You can find previous Brain Dumps here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
Well, this was an interesting week for the study... as I had to actually work as a musician at the same time as juggling the full time study! Thankfully, I could do some readings in the breaks of the rehearsals and recording, so I could keep up and not fall too far behind. Also, I guess the courses are starting to overlap quite a bit, so despite there being different readings, they generally are starting overlap in terms of topics and concepts! So, a touch skimming on the reading!
More problematic was the fact that I needed to write up a lesson plan (on Triangle Congruency) and an essay that outlined my rationale for the lesson plan. So, this would try to incorporate the ideas about Constructivism, Scaffolding and Differentiation that I had learnt so far. It is the sort of topic that would be easy for me to teach on a one-to-one tutoring sort of basis. However, writing up a formal lesson plan for a classroom of students is a completely different affair!
Plus, (and this surprised my wife no end...), I've NEVER written an academic essay in the humanities style... never at school and never at university. All my writing has been non-academic (like now or some other published stuff), science or mathematics based... and my of my working life has been as a performer/crafter, so no need to write... just DO IT!
So, the idea of the APA7 style of referencing was completely new to me... I had already experienced it as a reader in the readings... and oh boy, I have some serious gripes about that style! I much prefer the footnoting way of doing things. That way, the referencing doesn't get in the way of the flow of the writing, AND you can easily expand on the topic at length... rather than a vague reference to some book/journal that no-one is seriously going to look up whilst reading!
... and then don't get me started on what passes as research in the humanities. There are great ideas in there of course, but I'm used to a Mathematical/Physics sort of standard for proof.... I get nervous when it gets to chemistry/biology/medicine standards of significance. When I'm reading humanities/economics styles of research... let's just politely say, I can't tell the difference between pulling something out of your arse and the academic writing! To me, much of the research (whilst having some kernel of usefulness and interest) seems like cherry-picking of references and just telling a good story! Still... I understand the reasons... people are not the same as particles. Sadly....
However, I did finally manage to complete the first assignment... but I'm left a bit at odds as to whether or not I actually did a good job of it or not!
Meanwhile, in the other study units... we had a bit of a quieter week which was lighter in course load and readings. I'm really quite thankful for that, as it was going to be a tricky week otherwise!
There was some study about how to structure and plan group learning activities... and the advantages and disadvantages of that style of teaching. Plus, there was some study into the different ways of making a topic "engaging" and "relevant" for students. In this study, I saw that there is a distinct opposition between the humanities researchers and the maths/science teachers. The humanities tend to embrace the "fun" and "engagement" aspects, which do seem to apply more obviously to those subjects... whilst the maths and science teachers seem to start with quite a bit of opposition.
That said, there were many examples of how to make maths and science "fun"... that were quite frankly... at best, meaningless, and at worst embarrassingly cringy. Many of these "suggestions" came across as like an uncool parent trying to be in with the "cool" kids. Ouch... counterproductive I think... and not a little bit inauthentic. In some ways, the teacher shouldn't try to be "one of the crew"... but more like a team leader and guide. Not authoritarian, but not trying to be one of the kids!
So, I start this week a little bit behind, due to the recording and the focus on completing the assignment. Normally, I'm doing roughly a unit a day with a bit of faffing around for the last day of the week. This week, I still need to complete half a unit module before I've finished the coursework for last week. I've got a relatively free week this week, so I should be able to be all caught up by Monday, ready to start on the new week. No assessments this week... actually, just one little quiz. But at least with the quizzes, they are just one hour... and not like an essay... many hours of writing, researching, rethinking... rewriting...
Should be an easier week... however, you never really know for sure!
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