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Teaching Philsophy

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

JABU ABSALOM MAKHUBU BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE 2 COORDINATOR

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drawings are extracts from my sketch book, which i use as a design tool during tutorials and project critique sessions

Pagano argues that “When we teach, we tell stories. We tell stories about our disciplines, about the place of these disciplines in the structure of human knowledge. We tell stories about what it is to be a human knower, and about how knowledge is made, claimed and legitimated” -(Pagano, 1994: 252)

Much like Pagano above, my teaching is a form of storytelling. It draws from indigenous forms of knowledge building and passing. Similar to how our ancestors passed down knowledge and wisdom. But unlike the hierarchical system, I am of the belief that students bring into the classroom embodied knowledges and thus I too am a learner in this context. The thing about stories is that they sometimes allow us to suspend reality temporarily so we can look closer at who we are. How we tell those stories, that is the language, tools and forms of representation that we use to tell those stories, depends on the audience. In other words, who is the story directed at will influence how the story is told and interpreted. I am interested in the full version of events, not just the parts that make us feel good. What kind of story does your architecture tell? And what does that story mean to you, to them and to us? In light of the above, My teaching philosophy follows a constructivist learning theory. Unlike the banking system of education which views students as empty vessels only capable of receiving and regurgitating ‘knowledge’ from their teachers/professors, constructivism as a theory is of the view that students construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through reflecting on their experiences. Issues of race, gender, culture, identity and politics are not separated from the empirical/scientific explorations of space and architecture.

We also learn by doing, through the iterative and cyclic process of design (research, analysis, MAKING, synthesis and review). Mastery thereof lies in an intimate and detailed understanding of the complex layers that form the narrative. Its characters, the place on which the story takes place and the issues that influence the stories. This understanding allows us to articulate a refined response to the narratives. To tell stories, one must be a good listener, not only of the sound of ones own voice but more so of a multitude of other voices and narratives including ones you disagree with.

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