CCT
693 Spring 2009
Building on/in your comments from the other side, write out neatly a
synthetic statement (1 or 2 paragraphs) evaluating this course. Please make comments both to help the
instructor develop the course in the future and to enable some third party to
appreciate the courseÕs strengths and weaknesses. (Imagine a reader who may not be willing to wade through all
the notes on the other side, but is willing to do more than look at numerical
averages.) Among other things you
might comment on the overall content and progression of classes, the in-class
activities, and the dialogue around written work.
1
The
AR course allowed me to identify and use more readily the tools of the
reflective practitioner. Each
component of the AR cycle allowed me to identify the specifics of my work;
identifying change, designing opportunities for change, evaluating these
opportunities and developing both a personal and professional process to
encourage systematic growth and change.
This course met my expectations and challenged me to reflect on and
develop a course of action that was intentional and also practical.
I
think the main strength of the course and the process was that it pushed us to
design something that we were connected to through classroom tools and
activities, peer connections and also reflective practices. This course allowed me the opportunity
to reflect on change systematically and also personally. I feel that this reflective component
helped me drive the work and will continue to drive my work beyond the course.
2
Get
acquainted with confusion and reverse mainstream thinking about outcome and
output. Action Research is a
course focused on the planning of changes, an undertaking which continues
beyond the constraints of the class, including [duration?] of course work. Approach assignments open-mindedly and
without the assumption that you are to understand immediately what is expected
of you. Course work is flexible
and deliberate. It is required and
requires of you to reflect on your patterns of thought and action as a
practitioner and responsible citizen in society.
After
each class, use a cheap journal/notebook to write
thoughts/questions/likes/dislikes about what occurred in 693 and how it relates
or doesnÕt relate to your project.
Your can track your thinking and actualize change through this
method. Resubmit assignments for
your own clarification and take heed of the professorÕs guidance as your AR
has been generated from this
course and through you have many freedoms, you are working within an
infrastructure that is well-practiced and understood by the instructor. Meet (set) personal goals to stay
motivated; pair up and rely on buddys to remain accountable and obtain
resources wherever they are available.
3
The
more I stuck with the course the greater appreciation I had for it. The course was learning in its best
sense – participatory, authentic and hands on. I feel that many participants in the course actually took
away big ideas that they will use in their own life long learning.
I
think one comment that I would make is that in the beginning I was completely
lost. IÕm not sure why. I think that the compressed AR project
could focus around something more relevant – maybe it could be around a
simple personal change we wanted to implement. I also think that discussing Schmuck as a class would have
made me feel more grounded in the final project.
I
liked the use an introduction to a number of tools. I think class presentations should maybe take up one class
instead of two. I also think that
we could have practiced tools which are more complex such as teamwork and KAQ.
Another
note I thought the wiki was a bit difficult to navigate. Maybe taking 5-10 min in the beginning
would have helped. Thanks so much
for the class!
4
The
action research class has been more of a semester long journey then a class in
the traditional sense. The
experience of developing your ideas and desires into a formative plan, which
you then evaluate is a roller coaster of an experience. There are highs around ideas and
planning and lows when roadblocks are met. However the most valuable part of the class is learning
tools to overcome obstacles and to look at them in new ways.
5
The
overall context of the class is helpful because not only are you learning the
action research process, but you are learning about how to effectively
implement changes within your personal life, on your job, etc. Each tool in the process brings clarity
and a better understanding of what you need to know in order to affect change. The progression of classes is
relatively good (????). It's wise
to stay on top of all assignments and participatory items in order to not fall
behind and become frustrated.
Embracing
ambiguity is an important concept in CCT.
Though it can be frustrating, in the end when we look back we are able
to really see progress. This
course reflects this process.
Initially, the AR diagram doesnÕt make a bit of sense and Peter did
indeed warn us about this. We
first engaged in a compressed version of AR which to a small degree clarified
some of the stages. We only began
to make sense of it all, I believe when we experienced the presentations of
others who used the language that Peter had laid out for us (e.g. constituency,
epicycle, evaluation).
I
think the buddy system or perhaps trios would aid in the process by helping
with a number of the unnecessarily frustrating pieces that people have the
habit of letting get in the way.
Trios can email to remind of assignments, share their mid-week Òa-haÓ or
lightbulb moment that can be tranformative, and can also review/edit each
otherÕs work. This would also put
an emphasis on collaborative dialogue and reflection in an ongoing manner
(throughout week, not just during the class sessions themselves).
This
class provided an excellent overview and engagement in the process of making
change. We covered a multitude of
tools and methods for planning, implementing and evaluating change, on a
personal and organizational level.
The information covered is transferable to a range of environments and
contexts.
The
biggest challenge was that sometimes the course structure and activities were a
bit unclear and sometimes expectations and processes were confusing. This is strange to say, since there is
so much info available on the wiki, and the syllabus is very detailed. Sometimes it was hard to figure out
what information was most important, and to work through it all. But this is a very minor concern. All the info was there and available,
it simply took some time to sort out.
This
course has deepened my understanding of critical thinking, dialogue and action
research. This is a relevant [?]
course in the CCT program that will serve as a foundation for future inquiry
and research. There is value in
reflection while learning and after class ends.
I
think it is very important that professor understand each individual student
– just like in many articles that we read for 693. Each articles have it own problem
– you can not solve all problem with one solution – IÕm sure we all
know and can say it – But is it possible for a person to understand and
see it?
Overall,
this course helped me develop a more nuanced understanding of what action
research is and what it can look like in a variety of settings. This course also helped me apply ideas
about creative thinking (that were relatively new to me) to a contextualized
setting. Part of what made this
course effective in these areas was the activities, discussions and tools that
were used during this active class.
The use of these active strategies, which I could use in and out of my
action research progress, helped me understand how action research really
functions. The emphasis on
reflection helped me both understand the importance of reflection and helped me
use new reflection tools.
One
struggle in this course was the confusing nature of the syllabus and
framework. Once I understood the
way the syllabus worked I was able to follow the goals of the course better,
but figuring out the syllabus and assignments took a number of weeks. While the examples for assignments were
extremely helpful, I really struggled to complete assignments with no
examples because I often did not know how to begin. Also, there were many readings that we never discussed
– I would have liked to know the priority of the readings to plan my
engagement with them more effectively.
11
Strengths:
Dialogue
around action research work in progress
Evaluation
clock and KAQF
New
tools – learning how to use them
Weaknesses:
Too
much time spent on work in progress presentation and helping others with their
projects. Would have appreciated
more engagement in AR case studies.
Too
many steps and tasks to get tangled up with that affect focus on working out
your AR project (examples – summaries and clippings (we didnÕt discuss or
share these or maybe I missed that class), sharing but that often happens
naturally)