[...]... educational consultant A special ‘thank you’ is due to Mark Parsons whose inspiring cartoons and rugged handsomeness have kept the authors going; they have even admitted that they would buy the book for the cartoons alone! It is hoped that the humour and detail will reinforce their poignant messages This is an evolving tale and the authors will be pleased to receive comments and anecdotes, via their universities,... experience The role of the review has been the focus of recent appraisal (Hall Jones 1996, Anthony 1991, Wilkin 1999) What is the purpose of the review? Should we continue with them at all? Do students learn anything from them? How do they relate to professional practice? This guide does not attempt to extend the theoretical debate but, instead, xii The Crit makes explicit the negative aspects and then the. .. than anyone else’s, in a subject that I didn’t have a clue about At the beginning of each project, I’d read through the brief and wonder what on earth it all meant I then typically spent the first half of the project doing what all first years on other courses were doing (which was anything but work) and the second half of the project frantically trying to ‘pull a white rabbit out of the hat’ for the. .. ‘traditional’ review and suggests ways to improve performance and learning We also suggest a range of alternative reviews which you can implement yourself It is a ‘how to’ rather than a theoretical kind of book, but certain changes to the review are implicit – changes which work towards a new professional attitude of inclusiveness, participation and collaboration We acknowledge the viewpoint that many professionals... master the crit, it is too late! This book aims to demystify the process, and provide a practical, hands-on guide – how to survive in the current system and then how to begin to change that system The crit, or ‘review’, as we are going to call it throughout this guide, is a feature of studio-based design courses The design studio is an unusual kind of beast in the university environment and is the part... the education of doctors Medical students are presented with a patient, asked to diagnose their illness and suggest appropriate treatment Students are then expected to justify their decisions to a reviewing panel In medicine there is usually only one correct diagnosis and a limited range of treatments and causes, whereas in architecture there are endless solutions to design problems The review in architecture. .. relevant issues and educa- 12 The Crit Cartoon 2 ‘HEALTH WARNING – REVIEWS CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH’ What is a review? 13 tional aims The tutor should make sure that all of these issues are included in the review discussion If other issues become important due to an individual’s approach, the tutor can widen the discussion • To ensure a compromise between equality and flexibility It can be very... of undergraduate architecture at The Leicester School of Architecture, De Montfort University Format The book is formatted to include cartoons, quotations and background information (in grey) alongside the main body of the text The quotations recall what many remember only too well, and are drawn from interviews carried out by the authors, comments made by Rachel Sara (RS) and two others texts as referenced... Intentionally Left Blank What is a review? 1 This Page Intentionally Left Blank 1 What is a review? Synopsis This guide begins with a look at the what and why of reviews The review process is introduced and the different types of review held at various stages are described with examples The potential value of the review and the possible negative aspects are explored The review at its worst is exposed and contrasted... work and discuss ideas with you and each other There is the potential for you to learn from everyone involved You might be marked during the review 6 The Crit Diagram 1 A presentation to rows of seated individuals The review stages Initial stages You might be expected to discuss the findings of any research you have done with other students and tutors, or even to make a formal presentation This is the . h0" alt="" The Crit This Page Intentionally Left Blank The Crit An Architecture Student’s Handbook Edited by Charles Doidge with Rachel Sara and Rosie Parnell Cartoons. Cataloguing in Publication Data The crit: an architecture student’s handbook/ edited by Charles Doidge with Rachel Sara and Rosie Parnell; cartoons by Mark