'Educational Goals' Educational Goals Post your related message now.

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Doug Brown from Southern California (Contact Member) - Fri Jan 8 18:27:11 2010

I think anyone's goals are likely to be directly related to their specific field of endeavor. More generally speaking, the accumulation of knowledge the acquisition of the skills necessary to apply that knowledge in a meaningful way are the most appropriate goals for most that undertake an educational endeavor.

Comment #1 Jerry from Ann Arbor, Michigan (Contact Member) - Sat Jan 9 06:28:16 2010

"Hands on Education"

I think hand on education is much more effective than the rote memorization that so much schooling seems based on.

In addition to being more effective, I think it expands the mind more rather than just putting more minds into the same mold that all those in the class behind them are in.

How can there be any advancements in any fields if one does not "think outside the box". All of the organized educational systems seem designed to keep people thinking in the box.

Can you use a distance learning program to help blend between a hands on approach (mind widening) and book worm approach (mind closing)?

Comment #2 Junior from Colorado (Contact Member) - Sat Jan 9 08:23:26 2010

"Getting Outside The Box"

In the distance learning doctoral program I attend, we have on-campus residency for all the classes. About 60% of each class is lecture, the rest is discussion. I think this discussion helps each of us in the class get more clear about the box we are in and start to understand what other boxes there are in the room.

Our assignments are on a 30-day cycle. The first is about 50% re-stating the course material and about 50% clarifying where we are, after the exposure to the other frames-of-reference from the classroom.

The second cycle is to submit our reading citations for the topics of this course. We receive a reading list of one or two books, and we have to beef up that reading list to 10 to 20 books and scholarly journal articles. (This exercise prepares us for the reading and research aspects of our dissertation. We end up doing this reading list citation exercise about 35 times as we complete the coursework for the doctorate degree program.)

The next two cycles are purely outside-the-box. We have to answer a series of questions which are designed for us to explore the course topics from new perspectives and we have to clarify what we have learned (how we have changed) as a result of our exposure to these ideas.

There is no rote memorization in the courses I have had so far. I am constantly challenged to get out of my box as I go through the courses of the program.

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