CCTNetwork

=CCT Network (Live)=
 * //**organizing, in a sustainable fashion, personal & professional development, community building, and educational-innovation activities beyond the formal CCT program of studies.**//
 * //**supplementing students' education through the involvement of alums.**//
 * //**continuing alums' education by their involvement in the education of students and each other.**//

Contents: Events Ahead,Past Activities, Rationale, Organization, Possible Additions //last update of this wikipage 22 May 09//
 * Recipient of 2009 Beacon Students Leadership Award for Best Program run by a Student Group at UMass Boston ||

> //CCT social network site////, News & Calendar, Wiki updates about alums, Audio reflections from alums.// ||
 * //Alums and other members of the wider CCT Community who want to stay connected should send us their email address and also see and use://



Events Ahead
//(open to public unless otherwise noted)//

2009
__Tentative Fall Schedule, final details to be confirmed TBA__


 * Thursday, Sept. 10th: " Reflecting and Connecting for Lifelong Learning" (orientation)
 * Thursday, Oct. 8th: alum presentations: Our Lives and Other Worlds ("workplace innovation, leadership, and organizational development")
 * (possible presenters: Savage, Schoenberg, Heath, Rauscher, Moynihan, Rucker, Fries, Cairns, Burns, Robbins)
 * Monday, Nov. 9th: "CCT Deep Exploration/Dialogue: Critical and Creative Thinking in Families" (family structure/relationships and influences on CCT)
 * Thursday, Dec. 10th: Reflective Practice presentations, + year-end reflective activity (+ winter Synthesis presentations as needed)



Past activities
> These portfolios allow students to make links among your courses and the reflection/metacognition on CCT experience can enter/infuse your capstone synthesis project; see http://cctrpp.wikispaces.com/ for more details.
 * 2009**
 * Thursday, May 28, working session on initiating Reflective Practice/Metacognitive Portfolios.

> April 27 & May 4, Synthesis presentations by graduating CCT students

> March 23, Panel Discussion: "How College Students Find Their Voices as Writers: Exploring What it Means to Teach and Learn Writing" > with Peter Elbow as special guest, author of __Writing with Power__ and several other works on writing.

> February 27, "Our Lives and Other Worlds III: Music, Performances, and Reflections from Graduates of the Critical & Creative Thinking Program"

> January 23, "Reflecting and Connecting for Lifelong Learning--and Teaching (an introduction to the full range of CCT instructors)"

> December 15, Looking Out For Each Other: Thinking Our Way Through an Economic Funk -- reading aloud and end-of-year potluck.
 * 2008**

> November 19, "Re-membering (with) Michael White: Two CCTer's acknowledge Michael's influence in an introduction to narrative work in our lives and communities," led by Laura Rancatore and Peter Taylor.

> November 6, The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Community Relations showcases the work of CCT graduates (as well as including presentations by current students & faculty).

> October, Weds 1st. "Our Lives and Other Worlds II: Visual Images and Reflections from Graduates of the Critical & Creative Thinking Program"

> September, Friday 5th. CCT Community event: Reflecting and Connecting for Lifelong Learning (including introduction to the new social network site ("ning") and New student orientation and introduction to compiling a "metacognitive and reflective practice portfolio.")

> June, Tuesday 10 Dialogue session by conference call (internet enhanced) on "Critical & Creative Thinking in Practice: Where have we come and what lies ahead?" Led by Jeremy Szteiter (with pre-session guidance from Olen Gunnlaugson). technical details for participants, [|session recording]

> May, Weds. 7 &14, CCT in Practice: [|Graduating students' synthesis presentations]

> April, Weds 16th, "[|Artful Thinking]: Using the Power of Art to Teach Thinking Across Curriculum," featured CCT alum & Project Zero principal researcher, Shari Tishman (organized by Greenwald & Martin) (evaluation of the event)

> March, Monday 31 >> Not a CCT Network event, but CCT Open House, Mon. 31st, 6.45-8.30pm, THE BOSTON UNIVERSITY BIO-LAB CONTROVERSY, An invigorating discussion with one of last semester's problem-based learning (PBL) teams (audio file linked to the report on the event)

> February, Tuesday 26 >> "Our Lives and Other Worlds: Writing, Stories, and Reflections from Graduates of the Critical & Creative Thinking Program" >> Includes links to the (imperfect) sound track of this wonderful, inspiring evening*

> January, Friday 25. Session at the Teaching for Transformation conference on the impact of Processes of Research & Engagement course; CCT Community event (based around a "Bingo" activity to introduce everyone to the range of resources available on the CCT website and wiki); Organizing Group initial dialogue session. 

Rationale
1. The CCT Network serves to organize in a sustainable fashion personal & professional development, community building, and educational-innovation activities beyond the formal program of studies. >> (Previously these have been pursued under the [|ThinkTank for Teachers of Critical Thinking], [|Reflective Practice Group], the Alum Network, the [|Thinking for Change Outreach Unit], the CCT in Practice events, and [|Changing Life], aka "Helping Each Other to Foster Critical Thinking about Biology and Society.") 2. The CCT Network enacts the "bongo" [*] philosophy of students' education being supplemented by the involvement of alums and alums' education being continued by their involvement in the education of students. In this spirit the Network stimulates alum involvement as advisors of students, contacts for professional networking, participants in events, and organizers to make the Network self-perpetuating. >> *Source for bongo philosophy: Paul Jablon, Lesley University. 

Basic Organization
(updated May 08, after CCT faculty review) Program Director (Peter Taylor), Program Assistant (Jeremy Szteiter), Graduate Assistant (Tara Tetzlaff), and 1-3 other volunteers drawn from the CCT faculty, alums, and wider CCT community (= current students, regular faculty members, part-time faculty members, alums, and other allies/associates of CCT). (Program assistant = person who works very part-time for CCT but stay with us longer than the average graduate assistant. Funds have been secured for Jeremy Szteiter to fill this position thru June 09.)
 * Core Organizers**

The core group > * makes sure that monthly activities (Sept-June) are organized, publicized, and reviewed afterwards (with notes posted on the wiki); > * nurtures any interest expressed by attendees in leading an activity sometime in the future and supports the person in making this happen; > * brings into the core organizing group any regular attendees who are ready to make a commitment to serve in the group; > * makes the [|"ning"] an active site for sharing of news and activities from alums and other members of the CCT community (email to request to join);and > * solicits feedback and ideas for activities from other members of the CCT community.  In time, the core group may extend its work so that it also > * trains members of the CCT community to host [|"talkshoe"] interviews or recorded sessions that are readily available to listen to as podcasts; > * coaches alum outreach in their local and professional communities in order to: >> develop CCT as one model of adult/ mid-career education, and >> publicize CCT so as to attract potential students; > * draws active attendees into informal advisory group meetings to help keep the CCT faculty abreast of new developments and connected to the activities of the Network.

As support for the network activities, the Program will endeavor to > * keep the CCT Directory up to date and available to members of the CCT Community (through the ning).