Studio teaching for the property discipline

Studio teaching has formed the major mode of teaching and learning activities in Built Environment schools around the world – especially for the design disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design. This study investigates studio teaching for a final year undergraduate property subject at a time of significant change being part of the Australian university education reform ‘pilot tested’ at the University of Melbourne. This research uses a modified version of Brookfield’s (1995) “critically reflective lenses” and Scho n’s (1985) education model towards the “reflexive practitioner” to investigate and develop studio teaching mode for a real estate subject that is regarded as “non-design based” subject. We identified that the studio teaching model, through the purposeful application of its ‘model of interaction’ and ‘model of space’, provides the tools that can address the pertinent challenge at the particular juncture of the university reform in Australia. We found that the ‘model of interaction’ at least has significant parallels with the Assessment of Professional Competences (APC) of professional bodies such as the RICS. We also found that the success of the application of the studio model to non-design subjects will depend on the additional teaching resources and funding that are required. The study has strong theoretical relevance to university teaching and practical value in benefiting industry and professional practice.