ld cont 105 syllabus

8/14/2019 LD Cont 105 Syllabus

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Spring 2010 University of Massachusetts Department of Natural Resources Conservation

Landscape Contracting 105

Spring 2010

2 Creditshttp://www.unri.org/arbordesignInstructor: David Bloniarz,

Urban Forester, USDA Forest Service130 Holdsworthphone: (413) 545-3755email: [email protected]

Seminar Session: Wednesday 2:30 pm > 5:30 pm

Course SummaryDeveloping skills in communicating with design professionals is undertaken inthis practical applications course. The ability to understand the language ofdesign, and to use the communication tools utilized in professionalarchitectural, design and engineering practice will be presented, throughhands-on exercises and assignments.

A variety of concepts, tools and techniques will be introduced and studentswill have the opportunity to enhance their skills at communicating design andengineering concepts to various audiences.

This course will meet once per week, and include a substantial amount ofindependent work by class participants. Online resources, web-based toolsand other communication technologies will be used to provide students with the technical skills needed tounderstand how architects, planners, designers and engineers communicate their ideas and specificationsto practicing professionals in other disciplines. The students will be expected to develop a final projectthat will incorporate many of the tools and skills developed during this 8-week course.

Required Tools

The textbook for this course is Plan Graphics for the Landscape Designer: With Section-Elevation and ComputerGraphics by Tony Bertauski; ISBN-9780131720633. Also, the following tools will be required in order tocomplete the assignments and fully participate in the class assignments. Please check the course websitefor the specific requirements for tools that will be needed. At a minimum he following items will beneeded to initially participate in the course: 12 Triangular Architects Scale, 12 Triangular EngineersScale and a Section Pad with 10 Squares, Quadrille Rule, Letter Size (8.5 x 11) or on-line generatedequivalent.


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Additional Course Details

Topics to be introduced during this course cover a wide of interest areas, and include:

An Overview of The Vocabulary of Design Using the Engineers and Architects Scales Reading & Understanding Architectural and Engineering Drawings Computer Aided Design Tools Application of Google Sketch Up, Google Maps and Google Earth software tools. Digital Photography, Imaging and Workflow Preparing Presentation & Communication MaterialsLearning Goals

It is anticipated that students, who fully engage themselves in the content of this course, will acquire newknowledge, skills and perspectives on how to communicate with design and engineering professionals. Inaddition to familiarization with the course topics noted above, it is hoped that students will learn additionalskills related to group dynamics, collaboration, public speaking and organizational methods. These skills arenot unique to this particular course, but this course will encourage exploration of these facets of peer-base

learning, professional development and project management.

Methods of Instruction

The course will be conducted in a seminar format, which will include discussion, lecture and some student-ledpresentations. Because of the large amount of materials that will be covered in this course, lecturing will bekept to a minimum, and increased emphasis on discussion and presentations will be stressed. Each student isresponsible for staying abreast of the readings, which will vary in length and depth by topic areas, and beingprepared for in-class discussions and presentations. Participatory Learning, which encourages involvement byall students will be encouraged and will provide the framework for the courses seminar sessions. At least oneof the class seminars will be delivered by an internet webcast session.

Instructor Availability

My office is room 130 Holdsworth Natural Resources Center. You are welcome to drop in any time duringmy office hours, or contact me via e-mail to make arrangements to get together at another time. My officephone is 545-3755. My e-mail address is [email protected]

Course Requirements Attendance and participation in all seminar sessions. Reading of all assigned materials. Completion of all Take-home assignments Submission of (3) Summary Briefs on assigned reading (typed, and in proper format).Final Exam/Project - Preparation and submission of a final project or exam to determined by the

progress flow of this particular course.

Evaluation of Student Work

The instructor will complete review, evaluation and assignment of grades for each assignment. On someassignments, feedback from your class colleagues will solicited, and will be used as a component of the scoring.The feedback to, and from, your fellow students is to be constructive and supportive. In addition, the classmay divide into groups assigned by the instructor, with members of each group evaluating each other in peer-evaluation exercises. Additionally, in completing group assignments or projects, an individual grade for eachteam member will be awarded, based on the quality and content of contributions made to the group project


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Assignment Points Scoring

Take-home Assignments (5x100 points each) 500 pointsReading Briefs (4x50 points each) 200 pointsFinal Exam/Project 300 pointsClass Attendance & Participation 200 points

Total Possible Points 1200 points

Final Grading Evaluation

A 1140-1200 points (95.0% - 100.0%) ExemplaryA- 1080-1139 points (90.0% - 94.9%) Much above averageB 1032-1079 points (86.0% - 89.0%) Above average

B- 972-1031 points (81.0% - 85.0%) Above average

C 924-971 points (77.0% - 80.0%) AverageC- 864-923 points (72.0% - 76.0%) Below averageD 804-863 points (67.0% - 71.0%) Much below averageD- 756-803 points (63.0% - 66.0%) Much below

Late Submission of Assignments, Presentations or Final ProjectYou are expected to have all required assignments, and in-class presentations and projects, submitted on thedate due. If you are late in turning in these assignments, your score will be reduced 30 percent (unless youhave a very good excuse, and it is presented prior to the class date in question). The Final Project is due onthe assigned date, with no exceptions. No late Final Projects will be accepted, since this assignment is

regarded as a University Final Examination, and it follows the specific exam calendar established by theUniversity.

Academic Honesty

Honesty is essential to learning and inquiry. Participation in the life of the University implies a commitment tohonesty and integrity in all academic work. Academic dishonesty is a violation of the spirit and the regulationsof the University, and will not be tolerated. Any student in our class found to be in violation of Universityacademic honesty regulations will automatically receive, at a minimum, a failing grade (F) for the course.Examples of academic dishonesty include: Plagiarism, Cheating, and Fabrication. For further information onacademic honesty regulations, please consult Academic Honesty Policy for 2009-2010, which can be found atthe following website - http://www.umass.edu/dean_students/codeofconduct/acadhonesty/

Class Meeting Schedule & Presentation Topics

The dates and presentation topics for the course are outlined below. This is a preliminary schedule, and issubject to change based on the actual course accomplishments. This is an aggressive schedule that isnecessary in order to fully introduce a comprehensive toolkit of learning tools to the class participants. Allreadings assigned for a particular week must be completed prior to the start of that weeks class session, inorder to facilitate active discussion on the presentation topics. Please try to keep current with any readings,since it is important to the success of the seminar sessions.


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Class Meeting Schedule & Presentation Topics

Wk # Date Topic

1 01-20-2010 Course Introduction and Semester Outline

2 01-27-2010 An Overview of The Vocabulary of Design

3 02-03-2010 Using the Engineers and Architects Scales

4 02-10-2010 Reading & Understanding Architectural and Engineering Drawings

5 02-17-2010 Computer Aided Design Tools

6 02-24-2010 Digital Photography, Imaging and Workflow

7 03-03-2010 Application of Google Sketch Up, Google Maps and Google Earthsoftware tools.

8 03-10-2010 Preparing Presentation & Communication Materials

ld cont 105 syllabus

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