CCT698 Fall '07

Write out neatly a synthetic statement (1 or 2 paragraphs) evaluating this course. (You might build on/build in your comments from the other side.) Please make comments both to help the instructor develop the course in the future and to enable some third party appreciate the course’s strengths and weaknesses. (Imagine a reader who may not be willing to wade through all the notes on the other side, but is willing to do more than look at numerical averages.) Among other things you might comment on the overall content and progression of classes, the phases of research & engagement, and the in-class activities.

1

The tools presented in this class are powerful in respect to researching and composing a paper. Class time is valuable and best utilized when the students are fully prepared. Self discipline and motivation are crucial for a student to be successful. It may not be what you’d expect from a research class. But if you’re committed and “go with the flow” you’ll find yourself with an enriched research tool box.

2

This course makes students explore/develop personal projects incorporating knowledge-information-experience gathered in other CCT courses. Students build their ideas and projects in a very supportive and comfortable way. There is always support from teachers and peers and each student works at his/her own pace. The methodology used to teach this course fosters deep thinking and confidence. I could see how all the projects-ideas in class grew and got great shape with the help of all. I learned a lot and feel ready to do my synthesis project.

3

Overall, this is a fantastic workshop. It is rewarding, but also takes a lot of self-discipline. You need to structure your time/effort accordingly. Since you pick the topic you get to cover, make sure you pick it well. Make sure it is of something important to you that will hold your interest for a while. Everything is spelled out on all of the handouts and in the readings, so navigating through the phases shouldn’t be a problem.

4

Before entering grad school I had the job of choosing which one can best suit my schedule and help me with my career path. I choose CCT because of the different components that combine the curriculum education (because one of my goals is to teach), Philosophy (I like the idea of thinking beyond the scope of thinking; why is something the way it is and is it?); Psychology, (how the mind develops and the changes of behavior associated with it). Bring all of these subjects together and you have a degree that can both enhance you in many ways and satisfy your logic of critical thinking.

I am looking forward to continuing this course and possibly participating in one of the classes (maybe co-teaching/teaching). You can be creative, expressive, a thinker (philosopher), an educator, and psychologist. How many programs allow you to do that?

5

It is important as a student to be engaged with the course topic and professor. Fortunately for me and other students in this class, the high level of learning that takes place is due to student focused, participatory methodology. It is quite easy to deliver a lecture, teacher talks, students write. Learning becomes more meaningful and deliberate when the teacher works as hard as the student and in P. Taylor’s class you will gain more than you would imagine. The content of the course is presented with ease and professionalism. P. Taylor is highly approachable and is passionate about his work. He is an active learner along side his students. The CCT program and especially this course have given me a set of sophisticated tools for personal and professional growth and development.

6

There are three primary components of this course that I most valued and which worked well for me. First, I think the way in which the course is set out is excellent. The process is clear, there are many opportunities for flexibility and exploration, and the results seem to be generally good for people working through the tools and exercises. For me, the process allowed me to try some new tools and to make choices about what I would put to use right away or what I would save for future challenges. I found the process to represent a comprehensive “guide” towards true engagement with my topic and my thinking skills, and I enjoyed (though I did not always take advantage of…) the discipline that the process sought to impose on my occasionally undisciplined approach.

Secondly, I have a great respect for the manner in which the instructor offers thoughtful, insightful and effective feedback on work that is handed in. As a teacher I find this to be the most educationally rigorous method of feedback, where the message is something like “done is not necessarily complete – there is more, different or better here! Take another look!” There is a deep respect in this sort of instructor/student learning relationship and I both appreciate and would like to emulate it.

Lastly, I always enjoy the interactions with my classmates. In this course, I think the process and syllabus enhanced the opportunities to really learn from one another. As the course neared the end, I felt I was watching peoples’ thoughts come into focus, and this was both exciting and gratifying. I valued this part of the class, and looked forward to coming every week as a result.

7

In this course, several unique aspects helped the entire process to be more productive. First, the interaction within the class both helped me to clarify goals through my explanations to others as well as theirs to me. Also, I found that each phase of research and engagement provided enough general tools to be applicable to my own research while at the same time being targeted enough to help me to move forward. This course also provides a very unique experience in the way that not only research methodologies are experience but also in the way that my own thoughts, motivations, and understandings influence me to approach my research and understand why I am incline to take certain actions (or not) in my research that will ultimately help me.

An unexpected insight from the overall course is that some of my personal inclinations toward research might not always be helpful, so I am more aware that types of engagement in research might be needed in different situations to address different needs. This might also mean that it would be wise for me to realize that some types in research engagement might be uncomfortable for me, so being aware of that helps me to prepare for those situations more effectively. Suggestions for improving the course include an additional element of in-class interactions in which we discuss as a group what concepts from the phase, assignments, or other activities are clear in purpose and which are not. This might help all in the class, in person, to establish what areas might be ambiguous and be able to establish interpretations on the phases that both meet PT’s intentions and become as useful and meaningful as possible to students.