Enhancing Tacit Knowledge Exchange in the Design Studio with Mobile Technology

Abstract

It is well-known that the design and creative process is driven by tacit knowledge that cannot be transferred from tutor to student through unidirectional disseminations, such as lectures. Instead, students acquire tacit design knowledge in design studios through a direct two-way dialogue with the tutor while engaged in in-depth exchanges ("desk-crits") on their own design proposals. This face-to-face contact is critical to the success of design education. As rapidly increasing utilization of digital technology and the internet have changed the communication behavior of youths, teaching and learning methods must embrace such technologies to create an environment to facilitate learning in the digital era. Currently, a large number of projects to incorporate digital technology in education, such as interactive e-learning platforms, podcasts, online library/dictionary, etc, promote asynchronous learning, that is, learning where the participants are not gathered in the same place at the same time. While self-directed learning is valuable, this proposal aims to re-focus on tutor-facilitated learning and enrich the face-to-face exchange between architectural design tutors and students with digital technology. The proposal incorporates mobile technology and the SMART-Board to transform the traditional paper-based design studio process to a more digital-based one to open-up the "desk-crit" process and foster group dynamics in the design studio for the enhancement of tacit knowledge transfer in the architectural design studio.