8 January 2021

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Student Matters

Registration for spring 2021 courses continues and opens to non-degree registration starting on January 11th, as space allows. Note that the UMass Boston campus will continue to operate remotely during the spring. Contact cct@umb.edu for more information.

• CrCrTh 602, Creative Thinking; mostly asynchronous online, but with occasional synchronous meetings on a few Wednesdays at 7:00pm ET (#12904)
• CrCrTh 616 Dialogue Processes; asynchronous online only (#12905)
• CrCrTh 670 Thinking, Learning, and Computers; Mondays, 7:00-9:45pm (#12907)

Students should note that the university has announced that courses in Blackboard will open a few days before the formal start of the term (which is January 25th), in order to provide a little extra time to become familiar with the online materials.

All in the university community are encouraged to continue to check the UMB Covid-19 web page for information about important updates, services, and events to support the community through the period of campus closing. The campus Resources4U portal also points to many university offices and programs that provide various services to students.

Upcoming orientations for students:
CCT students please note that a few online orientations are scheduled from some UMass Boston departments for new students, or those who missed previous orientations and would like to join:
–Graduate Studies Orientation (general resources for graduate study):
Thursday, January 21, 6:30-8:00pm EST
RSVP here: https://www.umb.edu/gradorientation
–College of Education and Human Development Orientation (CCT’s home college; may be of interest to learn about the college, although much of the later part of the orientation involves information related to students in teacher licensure programs)
Wednesday, January 20, 4:00-6:00pm
RSVP to cct@umb.edu for details to join by Zoom.

CCT Events

Tuesday, January 19th, 2021, 12:00-1:00pm EST: Reflective Practice for Building Schools that Learn (online). Free and open to all.
(Rescheduled from original date of October 14, 2020)

RSVP here to receive Zoom details a few days in advance of the meeting. Free and open to the public. Part of the CCT Community Open House Events: Dialogues on Reflective Practice in a Changing World (online in Zoom). Format: structured, participatory dialogue among participants to help inquire and expose diverse directions and possibilities.
Description: It was twenty years ago that Peter Senge and his colleagues described “schools that learn” in their first release of the book of that same name, a work grounded in Senge’s foundational work around the Fifth Discipline. The book extended this work to the environment of the school by offering the idea that a school, as an institution of learning, is not necessarily and automatically a _learning organization_. In order for this to be the case, a school needs everyone involved — teachers, students, administrators, and others in the community — in fostering both long-term educational performance and aspirations and capacities of the individuals across the system (Senge et al., 2012, p. 5-6).
The school, as a system, needs to engage in collective actions and visions to learn together and look at its capacity as a whole. A question then is, how far have we come in pursuing this kind of vision? What are the qualities of our schools that open up their potential as learning organizations? How do schools represent places for action as well as learning? What is the role of the school in responding to current events and crises, and how can schools be learning organizations in these circumstances? How do schools increase participation and engagement toward collective learning? And where do these possibilities still fall short?
In this dialogue, we start here and explore connections between our personal experiences in schools, what we see happening now, and what we want to continue to develop in achieving schools that learn…more…

Alum, Student, and CCT Associates Notables

Recently, former CCT Director Professor Peter Taylor’s final research article was published in the journal Science as Culture, titled, “Making Visible a Collage of Radical Scientists and Critics“.

CCT student Ece Gurler was a guest speaker on Dr. Veronica Hardy’s podcast, There is Power in Your Story. In this episode, “The Power of Choice“, Ece talks about creativity, her journey as an artist, professional, and lifelong learner, and she discusses her recently published book Frank, aimed at readers ages 7-12. Listen to the podcast here, and learn more about Ece at her web site.

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 here.

Events

Uncomfortable Independent Conversations (UIC) series, hosted by Dr. Raquell Holmes, director of ImprovScience. Sundays, January 10, 17, 24 3:00 – 4:30 pm PT/ 6:00 – 7:30 pm ET. Suggested sliding scale for the three-week series: $75 – $375. See more information and register here.
The issues raised by the murder of George Floyd, and the heartbreaking number of others since then, require innovative attention and approaches to building community together. UIC brings together individuals who—independent of institutional locations—are interested in having conversations that transform their experiences of race, class and gender in America and move us closer to one another.