News2018January
News from the Graduate Program in Critical & Creative Thinking
University of Massachusetts Boston12 January 2018
Student Matters
Registration for spring 2018 continues, and space remains in some courses. See full descriptions. Course offerings (all times Eastern):
CRCRTH 649 Scientific and Political Change (hybrid). Tuesdays, 4:00-6:45pm (online: class #10981; face-to-face: class #10325)
CRCRTH 670 Thinking, Learning, and Computers (hybrid). Mondays, 4:00-6:45pm (online: class #10983; face-to-face: class #10326)
CRCRTH 688 Reflective Practice (hybrid). Mondays, 7:00-9:45pm (online: class #10984; face-to-face: class #10327)
Please note important dates for the spring semester (registration and drop/withdraw dates) on the academic calendar.
Students planning for May graduation need to apply by March 9th.
CCT Community
CCT Faculty Nina Greenwald and David Martin are pleased to announce an offer to bring a Thinking Matters special presentation to your organization, school, staff or personnel, on ways critical and creative thinking can assist everyone to become better problem-solvers. Increasingly, in this "beyond Google” age, standard thinking practices aren’t sufficient to avoid thinking traps and move us forward. In a fast-moving technological world, increasing interconnectedness, and new forms employment, learning new tools and techniques is essential for improving our thinking for life and work. Thinking effectiveness improves dramatically when practiced within relevant areas of focus and real-world contexts. It's why we like to talk with people internal to a group or an organization to understand important goals and objectives. From this, we can tailor presentations to incorporate relevant examples and exercises that address specific needs and interests. Our interactive sessions incorporate both learning and coaching in enjoyable formats that engage humor, and promote thinking agility and beneficial thinking attitudes in a climate of personal safety. As well, we are prepared to make presentations designed to engage localities or wider communities in problem-solving based on overarching matters of concern. Please share this announcement with others who might like to know about what we do. Currently, we are scheduling presentations for spring/summer/fall 2018 and can be reached at: nlgreenwald@comcast.net and davidmartindr@aol.com
CCT Events
CCT Community Open House Event: Reflections on Bringing Critical and Creative Thinking to the Field
Monday, February 5, 2018, 7:00-8:30pm ET
Participate online (Zoom conferencing) or on campus (Wheatley Hall, 4th floor, room W04-170).
RSVP to cct@umb.edu or see the event page for details.
All are welcome to join us for this participatory discussion on how we are taking critical to creative thinking beyond the program of studies and bringing it into settings across diverse areas of professional and personal life. Participants, including CCT alums, will have a chance to hear about and share experiences about what they have done or are continuing to do to inspire and influence critical and creative thinking in the field during challenging times.
Spring 2018 Online Collaborative Exploration (CE) Series
Theme: Teaching about scientific and political change in times of crisis
To register and for more information: http://sicw.wikispaces.com/CE
Free, non-credit learning experiences spanning January through May (various dates and times), based on a Project-Based Learning where participants explore a specific topic within the overall theme based on their own inquiry. Each four-week CE involves interaction through live web conferences once per week for an hour, and online written discussion in between to share ideas and questions.
Topics:
Jan-Feb, Science-policy connections to improve responses to extreme climatic events.
Feb-Mar, Rise and fall of grassroots or citizen initiatives in shaping the directions taken in science and technology.
Mar-Apr, U.S. versus Europe concerning the building of infrastructure built so that to make new genetic knowledge useful.
Apr-May, Teach and engage others to participate in questioning and shaping the direction of scientific and social changes.
Description for Jan-Feb. topic: Science-policy connections to improve responses to extreme climatic events
Raymond Williams observed that "crises are simply exposures of existing real relations." But how do we make sense of the social relations being exposed in these times and bring that into our teaching about scientific and political change? Online Collaborative Explorations (CEs) are planned for the early months of 2018 to foster inquiry and collegial conversations among STSers who feel a sense of crisis. Have we been sharing an outdated progressive imaginary about citizen engagement in science working with developments in social institutions to provide for the welfare of the populace?
Details and registration for the CEs, each of which meets online one hour/week for a month are given at http://sicw.wikispaces.com/CE. You are also welcome to join http://bit.ly/SICWgplus to point to theory and research that may help change our teaching of scientific and political change in times of crisis.
Alum and CCT associates Notes
The Office of Alumni Relations at UMass Boston announces a new virtual book club for all UMB alumni. Participation in the club (managed by PBC Guru) is free for all alumni and involves the reading of a new book about every two months and then participating in an online forum for discussion. For more information and to register, see the web site.
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
Geothink&Learn Webinar: Data & Social Justice.
Friday, January 26, 2018 at 12:00 EST
Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. For more information, see the event page.
The rise of big data that is geospatially referenced enables organizations and individuals to utilize new analytical techniques and approaches to identify patterns of social inequity and organize resources to address and correct these inequities where they exist. The range of social issues where the “data of social justice” can provide a deeper understanding of the scope and magnitude of inequities extends across complex issues including global hunger and disease, income and social inequality, criminal justice and mass incarceration, legal reform, ecology and climate change, political unrest and social change, and economics and productivity. Geothink’s researchers have used big data, crowdsourced data, and new open datasets in conjunction with mapping technologies, applications (apps), and Web 2.0 software to analyze social problems and provide practical solutions. This work has included improving urban accessibility for those living with disabilities and helping the homeless to more easily find urban services. This panel of experts will bring together leading academic experts to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and implications of this work with a focus on its application in cities across the world. The convener for the session will be Geothink Co-Applicant Jon Corbett, an associate professor at University of British Columbia, Okanagan’s Department of Community, Culture and Global Studies. Speakers will include Geothink Co-Applicant Rob Feick, an associate professor in University of Waterloo’s School of Planning; Joanna Redden, a lecturer in Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies; Alessandra Renzi, associate professor in Communication Studies, Concordia University and, Victoria Fast, an assistant professor in University of Calgary’s Department of Geography. A question and answer session will follow after presentations conclude. Our five panelists will briefly introduce their research and then reflect on the role of artificial intelligence in governance.
Online course: Introduction to Citizen Science and Scientific Crowdsourcing
Starts January 11, 2018.
Offered through the Department of Geography, University College London (UCL), with faculty from the Extreme Citizen Science research group. Students will be introduced to the theory and practice of citizen science and scientific crowdsourcing. The module will explore the history, theoretical foundations, and practical aspects of designing and running citizen science projects. Although the course is run as a face-to-face credit course for students at UCL, it is open for participation to others at a distance by accessing online materials and lectures at the web site: https://extend.ucl.ac.uk/
The course will run as a hybrid - the material was designed to develop the learning of the students in the class, but then organised in a way that anyone who wants to join the course remotely can do so. The reading material and class preparation videos are all open access, and in the practicals, we are using open source software or websites that you can access regardless of your registration. Each week, there will be two lectures and a practical session that will demonstrate some aspects of the issues that were covered during the lectures. Each lecture and the activities that are linked to it are planned to last about an hour.
To pre-register to indicate interest and gain access, please complete this form.
The Foundation for Critical Thinking is offering an accredited online course, How to Infuse Critical Thinking into Instruction, starting January 23rd, 2018. The course draws upon the Paul-Elder Framework for Critical Thinking to teach how critical thinking can be developed in various forms of instruction. For full description and registration details, see the web site.
CPSI 2018: Creative Problem Solving Institute annual conference
June 19-24, 2018 at University of Buffalo in Buffalo, NY
Hosted by the Creative Education Foundation
From the conference announcement: "CPSI focuses on deliberate creativity, innovation and change leadership. CPSI (“SIP-see”) teaches practical creativity skills and tools in an inspiring learning environment. No matter your experience level with applying deliberate creativity, you will find what you need at CPSI, whether you are a professional, a teacher, a student or a life-long learner. Professionals will learn the principles of Creative Problem Solving (CPS) to grapple with complex business issues. Teachers will roll up their sleeves to learn how to bring creativity into the classroom. Everyone can select from an array of dynamic, hands-on creativity workshops – ranging from tools and techniques, personal growth, current topics and research, strategic innovation, and the arts."
For more information and to register, see the web site.
Opportunities
Applications are still be accepted for the Next Generation Leadership Program by members of the Massachusetts Teacher Association (MTA). This is a program to inspire and support MTA members to create bottom-up activism. It is for members who want to solve workplace problems through active engagement, and who want to help make their locals powerful and effective organizations.
The primary focus of this training is to learn methods for bottom-up, participatory, inclusive strategies that will broaden the engagement of MTA members in one's own local. It is designed to help participants understand the fundamentals of outreach, recruitment, involvement, strategy development, decision-making, and planning of direct action strategies for empowerment. Training sessions held at various MTA offices on January 26-28 (Lynnfield), February 19-21 (Auburn), April 16-18 (Raynham), and May 18-20 (Quincy). Each session will focus on the following themes: 1. Assessment of one's local capacity; 2. How to bring people together around commonly felt problems; 3. Designing and carrying out action plans to solve problems;
To apply and for more information, visit the web site.
Resources
Resources for teachers:
The American Association of School Libraries has announced their list of favorite web sites from 2017 that provide tools and resources for teaching and fostering critical and creative thinking, innovation, and collaboration. See the full list here.
The National Education Associate provides several activities and lesson plans to help teach environmental education to primary and secondary school students. See a summary of resources here.
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)
Articles:
The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous (The Atlantic)
How to find things online even Google doesn't know (Popular Science)
How to stay calm when you know you'll be stressed (TED: Daniel Levitin)
Inside the Innovative Idaho High School Where Students Run the Show While Guiding Adults Outside Their Walls (The 74)
18 things that leaders of innovative schools do differently (Dangerously Irrelevant)
Reliable Sources: Promoting Critical Thinking in the [Mis]information Age (Faculty Focus)
The Drum Creative Awards (The Drum)
Most Personality Quizzes Are Junk Science. I Found One That Isn’t (FiveThirtyEight)
The Best New Year's Resolutions According to Science - And How to Keep Them (ScienceAlert)
Mindfulness: a solution to unconscious bias in healthcare? (The Pharmaceutical)
Are Toxic Political Conversations Changing How We Feel about Objective Truth? (Scientific American)
8 bad science and health ideas that should die in 2018 (Vox)
How to Criticize with Kindness: Philosopher Daniel Dennett on the Four Steps to Arguing Intelligently (BrainPickings)
What Are You Working on Today?: Principles for Remote Co-working for Academics (Chronicle Vitae)
The Cartoon Animals Teaching Etiquette to Seattle Straphangers (CityLab)
How Your Brain Finds Meaning in Life Experiences: Do stories have the power to help us thrive? (Psychology Today)
Rebuilding Science Education in Puerto Rico (Scientific American)
This Native Tribe is Reintroducing a Disappeared Species on its Own Land (Pacific Standard)
The 10 most popular academic papers of 2017 (Times Higher Education)
The battle to make French a “gender-neutral language” is emphasizing the country’s inherent sexism (Quartz)
Five great reads to help teens become critical thinkers (The Conversation)
How one California school district is leading the way on new science standards (EdSource)
Tom Chatfield on Critical Thinking and Bias (Social Science Bites)
How Making Room for Big Risks Leads to Big Achievements in the Classroom (Good)
Video:
The Ingenious Design of the Aluminum Beverage Can (YouTube)
4-Mation carousel 1: Jumping Frogs - a 3D Zoetrope (YouTube)
Humor
Examples of Toxic Femininity in the Workplace (New Yorker)