Lecture Slides do not track Video content

practice management
1

I understand B.S. is in the middle of updating video content, and that is the reason why the lecture slides do not match the content. However, while new video content is a significant amount of work to complete, rearranging lecture slides to match new videos so that paid users of B.S. resources can use their time efficiently is comparatively trivial. When you make a change in video content, then issue a change in lecture slides concurrently. That way, as you continue renovations to the resource, the slides and videos remain coordinated.

New information will be a constant feature in this kind of resource, so there is in theory no end to the number of renovations you will have to complete to remain current with the practice of architecture. Therefore, you need a policy of remaining coordinated at all times and only releasing video changes when you are ready to release a coordinating study guide change at the same time.

You are a business - listen to your customers. We have been raising this issue for years now - look at some of the older posts about this problem.

2

Hi @aidenjh thanks for writing in about this.

Can you give me an example or two of where you think our PcM lecture slides are not in alignment with our video content? I’d be happy to look into it.

We did release new lecture slides and quiz content when we released our new PcM videos a couple of years ago. If we missed something, of course we will update it as soon as possible.

3

Please have a look at the document that I created that goes on a bit more in detail about Section 1 issues.

1. PcM Quiz Break 2, Question 3

“The principal at a small firm is negotiating the owner-architect agreement…(item id 97991)

  • The B101 isn’t covered until Objective 2.2, 17 videos in the future.

Many candidates will know the answer regardless because of prior professional exposure, but it is a surprise to find this question so far from where B.S. has chosen to develop the subject. Knowing that you are always in the process of updating videos, I hope I can be forgiven for wondering if this question was an oversight on your part - perhaps the last vestige of some earlier course structure which has since shifted and disappeared.

2. PcM Section 1 Quiz, Question 1

An architect has received an invoice for reimbursable expenses…(item ID 84881)

  • The material covering the C401 is 7 videos further down the line in Objective 2.1

It would be natural for me to again wonder if this is an oversight due to not making sure that new videos were only published after also updating everything that ties into new videos, in this case, the quiz questions. That’s why I was encouraging B.S. to adopt comprehensive and concurrent updates on a policy level. Of course, this may be your policy and this is just a simple oversight. I make mistakes all the time - we’re all human. But it causes frustration to students who wonder who is in control providing quality checking. And even though I too am human, with time and effort I can track down these mistakes for you - but then again - why am I doing this for you? I am the customer, not an employee. You need to get resources on point and clean this up.

3. PcM Section 1 Quiz, Question 4

An architect is preparing a proposal for a campus master plan…(item ID 84886)

  • The B101 is 9 videos further down the line in Objective 2.2.

4. PcM Section 1 Quiz, Question 9

The contractor is preparing a project schedule…(item ID 84883)

  • This is not even a PcM question - it is a PjM question. This is an example of a categorical misalignment of course material.

5. PcM Section 1 Quiz, Question 15

An architect is developing a schedule to manage…(item ID 85195)

  • Again, this is not even a PcM question - it is a PjM question. This is a second example of a categorical misalignment of course material.
4

Hey @aidenjh thank you for these examples, I will look into them and get back to you shortly.

Just FYI I am going to redact your comment - we don’t allow posting of our paid materials, or any copyrighted materials, in our Community. I also will remove the link - I can’t open it because the permissions aren’t set to allow ‘anyone with a link’ to view the document, but I saved the URL if you want to change the permissions so I can view. I also took a screenshot of your original post so I can reference it as I review each example.

None of this is to discourage discourse - we just obviously need to protect our copyrighted material. In the future, you could write in and include the Item ID (the 5 or 6 digit in the lower right hand corner of each question) or just reword your question as opposed to copying and pasting. For example, you could ask why there’s a question in PcM quiz break 1 that requires knowledge of the B101, when the B101 is covered later on in the course.

Thanks again!

5

Regarding PcM quiz break 2 - item ID 97991:
This question is asking what consultants will be engaged by the architect. We discuss the topic of this question directly in our video titled ‘Managing Firm Resources’ which is two videos prior to this quiz break. We specifically mention the 3 correct answers in that video. The mention of B101 in the question is simply to create the scenario that we’re talking about a standard project using the standard O/A agreement. Without mentioning that, any of the answers could be correct, so we must include it otherwise we’ll get many comments on this community that our question is vague. We don’t feel like you need to have watched our videos about the B101 in order to answer this question.

Regarding the 4 section quiz questions you wrote about:
I understand your frustration but it’s important to remember that we’re preparing our members for a frustrating exam, with lots of content overlap and unclear lines about what’s covered on which exam. While quiz breaks directly relate to the videos you just watched, section quizzes get a little closer to actual exam questions - where you might need some knowledge of other sections (or even other divisions) to answer them correctly. Again I understand that’s frustrating - it’s challenging for us as well but that’s the exam candidates have to take, and that we have to prepare them for. I feel like it would be a disservice to our members to not acknowledge that aspect of the exam (that it’s not necessarily organized into neat topics) because it would leave candidates with a false sense of security before exam day.

I assure you that these questions are not an oversight and we have a number of systems in place to ensure that our content is updated comprehensively and that our questions are in line with NCARB standards.

6

I appreciate the need for representation of the actual characteristics of the ARE exam, and cross categorical reasoning is obviously key here. However, if you aren’t careful about the way you structure what you are doing you will leave candidates with a very strong impression that the material is not being quality checked to be about the material in the appropriate videos.

I am not trying to be discouraging here - but from a newcomer perspective - and as someone who has seen quality control issues in other ARE prep courses - the elements I pointed out really do not come off as intentional on your part. They look like mistakes. Remember, these do not exist on their own in isolation, but also are taken in with an outdated definition of “responsible control” and defects of grammar and clarity as pointed out in the document I created for you to review. You may argue that I should not have experienced this in the way that I did, but that won’t change the fact that I did experience all of this as a problem with quality control, which I’ve seen elsewhere.

One of the more difficult things we have to reconcile to in life is the reality that while intentions may be noble, at some point you need to ask yourself how the actual finished product is being received and experienced, and be willing to adjust so that you intentions actually create the goal you want. In the end, if intentions are more important than results, your products will be constantly limited in their impact.

I am a data point. I’m just one datapoint, and do not represent all candidates, obviously. But I am one data point. And I am signalling to you that despite your best intentions, there is nothing in the way you actually built out the quizzes that is signaling - at all - that you meant to mix up PcM with PjM.

I might counsel you to at least consider making a clear statement of this in the course if you intend to continue that policy. I think it would be wiser to restrict cross categorical mixing until the mock exams.