LEARNING AND RESEARCH
LEARNING AND RESEARCH
RESEARCH PAPERS AVAILABLE:
- Eco Cities Conference 2017
- The Boathouse Project
- Past Portfolio
- Can Tiny Houses be used to reduce homelessness?
- 141210 UD - Darebin Northland ESD Scoping Report
- PLEA 2014 Abstract Sustainable Procurement in Building Practice
- Precinct Strategies for Influencing of Sustainability Outcomes
- MAX Profit Construction Supply Chains Management
- Project Management Ideology
- Retrofit and The Building Industry Research Proposal
It is gratifying that I have been able to teach a variety of architectural urban planning and construction courses and faculty development workshops in several different contexts and at different tertiary institutions (including University of Melbourne, Swinburne University of Technology, Deakin University, National University of Singapore)
Few of the courses I have taught throughout the past few years are Architectural Design Studio (water), Urban Precinct Studio - Urban Planning and Urban Design, Constructing Environments, Project Management and Constructing Scheduling, Faculty development courses, workshops and consultations. My teaching and research are both conceptually and pragmatically synergistic.
Conceptual Synergies
Research is long-term learning and research inquiries are provoked by intellectual curiosity. So as a teacher I must support, challenge and focus the curiosity of student and provoke intellectual capacity in students who have not yet realized what they are missing. Many key academics do this by integrating their thought processes for students; I also figure out ways to teach students and how to engage in such processes.
Similarly, in pursuing both research and learning, one works in an academically rigorous and honest way, aiming for clarity of thought and expression, as well as for accuracy. As I actively pursue a research agenda then, I inherently model many qualities of academic rigor for my students and, on a practical level, keep up to date with the research tools I teach them to use. Over the years l have always looked back at my teachers and professors and tried to integrate their ideas and thoughts to my teaching methodology.
Practical Synergies
I think teaching is a manifestation of inquiry rather than of doctrine. Research is prolonged and can be ongoing as we develop new technology and new methodologies. Thus a good teacher must frequently think in ways similar to those of a researcher, considering what, how, and why students are learning and figuring out how to improve the process.
Since long-term learning comes from one’s deep engagement with information and ideas, and since people are most easily engaged with ideas they find inherently interesting, I incorporate “real life practice” for students into some subjects in order to promote better learning and to develop skills of inquiry. In this way, each student can and does, become an expert in some aspect of the subject matter. I believe that some of them also learn more about the value of pursuing research to new understandings. In all subjects, I also engage students’ sense of enquiry through assignments and class activities.
The desire to keep and develop an open, flexible mind, together with an ongoing curiosity about how people learn, drives my teaching and research. Thus I have branched out beyond teaching the students how to create solid intellectual statements and valid supporting arguments. The integration of my thinking on teaching and research and practical integration has resulted in having industry recognition by several construction and government agencies through seminars. I respect students for what they know, for their ability to learn, and for the energy, imagination, and creativity they can bring to a subject and course. This basic respect grows my philosophy of teaching: I aim to motivate and encourage students to learn about the design, urban planning and construction aspects of the built environment.