporary architectural education.