Exploring A New Approach to Instruction in Higher EducationA Master’s of Education project with the Institute for Humane Education

What is Humane Education?•Providing accurate information

•Fostering curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking•Instilling reverence,

respect, and responsibility

•Offering positive choices and tools for problem solving

Institute for Humane Education

Masters Program•Introduction to

Humane Education•Environmental

Ethics•Animal Protection•Human Rights•Practicum•Independent

Learning Project

Other Programs•Certificate•Online Courses•Summer Institute•Teacher Trainings•Web Community

www.humaneeducation.org

Independent Learning Project

•Falls into one of three categories:▫Research – program evaluation, survey

project▫Creative – video production, children’s

book▫Professional – business plan, curriculum

•Inquiry in Systems Change Project▫Curriculum development project▫A need within Jane Goodall’s Roots &

Shoots▫A critical need in Higher Education in

general▫A personal interest

A Critical Need to Do this Work

Academically Adrift•A longitudinal four year research project

with used the Collegiate Learning Assessment to examine how individual experiences and institutional contexts are related to students’ development of critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing skills.

Learning in Higher Education – Project Description - http://highered.ssrc.org/?page_id=28Social Sciences Research Council

A Critical Need to Do this Work

Academically Adrift• Core Findings

▫Students define their college experiences as more social than academic, spend a limited amount of time studying, and choose classes that will not require much work of them.

▫Gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills were disturbingly low.

▫ Inequalities among students persist into their collegiate experiences.

▫There is notable variation in experiences and outcomes across institutions.

Learning in Higher Education – Core Findings - http://highered.ssrc.org/?page_id=28Social Sciences Research Council

Inquiry in Systems Change Project•Provides a

framework and curriculum for the use of action research and appreciative inquiry as techniques for instruction.

Inquiry in Systems Change Project

• Explores the stories of effective change-makers, in environmental ethics, animal protection and human rights and what they did to change the systems around them.

Inquiry in Systems Change Project• Calls students to

think critically about the systems of which they are a part, identify ways they can build off the good parts to make them better, or imagine and innovate entirely new systems.

Inquiry in Systems Change Project•Guides students

through the process of developing their own small scale project that addresses an issue in a system of which they are a part.

Some Definitions

•Action Research

▫Participatory reflective process and iterative approach to problem solving.

•Appreciative Inquiry

▫Systematic discovery of what gives “life” to a living system when it is most alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, ecological, and human terms.

Uses unconditional positive questions.

Typical Action Research Model

• Margaret Riel – Center for Collaborative Action Research

PositiveLife Giving

Core

Discovery

Dream

Design

Destiny

The Appreciative Inquiry “4-D” Cycle

Appreciate “the best of what is”

Imagine “what could be”

Determine “what should be”

Create “what will be”

http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/

The Appreciative Inquiry “4-D” Cycle

http://www.clergyleadership.com/appreciative/ai.html

ProblemSolving“Felt Need” –

Identification of Problem

Analysis of Causes

Analysis and Possible Solutions

Action Planning (Treatment)

Basic Assumption: An Organization is a Problem to be

Solved.

Appreciating and ValuingThe Best of “What Is”

Envisioning “What Might Be”

Dialoguing “What Should Be”

Action Planning (Treatment)

Basic Assumption: An Organization is a Mystery to be

Embraced.

Appreciative Inquiry

http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/

Example of AI in Practice•A consulting agency is tasked with reducing

sexual harassment cases at their client’s company.

•They offer educational programs and information to the company’s employees to no avail.

•AI is used to find another solution – rather than addressing sexual harassment directly, the agency develops new programs around fostering quality inter-gender relationships.

From: A Positive Revolution in Change - http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/uploads/whatisai.pdf

The Class and The Practice

•So it’s action research, what are we studying?▫What are commonalities among people who

are effective at changing systems or innovating new ones?

▫What are effective strategies for teaching in Higher Education?

•So we’re going to use Appreciative Inquiry? How?

Question Framework

1. Considering the work of [Change-maker X], what do we appreciate the most about their approach and what they accomplished?

2. Reflecting on [Answer to Question #1], how can we build off of [Change-maker X]’s work in today’s context to make it better?

Exemplary Change-makers

Exemplary Change-makers

•Considering an exemplary change-maker that you’re aware of, what do you appreciate the most about how and what they accomplished?

•Considering the issue they addressed, how would you build off of what they accomplished in today’s context?

Holistic Approach

Every day, each and every one of us makes a difference. It’s up to use to choose how we’re going to use that difference to make the world a better place.

• Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE

Holistic Approach

When we’re talking about making systems better, or innovating entirely new ones, we can only be effective when we do so through a holistic lens.

• Environmental Ethics

• Animal Protection

• Human Rights

A Practice that Could Be Used Broadly

1. Choose experts and change-makers from your field.

2. Invite the students to learn about their work, and ask them to say how they appreciate it, and how they would build off of it.

3. Challenge them to do just that.

A Practice that Could Be Used Broadly

Professor X – I want to teach a class about water.

• Human rights – Privatization of water – who’s a change-maker in this arena?

• Environmental Ethics – Water Pollution - who’s a change-maker in this arena?

• Animal Protection – Aquatic Wildlife Conservation - who’s a change-maker in this arena?

Project Planning

1. Research and Development

2. SMART Goals

3. Work Breakdown Structures

4. Identity and Marketing

5. Budgeting and Finance

6. Evaluation

Course BreakdownProfessor Students Guest Lecturers

•Jane Goodall

•Muhammad Yunus

•William McDonough

•Project Planning

•Environmental Ethics

•Animal Protection

•Human Rights

•Creativity and Imagination

•Resiliency

Course BreakdownWeeks 1-4 Weeks 5 – 8 Weeks 9 -14

•Environmental Ethics - William McDonough

•Student Led EE Change-maker

•R&D and SMART Goals

•Animal Protection - Jane Goodall

•Student Led AP Change-maker

•Work breakdown Structures and Identity/Marketing

•Human Rights - Muhamad Yunus

•Student Led HR Change-maker

•Budgeting/Finance and Evaluation

AssessmentPresentations Writing Project Planning

•Students will be evaluated based on a rubric for their contributions to their small group presentation, as well as their contributions to classroom discussion.

•For each section of the course students will be asked to complete at least on small writing assignment, and one larger writing assignment.

•Over the course of the semester, in their small groups students will be responsible for planning, pitching and implementing a project.

Curriculum Components

•Syllabus•Suggested Course Readings•Suggested Course Resources

(Videos/Articles)•Reading and Discussion Guides•Writing Activities and Assignments•Guide to Creating a Course Blog•Project Planning Activities and Resources

Websites Referenced

•www.humaneeducation.org•highered.ssrc.org•cadres.pepperdine.edu/ccar/ •appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/ •www.clergyleadership.com/appreciative/ai

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