Practical Learning in the Classroom

of architecture, is a beneficial aspect of the art curriculum (Sadler, 1989). B The value of architectural design is that it is the concrete training ground for a broadly applicable creative process. Architectural training can help people design structures to meet needs. It can help farmers design crop rotations to meet needs. Furthermore, it provides hands-on experiences that reinforce learning in various other subjects, from math to social studies. C In the ongoing dialogue about architecture in the middle school art curriculum, many believe students should actually build the structures they design in their courses. Although the technology and expertise required of modern architecture can prohibit students from actually realizing their designs, traditional architectural materials and methods remain quite accessible to the art classroom. Traditional architectural materials, such as earth, clay and straw, are cheap, easy to work with and readily available. Further, when students participate in the construction or preservation of a traditional earthen structure in their local community, they engage in a form of experiential learning and they are motivated to invest in the project. This is evident in a case study of an…