Final Post

One of the readings that I found particularly noteworthy was "What Main Street Can Learn From the Mall" by Steven Lagerfeld. This article primarily focused on Robert Gibbs, and his belief that downtown areas should try to conform to standards set by large shopping malls to become more successful centers of commerce. I thought this was one of the best articles that we read all year because the main points were clearly highlighted and everything that Gibbs or the author said seemed to fit together in a logical way. For these reasons, I used this article as my source for my final paper about urban design in Birmingham, Michigan. Another article that I thought was extremely important to this class was Chapter Three from Donald Norman's Emotional Design. This chapter was truly the foundation for the majority of our projects and discussion in class for the rest of the year. Although this was one of the first articles that we read, I don't think I will forget the concepts of "visceral design," "behavioral design," and "reflective design" for many years simply because we delved so deeply into these concepts throughout the term. Like the Lagerfeld Article, this chapter was very clearly written and had a very logical structure. In terms of exercises, I really enjoyed the egg drop and the chair-building classes. These two mini-projects were very enjoyable because we were able to go out and build something with our hands. For me, it is very satisfying to put my knowledge to the test by actually constructing something tangible. I also liked these exercises because we were forced to work with other people in our class without really knowing them. It is challenging, but also rewarding, to work as a team with new people. In regard to assignments, I really liked the retail analysis presentation. It was a fun experience to go to the mall, evaluate a store, and in my case, buy new clothes. It was also interesting to use the knowledge that I had acquired from class readings to evaluate a real-world store. Once again, this goes back to my desire to take what I know and put it to use outside of the classroom. I thought the final presentation was extremely challenging. The groups had endless topics to choose from, and it was difficult to narrow down our topic and know exactly what kind of information to look for. Our group ended up changing topics three times, which wasted time and energy. It was also difficult to work in a relatively large group to do such an important project because it was not easy to set up meetings that fit with all of our schedules. However, this is a challenge we will have to cope with in jobs after college.

Beyond all of our readings, discussions, and presentations, I think the most important thing I learned from this class was how to actively lead and participate in a discussion aimed at several key points. This class required all of the students to be very proactive and responsible. How much we got out of the class really depended on how much we put in. Early on in the class, I thought it was very strange when I heard that Professor Stull was going to "turn it over" to the students. I thought that student-led discussions would not be very meaningful, and would be awkward and unproductive. I was very wrong, however. This class taught me to fill all of the roles required in conversation, from initiating to gatekeeping. Another important thing that I learned from this class was how to analyze the design and efficiency of many things in my life. I will never look at a doorway, a sidewalk, or a microwave the same way again. I think this was a very important aspect of this class. We had to learn to think about things that we have learned over the years to not think about. This taught us to look at solutions to various problems in completely different ways, and in many cases, showed us that the solutions that currently exist are not necessarily the best answers to problems. One final important thing that I learned from this seminar was that my writing can be much more concise. I have always been quite confident in my writing ability, but I realized that I can communicate my ideas in fewer words than I previously thought was possible. On the Wikipedia paper, I eliminated over 300 words between my first copy and final paper. I also was very attentive to conciseness in my final paper. My first draft had over 1100 words, while my final copy had about 860.

I don't think we could have taken a better seminar in terms of learning things that will help us in the future. As mentioned above, this class made us consider current solutions to problems, and look for new solutions. This way of thinking is extremely important for success in college and future professions. We cannot just accept what we have and be content to let others figure out new solutions for us. This class taught us to be proactive and to seek new, better answers. Improving group conversation skills and working with a team were also elements of this class that are very important for the future. With few exceptions, the professions that all of us are striving toward involve working with others at some point. For example, I am considering a career as an orthopedic surgeon. This career involves communication with assistants, nurses, physical therapists, patients, and many others. Learning how to work with people I am not familiar with is a skill I will need for the rest of my life.