Application of Constructivist Educational Theory in providing Tacit Knowledge and Pedagogical Efficacy in Architectural Design Education: A Case Study of an Architecture school in Iran

Beginning with general debates about the character of pedagogy in architectural design studios, and the role of constructivist educational theory and tacit knowledge in efficacious learning and teaching, this article makes some predictions about the interrelationship between these processes. These predictions are then tested by conducting an empirical research at one of the early design studios of architecture education devoted to residential design, in the department of art and architecture at Kerman Azad University in Iran. These tests have shown significant differences between the design performance of students who have been subjected to constructivist educational theory in their design process, and those who encountered other pedagogical approaches. This paper uses these findings to confirm that applying constructivist educational theory in the design studio leads to an increase in tacit knowledge, the kind of knowledge that is required among designers, as design is related to a skill-based domain dealing more with knowing how to complete tasks than of mere reliance on knowing facts. In this article, it is argued that if such educational strategy gains currency in schools of architecture, the outcome will be a positive experience of pedagogical efficacy through supporting lifelong learning. This efficacy, when woven with tacit knowledge, can create architects that are more dependent on their own critical thinking abilities, more interrelated to communities of people, and more responsive to their feedbacks, which in turn allows them to be more realistic in their endeavors. [Amineh Andjomshoaa, Seyed Gholamreza Islami, Seyed Mostafa Mokhtabad-Amrei. Application of Constructivist Educational Theory in providing Tacit Knowledge and Pedagogical Efficacy in Architectural Design Education: A Case Study of an Architecture school in Iran. Life Science Journal. 2011; 8(1): 213-233] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com.