Such a good discussion...

I've really enjoyed this discussion so much. The collective breadth of your experiences as collaborators really is extraordinary, and Lee's post reminded me of how much we still need that knowledge and practice of collaboration in so many professional contexts. Don't forget to accentuate your considerable capabilities in this area in your resumes and in any interviews, letters of application, etc. in the upcoming months.

I had no experience at all of group work when I was a student (either as an under grad. or a graduate student) and the expectation that I would work in groups, or teams, was a real shock to me when I finallly hit the workplace. But I was working in a field -TV - where an individual simply couldn't work alone, and I was finally converted to group work, despite the rows, the disagreements, the fact that working with four or five people at different stages of the project made everything seem to take so much longer, because it was easy to recognize that alone I couldn't have produced an end product of such complexity and imagination and quality. Sometimes only the memory of those past successes was the sole factor that kept me hanging on in a painful, inefficient, or "we never got past storming to norming" collaborations, and I do wish that I had known then as much as you do now about how to negotiate conflict, address issues of leadership, assume responsibility, motivate others, and so on. But I like the fact that I can still keep learning more about collaboration from discussions such as these, and maybe you can all infuse soem of the same exchanges into your professional roles?

Looking forward very much to your next competency essays on this theme....

Qualities for Critical Thinking

Truth-seeking

Measures intellectual honesty, the courageous desire for best knowledge in any situation, the inclination to ask challenging question and to follow the reasons and evidence wherever they lead.

Open-Mindedness

Measures tolerance for new ideas and divergent views. What are the chances of helpful critique or innovation if one is intolerant and close-minded?

Systemacity
measures the inclination to be organized, focused, diligent, and persevering. How much business will be lost by a customer service representative whose approach to clients is disorganized, unfocused, sloppy and half-hearted?

Inquisitiveness

Measures intellectual curiosity and the intention to learn things even if their immediate application is not apparent. Workers who are indifferent or disdainful of learning more that the minimum necessary to get through the day’s tasks should not expect frequent and speedy promotions.

Analyticity

Measures alertness to potential difficulties and awareness of the need to intervene by use of reason and evidence to solve problems. A health care professional, an attorney, a teacher, a manager, an engineer, or a policymaker who is not inclined toward analycity will likely fail to anticipate significant consequences and, thereby, increase the risk of malpractice and negligence

Cognitive maturity

Measure judiciousness, which inclines one to see the complexity in problems and to desire prudent decision making. Those who see everything as starkly good or bad, right or wrong, true or false are unlikely to be sophisticated learners or good candidates for positions of increasing responsibility. They are apt to make decisions too hastily or too slowly; to be unwilling to reconsider; to be dogmatic and dualistic, if not outright simplistic, in their approach to problem-solving; and to lack sensitivity to the nuances of circumstance and the subtleties of context.

Critical thinking self-confidence

Measures trust in one’s own reasoning and ability to guide others to make rational decisions.

California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory
pp. 70 – 71

Preparing Competent College Graduates: Setting New and Higher Expectations for Student Learning

Ed. Elizabeth A. Jones

No. 96, Winter 1996

Aesthetic Awareness - From Natalie L

Aesthetic Awareness is a difficult competency to incorporate into many fields because it is a somewhat abstract terms that is all encompassing. For instance, it would be difficult to find examples of aesthetic awareness in concentrations that are very technical, such as mathematics or computer science. I suppose that one could describe certain theorems as being aesthetic, however, because of their eloquent simplicity. I know very little about computer science but I suppose that a power point program that allows the user many options, but at the same time, is user friendly might be aesthetic as well.

Throughout my time spent towards achieving higher education I have had 3 majors, and each of them involves some aesthetic awareness in some fashion or another. I began school as a music major, studying violin. This training relies heavily on the ability to realize what is aesthetic and look towards achieving that artistry. After transferring to George Mason, I started studying psychology. In this social science, the artistic elements are less obvious, and more difficult to pinpoint. I would say that an example of aesthetic awareness in psychology might be the ability to view the course of child development from different perspectives, and, with this knowledge, having the capacity to appreciate diverse paths and outcomes. In my most recent college experiences, I have decided that the best route for my education is New Century’s concentration in liberal studies in education. The coursework involves the studies of education, special education, and psychology. In education, the most important aspect of aesthetic awareness that I find is the admiration of diverse learning needs. Also important, are the many talents that can be found in all students. These are a few of the things that I have learned thus far. In the upcoming years, I hope to be able to realize aesthetic awareness more and more in my studies.

Aesthetic Awareness - From Chaney

I never would have thought there would be a connection between a medical concentration (occupational/physical therapy) and Aesthetic Awareness, but this summer during an internship I became cognizant of how Aesthetics can help ease a patient before a session. Hardly anyone enjoys therapy. It is often painful, frustrating, and is an unhappy reminder of how disabled you or your loved one is. This is particularly true for children who fail to realize the benefits of therapy, and for their parents, who are exhausted and heartbroken by their child’s situation. Something as simple as a colorful and friendly waiting room can ease the family’s dread about the appointment. Unfortunately, most waiting rooms are stark and are painted in various shades of white. The plain sterility has an almost nauseating affect and more than likely adds to the emotional unease of the patient and his/her family. I believe that if waiting rooms were to feature more color, artwork, interesting furniture, etc, then the patient would be in a better state-of-mind, thus having a more successful appointment. This is also true for the exam rooms themselves. Most physical therapy clinics consist of a large, multi-purpose room, and a few small rooms for individual sessions. If a person spends their appointment in one of these side rooms, then it is safe to say their therapy is more intense and uncomfortable. These rooms, much like the waiting rooms, are bland and sickeningly dull. The entire atmosphere of these individual rooms is one of discomfort, on many levels. The therapists and directors of these clinics give little thought to the Aesthetics of the rooms, but I believe wholeheartedly that improving the appearance of these clinics would result in more positive results during the therapy sessions.

American Education: Declining by Degrees

As you prepare to assess your own education, you might find this short article (and you should read to the end) about many students' experience of education in the United States illuminating. It's called 'Declining by Degrees' by John Merrow, president of Learning Matters Inc. and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Foundation, who produced the documentary 'Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk,' which aired this summer on PBS stations.

You'll find some short extracts from the documentary, and a set of informative links to discussions of the structures, values and problems of contemporary American higher education at the web site dedicated to Merrow's book and the documentary.

Why might this material prove valuable to you? As you are assessing your own education, you might discover new ways to assess the value of your experiences if you can place them in the context of those of your peers, and thus discuss the ways in which your education might have differed from (or resembled) the norm which Merrow and his colleagues believe they have identified.

And you will also, in interviews, for example, be explaining your degree in integrative studies to potential employers, etc.. Again, if you can place your education in a wider contemporary context, you might be better prepared to distinguish what you have achieved (and learned as an undergraduate) from the achievements of your peers (and potential competitors) for jobs, grad. school places, internships, scholarships, fellowships, etc.

Changes to Schedule & Assignments

I have changed the assignments slightly for the semester. First, I've reduced the number of competency essays you should draft from four to three. Second, you must still draft the group interaction essay, the one compulsory essay in the graduation portfolio, but the choice of the competency for the other two essays is yours alone. Let me know if you have any questions, and looking forward to meeting up again on Monday.

Thanks & a question

Thanks very much, everyone, for a very enjoyable class last night. It was a real treat for me to see some of you again, and to meet so many new almost-grads. Enjoy Labor Day week-end, and travel safely if you are on the road, in the air or on the rails (the railroad kind).

On the way home, I was just thinking about a vocabulary choice I hadn't noticed before in the Learning Communities DVD. When the producer or director referred to the deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy s/he used the word "killed" rather than the more precise "assassinated" or even "murdered." In a film that was stressing the historical and political context to educational reform, it seems odd to me that the creators would fudge the way in which two extraordinary men died, almost as if it might be too inflammatory to say that they were assassinated, that there was a wider context to their deaths. What do you think?

Welcome

Welcome, everyone, to the Fall 2005 hybrid version of Capstone. I'm looking forward very much to working with you over the next fifteen weeks, and to reading your portfolios over the winter break.