PJTTeaching

=Guided Tour of Peter Taylor's teaching= (28 Feb. '09)

Although my training is in the life and environmental sciences, critical thinking and critical pedagogy became central to my intellectual and professional project as I encouraged students and researchers to contrast the paths taken in science, society, education with other paths that might be taken, and to foster their acting upon the insights gained. Bringing critical analysis of science to bear on the practice and applications of science has not been well developed or supported institutionally, and so I continue to contribute actively, to new collaborations, programs, and other activities, new directions for existing programs, and collegial interactions across disciplines.

As a UMB professor I have taught twelve different graduate courses: six in my original specialty of science and its social context; four required courses in the Critical & Creative Thinking [CCT] Graduate Program on critical thinking, research, writing, and reflective practice; and another two concerning computers and learning/education. Each of these courses has involved development of a new syllabus (or, in one case, a substantial revision) and subsequent ongoing revision. In my statement for tenure review in 2001, I noted: > One strength of my teaching lies in my willingness, in response to programmatic needs, to take on courses outside my specialty or without previous models and to learn from the experience of doing so. This learning is evident in the evolution of: the textual materials of my courses (syllabi, course packets, handouts, etc.); the course mechanics (use of email and websites, records kept to track each student's development, required conferences with students, etc.); and the teaching/learning interactions I establish. My learning is also evident in the opportunities I have taken to get training and experience in experiential and problem-based learning, facilitation of group process, and leading faculty development workshops. Finally, my learning from teaching is evident in original contributions I have made to wider discussions about conceptual and pedagogical issues that have arisen.

This "guided tour" to my teaching is divided into three phases, more to make use of the materials compiled for my tenure and promotion than to mark any disjunctures--experience gained in the earlier years feeds into actions taken in the later ones and the themes continue from one phase to the next.

1998-2001
In the statement for the tenure [|review in 2001], I discussed my teaching under the headings: > A. //Wide Scope of My Teaching and its Active, Ongoing Development// > B. //The Philosophy of Teaching Critical Thinking I Brought to UMB// > C. //Teaching Critical Thinking about Science in its Social Context// > D. //Leading Students from Critical Thinking to Taking Initiative// > E. //Learning from Difficult Courses in a Thoughtful, Respectful, and Professional Manner// > F. //Learning from Educators beyond CCT// > G. //Promoting Collegial Interaction Around Innovation in Teaching// (Discussion of related themes and exhibits from a 1999 review can be viewed at http://www.faculty.umb.edu/pjt/portfolio99exhibits.html.) The last heading points the sharing of work I pursue in a number of ways: Creating and maintaining a web presence for my work is one way my teaching is also characterized by > //H. Making educationally justified and sustainable choices of when and how to integrate technologies//
 * documentation of process and outcomes, evident in my [|Practitioner's Portfolio];
 * regular presentations and workshops, both at UMB (under the auspices of CIT) and outside; and
 * posting on [|my website] of teaching and learning [|thought-pieces], [|tools], and activities (linked to each syllabus) [supplemented in recent years on wikis, such as this page].

//**Related thought-pieces and compilations of exhibits**// [|Guidelines] about specific situations and specific ways in which specific technologies are of significant pedagogical benefit. (With case studies from science education)

[|"We know more than we are, at first, prepared to acknowledge]: Journeying to develop critical thinking" > "five passages in a pedagogical journey that has led from teaching undergraduate science-in-society courses to running a graduate program in critical thinking and reflective practice for teachers and other mid-career professionals"

[|Review of Courses], aka Practitioner's Portfolio. > For each course taught at UMB since 1998 I include a review of: >> the original objectives for the course (which should be read together with the description and goals stated in the syllabi); >> challenges encountered and my responses; and >> future plans. > Each review is followed by: >> the syllabi; >> summaries of the GCoE evaluations; >> summaries from the written course evaluations I designed; and/or the originals of those evaluations.

2001-5
The eight strands above continued, but significant developments occurred in some additional areas, most notably the cross-fertilization of my science in society interests and work on reflective practice (which has become a second specialty in my scholarship). My 2005 book, __Unruly Complexity: Ecology, Interpretation, Engagement__ (U. Chicago), develops a framework for the integration of research—in science and interpretation of science in its social context—with teaching and service—in the form of critical reflection on concepts and practice by researchers and students. Indeed, the framework is made clear in the last chapter, which builds explicitly from an approach to teaching interdisciplinary students. The opportunity and challenge of fostering the reflective practice of the diverse adults who come through the CCT Program has given me sufficient experience and confidence to push further in putting that framework into practice with diverse researchers. This integration of research, teaching, and service has led, in particular, to my establishing the New England Workshop on Science and Social Change (NewSSC), an umbrella under which to organize innovative, interaction-intensive workshops designed to facilitate discussion, teaching innovation, and longer-term collaboration among faculty and graduate students who teach and write about interactions between scientific developments and social change.

//Guiding Research and Writing for Reflective Practice// > From 2001-5 I was involved with 63 CCT students developing and completing their M.A. syntheses on a very wide range of topics. Four features of my courses on research and writing have come to fruition in meeting this challenge: >> 1. A framework of ten phases of research and engagement that the students move through, then revisit in light of: a) other people's responses to what they share with them; and b) what they learn using tools from the other phases. This sequence and iteration allows students to define projects in which they take their personal and professional aspirations seriously, even if that means letting go of preconceptions of what they “ought” to be doing. During the pre-synthesis course, CCT698, the students are introduced to range of tools for each phase, then practice using those tools in class and in assignments. A downloadable library of previous students’ work illustrates the different ways these tools can be taken up. >> 2. A model of “cycles and epicycles” of action research that integrates evaluation, constituency building, reflection and dialogue, and can be applied to professional and personal change as well as educational and organizational change. >> 3. Dialogue around written work—written and spoken comments on each installment of a project and successive revision in response —which allows me to accumulate a portfolio for each student in each course that facilitates generative interactions with students even when I am not an expert in their areas. By “generative” I mean students bring to the surface, form, and articulate their ideas. >> 4. Making space for taking initiative in and through relationships: “in building horizontal peer relationships, in negotiating power/standards, in acknowledging that affect is involved in what you're doing and not doing (and in how others respond to that), in clearing away distractions from other sources (present and past) so you can be here now… Don't expect to learn or change—or to teach—without jostling among the five aspects.” > These four features form the basis of the “[|exit self-assessment]” CCT instituted in which graduating students reflect on their development through the Program and identify specific areas for further work. The insight shown in most of these self-analyses gives the CCT faculty confidence that the graduates can continue learning without our superintending them.

//Creating Problem-Based Learning Units and Other Innovations to Accommodate Students' Diverse Interests Within Interdisciplinary Courses// > Following the lead of my colleague, Nina Greenwald, an expert in Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and building on my involvement in BioQuest curriculum development workshops, I have introduced PBL or Action Research units in several courses, including one course at a doctoral level. I position the units at the start of the course, with the aim of allowing students to expose and coordinate a range of angles for investigating an issue, practice tools for rapid research, and gain a shared experience to refer back to during the discussions and activities that make up the rest of the course. > On another tack, I was pleased with the students’ response when I integrated the content of my scholarship with CCT-like reflective practice in an advanced graduate seminar that I taught at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. The seminar theme was research, policy, and participation in issues of Conservation and Development. As well as critically reviewing literature on selected topics students also learned new approaches for developing their own writing and supporting others to write. I was able to link these two strands under the theme of paying attention to the challenges for individuals participating in collaborative endeavors.

//Contributing to New Interdisciplinary, International, and Educational Projects// > Bringing critical analysis of science to bear on the practice and application of science is not well developed or supported institutionally, so I continue to initiate or participate in new collaborations, programs, and other activities, new directions for existing programs, and collegial interactions across disciplines. In this spirit I contributed to four major grant proposals between 2001 &2005 (three UMB; one non-UMB) that link science, education, and professional development and to seven interdisciplinary anthologies, many of which that evolved from conference sessions or workshop series that I helped run. I also co-led the [|Curriculum development component of the 2003 Education for Sustainability initiative] at UMB and the Ford Foudnation site visit that led to the grant for the new England Center for Inclusive Teaching (NECIT). Most importantly, I secured seed funds from NSF to initiate the [|New England Workshop on Science and Social Change], a workshop that has continued annually since with international participation aimed at linking science, science education, and science and technology studies. > The prospectus of NewSSC, which is evolving in response to evaluations and reviews of funding proposals, provides the following overview:
 * The choice of workshop topics and the innovative, interaction-intensive character of the workshops are designed to attract participants who will develop their knowledge, skills, and interest in promoting the social contextualization of science through interdisciplinary education and other activities beyond their current disciplinary and academic boundaries. Participants are sought from the various areas of Science and Technology Studies, the sciences, and science education and-with an eye to training "interdisciplinarians"-include graduate students as well as more experienced scholars.
 * For the 2006-7 workshops, participants were expected to submit new syllabi and curriculum units (primarily for college-level courses) or outreach activities (e.g., hosting a citizen forum on a science-based controversy) related to their workshop's topic within six months of its completion. These are made available in an expanding compilation of Online Resources for Science-in-Society Education and Outreach.
 * Formative (during the process) and summative (after the fact) evaluations of the workshops provide a basis for developing the workshop experience from one year to the next and for establishing a model of workshops that can be repeated, evolve in response to evaluations, and be adapted by participants [evaluations are linked to the [|webpages] and wikis for each workshop].

2005-9
Although I have taught fewer classes because of course releases under research grants and for administration, the seven strands of the previous two phases continued, but with additions or extensions in four significant and overlapping directions:

> ISHS -- Intercollege faculty Seminar in Humanities and Science, since 2004. "A forum for discussion and interaction among faculty at UMass-Boston. Faculty from different disciplines and colleges come together to focus on topics of common interest, exchange ideas, renew their intellectual energy, and advance their work in a spirit of adventure and collaboration." > HiSReDG -- Health in Society Research Discussion Group, since 2008. "Monthly meetings for interaction among UMB faculty & doctoral students who have (or are developing) an epidemiological focus (broadly construed) to their research and teaching." > Themes, Practices, Resources for Faculty-initiated Mentoring, Feb. '08 presentation to GCE tenure-track faculty about teaching having a value in itself, not only as the tenure review committee evaluates it. > Wikis (CCT, including an evolving compilation of "Summaries or Substantive Statements", Science in a Changing World, course wikis). > Social networks, e.g., CCT "ning" > Podcasts (e.g., [|CCT Network events]) > The CCT Network, initiated in 2008 (building on previous thinktanks & outreach activities) aims to: >> organize, in a sustainable fashion, personal & professional development, community building, and educational-innovation activities beyond the formal CCT program of studies. >> supplement students' education through the involvement of alums. >> continue alums' education by their involvement in the education of students and each other. > New graduate-level courses serving students from a variety of programs and backgrounds ([|Science, Technology & Public Policy] [now, Scientific & Political Change], [|Epidemiological Thinking & Population Health], and Gender, Race & the Complexities of Science & Technology (offered through the inter-campus Consortium for Women's Studies and experimenting with the use of PBL throughout the course) > Faculty discussions (see above) > Workshops (especially NewSSC [described above] -- the workshop is now in its 6th year)
 * //Sustained faculty discussions & community building around interdisciplinary research and teaching//
 * //Use of web2.0 to extend interactions during and beyond face2face classtime and other activities//
 * //Developing the "vertical" community of students, alums, and part-timers//
 * //Fostering a "Science in a Changing World" emphasis in undergraduate & graduate courses, faculty discussions, and workshops//, including

//**Related thought-pieces and compilations of exhibits**// Teaching/Learning for Reflective Practice > snapshots from Peter's journey teaching research and other courses for the Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT) Graduate Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston. CCT, despite the "thinking" in its name, is about changing practice. [An essay included in Taking Yourself Seriously, see below]

[|"Cultivating Collaborators]: Concepts and Questions Emerging Interactively From An Evolving, Interdisciplinary Workshop" (with S. Fifield & C. Young) [an analysis of the effect of the interactive processes at NewSSC workshops]

An overview of Case- or problem-based learning, which begins from a Scenario in which the problems are not well defined.

Taking Yourself Seriously, A Fieldbook of Processes of Research and Engagement (with Jeremy Szteiter) > Why another book on research and writing? In short, because the approach presented here is not well covered by other texts. Whatever your level of confidence and comfort in research and writing, this book provides ways for you to become more "engaged." There may be a specific question or a general issue that you think is worth investigating, but how important is that inquiry to you personally? Does it reflect your aspirations, or is the inquiry more directed to meet the expectations of others? Will it help you take action to change your work, life, or wider social arrangements? Will it help you build relationships with others in such action, in pursuing the inquiry effectively and communicating the outcomes? For a car to run its gears need to be engaged with each other; so also your research and writing will progress well if you can bring into alignment your questions and ideas, your aspirations, your ability to take or influence action, and your relationships with other people. This integration of the 4H's—head, heart, hands, and human connections—is what we mean by taking yourself seriously.