New Forms of Pedagogy in Lecture-Based Courses in Architecture and Design

Over the past decade concerns about the quality of undergraduate professional education have significantly risen and there has been a worrying flood of reports and position papers regarding this. Highly critical reports with catchy titles continue to roll off the presses, ¹ these, in turn, have generated intensive discussion and debate in the literature of most disciplines. However, it is not the quantity, but the focus of this new round of criticism and discourse that is important: a focus which places great emphasis on issues central to the mission of contemporary educators, which is, quite simply, the development of research skills and critical thinking abilities through active, experiential and inquiry based learning.