Vertical Studio Teaching and Assessment in Art and Design: an Evaluation of Learning Systems

This case study concerns a three-phase qualitative investigation into the strengths and weaknesses of an approach to ‘vertical studio’ teaching and assessment adopted at the University of Luton1 in 2004.It concludes that although there appeared to be close parity between these assumptions and the respondents’ learning experiences there were key exceptions: no student identified the vertical studio as enhancing their technical knowhow or knowledge of general institutional matters and few appeared to value it as a vehicle for learning through competition.