Rethinking architectural education Studies based on high school education

This paper is a cased based investigation to identify the impact of high school educational system on the students of architecture. Identifying features of high school education can guide us to root of abnormalities in the first training year students. Most of them concern about their solutions, right or wrong. They don’t believe that these solutions are relative. They think that teachers should teach method of design then they design with the method and don’t believe that there are many right methods to design. Their approach to design is problem based not solution based. Some of the students can’t accept different abilities, and think they should be the best in class, because they were the best in high school. They sure the best students in mathematics and physics should be the best in architecture too. So, they can’t accept other students as a good student. They concern about any evaluation and scores. They usually ask about their score and think there are exact reasons for it such mathematics and physics. These are some of behavioral problems and anomalies of first year students. The aim of this research is clarifying the students’ history of mental to development the behavior system in education of architecture especially in architectural studios. Analysis and evaluation of quality high school education has done through a design exercise on the title of "museum of high school education". This study has done with the 35 second year students of architecture in two weeks. Students presented the museum through perspectives. These perspectives can show us the students’ cognitive maps about high school education. Analyzing memories, express feelings and clarifying students’ view to high school education was the hidden purpose of this exercise. During the course of this exercise the students were not aware of this purpose. Output of that practice, expressed the attitude of students to the period of high school education. Design "museum of high school education" and analysis of images produced by the students show some facts of high school education in Iran. It became apparent the reason of fatigue and depression of students when entering the university. Results of this research can reduce damage and repair behavioral and mental space of students by interpretation the images. Students’ behavioral problems and anomalies that are the impact of high school education include: - Despair of further education and sometimes depression, - Behavioral problems and anomalies, - Compete with each other and desire to remove the others and unhappiness of their progress, - No interest in and sometimes hatred of books, courses and... . - Concerns about any evaluation, and scores. The ways presented in this paper to deal with these students behavioral problems and anomalies include: - Motivate and deal with despair, - Deal with Behavioral problems and anomalies through creating a critique atmosphere in class, - Student participation in assessment and weakened sense of competition with each other, - Deal with no interest in courses, - Emphasis on different individual ability to reduce concerns about assessment.