TART and Charlie Reads SmarT for Design History

This week I used TART and Charlie Reads SmarT for my reading assignments by Henry Ford titled, "Machinery, The New Messiah" in Design History. The assignments are more conceptual than definitive so I looked for repetitive words and phrases used in the readings to look over, define, and clarify.

When using TART, I took notes on the reading to summarize the argument and find interesting points. After rereading my notes, I then highlighted the key terms and ideas that I took from the reading. Many of these terms were repeated several times and indicated that they were significant to the idea behind the assignment. As a visual learner, I also used different colors to visually separate the information.

I also went back to my slide sheet handed out in class last week and am now able to predetermine how Fordism and The American System will be analyzed in class.Although we have not gone over this reading yet in lecture, I have these key terms highlighted and know that in class on Monday we will be looking towards the health and ways of new machinery in Fordism not only from this assigned reading, but also the syllabus stating

what our topics are for the following class.

By predetermining this information, I can find the ideas my professor will be looking for in our essay exam and create test questions using the key terms and ideas. On the back of my notes sheet I rewrote these and will be able to

conveniently

refer to them when I am making flash cards and study guides for my test.

When using Charlie Reads SmarT, my reading was very short so I was able to combine the steps to chunk the reading and summarize the key points. In order to chuck this reading, I created a title for each couple of paragraphs. The ideas of how these paragraphs relate to each other is visually incorporated as well. It was clear to see the ideas that Henry Ford voices his opinion about and the bullets show a visual summary of Ford's beliefs that we will be analyzing.

My next step was to relate back to the syllabus and slide sheets provided by my professor. I noticed that on the slide sheet, we will be looking at several slides from the Henry Ford Museum and focusing on "Fordism". Henry Ford's ideas will definitely be an idea I will see on my essay exam that is quickly approaching.

By dividing the reading into these ideas, I can determine the facts I will need to reiterate on my test by referring back to problems in the home, the food industry, personal health, and the American industry.

Overall, these two strategies were helpful in breaking down this reading and allowing me to comprehend the information I am taking in. I also am able to grasp his views on the american industry and relate them to any other designer we will be covering in class. Because the reading was short, I know that these strategies would also work better with a longer more intensive reading assignment.