Author: Gaia Crocella

Reflecting on current assessment practices in BA architecture at UAL, I often feel frustration at the inability to recognise students’ growth and learning curves when assessing their work. The evaluation system leaves little space to recognise their effort and transformation. Considering that each student has a different starting point and must face a different journey […]

INCONSISTENCIES IN MARKING Following the block 1 summative assessments in our vertical studio last year, my colleague and I were called in by the stage leaders to review and adjust grades after students complained that our studio marked more strictly than others. Having previously been told that my grading was too generous, I found this contradiction confusing, highlighting deeper inconsistencies in how […]

Low attendance at design reviews   In my Stage 1 design studio, a key challenge emerged during the Design Unit 2 summative review, where only four students attended. This reflected ongoing low attendance and engagement across the course. When invited to reflect upon this, students expressed fear of judgement and anxiety about showing unfinished work while engaging […]

For my microteaching, I brought a card deck I created to explore public space through a gender lens. The deck invites joyful, collaborative engagement with complex topics that can sometimes feel distressing, helping learners recognise intersecting forms of power that shape our experiences of the city. Although I teach design studio in BA architecture, this work may […]

What I enjoyed most about the microteaching session was learning from colleagues who used teaching approaches involving the body. I have been reflecting on how the different areas of my work can connect through the lens of the body, understood as the first site of the lived experience and the threshold through which we perceive […]

Reading ‘See you on the other side’: Researcher identity, threshold concepts and making a ritual of confirmation by O’Reilly, I realised there are parallels with the evolution of students I teach in BA Architecture. The text helped me articulate processes I witness in the studio (and in myself as a teacher and past student) but had not […]

Beginning the PG Cert feels like arriving at a much-needed point in my teaching journey. I have been teaching BA Architecture since 2020, within the design studio and the ethical practice unit. This has allowed me to guide students in shaping architectural projects that intersect their experiences, interests and the world around them. I find great […]

Individual support in expanding, high-needs studio cohortsI teach Design Studio across all three years of the BA Architecture programme. This year, my students present a wide range of needs, experiences and realities. In the vertical studio of 23 students, seven hold Individual Support Agreements (ISAs) and a further seven may benefit from additional support. In […]

First post for PG Cert induction

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