Grasping Reality on TypePad, by Brad DeLong

...and the hardy but colorless perennial of “rote learning” surfaces instead. [1] As students, we seek the cognitively easier path.... [Rather than] (1) think about specific cases; (2) look past their superficial differences to the underlying similarity; (3) articulate a general principle; and (4) translate your discovery into algebraic notation... just learn a rule for moving symbols around.... [2] As a teacher, I seek the administratively easier path.... Symbol-pushing isn’t just easier for students. It’s easier for me. It takes less planning before class, less improvisation during class, and less mop-up with struggling students afterwards. To help a room of students think deeply—that’s no easy task. To help them learn superficial facts and mechanical rules? Well, that’s a heck of a lot easier.... [3] As assessors, we seek clear-cut standards by which to rank students.... Tests are written to be “objective” and “fair,” which means they ask for scripted performances of technical skills rather than for flexible improvisation. On such tests, deep thinking can be more an impediment than an aid. So what is there to be done? How do you help healthy flowers grow in a climate that can feel so ill-suited to them? Well, that’s called teaching, and I’m still learning how to do it...