Who cares about understanding....let's just get it done!

Tried something new in class. I wanted to get a feel for how helpful the students felt the tutorials are in each module for CAT100. I decided to actually show one tutorial in class so I could generate some discussion. From my observation, at least 80% of them were occupied typing instead of watching the tutorial, yet asked the questions that were covered in the tutorial.

After the tutorial, I asked how helpful the other tutorials had been for the previous assignments. The response that I got, by show of hands, was that absolutely none of them had watched any of the previous tutorial. I have been stressing all semester that the tutorials would assist them with understanding how to complete their assignments, yet they don't take advantage of the available help. Several of them have told me that they just want to get the assignment done and I stress the importance of understanding what they are doing in each lesson instead of just going through the motions.

Why is society so driven to just "get it done" instead of "get it done with understanding"? Where are we failing in the education system to promote real learning? Hmmm...