Abstract:

Architecture in Spain programs, unlike other countries, have a hard weight of engineering knowledge. The work here presented is part of the experimental program in educative innovation in architecture studies. This program relates two different subjects of the architecture academic studies, one have being taught as a theorist subject and the other as a practical subject.

The main aim of the innovation plan is that students understand the materials as an essential part of the projects but, at the same time, they can learn the materials behaviour by experimenting and researching their properties. The students were proposed to make videos to teach other students what they find and understand after experimentation. In this way, many mechanical, physical or chemical properties and behaviours of materials commonly used in Architecture, were proposed to be experiment and the doubts resolved with this way. These properties and behaviours had to be related to architecture samples, such as facades, structures, masonries....etc, in the way of relating it to projects development or heritage preservation.

Among the main points to focus in, we should be mentioned:
• Capturing the attention of other students. To make it possible, the videos had a maximum of three-four minutes long, with music, architecture samples...etc
• Resolving a problem as a challenge. This work would be one of the first challenges to prepare them also for the future.
• Teaching to other students with their own language, using the architecture language.
• Learn about science with their own experimentation and with other´s.

It is proposed to the students to follow an scientific methodology. It means to search among the literature in the case of materials properties which is later analysed to extract the main ideas; an experimental program to demonstrate the goal of each case and finally, to explain the experimental tests based on the literature in such a way that anybody could follow the videos. These videos have been also presented to other students from different grades, and upload to youtube.com to make the videos accessible to other architecture students.

Firstly, different groups of about four or five students were created. The number of students was selected to increase the results by team working processes and favours their collaboration. After a week, they had the first meeting with the teachers to present a guideline of the video and of the experiment to prove a property or behaviour. The teacher had to orient the students and give them, if they need it, the laboratory mediums to make the experiment. When the experiments phase was finished, the video started to be produced.

In the manuscript, the conclusions show the successful of the videos as tool for teaching. In general, more time expended to materials science after class, a higher student attendance to classes, teamwork-collaborative learning as well as interdisciplinary learning were achieved. All of these are reflected in a higher knowledge of the students.

Keywords:

Architecture, Videos, Experimental, Materials.