CRIT: A Peer-Review Repository for Critical Inquiry (PAKETH edition)

• D-ARCH’s core curriculum relies heavily on high-stakes examinations, often at the expense of deeper learning processes. Due to the large class sizes, tutors frequently depend on frontal lectures throughout the semester, while meaningful assessment of student understanding only occurs during the final exam. Beyond the logistical challenge of grading hundreds of examinations, this teaching model leaves Master’s students without the iterative feedback necessary to develop complex critical judgement — a core competency within the architectural discipline.
• CRIT: A Peer-Review Repository for CRITical Inquiry addresses this challenge by introducing a curated repository of peer-review assignments and grading rubrics specifically designed for large student cohorts. Through weekly in-class use, students are able to practise high-level competencies continuously throughout the semester without placing excessive demands on scientific staff resources.
• Importantly, CRIT separates the process of ongoing skill development from final grading, allowing students to experiment, make mistakes, and learn iteratively before the final examination. This model fundamentally shifts the role of the tutor: rather than spending extensive time correcting individual exams, tutors can focus on facilitating high-level classroom discussions that address the collective progress of the cohort.
• This revised tutor role aligns closely with the goals of PAKETH by distributing instructional workload more effectively and providing students with regular, meaningful feedback on their learning progress.

To develop the CRIT System: an interactive repository containing curated peer-review assignments and structured rubrics tailored specifically to architectural theory courses.

• Transform passive frontal lectures into active learning environments through the integration of media provocations, live polling, and continuous student-to-student feedback.
• Introduce weekly exercises that support continuous learning and distribute student workload more effectively throughout the semester, directly aligning with the overarching objectives of the PAKETH initiative.
• Establish a final oral examination in which students present a small research proposal based on course content and their newly developed critical thinking skills, potentially serving as the foundation for a subsequent Focus Work.
• Shift the role of teaching staff away from labour-intensive individual grading toward the monitoring of macro-level class patterns, creating a financially and logistically sustainable model for future large-scale D-ARCH core courses.
• Combine high-quality student critiques and successful assignment structures into a continuously expanding and reusable archive that serves as a valuable teaching resource for the D-ARCH department, and in particular for the gta.

Students

• By shifting from passive listeners to active evaluators, students develop essential critical thinking and analytical competencies through hands-on practice.
• Structured peer exchange provides students with regular and targeted feedback, offering clear orientation and supporting individual learning progress.
• The implementation of a decoupled examination model helps distribute student workload more evenly throughout the semester, directly supporting the core objectives of PAKETH.

Lecturers

• CRIT provides a scalable repository of teaching resources that enables high-level engagement in large courses without creating an overwhelming grading burden.
• CRIT offers a financially viable model for managing large-scale performance assessments with minimal personnel resources (e.g., a single tutor).
• Peer-feedback mechanisms allow lecturers to communicate complex theoretical concepts through active learning approaches rather than relying solely on traditional frontal teaching.

D-ARCH and ETH

• This pilot project represents an innovative model for the department, demonstrating how curriculum changes can balance intensive design studio requirements with rigorous theoretical training.
• D-ARCH currently offers no examinations during the lecture-free period at the Master’s level. CRIT demonstrates how exams during the lecture-free period can be integrated into D-ARCH core courses while continuing to foster critical thinking within the curriculum.
• CRIT provides a financially sustainable model for large core courses, protecting staff resources while improving the overall quality of large-scale assessment.