Teaching Methodologies in Spatial Planning for Integration of International Students

Abstract

Nowadays, the spread of international exchanges is growing among university students, across European countries. In general, during their academic degrees, the high education students are looking for international experiences abroad. This goal has its justification not only in the reason of pursuing their studies, but also in the desire of knowing another city, a different culture, a diverse way of teaching, and at the same time having the opportunity of improving their skills speaking another language. Therefore, the scholars at the high level of educational systems have to rethink their traditional approaches in terms of teaching methodologies in order to be able to integrate these students, that every academic year are coming from abroad. Portugal is not an exception on this matter, neither the scientific domain of spatial planning. Actually, during the last years, the number of foreign students choosing to study in this country is rapidly increasing. Even though some years ago, most of the international students were originated from Portuguese speaking countries, comprising its former colonies such as Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde or Mozambique, recently the number of students from other countries is increasing, including from Syria. Characterized by a mild climate, a beautiful seashore and cities packed with historical and cultural interests, this country is a very attractive destination for international students. In this sense, this study explores the beliefs about teaching methodologies that scholars in spatial planning domain can use to guide their practice within Architecture degree, in order to promote de integration of international students. These methodologies are based on the notion that effective teaching is student-centred rather than teacher-centred, in order to achieve a knowledge-centred learning environment framework in terms of spatial planning skills. Thus, this article arises out of a spatial planning unit experience in the Master Degree in Architecture (MIA) course, at the University of Beira Interior (UBI) in Portugal, to understand more about teaching methodologies, in order to promote the integration of international students. The study explores the teamwork tasks and the hetero-evaluation as new approaches in the teaching methodologies focused on the student-centred teaching. This research main conclusion is the need of promoting a shift from lecture-based and teacher-centred practices to student-centred approach.