21 January 2025

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Student Matters

Spring 2025 Courses still open for registration. Current students: use WISER. Non-degree students: refer to guest registration steps.

• CrCrTh 602,Creative Thinking; January 27-May 14, 2025; online only, with occasional meetings on Wednesdays, 7:00-9:45pm ET (class #13745).
• CrCrTh 670, Thinking, Learning, and Computers; January 27-May 14, 2025; join online or on campus, meetings on Tuesdays, 7:00-9:45pm ET (online section: #13785; on-campus section: 14022)
• CrCrTh 688 Reflective Practice; January 27-May 14, 2025; online only, with occasional meetings arranged according to student availability and overlapping with some CCT community events
• CrCrTh 693, Action Research for Educational, Professional, and Personal Change; January 27-May 14, 2025; join online or on campus, meetings on Tuesdays, 4:00-6:45pm ET (online section: #13782, on-campus section: #9718)

Spring 2025 CCT Welcome and Reflective Practice Portfolio Overview (virtual)
Thursday, February 13th, 4:00-5:00pm ET
Incoming and returning CCT students are invited to join us for our spring 2025 welcome meeting, including general announcements about the Critical and Creative Thinking program and an overview of the Reflective Practice Portfolio requirement. All students working on developing your portfolio are invited to attend. Look for additional information by email about joining the virtual session.

CCT Events

Spring 2025 Dialogue Series on Reflective Practice in a Changing World (virtual)

• Monday, February 24th, 7:00-8:00pm ET: Mini-Workshop: Systems Thinking Tools for Reflective Practice (RSVP to this session | more details on the theme)
• Monday, March 10th, 7:00-8:00pm ET: Reflective Practice for Resistance and Refusal (RSVP to this session | more details on the theme)

These dialogues are free and open to the public. Register above for an individual event to receive Zoom login information and reminders for that event.
In this series of dialogues, we consider the role of reflective practice for thinking critically and creatively about work and life. Reflective Practice is relevant to any field and refers to how we make connections between our past experience and future actions. For each engaging hour-long session, we focus on one theme that represents a common challenge to the reflective practitioner. We use a structured dialogue process to support each participant to recall and make sense of their experiences and then envision how to direct their practices toward ongoing and future encounters with that challenge.

Alum, Student, and CCT Associates Notables

CCT 2025 Alum Studio – Graduates of the Critical and Creative Thinking program are invited to join the spring

• February 2025 (4-week seminar, meeting once per week, times TBD). Interested graduates may RSVP here to receive confirmation about schedule and virtual session login information.

CCT students, alums, and associates are encouraged to send items about accomplishments, new publications, or offerings to the Critical and Creative Thinking community to be included in future newsletters. Please submit items of interest to cct@umb.edu.

Events

Unapologetically Working for Change: Moving Forward to the Future
Virtual Forum (free) hosted by the Chronical of Higher Education
Thursday, January 23rd, 2:00pm ET
“This is an exciting time for us to push the boundaries, think outside the box, and dare to ‘freedom dream’,” says Keith Curry, president of Compton College in California. During this period — when many in the public are questioning the value of higher education, and challenges and controversies within the higher-ed realm persist — Curry insists that colleges and universities can continue to play an important role for their students and in their communities. Join The Chronicle for a Virtual Forum featuring Curry, as we discuss how campus leaders can continue to serve their students equitably during this confusing period. Speakers: Ian Wilhelm, Deputy Managing Editor,
The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Keith Curry, President, Compton College. To register, see the website.

Generative AI in Education: What Are Your Students Up To?
Free webinar hosted by Sage Talks
Wednesday, January 29th, 12:00noon-1:00pm ET
Speaker: Dr. Kathryn Lookadoo, Sage Faculty Partner
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is a hot topic, and for good reason. It’s transforming industries and reshaping our daily lives. For educators, GenAI is becoming an integral consideration in assignment design. But how are students using and thinking about AI? How can we motivate them to use these powerful tools responsibly? This webinar is designed for educators at all levels of AI familiarity. Whether you’re just starting to explore GenAI or you use it daily, you’ll gain a clear understanding of how students are engaging with AI and practical strategies to integrate AI into your teaching. To register, see the website.

Book Event – Interconnected: Invoking Wholeness in Broken Times
Virtual event on February 12, 2025 at 7:00pm ET
Hosted by the editors of new book “Contemplative Practices and Acts of Resistance in Higher Education: Narratives Toward Wholeness”. You are invited to join this book discussion series with volume authors and featured guests in a conversation that explores how we might retain and/or reclaim wholeness “within a culture and system with a legacy of colonial conquest, inequity, anti-Blackness, and oppression” (p. 24).
To register for this and other upcoming sessions, see the website.

Massachusetts Reading Association’s 54th Annual Conference: Literacy and Language: Words Empower, Inspire, and Transform
March 27-28, 2025, Boston Newton Marriott (Newton, MA). Pre-conference on Wednesday, March 26th. For registration information, please see the website. The conference includes speakers, presentation sessions, and smaller-group discussions about various topics related to literacy education.

Conference: Shaping the Future in the Era of Polycrisis
The 47th Association for Interdisciplinary Studies Conference
June 4-6, 2025, Oulu, Finland
The University of Oulu and Oulu University of Applied Sciences are hosting the 47th Association for Interdisciplinary Studies Conference at the Linnanmaa campus from June 4th to 6th, 2025. This marks the second time the AIS organization has held its conference in Europe, following the 2019 event at the University of Amsterdam. The conference will focus on the theme “Shaping the Future in the Era of Polycrisis” and it is intended for all those interested in multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research and teaching at all stages of their research career and in all staff groups. For more information, see the website:

Virtual PLC Institute – a 1-day conference focusing on Professional Learning Communities in Education
Hosted by First Education
Thursday, February 27th, 2025, 9:30am-3:30pm CST
With multiple sessions and talks.
Discover the transformative impact of collaborative learning at the 2025 FIRST Education PLC Institute! In an ever-evolving educational landscape, effective teamwork and shared expertise are key to advancing student achievement. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and Collaborative Learning Teams (CLTs) offer an empowering structure that brings educators together to strengthen their practice, exchange ideas, and implement strategies that elevate learning for all students. To register and get more information, see the website.