University of Massachusetts at Boston
Graduate College of Education
Critical & Creative Thinking Program

Reflective Practice

CrCrTh688 (1-3 credits)

Syllabus


Instructor (for 08-09): Peter Taylor, Critical & Creative Thinking Program
Email: peter.taylor@umb.edu
Phone: 617-287-7636
Office: Wheatley 2nd flr 143.09 (near Counseling & School Psychology)
Class: Place and time varies from session to session
Office/phone call hours: TBA by sign up at cct.wikispaces.com/PTOfficeHours, or by arrangement.
Syllabus Website with links: http://www.faculty.umb.edu/pjt/688-xx.html
Course wiki: http://cct.wikispaces.com/RefPrac
General email: Emails sent to RefPrac@googlegroups.com go to everyone in the course.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Reflective practitioners in any profession pilot new practices, take stock of outcomes and reflect on possible directions, and make plans to revise their practice accordingly. They also make connections with colleagues who model new practices and support the experimenting and practice of others. Students in this course gain experiences and up-to-date tools for reflective practice through presentations, interactive and experiential sessions, and, optionally, supervised pilot activities in schools, workplaces, and communities.

OVERVIEW

Each semester that the course is offered, it can be taken for 1-3 credits, and can be repeated for up to 6 credits total. Students undertaking supervised practice must consult with the instructor before the semester starts so they can bring an initial proposal to their first supervisory meeting. Note: Even if a student has previously taken the 1-credit option, there is no option to undertake supervised practice only; that is, supervised practice students must also participate the same semester in the five scheduled sessions.
During the five scheduled sessions: Between sessions: students submit reflection papers on the sessions; build a community of support for each other through an email bulletin board; develop and revise their plans for experimenting with and adopting new practices; and, in the case of students piloting new practices, meet regularly with the instructor.
A distinctive feature of this course is the involvement of graduates of CCT as guest presenters and participants in the sessions. The graduates model to current students a commitment to personal and professional development, community building, and educational-innovation beyond the formal CCT program of studies. (The involvement of graduates is made possible by collaboration with the CCT (alum) Network, http://cct.wikispaces.com/CCTNetwork.) It is hoped that students from the course return as guest presenters at a future date.
The contribution of the course to producing Thoughtful and Responsive Educators (which has been the overarching goal of the Professional Education Unit and the Graduate College of Education) centers on the Commitments of Ethical behavior, Lifelong learning, Dedication, and Modeling and mentoring; the Practices of Caring, Collaboration, Reflection; and Understandings about Pedagogy in the broad sense of instruction and facilitation. In addition to its role in the field of school and college Education, the course is intended to serve the range of practitioners who study in CCT (such as adult educators, artists, musicians, informal science educators, and group facilitators) as well as interested professionals from other graduate programs at UMass Boston.

OBJECTIVES

Students in this course will:

ASSESSMENT & REQUIREMENTS

Sessions

1. Attendance and participation in each session of this course (5 sessions x 6 points = 30 points). [related to objective 1]

2. Weekly emails submitted to refprac@googlegroups.com (for at least 10 weeks during the semester). These emails help contribute to building a community of learning and support during the course (10 emails x 1 point = 10 points) [related to objective 2]

3. Reflection papers, after each of the sessions 1-4, 500-words, due 2 weeks after the session. (4 papers x 10 points = 40 points). [related to objective 3]
Specific guidelines and assessment rubrics will be distributed for each session, but the general themes will include: 4. Plan for Practice (2000-3000 words), building on reflection papers (and, for supervised-practice students, their briefings/updates), demonstrating: Guidelines and examples will be distributed to assist in developing a Plan for Practice.) Students will make brief presentations of their plans for practice at the last session. (20 points) [related to objective 4]

Supervised piloting of new practices

(for 2- and 3-credit option only; 20 hour option [the first figure] or 40 hour option [the second figure])
1. Log of hours in meetings, practice sessions, and piloting of new practices, adding up to 20 or 40 hours. (2 points for each hour = 40 or 80 points) [related to objective 1]

2. Supervisory meetings, 3 or 5 during the semester (3 or 5 meetings x 10 points = 30 or 50 points). [related to objectives 1-4]

3. Email reports, submitted to instructor (for at least 3 or 8 weeks during the semester), providing plans and reports on preparation for piloting of new practices and reflection on progress, setbacks, and outcomes (3 or 8 emails x 5 points = 15 or 40 points) [related to objective 1, 3, 4]

4. Briefings/updates to fellow students, distributed at sessions 2 to 4, 200 or 400 words (3 briefings x 5 or 10 points = 15 or 30 points) [related to objectives 2 & 3]

Total course points are divided by the number of credits taken, then converted to letter grades as follows: the minimum grade for A is 95 points, for A- is 87.5, for B+ is 80, for B is 72.5; for B- is 65; for C+ is 57.5; and for C is 50.

THE CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT governing students' rights and responsibilities, including academic honesty, is given in the Graduate Bulletin.

NO PREREQUISITES: Students from outside CCT should consult with the instructor before signing up for the supervised practice credits.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Sections 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 offer guidelines for curriculum modifications and adaptations for students with documented disabilities. If applicable, students may obtain adaptation recommendations from the Ross Center (287-7430). The student must present these recommendations to each professor within a reasonable period, preferably by the end of the Drop/Add period.

Students are advised to retain a copy of this syllabus in personal files for use when applying for certification, licensure, or transfer credit.
This syllabus is subject to change, but workload expectations will not be increased after the semester starts. (Version 17 December '08)

SCHEDULE of SUPERVISION

(for 2- and 3-credit option only)
The schedule depends on the specific project of the student. An initial prospectus (200-400 words describing the practices, site(s)/location(s), collaborators, timeline) must be brought to the first supervisory meeting, which takes place by the end of the first week of the semester. This prospectus may, of course, end up being substantially developed and revised through conversation with the instructor.

SCHEDULE of SESSIONS

The guest presenters and session topics will vary from semester to semester and most of them will be organized in conjunction the CCT Network. The following schedule from fall '08 provides examples of the kinds of sessions that may take place and the practices and tools introduced.

Session 1. Reflecting and Connecting for Lifelong Learning

To introduce students (and wider CCT community) to: Post-session reading: Bruns, A. (2008) "Social Networks on Ning: A Sensible Alternative to Facebook," http://produsage.org/node/25 (viewed 26 July 08)
Bruns, A. (2008) Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond: From Production to Produsage. Peter Lang Publishing.

Session 2. Modeling and Mentoring

"Our Lives and Other Worlds II: Visual Images and Reflections from Graduates of the Critical & Creative Thinking Program"

Five CCT graduates spend 15-25 minutes to display their visual work and reflect on how this has developed in relation to their CCT experiences, followed by commentaries and discussion. This provides a model for students of a wider and more sustained network of support for their endeavors during and after their studies. (After all, CCT graduates form a network of contacts, inspiration, and expertise far more extensive than the faculty can provide.)

(Technical tools introduced: Recording podcasts) Post-session readings: Fritz, R. 2002. Your Life As Art. Newfane, VT: Robert Fritz Inc.

Session 3. Dialogue Process in Reflective Practice and Community-building

Online dialogue process session on "Dialogue Process and Reflective Practice: What have I done in the past and what new directions do I want to move in?"

(Technical tools introduced: Skype conference calls; Recording online sessions)
Post-session reading: Isaacs, W. 1999. Dialogue. NY: Currency

Session 4 Acknowledging/affirming supporters and aspirations

"Re-membering (with) Michael White: Two CCTer's acknowledge Michael's influence in an introduction to narrative work in our lives and communities"

Introduction to the work of the late Michael White, especially "Re-membering conversations," which help a person acknowledge multiple past allies, aspirations for their lives, significant discoveries, problem-solving practices, etc. Such conversations should be valuable when any of us move into a new phase of our lives, e.g., when students enter CCT.

Post-session reading: White, M. (1998). Saying hullo again: The incorporation of the lost relationship in the resolution of grief. In C. White & D. Denborough (Eds.), Introducing Narrative Therapy: A Collection of Practice-based Writings. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre Publications.
Workshop notes from http://www.dulwichcentre.com.au/Michael%20White%20Workshop%20Notes.pdf.

Session 5. Where have we come and where are we going?

Panel of students and graduates on systematic Reflective Practice

Presentations of Plans for practice from this course and summer course, CrCrTh 618 (incl. practice of selected tools/processes with peers)

Workshop on end-of-semester updates of Metacognitive and Reflective practice portfolios

(Technical tools: Creating and editing wikipages)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(To be supplemented each semester with readings specific to the sessions, as illustrated above.)

Eyler, J., and D. E. Giles (1999). Where's the learning in service learning? San Francisco, Jossey Bass. Horton, M. and B. Moyers (1983). "The adventures of a radical hillbilly: An interview with Myles Horton." Appalachian Journal 9(4): 248-285.

Jenkins, M. (2000). "Action learning: Taking the time it takes." Presented to the International Association of Facilitators, Toronto, April 27 2000.

Rokovich, M. A., M. Stevens, et al. (2000). "Implementing change at SJUSD: An unfinished case study." Presented to the International Association of Facilitators, Toronto, April 27 2000.

Schuman, S., Ed. (2006). Creating a Culture of Collaboration: The International Association of Facilitators Handbook. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.

Senge, P., A. Kleiner, et al. (1994). The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. New York, Currency.

Stanfield, R. B. (2002). The Workshop Book: From Individual Creativity to Group Action. Toronto, Canadian Institute of Cultural Affairs.

Taylor, P. J. (2008). Developing Critical Thinking is Like a Journey. Teachers and Teaching Strategies, Problems and Innovations. G. F. Ollington. Hauppauge, NY, Nova Science Publishers.

Taylor, P. J., S. J. Fifield, et al. (2008). "Cultivating Collaborators: Concepts and Questions Emerging Interactively From An Evolving, Interdisciplinary Workshop." Manuscript.