My pedagogical research practice is intrinsically linked to the pedagogy of the Studio and my subject area of Interior Design. As such I am particularly exploring ideas of comparison in feedback (Nicol,2020), Communities of Practice (Lave & Wanger 1991), and Landscapes of Practice (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner 2014) within Design Studio teaching and the impact of Studio spaces in both physical, remembered, and digital forms.
Building on my extensive body of studio-based practice exploring studio pedagogy within design studio at GSA, I am researching the perception of Studio across Art and Design subject areas in both the sense of the physical spaces and the collective actions within them collating a baseline of shared understanding of the place of studio within art and design teaching practice. In this area I am about to lead a GSA-funded research project “Where is Studio?” which will allow me to build foundational knowledge and collect photographic, text and audio artefacts, before moving onto the project’s second phase which will present this research through exhibition, presentations and papers.
Following the academic year of remote teaching (20-21), I explored the impact of our collective relocation into an online space through qualitative research with staff and students in the form of interviews and questionnaires. I was specifically examining the relation between the memory of physical studio and how this related to student engagement, interaction and agency within online studio spaces. I presented this research at the iJade Conference in 2021 which led to an invitation to submit a paper to the special edition conference issue of iJade 2021 Volume 40: Number 4 which was accepted after peer review.
Building on my extensive body of studio-based practice exploring studio pedagogy within design studio at GSA, I am researching the student and staff experience of online and blended learning and teaching and the impact it has had on our studio pedagogy.