Creating an Interactive Learning Environment Case Study of FEDA Kids and Teens Workshop 2013

It is crucial to create an Interactive Learning Environment (ILE) while teaching architecture. This method was adopted in a workshop that took place in the architecture department at Faculty of Engineering (FEDA). The workshop aimed at creating an ILE through which the organizers and the participants of the workshop can learn. The workshop was part of the architecture department week that aimed at interacting with both architectural students and community members. The main theme of the workshop was: "Make your own Dream house", while its challenge was that it was intended for two different age groups: kids from 7-10 years old and teens from 11-17 years old. This paper aims at presenting the experiences and lessons learned during the preparation and execution of the workshop, to offer a real-life case study that went beyond applying traditional methods of teaching and to reveal the keys of achieving an interactive learning environment. This objective is achieved through the analysis of the case-study workshop, where the phases of creating the workshop are discussed in detail. Strategies for dealing with each age group, including motivation, breaking the ice, narration and praising strategies, helped the workshop instructors to develop an ILE. The paper ends up with detecting and measuring the two main variables that influenced the creation of intended ILE throughout the workshop. The results of this paper are vital to those who teach architecture to target groups of different background levels and ages, to promote interaction and to allow maximum understanding of the concepts of architecture.