Exploring Learning Objectives for Digital Design in Architectural Education

What are the objectives of teaching digital design in architecture? While this seems a rather primitive inquiry it in fact is loaded with misunderstanding and disagreement. This paper aims to bring accepted educational research about learning objectives into the discussion of digital design’s relationship to architecture. In particular, Bloom’s Taxonomy is introduced and referenced as a tool for creating clarity, transparency, and accountability among educators. The purpose of reflecting upon learning objectives for digital design in architecture is not to produce a definitive list of what students ought to learn. Learning objectives are written for specific curricula, student needs, and faculty interests. They are useful because they provide a clear definition of expected outcomes and which becomes a point of dialogue. In order to evaluate something, it first must be named. Through evaluation and discussion, a discipline develops. When Bloom created the learning taxonomy, this was the goal. Not to explain or lay claim to how students must learn, but to provide a shared structure so educators could compare their approaches. In a similar manner, creating and sharing learning objectives for digital design instruction, using established tools like Bloom's Taxonomy, can produce a more organized dialogue about how to align the use of digital tools with the core values of architectural education and the development of the discipline itself. Disciplines Architecture | Art Education This conference proceeding is available at Iowa State University Digital Repository: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/arch_conf/86