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Among the only things more annoying than listicle headlines, like the above, is the word listicle itself. Having just turned 50, it puts me in mind of uncomfortable visits to the doctor.
Anyway . . .
I’ve been debating (with myself) whether to share this link to a major assignment in a course I recently took for my Master’s degree. Unlike the physical Steve, I’m rather shy online (doesn’t anyone else loathe the phrase ‘your personal brand’?) and will probably never be at home in this share-everything-out-loud culture we’re sprinting into as a species.
That discomfiture probably has to do with how I was raised. I wasn’t a model student in high school. A diagnosis of profound ADHD in my adulthood answered a lot of questions. (The original and less scientific explanation was laziness and willful ignorance, bless them!)
Anyway, to make a long story longer and simple one confusing, I’ve always written well but it’s only been in the past year that I ever thought I could be an OK student. However, I’ve been scoring marks in the high 80s in all my courses so far and received a 95% on this project. So my diagnosis is, what the hell, may as well share it and see if anyone cares.
(Given that the aforementioned debate was with myself, you get to decide whether I won, lost or tied.)
First, as we say in the academy, some background: The course was called Learning Theory and Program Design and unless you’ve undertaken an Inter-disciplinary Master’s in Communications and Education, it may not be all that exciting for you. Mind if you’re having trouble sleeping, this may be just your cup of chamomile.
The project is a thorough re-visitation of a course within this course, through another course. (Potheads, rejoice! That sentence is not an error.)
We were assigned, as part of this education-design set of lessons, to take another class, but something hobbyish a la yoga, knitting, pole-dancing, etcetera, and review it in some interesting way. My proposal was to repeat the main lessons, ideas and exercises within each of the course’s seven units — all through the lens of yoga lessons.
(NB: Actually there are only six entries, not seven sections, because the first unit was thoroughly introductory, meeting and getting to know people in my group-work assignment. It turns out, as you’ll see in unit five, that learning is a social activity and — with this revelation — I’ve come to hate group work much less.) Anyway . . .
To my surprise, the proposal was approved! As say surprise because I was up front about my motives. Remember my context: A week into this course, I had reluctantly returned to Canada, solo (albeit briefly) after nearly a year in Lombardy, Italy. I knew that the yoga classes would help me adjust and possibly work off some of the pizzocheri lingering behind my belt.
It’s a ton of information, review and observation. To make it a little less dull, I chose to present within a blog. There are six entries, one for each unit and, as with many blogs, for accurate context you should start at the bottom of the pile in the past. So start here then go here.
Sleep well, my followers, connections and friends, sleep well.
© Steven Bochenek