Abstract:

In the academic year 2014/2015, at the Faculty of Architecture at the Silesian University of Technology in Gliwice in a series of lectures on legal issues new activation methods were introduced to enable students to acquire and assimilate legal knowledge. The activation techniques consisted of: a case study method and a role-play method. At the beginning of classes, which lasted from February to June 2015, the students were introduced to forty cases of theoretical legal disputes with the participation of an architect within the scope of the building law, copyright, public procurement law, administrative law and civil code. The students were divided into three-person teams, each of which was composed of an Architect, an Adversary and a Judge. Each team chose one of the above-mentioned forty cases as a subject of a short role-play, which included in a condensed form: presentation of the dispute subject, both parties’ arguments as well as judgement with justification. The students participated in lectures and at the same time they prepared role-plays which took place at the end of the classes. The role-plays constituted the summary of a series of lectures and the basis for the evaluation of the effects of the education gained. The basic criteria of assessment were as follows: reliability of the dispute presented and correctness of legal argumentation. Additional criteria included: originality of concept as well as attractiveness and pace of action. One hundred and twenty students participated in the classes. The use of the case-study and role-play methods in architectural education in the scope of the law confirmed the effectiveness of activation methods in the acquisition of legal knowledge by the students of architecture. Moreover, the simulation of potential conflicts became the source of reflection on the significance of the legal knowledge and application of the law in the architect’s professional activity.

Keywords:

Activation methods, architectural education, law education.