CUR - The Council on Undergraduate Research

How the Environment of Design Studio Education Has Changed at Kennesaw State University Due to COVID-19

Sara Clement, Cole Curry, Javier Molina, and Dr. Andrew Payne, Department of Architecture, Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Road, Kennesaw GA 30144

Due to unprecedented circumstances, a disconnect between student engagement and performance appears to have arisen from the shift to an online format due to COVID-19. This disconnect arises from a lack of interaction within the studio environment among students and professors alike, which leads to an inability to perform as successfully as when in-person interaction is afforded. According to Ouimet and Smallwood (2005) increased student interaction has shown more student involvement, increased quality of effort, and academic integration. The aim of this research is to explore how the environment of design education has changed at Kennesaw State University due to COVID-19. The surveys, questionnaires, and interviews generated during this process will be based on the student and faculty's perspective on engagement. We aim to use qualitative data by collecting responses and comparing quality of performance pre and during COVID-19. We expect to find that lack of academic and social engagement hinders progress, as well as how limited hours of access and alternative times available to be in the design studio affects students' motivation. Interactions such as desk critiques and peer reviews, which are opportunities for students to gain feedback on their design process, are vital to the studio experience. These findings will help guide our process of discovering what students need in a virtual format to be most successful and ways faculty can assure student success through online virtual engagement.  

Additional Abstract Information