framework for the implementation of a virtual design studio model in ...

expected to finalise their design project and implement their thesis
research that incorporates all the skills they learnt previously.
Although the design studio practises in the traditional way in both
streams of architecture education in the UAE, higher education institutes
in the UAE are competing to integrate student-centred learning
approaches, and it has been asserted by H.E. Sheikh Nahyan that there
is a need to move further towards this by taking into account student
assessments and learning in general. 236 The adoption of such an
approach is a complex task for the UAE context, taking into
consideration the students‟ prior backgrounds and the previous learning
methods in their schooling systems. The school systems in the UAE
highly stress a rote learning and didactic teacher-centred-approach. 237
A challenge that is facing higher education in the UAE is how to
motivate students from being passive receivers to being active
participants in the learning environment. Hesson and Shad 238 developed
a model to integrate student-centred learning for Biology students in
Egypt, in their study which is published at UAE University, they argued
that this model is of teaching integrative thinking, based on existing
models of creativity and synthesis. Hesson and Shad 239 further add that
students in the UAE lack motivation to conduct a student-centred
learning approach but concluded that using the technology-based tools
promotes students‟ enthusiasm. They 240 concluded that for this
approach to be successful; the departments need to modify their
curriculum to accommodate these changes. Young 241 has also
conducted a study at Zayed University in the UAE to evaluate the
integration of learning technology and he asserts that the use of
technology-based curriculum in the UAE requires a shift from teacher-
centred learning approach to a student-centred learning approach. It is
also of great importance for both streams of architecture education to
236 Young, B. J. (2005). op.cit p28
237 Walters, T. S., Quinn L. Walters (2003) ‘Gen Zeds: Arab women speaking with still small voices’. Equi
Novi 24 (2). p181-194.
238 Hesson M., Shad, K. F. (2007). op.cit. p628-636.
239 Ibid. p. 628-636.
240 Ibid. p. 628-636.
82