Centring the Student through Intrinsic Feedback

Learning relies on feedback. Whether it be knowledge, skills, or practical application, the student’s confidence and progress relies on some way of knowing if their efforts have been successful or not. In the traditional pedagogical model of architecture, feedback is usually provided by academics, who in this way acquire the role of the master to the student-apprentice. This paper explores an alternative model of intrinsic feedback in the context of architectural education, in which the learning activity itself can provide feedback directly to the student. This student-centred approach has been trialled in the context of an architectural technology module, with intrinsic feedback offered through physical experiments, replicating aspects of architectural structures and construction. These experiments engage students through multi-sensory activities in which the senses provide feedback to promote the development of conceptual and procedural knowledge. This paper further expands on these pedagogical trials through the analysis of these learning environments using Diana Laurillard’s conversational framework. Laurillard’s framework is expanded and adapted to illustrate how intrinsic feedback can be incorporated to allow the student to be more in control of their own learning.