raising." Popularized in the early 1970s, the technique is implemented usually by sitting in a circle and discussing one's own experiences and by finding commonalities that individuals thought were only personal matters of their own lives. Ideally, consciousness raising is used as a method to increase the number of people who are aware of a social issue or problem. Questioning and Debriefing Similar to Consciousness Raising, questioning and debriefing calls for a discussion. The idea of it is to help students realize their own personal stereotypes that stem from race, class, and any other background characteristics. The end goal is to create a reflective discussion on how each of them have more than likely been a victim of some type of discrimination and to call for action from that moment on. The call for action could include bringing in guest speakers and having them hear other stories, or for a more interactive assignment perform a skit. Whatever it may be the objective is to acknowledge and end the prejudice behavior. Activist projects Activist projects encourage students to identify real-life forms of oppression and to recognize the potential of feminist discourse outside of the academic realm. The goals of this practical application of feminist pedagogy include raising students' consciousness about patriarchal oppression, empowering them to take action, and helping them learn specific political strategies for activism. Students' activist projects have taken a variety of forms, including organizing letter-writing campaigns or writing letters to the editor, confronting campus administration or local law enforcement agencies, organizing groups to picket events, and participating in national marches. Feminist teachers who have written about their experiences assigning activist projects recognize that this non-traditional method can be difficult for students. One noted difficulty along the way, including students who resisted putting themselves in a controversial position and students who had trouble dealing with backlash. Since they want students to have a positive, yet challenging (often first) experience with activism, they often give students a great deal of freedom in choosing a project. Teachers may ask students to develop a project that would "protest sexism, racism, homophobia, or any other 'ism' related to feminist thought in one situation." Feminist assessment The literature on feminist assessment is sparse, possibly because of the discrepancy between notions of feminism and assessment. For example, traditional assessments such as standardized tests validate the banking model of education, and the concept of assessment in