News2013August

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CCT News

23 August 2013
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
All students, alums, and others in the CCT community: please use our main contact form for all inquiries, notice of events, contact updates, career updates, web/wiki glitches, suggestions, resources for us to put in news/calendar, etc. Any items of interest to be shared with the wider community will be posted in the upcoming month's CCT Newsletter and Calendar.

Student Matters

Fall 2013 CCT All-student Virtual Meeting
Monday, September 9th, 7:00-8:30pm EDT on Skype.
All CCT students are invited to join our all-student virtual meeting (via Skype) to start off the fall 2013 semester. You will meet and reconnect with fellow students across the CCT program, discuss program updates, and participate in a brief activity/discussion around developing our Reflective Practice Portfolios and developing the on- and off-campus CCT student community. Please RSVP to cct@umb.edu with a confirmation of your Skype name, and further instructions will follow.

Spaces still available in fall 2013 courses:
Complete list: http://caps-courses.umb.edu/courses/fall/cr/gr/crcrth/
hybrid (note correct section for each course when you register; distance students will conference in for weekly sessions):
CRCRTH 602 Creative Thinking (class #9431 for distance students, #9851 for face-to-face students)
CRCRTH 630 Criticism and Creativity in Literature & Arts (class #17508 for distance students, #16842 for face-to-face students)
CRCRTH 650 Mathematics Thinking Skills (class #9433 for distance students, #9839 for face-to-face students)
CRCRTH 688 Reflective Practice (class #9435 for distance students, #9843 for face-to-face students)
CRCRTH 693 Action Research for Personal, Professional, and Educational Change (class #9437 for distance students, #9853 for face-to-face students)
fully online:
CRCRTH 601 Critical Thinking (class #9430)
CRCRTH 618 Creative Thinking, Collaboration, and Organizational Change (class #9432)
CRCRTH 670 Thinking, Learning, and Computers (class #9434)
CRCRTH 692 Processes of Research and Engagement (class #9436)
CRCRTH 694 Synthesis of Theory and Practice (class #9438)

Graduate Fall Orientation Week activities
Please see the following information for full schedules and details for activities intended for helping all graduate students get a good start to the school year, including new and returning students, international students, and others interested in the kinds of resources available to grad. students.
http://www.umb.edu/academics/graduate/info_for_graduate_students/orientation
Schedule: 2013 Fall Graduate Orientation

CCT Community
Upcoming Collaborative Exploration (CE) and Optional Preview Event:
The Fall 2013 series of free, online Collaboration Explorations (CE) begins the week of September 2nd and will explore the theme Everyone Can Think Creatively (full description here). Please apply (http://bit.ly/CEApply) to indicate your interest. All are welcome to apply.


Collaborative Explorations - all upcoming themes for fall 2013:
(please see http://collabex.wikispaces.com/CE+Home for details)
September: Everyone Can Think Creatively!
October: Stories to Scaffold Creative Learning
November: Young People Designing Their Own Lives
December: Manifestos for Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving

​
CCT Events
CCT All-student Virtual Meeting to start off the fall 2013 semester
Monday, September 9th, 7:00-8:30pm EDT on Skype (please see above).

The next on-campus CCT Community Open House will be Monday, October 7th from 7:00-9:00pm EDT, Campus Center 2540. Participation at a distance possible (via Google Hangout or Skype). Details to follow later in September.

Alum and CCT associates Notes
Michelle Kennedy, CCT alum, is part of a nine-month mentorship program at Smithsonian: "While growing my career as a web developer, some "best practices" had been put aside due to perceived time limits. As I try to rise to a new level, my mentor suggested that I focus on doing some things more effectively by reflecting on outcomes and planning, networking, establishing creative and productive habits, communicating well, and reading critically. In my job as a web developer, I already use skills for making critical assessments and solving messy problems creatively--and I do some of that without thinking, but now I am being asked to take it to a higher level with documentation. Even though, I haven't been practicing some of these skills in a committed way, I feel that they are in my toolbox and are easy to retrieve. Thank you!"

CCT alum and online Critical Thinking instructor Bob Schoenberg has had his 2nd book published. "Designed Change Process - Managing Feelings, Stress and Behavior" was published by Science and Humanities Press and is available on Amazon.com. The book explains how distress impairs thinking and offers numerous ways to manage stress. Bob is a faculty member who teaches an online graduate course in Critical Thinking. He is also the author of "Critical Thinking in Business".

Events
The Boston Mayoral Forum Series: Boston's Economic Opportunity
Mayoral Candidates Communicate Their Visions for Extending Economic Success to All
Sponsored by The Boston Foundation, WBUR and University of Massachusetts Boston's McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies and College of Advancing and Professional Studies
The forums will explore a wide range of issues and be informed by the work of the McCormack Graduate School and the Boston Indicators Project at the Boston Foundation. The September forum will include all candidates; the October forum will feature the two mayoral finalists who will meet in the November 5th election.
Dates: Thursday, September 19, 6:30 p.m. and Wednesday, October 9, 6:30 p.m.
Broadcast begins at 7:00 p.m.
Location: University of Massachusetts Boston's Campus Center, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston
Registration is required for the September 19 forum. For more information and to register, please visit http://www.umb.edu/bostonmayor

Wisconsin Science Festival 2013
The festival welcomes people of all ages to look, listen, feel, touch, taste and discover the wonders of all aspects of the sciences, arts and more through interactive exhibits, hands-on workshops, lectures, demonstrations and conversations with leading researchers and creative thinkers.
September 26-29, 2013, various locations around Madison, Wisconsin.
For full information and schedules: http://www.wisconsinsciencefest.org/

National Quality Education Conference 2013
Theme: Creativity and Innovation: Keys to 21st Century Learning
Dates: November 17-18, 2013
Location: Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee, Wis
Collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity are all vital abilities and traits for today’s learners to develop. Creativity and innovation complement continuous improvement and systems thinking by focusing on teamwork, solutions, and the customer - in this case, the learner. Educators around the world are working collaboratively to create new ways of reaching learners and providing tailored instruction and programs to meet their needs. Learn new ways to improve outcomes and build capacity by bridging creativity and continuous improvement, goals that are important to both PK-12 and Higher Education initiatives, at this year’s National Quality Education Conference.
For more information: http://nqec.asq.org/ and http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1413778#ixzz2d5up9ARt

Opportunities
Teaching with the Urban Scholars Program -- Graduate students are encouraged to apply.
http://www.urbanscholars.umb.edu
Please contact Kevin Dean at urbanscholars@umb.edu with any questions, concerns, or application materials.
The Urban Scholars Program is an after-school and full-time summer college-preparation program for academically talented low-income/first-generation BPS students in grades 7-12. Our academic year program consists of Tuesday and Thursday classes from 3:30-5:30.
We are seeking potential teachers and/or teacher-in-training who may be interested in applying to teach this fall. This can be an excellent way to gain curriculum-writing and, of course, teaching experience with a motivated and diverse student body. Stipends are between $1,800 and $2,340 depending on education and experience. Please find our full job post here: http://www.idealist.org/view/job/SwPW6kZ568jd/ and on the UMB Career Services online.
Instructors propose and design a course in their content area of preference with the help of the Urban Scholars directors. Typical and non-typical courses are offered across all content areas. We are seeking Math and Science instructors in particular but all are welcome to apply. Past courses have included: Robotics
Presidential Election 2012 - Democracy in Action, Writing in the Real World - social media, blogging, digital journalism,
Green Chemistry, Pre-Algebra, Literature Out Loud, The Science of Sound: Acoustics, Ethics, SAT preparation + College Admissions Prep, Intro to Economics, Geometry and Architecture, AP Biology Support, Astronomy

Creative Economy Network Applications Open
http://www.mass.gov/hed/economic/industries/creative/creative-economy-network-applications-open.html
State Launches Creative Economy Network. Applications now open for industry organizations. The Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development is now accepting applications for organizations to be a part of the newly established Creative Economy Network. The network is a regional effort to that will accelerate the economic growth of the Commonwealth’s creative industries across the state. Through the Patrick Administration’s Creative Economy Industry Director and the Creative Economy Council , the Network will coordinate resources, track progress, and promote efforts to support these industries on the local, regional, and state-wide level. All information and inquiries should be directed to Helena Fruscio, Massachusetts Office of Housing and Economic Development. Phone: 617-788-3602, Email: helena.fruscio@state.ma.us.

Resources
The Arts Education Partnership works with the mission that "every child deserves a complete and competitive education that includes the arts."
The AEP 2014 National Forum will take place on September 11-12, 2014 in Pittsburgh during National Arts in Education Week. Please check the web site for additional information and details as they become available.


Food for Thought
How the Hum of a Coffee Shop Can Boost Creativity
How Creative Is Your Doctor?
Why I'm Starting a Creative Makerspace in Kisumu, Kenya
Researchers debunk myth of right-brain and left-brain personality traits
40 maps that explain the world
Video: Embrace Ambiguity
The Amazing Scientific Experiment Guaranteed to Make You Happier
Today's Most Creative People: The Scientists Behind The World's First Working, 3-D-Printed Kidney
The Picasso Effect: What The Success of Cubism Teaches Us About Radical Innovation
This Guy Moved Into His Parents’ House So a Homeless Family Could Live in His
Science Is Not Your Enemy An impassioned plea to neglected novelists, embattled professors, and tenure-less historians
Scientists make "Impossible Material" ... by accident
http://www.gizmag.com/upsalite-impossible-material/28393/
Jupiter Structural Layer Cake
The Future of Online Education Is on Campus
‘Oyster-tecture’ Fights Pollution In New York With Shellfish
Obscure state law requires all students be taught the arts
The rhythms and colors of Boston life
MIT scientists plant false memory in mouse’s mind
Young innovators: Meet the brains behind an artificial brain
Putting My Kids' Art in the Trash: How I Got Past the Guilt
Spinning Tube Trick: Can you figure out how it works?
11 Untranslatable Words From Other Cultures
The Age of Outrospection
Signs for the Homeless

Humor
A Glossary of Gestures for Critical Discussion