PurposeThis study aims to expose the various roles that teachers and students adopt in the architecture design studio. It highlights how these roles change over time, through three distinct phases, which relate to the stages of the design project. This understanding of how roles change over the semester will guide academics in understanding how to better relate to students.Design/methodology/approachThrough a series of interviews and surveys, this study utilised a modified Delphi method to establish a consensus of opinion, both within and across the three stakeholder groups of students, tutors and coordinators/lecturers. Two rounds of data collection were conducted, with “expert” perceptions of the three stakeholder roles being established.FindingsThe roles that are adopted and perceived by students, tutors and coordinators/lecturers vary over time and respond to the stages of the design project. While there is general agreement between the perceptions of students and their teachers, there are some notable differences at key times.Originality/valueThis research builds upon previous studies into the roles of students and their teachers in the architecture design studio. It provides a nuanced map of how roles change and how interactions happen, over the duration and through the phases, of the architecture design project.

An understanding of the theoretical basis of the design learning process, and the resulting partnership between students and teachers in contemporary design studios, is required to optimise learning. Students’ learning in the architecture design studio has been widely studied, however the specific activities of students and teachers, and the interpersonal interactions between them, have not been investigated in great depth. This research identifies a complex, nuanced situation, one with three consecutive phases of different learning activities and relationships. An undergraduate architecture program at a large Australian university is analysed using a modified Delphi method to investigate the perceptions of staff and students and achieve convergence upon a shared understanding of how the design learning process unfolds through three distinct phases to support learning.

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