ARS110 Introduction to Creative and Research Activities
Instructors:
Adele Baruch-Runyon, Human Resource Development, 400A Bailey Hall,
Gorham,
Phone: 780-5317, abaruch@usm.maine.edu
Dave Champlin, Biological Sciences, 305B Science Bldg, Portland,
Phone: 228-8349, champlin@maine.edu
Helen Gorgas Goulding, Student and University Life, 100 Payson Smith,
Portland,
Phone: 780-4629, gorgas@usm.maine.edu
Lliam Harrison, Research Compliance and Honors Program, 178 Science
Bldg., Portland,
Phone: 780-4684, wharrison@usm.maine.edu
Class meets:
Every other Wednesday from 4:10 – 5:25 PM
Portland campus. Room 310 Luther-Bonney
but meeting locations will vary.
Readings:
The readings should be completed before class meets. All the readings for the class are
available through electronic reserve at the library. A description of how to access electronic reserves is at the
end of this syllabus. The full
citations from which the readings are taken are also listed at the end of the
syllabus.
Website:
The course website has
descriptive links to a variety of web resources and additional links identified
by course participants will be added throughout the semester.
http://www.usm.maine.edu/~champlin/ICARA/homepage.htm
Learning Outcomes for our course:
For connecting to USM, students will:
1. Learn from other undergraduates
successful strategies for
connecting with faculty
and peers.
2. Learn about formal and informal student supports at USM.
3. Learn listening, communication, and interviewing skills
in the
context of small group
support.
4. Experience support for their interests and nascent
projects within
a learning community.
5. Develop an increased awareness of personal and academic
strengths.
In relation to developing projects, students will:
1. Learn about undergraduate, graduate, and faculty
projects.
Interview potential mentors on campus or in the
community who could
support a developing
project proposal.
2. Participate in a general overview of project planning,
and
understand there are a
range of methodological approaches.
Gain
library and archival
research skills.
3. Gain a basic understanding of the ethics associated with their
project. Discover avenues for continued project
support.
4. Create a project proposal of personal interest that
will hopefully develop
into an abiding college project.
Basis for your Final Grade:
1) Final Project = 25% class presentation Dec. 9th,
hand in final project by Dec. 14th.
The central goal of our
course is to gain experience advancing a specific, independent project as an
important element of a valuable college education. We hope this course will be the beginning of activities that
will continue throughout college and so the work wonŐt be completed by the end
of the semester. To demonstrate the steps you have made during the semester in
advancing your own topic, each student will organize a final project. Because of the diversity of interests,
the final project for each person will likely be quite unique. In addition to class presentation and discussions,
the final project will include a four-page paper written like a grant proposal
seeking future support of the project within the discipline. Each project proposal will include an
Introduction, a Needs Assessment, Project Objectives, a Methods section, and an
Evaluation Section.
2) Personal Journal = 25% Due by Dec. 2nd, but
you are encouraged to share and discuss your journals with us before the due
date.
This assignment emphasizes
that it is critical to maintain an ongoing, well-organized record of your
ideas, questions, contacts, pathways, and discoveries. Your thoughts and ideas
will form part of the journal.
Your actions will form the rest of it. Keep track of who you meet, when,
and where those meetings take you – whether to a book, journal, web site,
location, or person. If you rely
on a text, itŐs important to include the full citation, in whatever is the
appropriate citation style for your discipline. Your journal is also somewhat like a diary. It also becomes
a history of your project and it must be organized to become a valuable
reference for you in the future.
Perhaps this might be something that carries you through graduate school
and beyond. The journal should
also include an accounting of how you think you can go about carrying out your
project. Who do you need to turn to
for help? What resources do you
need? Is this a short-term
exercise for you?
3) Mentor Interviews = 25% interview transcripts due
on Dec. 2nd and class presentation.
Throughout the course, it is
anticipated each student will meet several faculty, staff, advanced students,
and record the notes in their journal.
A minimum of two interactions with faculty or staff should be set up to
be fairly formal ŇinterviewsÓ in which you learn about a faculty or staff
memberŐs unique experiences during the development of their career. These interviews are intended to help
in identifying appropriate mentors for future activities and will be the focus
of discussion during class on Dec. 2nd.
Please transcribe ten of the
most critical minutes of the interview as faithfully as possible. You can achieve this through tape
recording the interview or by taking notes immediately after the
interviews. You will be asked to
add an ŇobserverŐs commentsÓ section to the interviews, containing
observations, comments, and reflections.
4) Class Participation = 25% This includes class meetings as well as activities
between classes. Early in the
course, it is hoped everyone will become comfortable sharing their experiences
during class meetings as well as between classes via email. Each class meeting will include
activities designed to facilitate the building of community within the class as
well as share ongoing experiences.
One excellent resource at
USM that you should know about is the Office of Academic Support for Students
with Disabilities. If you need course adaptations or
accommodations because of a disability, please contact the OSSD Office:
Room 242 Luther Bonney Hall, 780-4706
Voice Phone, email:
oassd@usm.maine.edu web site: www.usm.maine.edu/oassd
Our course is designed to be
a community-building experience in which first-year college students are
encouraged to identify and further explore a special interest, passion, or area
of expertise. A central goal of the course is to launch each student on a path
toward a specific, future presentation at a conference such as Thinking
Matters. Assignments will take each of us on journeys out into the campus
environment and the Southern Maine community to discover the wide range of
resources available to college students.
The course emphasizes the significance of these networking experiences,
including working with mentors, for creating a college education of value. We will also emphasize the role of
resources and opportunities beyond the classroom for establishing and pursuing
career goals during college.
First Meeting, Wednesday, Sept. 2nd:
I.
Introduction
-- names/dyads
II.
Overview of the course syllabus and Introduction to
Creative/Scientific/Qualitative investigation
*Assignment: Please schedule to
meet with your course advisor before Sept. 16th.
Wednesday, Sept. 9th:
Class
will be an informal opportunity for sharing our interests and get to know each
other. We will meet in the Community Service & Civic Engagement
House. This is the white, farm house in the middle of the Portland campus (next to
Payson Smith Hall) – just walk right in.
Wednesday, Sept. 16th:
*Assignment reminder: Please meet with your course advisor
before today.
I. Panel of students to discuss
challenges and successes
II. imagery/
art activity
Please read before class: The BeginnerŐs Mind (on reserve),
Watts: pp. 2-4 & pp. 125-128(Ways of Knowing), pp. 189-200(Research)
Wednesday, Sept. 30th:
We will meet in the Glickman Library, Portland campus. Please come to the Special Collections
area on the sixth floor.
I.
Library Resources (Librarian, Archival resources)
II.
Ethics
III.
The interviewing process
Please read before class: Interviews pp. 3-10(on reserve), Watts pp. 147-159(information and Knowledge)
Wednesday, Oct. 14th:
I.
Panel of faculty and staff
II.
Brief practice dyadic interviews with faculty and staff
Please read before class: Interviews pp. 27-36(on reserve),
Begin to set up interview
appointments
Wednesday, Oct. 28th:
I.
Listening and Observational activities(sand trays)
II.
Ongoing discussion of projects
Please read before class: The Gift(on
reserve), Manifesto for a New Medicine(on reserve)
Wednesday, Nov. 18th:
I.
Group discussion and feedback, in relation to the interview process (on campus
& in community)
II.
Guest facilitators: IRB, Scholarships and other funding possibilities, grant-writing
Please read before class: Watts pp.
217-222 (Beyond The Classroom)
Wednesday, Dec. 2th:
I.
Presentation of Interview (6-7 min. per student)
II.
Discussion of proposal development
*Assignment: Interview Transcripts due and Journals
due
Wednesday, Dec. 9th:
We will hope to meet on the
Gorham campus.
I.
Presentations of proposals (8-9 min. per student)
II.
Closing exercise - strategies for ongoing connection and support (plan informal
gathering?)
*Assignment: Incorporate class feedback on
presentation into final project
By Dec. 14th: Hand in Final Project
To access all the course readings
through electronic reserve:
0. Go to the USM Libraries page: http://library.usm.maine.edu/index.php
1. On the right side, under
Quicklinks, select Electronic Reserves: http://docutek.ursus.maine.edu
2. Click on: Electronic Reserves & Reserves Pages
3. Type in the Course Number in the search field and
click Search.
4. Click on the Course
Number on the left hand side of the screen.
5. Enter the password for
your course: szs8ukdk Click the Accept button.
References
for the reading assignments:
J.S.
Gordon (1996). Manifesto for a New Medicine. New York: Addison-Wesley (pp
199-217).
Lewis
Hyde (2007) The Gift: Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World. New York: Vintage Books.
Steinar
Kvale (1996) InterViews: An
Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Chris
Gillen (2009). BeginnerŐs Mind Over Matter. Kenyon College Alumni
Bulletin.