First Examination

Question Set #1

FIRST EXAMINATION

This exam presupposes that our classwork contributes to your knowledge
and understanding of the subject matter.  If you have been attending
class and paying attention, your notes will reflect what you know.  So
my examination of your notes indicates how you would have performed on a
test of your knowledge had you studied from your notes.

I will be looking for:

 completeness
   notes from all classes
   notes on whole class
  completeness of information
 notes reflecting lecture structure:
  premises and principles
  examples
  implications:  ideas, questions, clarifications
 use of relevant vocabulary and significant terms

 visual notes
  I am not looking for "good" drawings but rather for your attempts at
learning   how to note what you see in conjunction with what you hear in
class and what   you read.  Just as we learn to read words, we have to
learn to read drawings   and images.  The ability to read, summarize
and interpret this visual    knowledge is an important skill you are
meant to take away from this class.    However, just as with written
notes, there is no single way to make graphic   notations so I will be
looking for your system,  your thoughts, not an established   standard
of drawing.  References to figure numbers in the text are the
beginning   of this reading lesson, indicating that , in studying, you
will "re-read" that   illustration in relation to your notes.

I do not expect that anyone's notes will be 100% complete.  The kinds
of "holes" in your notes may be indicative of what you need to work on
to improve your learning  skills.

Please also remember that this examination allows me to gauge how
effective my class presentations and methods have been.  Some "holes"
may indicate what I have left out or not made perfectly clear.

Your notes are due to the receptionist's desk in room 162 in Gould Hall
by 1:30 on Friday 19 February.

What is the Bruce Goff Chair?  How does it work?  How is the position filled? 
The Goff Chair is a visiting professorship  named in honorof BruceGoff.  Each Semester a Goff Professor is selected by a committee and invited
to the College to participate in classes and  studiosand to give public lectures. 

Do we have to write the required amount of questions if we do not have questions that we have not answered ourselves? 
yes.  You are developing your ability to askquestions  and so will be moving beyond the obvious questions of clarification to questions of
interpretation andrelationship. 

How specifically are we supposed to know the information in text and lectures? 
It depends on what, specifically, you need to know it for. (That is not meant to be just a clever answer.) 

Will there be other opportunities for extra credit? 
Probably. 

How would you suggest taking notes in this class?  Because if I try to sketch & write notes, I can't pay attention to your lecture. 
1.  Draw first and try to simplify your graphic notation as much as possible. 
2.  Write phrasesand keywords rather than sentences. 
3.  Remember that the lectures are based on the text, so you should be able to go back to the text to fill in the blanks.  This is especially truefor
information  but also holds for illustrations.  I will show you extra views but I do not show you many buildings, etc, that are not in the book.
(YES, there are some) 

I have some difficulty differentiating many buildings & churches we have studied.  Do you have any advice or hints for telling the differences between these structures. 
Look at the two buildings first for what they have in common (and think about why they might be similar in this way).  Then look carefully for
what is different and, again, why.  We have to develop our ability to discriminate (see differences) while our ability to see similarities seems to
come naturally.