A Critical Approach To Distance Education From The Perspective Of The Architectural Studio Instructors

Abstract

The discipline of architecture is a phenomenon that has existed since the beginning of human existence and is constantly evolving. Within the scope of this study, the discipline of architecture has been examined from the perspective of education, and the study aims to discuss the relevant effects of the pandemic in recent years. Architectural education has design studio courses at its centre and the curriculum is structured holistically with other applied and theoretical courses. Studios are active spaces where students engage intellectually and socially, and switch between analytical, synthetic and evaluative ways of thinking in different activities such as drawing, making models or discussing ideas. With Covid-19 pandemic, education has been suspended all over the world as of 2020. After a while, in order not to hamper education, online or hybrid education systems were introduced in all classes. Although architectural education can keep up with the changes and renew itself over the years, it encountered many problems during this radical process. The students, who were in one-to-one contact and bilateral dialogue with the instructor of the course in the studio environment, have not been able to carry out the process of experimenting, thinking, intuiting and doing in the studio together with the instructor which is the cornerstone of architectural education. In this context, the positive and negative situations experienced in the studio classes of the architecture departments during Covid-19 period were examined from the perspective of the studio instructors. This research aims to create a critical perspective on distance and hybrid education through the experience of the studio instructor.