News2009February

=CCT News=

18 February 2009
See also previous news, alum news and exchanges, items for the upcoming news, and [|CCT calendar]. Inform cct@umb.edu if you have news OR want to be emailed when there's a new news compilation (no more than once/month) OR want to be removed from such mailings.

Contents: Student matters, CCT community, CCT events, alums, other events, opportunities, resources, food for thought, humor

__**Student Matters**__

The CCT program has been looking into convening a writing support group this semester for our students. Best times that work for a group of people have not yet emerged, but in the meantime, please contact Tara Tetzlaff, who is helping to organize the effort, for assistance or to indicate interest (via cct@umb.edu). Also, please see http://cct.wikispaces.com/WritingSupport for compiled tips and resources related to writing.

Please note that March 15-19 is spring vacation week - no classes will be held.

__**CCT Community**__

A memorial service for Philosophy and CCT professor Janet Farrell Smith will be held at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education on March 28th. (See [|tribute].)

Share information about yourself, photos, stories, and reflections with the wider CCT community on the official CCT social networking site, [|cctnetwork.ning.com]. This site is dedicated to all CCTers, past and present, who wish to keep up with each other's ongoing work, especially as it continues to build upon the principles and practices of the program. Read "blog posts" and "forum discussions" from others and post your own, and see what exciting projects others are working on now. Examples of recent topics include reflections on **the role of perseverence in critical thinking** and **perspectives on the Dialogue Process** in learning. Email cct@umb.edu with questions - you must sign up with your own account to participate fully.

Peter Taylor, wearing his other hat as Director of Science, Tech. & Values (or one face of his CCT hat), has organized a semester-long series of talks highlighting the wide range of work going on at UMB in the Science and Society area. See http://www.stv.umb.edu/ISHS09.html for schedule. Open to the public. (Next talk: Feb 23rd, 12noon on "Citizen science.") Supporting material and podcasts are available through http://sicw.wikispaces.com/ISHS09.

Peter Taylor has recently compiled a "Guided Tour" to his teaching.

__**CCT Events**__

Upcoming CCT Open Houses: Friday, Feb. 27: Our Lives and Other Worlds III: Reflections on Music from Graduates of the Critical & Creative Thinking Program 6:30-9:00pm, Wheatley 4th Floor Lounge (W-4-0148) Our alumni presenters will discuss their work and ask us to listen to/view work from recent projects and then reflect on how this has developed in relation to their CCT experiences. This will be followed by a whole-group discussion assisted by commentators from the wider CCT community and/or the UMB faculty.

Monday, March 23: How College Students Find Their Voices as Writers: Exploring What it Means to Teach and Learn Writing, with special guest, Peter Elbow 6:30-9:00pm, Wheatley 4th Floor Lounge (W-4-0148) This panel discussion will focus on the ways in which CCT alums and instructors have been engaged in the teaching of writing to others. We will explore what it means to teach learn about writing and how these can be applied to the way that the CCT program guides current students in the use of writing and toward meeting academic goals through writing.

See more about past and upcoming CCT Network events.

__**Alum and CCT associates Notes**__

Sheryl Savage is pleased to announce the arrival of her new grandson, Brody Alfred Knox, born on February 16th to her daughter and son in law, Karen and Tom Knox.

**__Events__**

As noted above, several presentations will be held throughout the spring through the Inter-college faculty Seminar in Humanities and Sciences (http://sicw.wikispaces.com/ISHS09), which seeks to develop a forum for discussion and reflection each semester. See the web page for this semester's schedule, which includes topics across many areas of interest.

__**Opportunities**__

**__Resources__**

Voices of a People's History, http://www.peopleshistory.us/about

> "My students don’t participate in discussions." > "My students complain that the test was unfair." > "Group projects aren't working." > "My students don’t keep up with the readings." > "Students don't know how to do research." Sound familiar? The Eberly Center at Carnegie Mellon University has developed an interactive online resource that enables faculty members to learn about possible reasons for some common problems in courses, http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/solveproblem/. This resource works by providing a list of sample teaching problems that each lead to potential reasons for these problems. And clicking on a reason leads faculty/faculty developers to research-based strategies and related learning principles.

The most current UMass-Boston [|Community Front Page].

__**Food for Thought**__

Echoes of the CCT program can be heard in many areas of work life, such as described in [|this article].

[|The world's most famous people were once failures too]

[|It’s Not Going to Be OK, by Chris Hedges in TruthDig, 2 feb 09]

[|Reports of the World Social Forum], january 27th to february 1st 2009, in Belém, Brazil

__**Humor**__

Those who love the philosophy of ambiguity....( as well as the idiosyncrasies of English) 1. One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor..... 3. Atheism is a non-prophet organization. 4. If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes? 6. I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'where's the self-help section?' she said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose. 7. What if there were no hypothetical questions? 8. If a deaf person signs swear words, does his mother wash his hands with soap? 9. If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation? 10. Is there another word for synonym? 11. Where do forest rangers go to 'get away from it all?' 12. What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant? 13. If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages? 14. Would a fly without wings be called a walk? 15. Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them? 16. If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked? 17. Can vegetarians eat animal crackers? 18. If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent? 21. What was the best thing before sliced bread? 22. One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people. 24. How is it possible to have a civil war? 25. If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too? 26. If you ate both pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry? 27. If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done? 28. Whose cruel idea was it for the word 'lisp' to have 's' in it? 30. Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them? 31. Why is there an expiration date on sour cream? 33. Can an atheist get insurance against acts of god?