Block mode delivery for studio design teaching in higher education

Block mode delivery is widely practised in higher education institutions across the world. It is popular at postgraduate level, such as in business and management fields, but is less common at undergraduate level, especially for studio design teaching. There is a lack of literature on the block mode delivery for studio design teaching. The aim of this paper is to identify the favourable attributes and challenges of the block mode delivery for studio design teaching through the analysis of three undergraduate design studio units at an Australian university as case studies. Students' written feedback of studying these three units were collected and reviewed to evaluate strategies for enhancing student engagement. Challenges of block teaching to students and staff are discussed. The findings suggest that there are various ways to engage with students for active learning in block teaching, which are valuable for curriculum design and continuous improvement.