I can't shake this whole thing about the lesson plans.
I don't want to sound like some academic elitist or something, but it seems to me that if we want students to achieve learning objectives and outcomes, doesn't it make sense that fit with where we want the students to be according to Bloom's Taxonomy? I mean, one of the goals of high education, be it university, LAC, community college or tech college is to move students past the lower levels of Bloom.
Isn't it? At least I thought it was.
This decisions stems from people who are not in the classroom on a daily basis. How do I know that they won't pick a learning outcome that my students have not reached? Can they actually find one that is generic enough and create a critical thinking assignment that goes beyond regurgitating basic information?
What's worse is that I have another thing thrown in my direction that I have to deal with, along with the 100 other things that need to be done.
But, I digress...
Sometimes I wonder if I am just becoming too tired or too jaded for academia. Or at least the vision of academia where I work.
About Me
- Seeking Solace
- I am a college professor who is fumbling through the chaos of academia, rheumatoid arthritis, working on my PhD and just being a 40 something woman. I used to be a lawyer, which made me a snarky little person. I have a wonderful Husband and a German Shepherd named Junior. They help keep me sane.
Paws to Consider
My Sister's Keeper
7 comments:
Ahh the joys of dealing with clueless decision-makers. If they've ever been in a classroom, it's been too long ago for them to remember. But most have not. All of my current immediate supervisors (admins) also teach academic courses along with their regular admin roles. I have to say that's really nice. They understand issues and problems and they actually listen to our suggestions. And implement most of them :-) My advice? Let it go in one ear and out the other, close your door and do as you please. Usually they never notice.
If you give subs your lesson plans instead of theirs, who's going to know? I mean really, do they go sit in a class to see what the sub is doing? Probably not.
Hey I know all the ways to get around incompetent admin decisions and mandates and so forth. I've done it for over 35 years and I learned from the master -- my dad. He required as a school division superintendent and there was no one better at bucking the system that he was, through teaching, principalships, and administrative positions right on up the ladder.
Oops fumble fingers this morning at 5 am! lol That should have been "he RETIRED"
No worries. :)
I am good at being slick about these things. I am just P.O.'ed that I have to do it.
I'm also required to find back up if I'm ill or need to miss a class. I get the reasoning but I kind of resent it. What am I supposed to do, have people constantly on standby in case I wake up projectile vomiting at 7am before my 9am class???
Also, crossword puzzles are not critical thinking exercises. They are complicated memorization exercises.
All of my courses are web-enhanced so, if necessary, I just assign a relevant activity to my students; something that is useful and fits into the course outline, not just busy work.
That's exactly what it is...busy work.
You mean you don't establish your own LOs? Yikes! Our admin tends to err on the side of mediocre: they want only the lower level of stuff. The sciences seem to like that - they insist that their classes are all lower level of Bloom.
Post a Comment