Yesterday I said to myself, that if I were to ever be a lecturer, I would want a course structured more like real-life. I even sent an email to myself, to remember to come back to it at the appropriate time.
This was the text of my email:
Sat, Apr 9, 2011 at 6:27 AM subject: Ideas for designing a university course mailed-by gmail.com
hide details 6:27 AM (19 hours ago)
This is for whenever I want to start lecturing.
Don't use tests or exams.
Use projects.
Both individual and team.
Encourage students to come and present their progress every week - ensuring that I will rip them apart if they are wasting time.
-- end of email ---
Definitely not comprehensive, but I have been wondering why the 20th century educational system has failed as badly as it has. Not just in the US, but even in Jamaica too. I think structuring it so that each student is accountable for what they have done (project-wise) would produce much better results than having them learn how to take a test.
Then I come here and see a top story from Woz basically saying the same thing.
This is just one of those moments, that might seem silly - but it's weird.