The Blindfold Is On, And I'm Lighting My Last Cigarette...

Seems I am not the only provocateur today...

I would like to do a little exercise today. I am going to question my Lewis and Clark education, thus far. In celebration of critical theory, I am curious as to how my current classes stand up. Again, this is an exercise in critical thought. Don't kick me out of school.

It seems that the dominant pedagogy here at L&C is the constructivist pedagogy. I can completely appreciate that, as I feel my own philosophy runs in the same vein when it comes to knowledge. I have also noticed that constructivist theories are being taught by example as it were by our professors. Many of our classes involve discussions among small groups in a developmentally appropriate manner, as well as assignments that are meant to exhibit our deeper knowledge of an idea or concept. That is cool. I get it.

A constructivist teacher would use such things as a portfolio to assess how well his (I use that on purpose -- a shout to the men!) students are grasping the concepts being taught in class. A major complaint against traditional memorization and regurgitation methods is that worksheets and "busy work" undermine the student's ability too actually learn larger ideas or really anything at all. So my question is can constructivist "busy work" lead to the same problem?

For example, I may feel that some of our assignments are "busy work." I may be grasping the subjects well, and I may be able to intelligently and coherently talk about those subjects or even be able to help teach those subjects to my peers. I may be able to complete every assignment adequately, perhaps even more than adequately. But when you have to continually re-affirm that you are indeed following along with the teacher, is there a danger in becoming bored and worse yet, tuning out? Is there such thing as too much assessment? Many educators scream yes to that question when referring to standardized testing, but would they admit that too much of even essays and student projects can be a bad thing for students?

And no, I am not bored -- I am too tired to even consider it. However, on a personal note, I am fearful that some of the assignments given to me are useless to me as a student. I do not like having to prove that yes, I get it. I get antsy went I feel like I cannot make my own decisions about how I work towards grasping a subject. Could that happen to any student when they feel that they are being asked to jump through hoops for the sake of jumping through hoops? Perhaps a student's time is better spent being able to apply their new knowledge in "real life" (like the skits we do in Zalika's class), rather than with paper and pen. Or maybe, just maybe, a student would be better served being given time to process information in a thoughtful manner rather than have to speed through the material in order to get an assignment finished on time.

Again, this was an exercise in critical thinking. Just a silly little exercise...