Conflict Resoluton

My current masters degree course (Information Systems for Managers) is presenting me with challenges and conflicts on many levels. From a logistical perspective, I'm trying to find my groove in terms of scheduling productive study time (as opposed to staring at the page of a text book) alongside feeding time (necessary) and play time (voluntary). There's no quick fix for this and I just have to be mindful on a daily basis of the different pulls on my time.

The more troubing conflict is the approach to learning and assessment of the course itself. 75% of this unit will be awarded on the basis of a written exam taken at the end of this semester whereas my previous courses have been 100% assessment based. The idea of this terrifies me. Apart from the fact that only time I write is to sign credit card slips, the approach frustrates me as it contradicts my fundamental learning philosophy. Learning theory has evolved so much in the past 10 years that the concept of memerising facts and regurgitating them in a stressful timed situation seems all but archaic to me.

My learning theory guru, George Siemens, wrote recently;

... much of our learning is a connection-forming process (the conduit, not content, is what is king) where we add new elements that augment our capacity to know more. We rely on Google, libraries, friends, social bookmarks/tags, etc. to serve as our personal learning network (we store the knowledge external to ourselves). When we need something, we go to our network (know-where is more important than know-how or know-what)...or we expand our network. In the end, the constant act of connecting in order to stay current is a much more reflective model of learning ...

I couldn't agree more. Assuming I do manage to memorise enough relevant facts in order to pas the exam, there is no gurantee that I will I have made my "personal learning network" which will enable me to continue to learn about Infomation Systems.