Class dynamics have always intrigued me, and over the years, I have honed the skill of identifying early what might go wrong and who might influence it. I am frustrated when I get a group of students who collectively don’t want to take advantage of the opportunities to learn that are given to them here at Olds College. Instructors can try to encourage learning but will have, at best, only moderate success unless students engage the topic, actively think, and attempt to apply the content to real life. I have found one type of student with whom I always have to work hardest to redirect their thinking: “the Producer.”
The Producer is that student who comes to class and just wants to know the steps to get the assignments done. These students would do well working on an assembly line but not working as a land agent or any other career that involves lots of problem solving. The Producer is not bothersome in class but needs very detailed instructions and cannot handle unscripted events. The Producer somehow believes that if they get all the assignments done in the course they deserve to pass regardless of how long it takes them or how much help they needed to complete the task. These are the students whose eyes glaze over when I rant about assignments as learning activities, not production activities.
I give my music lesson example: When you took music lessons, who wanted to hear you practice your scales? Maybe your mother? Practicing your scales is important if you want to sound good at the recital. I tell students to think of assignments as their scales and exam as their recital. No one would ever dream for playing a piece of music once and then performing it for an adjudicator. The drawings I assign are learning activities. I don’t care what you produce during the practice part of this course; I care what you learn, and I know what you learned when I mark your exam!
The Producer would never consider doing a drawing assignment over.
“So how did you do on the assignment?” I ask.
“I got it done, but it took forever!” she replied.
“Really, why don’t you draw it again?” I suggest.
“What for, I got it done?” she answers indignantly.
“But did you learn anything? If it took you an hour and a half to draw it the first time, it should take you 20 minutes the second time, seven minutes the third. And I can do it in three minutes if I keep my mouth shut while I draw it!” I rant.
Learning CAD has a large tactile component and tactile learning requires repetition. Repeating the same drawing reinforces the tactile learning faster than doing three different drawings utilizing the same tools, but does not promote problem-solving skills. There is a balance that has to be attained between promoting problem solving skills and reinforcing tactile learning.
So remember students, you are here to learn, not to produce. You will get plenty of opportunity to produce when you are on the job. When you do produce something at college, it is to assist the learning process. When you say “I hate homework,” you are really saying “I hate learning.” No project or assignment should ever be given that does not directly support the learning objectives of that course.
I know that if I can break the “just do the work” mentality I have the opportunity to redirect a student so they can get more from the college experience. I encourage students to race each other the second time they do a drawing or add a funny object the second time around. I reinforce that if they make a mistake in practice, that’s OK as long as they know why and can fix it. All problems can be fixed in CAD! Well all drawing problems at least…
