News2014January

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CCT News

13 January 2014
See also previous news and alum news and exchanges. Please use this form for all inquiries, notice of events, contact updates, career updates, web/wiki glitches, suggestions, resources for us to put in news/calendar, request to be emailed when there's a new monthly news compilation, or request to be removed from such mailings.
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Contents: Student matters, CCT community, CCT events, alums, other events, opportunities, resources, food for thought, humor

Student Matters

All spring courses are still open for registration. See links below or contact cct@umb.edu for more information.
CCT courses offered Spring 2014:See http://caps-courses.umb.edu/courses/spring/cr/gr/crcrth/
Face-to-face:
CRCRTH 651L Advanced Cognitive Psychology (#6997)
Online:
CRCRTH 602 Creative Thinking (#6990)
CRCRTH 616 Dialogue Processes (#6991)
CRCRTH 618 Creative Thinking, Collaboration, and Organizational Change (#6992)
CRCRTH 693 Action Research for Educational, Professional & Personal change (#6995)
Hybrid:
CRCRTH 649L Scientific & Political Change (distance students register for class #6994, on-campus students register for #6999)
CRCRTH 688 Reflective Practice (distance students register for class #6996, on-campus students register for #6998)

CCT Community
Upcoming Collaborative Exploration (CE):
February 2014: The democratic control of science—A self-guided e-trail
The spring 2014 series of free, online Collaboration Explorations (CE) begins with the first 4-week session in February and focuses on the theme above. See the full description for more details and background on Collaborative Explorations. Weekly online meetings will be held on a schedule to be determined. Please register (http://bit.ly/CEApply) to confirm your interest and indicate your availability, which will be considered in setting the final schedule.
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CCT Events
CCT Virtual Open House: Spring 2014 Welcome - Reflecting and Connecting around Lifelong Learning
Monday, February 3, 7:00-8:30pm EST, online. Our first spring 2014 open house will be an online meeting via Google+ Hangout, During this session, we'll focus on reflecting and reconnecting as we start the spring semester, learn more about each other and the CCT program, and participate in a discussion activity around reflective practice and how it relates to critical and creative thinking. New and returning students are invited to participate, and guests, prospective students, and others are welcome to join as well. RSVP by Friday, January 31st to cct@umb.edu for information about joining the online meeting. You will need a gmail account and microphone.

Alum and CCT associates Notes
Luanne Witkowski (CCT alum and faculty) solo exhibit: IV
Kingston Gallery is pleased to present Luanne E Witkowski's fourth solo exhibit IV, in its Main Gallery from January 2 - February 2, 2014.
Artist's Reception: January 24, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Sunday 12–5 and by appointment.
For more information and about Luanne's work, please see http://www.kingstongallery.com/pages/current_exhibition.html

Ben Schwendener (CCT faculty) has announced his upcoming Boston-area musical performances (more information: at
http://www.benschwendener.com/WordPress/performance/)
Jan 17, 8:00pm; Lilypad in Inman Square, Cambridge, MA: Ben Schwendener with 'Swim Team' Casey Berman (sax), Elliot Berman (bass), Tim Merle (drums)
Jan 26, 7:30pm; Gravity Arts Studio in Jamaica Plain, MA: Gravity Arts Fundraiser Concert, Mobile Trio with Kenwood Dennard and Marc Friedman (bass)
Jan 27, 8:00pm; New England Conservatory, Jordan Hall, in Boston, MA: NEC Faculty Spotlight Concert, Ben Schwendener's Mobile Trio with Kenwood Dennard and Marc Friedman
Feb 27, 8:00pm; Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music of Bard College in Boston, MA: Longy Faculty Artist Recital, Ben Schwendener (piano) with Aristides Rivas (cello)
May 9, 7:30pm; Taylor House, Jamaica Plain, MA: Concert series at the Taylor House featuring Ben Schwendener: Solo piano performance

From Aimee Ladner (Blaquiere): "Tuesday, November 26th at 3:31pm, Leif David Ladner came into the world... He has inherited some vocal skills from his parents already, often imitating a high-pitched tea kettle sound to indicate his hunger..."

Events
Infrastructures of Creativity: a conference on institutions and innovation in the 18th & 21st centuries - April 10-11, 2014, Chicago, IL.
Location: Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) at, Mies Van der Rohe campus in Chicago
The Atlantic Enlightenment of the eighteenth century ushered in an era of unprecedented innovation and creativity along with new types of institutional infrastructure that fostered and informed those creative processes.
Please join as we consider this historical moment alongside today's innovation landscape, exploring what it takes for innovation to flourish and how institutional structures inform creativity, along with its successes and failures.
For more information about schedule, speakers, and registration,
Sponsored by the Benjamin Franklin Project at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), along with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Science and You 2015
June 1-5, 2015, Université de Lorraine campuses, Lorraine, France
Cultural and scientific international event that is open to anyone interested in the mediation of science, involving multiple conferences of interest to researchers, scientists, teachers, students, organizational leaders, and others interested in connections between science and society. Conferences include:
Journées Hubert Curien: the international conference on science communication;
The Forum: exhibitions and demonstrations, and a venue for professionals of science communication;
The International training program for PhD students: workshops mentored by professionals to raise awareness of science communication;
Public events throughout Lorraine: travelling exhibitions, science vans, theatre performances, mini-conferences
Launch event on Thursday January 23, 2014 from 9am to 5pm at the Théâtre du Saulcy in Metz (France)
To learn more about the event, please visit http://www.science-and-you.com.

SITE 2014
the 25th annual conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. Join with 1,300+ colleagues from over 60 countries in Jacksonville, FL, on March 17-21, 2014.
Conference information and registration: http://site.aace.org/conf/
This society represents individual teacher educators and affiliated organizations of teacher educators in all disciplines, who are interested in the creation and dissemination of knowledge about the use of information technology in teacher education and
faculty/staff development. SITE is a society of the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

National Summit on Creative Youth Development
March 27-29, 2014, Boston, MA. (in planning)
For more information see more about Creative Minds and the press release about the summit.
Sponsored by the Massachusetts Cultural Council in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the YouthReach Initiative.


Opportunities
Please use http://bit.ly/CCT2014 to suggest people -- including yourself -- who we should contact if/when the University authorizes a position along the following lines:
See http://bit.ly/CCT2014 for more details

Call for presentations: Infrastructures of Creativity: a conference on institutions and innovation in the 18th & 21st centuries - April 10-11, 2014, Chicago, IL.
(see above under Events for additional conference information)
The organizers issue an open call for presentations on topics broadly related to institutions and innovation in the eighteenth and twenty-first centuries. Scholars from all fields - from the natural and social sciences to the humanities and performing arts, as well the applied fields of law, medicine, engineering, architecture, design, finance, ecology, and technology - are invited to submit a proposal. Topics could range from the processes of innovation and the innovators themselves to the institutions - private or public - that support (or inhibit) them. A short prospectus, along with any questions beforehand, should be submitted to
blynerd@iit.edu by January 15, 2014. Panels will be announced by February 1, 2014. Proposals not accepted for panel sessions will be considered for poster presentation.
Call for papers: International Educational Technology Conference (IETC 2014). Full details: http://www.iet-c.net
September 3-5, 2014 in Chicago, IL, at American Islamic College, AIC Campus 640 W. Irving Park Rd. Chicago

IETC 2014 seeks a diverse and comprehensive program covering all areas of educational technology. The program includes a wide range of activities designed to facilitate the exchange of expertise, experience, and resources with colleagues. These include keynote and invited talks, full and brief paper presentations, panels and round table discussion sessions.
For more information and submission guidelines: http://www.iet-c.net
Abstract Deadline: July 5, 2014
Full Article Deadline:July 20, 2014
Registration Fee Deadline: August 5, 2014

Open position: STEM Starter Academy Project Coordinator (Part-Time)
Quinsigamond Community College, Worcester, MA
For full information, see:
http://www.higheredjobs.com/state/details.cfm?JobCode=175840759&Title=STEM%20Starter%20Academy%20Project%20Coordinator%20(Part-Time)
Responsibilities: In order to support the QCCs strategic efforts to increase the number of students, particularly women and those from underrepresented groups successfully pursuing study in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) and preparing for entry into four-year baccalaureate programs and/or related career pathways, the Project Coordinator will provide leadership, coordination, and direction for the development of QCCs STEM Starter Academy
QCCs Stem Starter Academy reflects the intention of the Massachusetts legislation to advance excellence in STEM Education. Project goals include: 1) Increased student awareness and access to STEM programs of study and career opportunities; 2) enhanced student readiness for and recruiting into STEM pathway programs; improved student retention based on academic success and overcoming life barriers and 4) increased completion through award of certificates or degrees and pathways to STEM jobs or transfer to higher level STEM academic programs.

Resources
Working Paper 2013: World Protests, 2006-2013 (full PDF available here)
Isabel Ortiz (ex-Director of Policy and Strategy at UNICEF) and her colleagues have just published an analyses of 843 protests occurring between January 2006 and July 2013 in 87 countries covering over 90% of world population. The paper focuses on: (i) major grievances driving world protests (ii) who is demonstrating, what protest methods they use, and who are they opposed to (iii) achievements and repression of social movements in the short term, and (iv) the main policy demands of world demonstrators.

GapMinder: "The World's Most Important Trends": http://www.gapminder.org/


Food for Thought
"Principle of the Dangerous Precedent." = "Every public action which is not customary, either is wrong, or, if it is right, is a dangerous precedent. It follows that nothing should ever be done for the first time."
from F.M. Cornford. Microcosmographia Academica: Being A Guide For The Young Academic Politician 1908.
To Watch:
Hackschooling makes me happy: Logan LaPlante at TEDxUniversityofNevada
David Christian: The history of our world in 18 minutes and the Big History Project
The Power of Empathy
The Science of Happiness - An Experiment in Gratitude

To Read:Muting the Mozart effect: Contrary to popular opinion, research finds no cognitive benefits to musical training
Words Gone Wild: The Student Winners of Our 15-Second Vocabulary Video ContestThe Power of Asking the Right Questions
Professor Angela McRobbie: ‘Unpacking the Politics of the Creative Economy’
Developing a Participatory Approach to Fostering Creativity Through Education
Modern toys curb creativity
How the Innovation Economy is Turning Makers Into Manufacturers
The Need for Belonging in Math and Science
Behind Great Art, The Artist's Painstaking Process
One Million Chips Mimic One Percent Of The Brain: A Robot's Neural Network
What Is 4-D Printing? How the future will build itself.
David Lowery: Silicon Valley must be stopped, or creativity will be destroyed
Common Core in Action: How One Art Teacher is Implementing Common Core
Federations of Neighborhoods
Lacking inspiration? Exercise found to boost creativity
This Is the Future of Radio
New bill in Congress may make textbooks free
How Science Can “Grow Up” in 2014
Comedians’ Smarts, Humor, and Creativity
Is Creativity Destined To Fade With Age?
Neuroeducation: 25 Findings Over 25 Years
How Will Historians Study Video Games?
The PT Think Tank: Critical observations of health, science, and the physical therapy profession
When You Criticize Someone, You Make It Harder for that Person to Change
Six Habits of Highly Grateful People
Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude
KTrack Snow Bike Kit
How to Be Productive - The Mindmap of 35 Habits of the Uber-Productive
Mapping the World's Deforestation Over Time
2nd-Grader's Cure For Playground Loneliness: A Buddy Bench
Bruce Molnia's Repeat Photos of Alaska, and What He Says They Reveal About Our World
25 Critical Thinking Strategies For The Modern Learner
Remember That? No You Don’t. Study Shows False Memories Afflict Us All
The reading list: pupil premium, critical thinking and 2014 cheer
Charter School of Inquiry envisioned as hothouse for kids’ critical thinking
A Year of Critical Thinking in a Distracted World
How to break the stranglehold of academics on critical thinking
Autism and critical thinking – as simple as reading a map
Does belief in Santa Claus hamper or hinder critical thinking?
Using Narration to Develop Critical Thinking

Humor
The Washington Post's collection of the best editorial cartoons of 2013