Denel, Serim  

Taking this instructor is like being in a Twilight Zone episode. You just can

Denel knows her buildings. Unfortunately, she doesn't know anything else. She often used words to define buildings, explaing what they meant as non architecture terms. Invariably, she got the definitions wrong. Also, her strong turkish accent prevented me from understanding half of what she said. It was pratically impossible to take notes, too, since what I could understand was completely unspellable. Another thing I didn't like was the way she tried to involve the students. That is a good method in a 30 person class, but it doesn't work when there are 260 students. skip the lecture, memorize all the flash cards (including dates), read the notes online. If possible, take Yip, although they usually split the lectures.

Both Yip and Denel have their flaws. I have a long evaluation of Yip that I'd suggest you read also. Denel, although she does speak stronger and has a working mic, has a thick Turkish accent that at times is hard to understand. She presents the material as well as Yip does, and they are both intelligent people, however they both have their flaws in lecturing. Denel at least does not have a monotonous tone. She does however have a limited (or so it seems) vocabulary. She uses a lot of the same words, and with her accent sometimes you can hardly tell if its in English or Babylonian. She's a very nice woman and could probably be a wonderful lecturer if we could only understand her. She may not crack any jokes, but at least she doesn't sound sleepy. She actually has a very optimistic tone. Same grade as Yip: B

I have noticed that many people complain of Serim's accent, but it does not affect your ability to learn. Her ARCH 218 lectures were very intresting and she tried to teach a real "History of Architecture" not just superficial slides. Unfortunately, she shares the lectures with Chris Yip.

Great Teacher! She is turkish and a bit hard to understand but she knows her stuff. She was so into the topic that she made the class interesting.

Serim is a dear little lady. Some people hate her, but the majority of my friends agree that she is a good teacher. She does a good job of letting students know what material is important, whereas Chris Yip tends to go on tangents without clearly leting you know what will be on the exam. Serim makes corny little jokes, has a funny accent, and knows her subject. Her grading policies are fair, so I reccommend her highly. I always arch history with her.

Serim was very hard to understand. She has a very strong Turkish accent. Lectures are confusing. The course involves a lot of memorization.

I am not an arch major but she was able to help me understand and learn a great deal about the subject. I would recommend this teacher to everyone. The only catch is in order to pass the class, you have to go to class. There are 3 mid-terms and one paper. The class is pretty relaxed because you just view slides all during class while she lectures about them. The best part is so much help is offered online and there are even review flashcards online that you can print out that really help your understanding. You will know exactly what she will be asking on the exams.

Serim just isn't that difficult to understand. YEs she has an accent but it's nothing compared to what all these raitings say she sounds like. 317-318-319 are all the same class just dealing with different time periods. Most people go to class and fall asleep, I don't think very many people own the book either. I never even bought the book and got barely shy of an A. She's a very nice lady and most people think she's a cute older woman because she wears matching business suits.

I don't know what that last preson was smoking during 317. I had Chris Yip for 318 and then Yip and Serim Denel split the 319 class. She was horrible. You cant understand her, her lectures are boring and they have little to do with whats on the test. The series is basically a memorization class. Memorize the slides and key points and you will do fine. Chris Yip however makes the class interestng with his lectures. Denel does not. Dont bother going to Denel's lectures.

looking back, my best design quarter. I now realize how serim opened up my thinking. Also learned much about creativity, tryimg out fresh ideas, recent architects, theories. she's very up to date. Helps students to see beyond the basics.

Serim Denel is a bad design tacher. Her largest flaw is that she does not listen to you. If you are a designer that puts a lot of thought into the work and you inbue your forms, structure, and materials with actual reason, Serim won't care. In fact, she'll interrupt you while you're explaining your project and tell you to draw an elevation or use a 2B pencil or something equally irrelevant. Even at the end of the quarter, when I thought she'd finally listen to what I have to say about by dense, idea-rich project, she told me to have more text, make things point north, and organize. To put it plainly, if you consider yourself a thinker, an experimentalist, an aspiring-revolutionary-architect, do not take Serim. She will only frustrate you. Secondly, Serim is a power-tripper. She loves controlling the class. I have come to shudder at the clacking sound of high-heels approaching me from behind. So by taking her you will be subject to flow-disrupting slideshows and her coming to your desk everyday to tell you "more," without really telling you more of what. She'll even come in to bother you on non-class hours and weekends. I am happy to be finally free from her wrath. If you are an ordinary designer that doesn't mind being slave-driven and blank-brained like Fowler's class but slower and more unstructured, then Serim Denel is right for you.