Core Curriculum
Curriculum Design - Pedogogical proposal
Pedagogy and Method
I would like to propose a pedagogy that is made of three simple ideas, meaning ideas that will stay true and you will always want to have.
- Less Mechanical work: Tasks that are given should be focused towards a clear learning objective. It is substantial that students are conscious of what they are learning, and why, at all times. The solution is that by being aware of what they are doing, they will do less meaningless labor and acquire more skills. Time management is cultured in first semester to help students understand the importance of schedules. I would also like to introduce a non- linear curriculum. Traditionally classes were given in parallel and in weekly loop, but students have three times per week design studios so it is hard to manage. I would like to suggest that design studios are intercepted by compressed seminars. Two weeks of full studio then a week of seminars. This format allows two things; first the students will have to stop working intensely and think about the different liberal art and history theory classes, which makes them faster to jump forth and back between them and to be more focused. They will then be able to apply their own thinking to studio. Before the end of semester final reviews the have three weeks on continuous studio time. Secondly this time frame makes it more flexible for teachers also, this non-linear curriculum is considering the education of teachers too. Teachers-professional faculty will have breaks to attend more freely there offices, and teachers of theory will transform in a new format of teaching-researching. The weeks of intense classes are separated by periods of research (for teachers), and of professional advancement (faculty in their architectural offices) which makes them both develop also over time. The proposed curriculum would make better students and better teachers.
- More Self-Initiative: Students need to be able to formulate their own interest and develop them over the years in undergraduate. They are expected to create their own problems in regards to a brief, be excited about their ideas and most importantly to take risk. I would like to move away from the unification of design studio outcomes. I propose that the introduction to e-learning could be of great help in diversifying students interests. They have access to a variety of classes and chose what to learn and how to operate. It should also be rewarded when students decide to team up to do a studio work or a class presentation, it is important that they learn to find common interests and discuss them which leads me to my third point.
- Discuss, Debate and Write More: Students need to learn to formulate their own ideas in words. To be aware of the history of the discourse and to be capable of speculation and critical thinking. They will have the opportunity to publish their writings along their projects in the school publication. The format of the final review is a round table setting where the work is either on the table (model, experiment…) or on the projection screen. This format would push students to see reviews as a discussion (rather than a judgment), it also places the students and professors on the same ground.
Core Curriculum study led by Alejandro Hernandez Galvez - Los Angeles, 2018