Abstract
“A project is a vehicle to bring about change” [1]
Strong pressure from industry, students and society has led the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim to introduce a 2-year international, interdisciplinary M.Sc. program in Sustainable Architecture in fall 2010. The program expanded from a 1-semester specialization course in energy- and environment-friendly architecture (22.5 ECTS) to a 120-ECTS 2-year program of four consecutive semesters. All courses within the program can also be selected as independent topics by regular architecture students who only want to specialize in low-carbon architecture during one semester.
The program is connected to the Norwegian Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research (CEER) in Zero Emission Buildings which was created under the leadership of NTNU (Director) and SINTEF (CEO) in 2009 [2].
The ZEB centre works closely with educational and research institutions, industry and public administration in Norway and abroad. The collaboration ensures the exchange of experiences and development of knowledge between institutions worldwide. In addition, the M.Sc. program has a strong link to the Norwegian Cities of the Future program and the development of the Brøset site in Trondheim as a low-carbon neighbourhood.
This paper analyses written feedback (class meetings and surveys) the teacher group has received during the first three semesters of the program since August 2010, and the actions that were implemented by the teacher group as a result of this feedback. The feedback is analyzed and evaluated using theory of group processes and experiential learning, and it is discussed how these actions help to build a flexible and interactive learning platform for both students and teachers.
The analysis is divided into three main parts: (1) the expected learning outcomes; (2) communication; and (3) roles.
Strong pressure from industry, students and society has led the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim to introduce a 2-year international, interdisciplinary M.Sc. program in Sustainable Architecture in fall 2010. The program expanded from a 1-semester specialization course in energy- and environment-friendly architecture (22.5 ECTS) to a 120-ECTS 2-year program of four consecutive semesters. All courses within the program can also be selected as independent topics by regular architecture students who only want to specialize in low-carbon architecture during one semester.
The program is connected to the Norwegian Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research (CEER) in Zero Emission Buildings which was created under the leadership of NTNU (Director) and SINTEF (CEO) in 2009 [2].
The ZEB centre works closely with educational and research institutions, industry and public administration in Norway and abroad. The collaboration ensures the exchange of experiences and development of knowledge between institutions worldwide. In addition, the M.Sc. program has a strong link to the Norwegian Cities of the Future program and the development of the Brøset site in Trondheim as a low-carbon neighbourhood.
This paper analyses written feedback (class meetings and surveys) the teacher group has received during the first three semesters of the program since August 2010, and the actions that were implemented by the teacher group as a result of this feedback. The feedback is analyzed and evaluated using theory of group processes and experiential learning, and it is discussed how these actions help to build a flexible and interactive learning platform for both students and teachers.
The analysis is divided into three main parts: (1) the expected learning outcomes; (2) communication; and (3) roles.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 267-275 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | International Journal of Sustainable Building Technology and Urban Development |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 7 Mar 2012 |