News2017September
News from the Graduate Program in Critical & Creative Thinking
University of Massachusetts Boston20 September 2017
Student Matters
The Add/Change deadline for CCT courses is September 25th.
Students with a Graduate Certificate plan should apply to graduate (through WISER) by October 27, 2017 (this includes students who will continue and graduate also with the full MA degree later). You can receive the certificate once you have completed CRCRTH 601, 602, and three more electives. Contact cct@umb.edu with questions.
Several reference sources are available to help continuing and prospective CCT students connect with others and navigate the program. These include the program handbook, the official Graduate Studies catalog, the CCT wiki home page, the Reflective Practice Portfolios home page, and Scholarworks, the home of abstracts and full-text versions of capstone projects completed by MA students in past years.
CCT Community
Applications for spring 2018 admission are due by November 1, 2017. Please refer to application guidelines for graduate admission and additional requirements for international students.
UMass Boston Interim Chancellor Barry Mills gave his Convocation address on Thursday, September 14th. The video recording of this event is now available for viewing.
CCT Events
"Making Spaces for Connecting, Probing, Reflecting, Creating"
This 4-session online "Collaborative Exploration" (CE) allows participants to investigate the principles or theory about personal and group change that underlie workshop and related group processes. The days and times of the 1-hour online weekly meetings in during October 2017 will be determined by the best availability of those who apply here. For more information, please see the full description and background information about CEs.
Alum and CCT associates Notes
CCT alums and associates are encouraged to send items of interest to the Critical and Creative Thinking community to be included in future newsletters. Please submit events, announcements, and opportunities through this form: http://bit.ly/CCTSICWi
Events
The UMass Boston Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion celebrates Diversity Month during October 2017 with several events throughout the month for staff, faculty, and students. See the office's web site for a full list of events and information on how to register. Talks, workshops, art/film events, and a diversity fair are all part of the planned activities.
September 22-24, 2017
Highlander Research and Education Center: 85th Anniversary Homecoming Celebration
in New Market, TN
See the web site for more information and to register
Opportunities
The University of Massachusetts Boston Digital Academy is an accelerated certificate-of-completion learning series providing learners with the most sought-after digital competencies many employers seek. The academy, a professional development program for all learners, is ideal for professionals seeking a career change, early-careerists who wish to gain a stackable credential for entry-level positions in the technology industry, or anyone who wishes to step-up and gain new and valuable technology skills. Courses include User Experience, Essentials of Web Development, Data Analytics & Business Strategies, and Information Technology Project Management. For more information and to register, see the web site for the College of Advancing and Professional Studies.
Resources
The Foundation for Critical Thinking offers courses for instructors to be able to learn how to adapt the Paul-Elder Framework of Critical Thinking into their own teaching. To learning more about spring 2018 online course CT700: How to Infuse Critical Thinking Into Instruction and registration/costs, please see the web site.
UMass Boston offers several social media channels and mobile apps to help students locate resources, access university services and information about events, and navigate campus.
Food for Thought
(additional web links and posts can also be found on CCT's Diigo pages. General critical and creative thinking focus: https://groups.diigo.com/group/ccreflect; Science in a Changing World focus: https://groups.diigo.com/group/sicwumb)
Video:
Gods, Monotheism, and Ideologies All Failed. But the Human Brain Could Still Succeed (YouTube)
Megan Phelps-Roper: I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left (TED)
To Read:
The Learning Gene
ANU-led study solves mystery of how first animals appeared on Earth (ANU)
Facts Don’t Change People’s Minds. Here’s What Does (Heleo)
A closer look at the creativity gap and why students are less creative at school than outside of school (ScienceDirect)
Curiosities Archives (Undark)
Study Says Making Art Reduces Stress, Even If You Kind Of Suck At It (Huffington Post)
History of Philosophy without any gaps
Happy' music generates creative thinking (SBS News)
Making Time for Quiet Contemplation (The Learner's Way)
The ‘nation’s report card’ says it assesses critical thinking in history — but NAEP gets an F on that score (Washington Post)
Humans Have Created 9 Billion Tons Of Plastic In 67 Years (Natural Society)
Brain Composer: 'Thinking' melodies onto a musical score (EurekAlert)
The Uncomfortable - a collection of deliberately inconvenient objects
The 12 Challenges of Creative Giants (ThriveGlobal)
Net Positive, Internet Health Film Shorts (Rooftop Films)
Why Higher Ed Needs to Bridge the Critical Thinking Skills Gap (EdSurge News)
How Motherhood Affects Creativity (The Atlantic)
Humor
Museums Engage In Informative Twitter Debate (NPR)