A ‘maze’ ing

Week 14:  Enhancement week. Analysis of an artefact.

The activity set for this week was to analyse a maze that was made by a former Education Studies student. We were encouraged (in pairs) to touch it, take pictures of it, find out what each part’s purpose and meaning is. The maze represented the student’s journey through her degree course and the path that she took.

The entrance

The beginning. The 1st year. The footprints side by side indicating she is stationary and about to embark on a journey, leaving behind the natural world and heading into a bland of black and white text. Reading, reading, writing and more reading. It’s about get serious from here on.

Different Paths and Dead Ends

As you progress through the maze each bit of text/writing means something relevant to that part of the journey. A good mark for a piece of coursework, encouraging you to continue. The writing on the wall says “You demonstrate a good understanding of the subject.” The student is making progress and it is being recognised. The handprints touching it, grabbing it, indicating the student is pleased, but don’t get complacent the path leads to a dead end if you go the wrong way.  In the second picture you can see that the footprint lead them back on the right path.

Halfway

The halfway point and the bushy bit in the middle. This can be seen as a reward, a break from the cold black and white and a return to the softness of nature. After working hard over the course (through the maze), it’s nice to remove yourself temporarily from the arduous work of being an Education Student and using the time recharge and prepare for the final and hardest stage.

The End?

Graduation, and the big day. Finally, the student becomes a blockhead. The reward after 3 long years of hard work and the goal/exit at the end of the maze. A sense of achievement and success. But, it doesn’t end there? Where the does graduate go after completing their studies. On to work? further studies? or perhaps neither. It reminds of the old Space Invaders game. When I was about 4 or 5, I remember completing the game and instead of saying well done or game over, all the aliens returned and the game started over again. The end of this maze reminds of that game. When the student graduates from University the maze doesn’t end. A new one begins.

This was a chance to see a previous students work and to give us an example of what is expected from us. It was also an opportunity to use the analysis skills we picked up from last week’s Big Mac box exercise and good practice for our research assignment.