July 25,2019 |

Detailed Learning Methodology

This studio was the first of the nationwide placemaking studios created by the Place Agency Consortium. The purpose of the studio was to take students through the first two aspects of a place-based journey; People and Process.

People: The students worked alongside seven local artists (Legacy Report – Final Recommendations), Hubcap Productions, and the local community who attended the engagement activities delivered by the by the students.
Process: This studio asked the students to specifically design a community engagement process that was ‘quick’, ‘fun’, ‘affordable’ and allowed them to tap into the local knowledge and identify the needs and opportunities for place as perceived by the local community

With a total 7 weeks of engagement, the class consisted of 5 hr sessions embedded within the site to be used as a case study. The room was provided in-kind by the local partners to contribute to the placemaking initiative. The subject emphasised the learning of soft-skills, of both ‘hand’ and ‘heart’, by giving the opportunity to students to learn how to approach, talk to, listen to, and engage with residents and business owners.

The table below outlines each learning activity and exercise as designed by the studio leader(s) to guide the students in their placemaking learning journey. It provides the activity type, a short description and links to one or more key learning objectives as aligned by the Learning Outcome Sunflower. This information is actively used to enhance our knowledge and evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching strategies to aid placemakers. For more information about this research, go to our ongoing research project: Place Agency – Impact and Outcomes.

If you are a teacher, we invite you to use this studio outline to craft your own teaching experiences.

Key dates for activities	Module	Description	Key learning objectives
Fri 5-Jan 2018	Introduction to placemaking	Understanding the site and understanding placemaking, history of here & power of potential	Understanding principals of placemaking
Mon 8- Jan 2018	Tools for placemaking	Placemaking the power of landscape, placemaking and policy, tactical urbanism and other tools for place	Familiarity with tools of placemaking
Fri 12- Jan 2018	Self-directed groupwork	Student groups will work on details of community engagement session	Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Mon 15- Jan 2018	Development and research	Design and placemaking inspirations, visit to railway yards, visit to power station	Forming a connection with the local community
Fri 19- Jan 2018	Community engagement Day	Each team to deliver their engagement interventions to create connection with the community, collect data. Delivered as a ½ day community engagement session through games	Listening skills, Empathy, Verbal communication
Mon 22- Jan 2018	Preliminary Community feedback	Present the student’s conceptual designs to the local community to gather feedback and first impressions from the locals.	Meaningfully and respectfully respond to feedback
Thurs 25-Jan 2018	Assessment 1	Take community feedback and make conclusions	Design development Written communication, Graphic communication
Mon 29- Jan 2018	Design process	Develop approach for design (3 groups) planning and landscape development	Design development
Fri-2 Feb 2018	Design interim presentation	Present first design ideas to community and traders	Meaningfully and respectfully respond to feedback
Mon 5- Feb 2018	Design development	Continue to develop scheme and draft implementation plan development	Design development
Mon 12- Feb 2018	Finalize designs	Document findings and design for submission	Team work
Wed 14- Feb 2018	Studio reviews	Presentation at the University of Melbourne student assessment	Presentation of design
Wed 21- Feb 2018	Exhibition	Present to community and celebrate the results of the studio.	Engage community about the design and collect feedback

Comments (0)