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Abstract:

Structural insight of an architect includes an understanding of structural principles and the skills of integrating these principles creatively during early building design stages. Contemporary architectural education often employs separate teaching methods for structures and design, making it challenging to develop structural insight among students. To address this challenge, this study aims to create and evaluate an adequate experiential learning method through computational design and structural analysis. Utilizing mixed research methods and participatory action research, an experiential learning module was developed. This module underwent qualitative and quantitative comparative studies. The research outcomes include the identification of essential structural principles for architectural design, new structural analysis visualizations, and methods for structural integration in the early design process. Characteristics of this learning approach include active learning, self-paced learning, personalized project-making, visual emphasis, and interactivity. It was found in the study that the use of multiple experiential learning activities such as guided experiments and design facilitated both learning the structures knowledge and gaining the structural integration skills. The use of software and interactive structural analyses improved visualization, aiding students in understanding the logical relationships between structural principles. Enhanced interactivity, vivid visuals, and problem-solving elements offered a gamified learning experience, increasing student motivation. Active learning strategies provided continual reflection and self-assessment, enhancing metacognitive skills. Instructors played a critical role by understanding students' current knowledge, and providing constructive feedback according to their needs. The collaborative learning environment significantly influenced motivation and overall learning experiences. Also, the study defined explicit structural integration steps through the use of computational design, including tailored generative experiments, suitable for design and structures courses. However, challenges emerged, such as software learning curves, student variability, and tool limitations for certain topics. Limitations of this study involves a relatively small sample size, uniform software usage, and the involvement of the same instructors. However, the study's strengths lie in diverse data collection methods, detailed qualitative analyses, and varied participant backgrounds. Future research could expand the sample size, diversify software tools and instructors, and explore additional learning goals. Ultimately, this research concluded in a flexible teaching module applicable beyond structures courses, extending its relevance to design studios, engineering programs, K-12 education, and lifelong learning contexts. Keywords: Structures education, structural integration, experiential learning, computational design, visual learning, parametric structural analysis