Abstract:

Background:
Achieving performance in higher education remains a paramount issue nowadays in a society that evolves at an unprecedented pace, demanding excellence in every aspect. Not only is student performance an excellent way of professional development and improvement, but also an indicator of quality for future employers. Higher education institutions focus on obtaining academic performance through the contributions of their teachers (as is the case of Transilvania University in Brașov, which in a short period became firstly ranked in the top of Romanian universities, based upon the scientific results of its academics). The performance of the teacher reflects upon the quality of teaching and further stimulates the students to achieve learning performance. The present paper engages the issue of student performance, trying to answer the following questions: what are the factors to be taken into consideration by the teacher that helps students obtain performance in the field of architecture and design? To what degree is the use of differentiated strategies important for achieving that performance? What is the profile of the student who obtains performance in this domain? Is there a connection between passion and performance and how can it be put to use by the teacher and student?

Purpose of the study:
This paper aims to address the issue of obtaining student performance within three disciplines pertaining to the field of architectural and design higher education. The focus of the study is to examine learning performance both from the perspective of the teacher (role, involvement), as well as from that of the student (profile, motivation). Additionally, the double perspective can be supported by some relevant examples of good practices.

Methodology:
The study uses qualitative research methods based on observations applied within the chosen disciplines, coupled with interviews involving academics and students from three specializations. This approach allows a multilateral perspective on the chosen theme, thus offering a significant in-depth viewpoint on the issue of obtaining student performance.

Results:
Addressing the opening questions, the research discussed the matter of student performance within the disciplines of Design (Semiotics of Creation), Graphic Design, and Fundamentals of Industrial Design. The issues raised contributed to establishing the role of the teacher in the activity of obtaining performance by students and outlined the profile of the student who achieved learning performance. The chosen examples supported the argumentation while demonstrating some of the problems analyzed.

Conclusions:
The role of the teacher together with the student motivation are key factors in obtaining learning performance in the field of architecture and design education. On the one hand, the teacher not only shares knowledge and builds personalities, but also identifies students with great potential and uses all the didactic strategies to help them achieve performance. On the other hand, experience demonstrates there is a certain profile of the student who achieves performance. Passion as a key ingredient is closely related to motivation, ambition, perseverance, hard work, creativity, experimentation, and even sacrifice, in order to reach excellence. By engaging the profile of the student, the teacher can easily tailor his/her teaching approach to succeed in the activity of coordinating students who want to achieve performance.

Keywords:

Performance, architecture and design education, profile of the student, role of the teacher, differentiated strategies.