Spring 2018 - EDUC 726 G031

Engaging Students' Imaginations K-Post Sec: Deepening Understanding and Applying IE to Subject Areas (3)

Class Number: 10487

Delivery Method: Distance Education

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Location: TBA

  • Instructor:

    Gillian Judson
    gcj@sfu.ca
    Office Hours: By arrangement (ONLINE)
  • Prerequisites:

    Course only available to students in the Graduate Certificate in Imaginative Education Program; EDUC 725.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

The preliminary exploration of Imaginative Education (IE) theory and practice that students began in EDUC 725 (Engaging Students' Imaginations K-Post Secondary: Introducing Cognitive Tools) expands, in this second course, to include more comprehensive lesson and unit design. Course work will extend students' theoretical understanding of IE Into the practical context of students' chosen subject area. Students will deepen their understanding of IE concepts by employing different cognitive tools and cognitive toolkits in comprehensive lesson/unit design and practice.

COURSE DETAILS:

Meeting Dates/Times:
Asynchronous/Online
Follows the standard term start and end dates of Jan 3 to Apr 10, 2018.

Location:
ONLINE course--CANVAS  

OVERVIEW:
The purpose of this course is to explore the ways in which the theoretical underpinnings of Imaginative Education (IE) and its associated cognitive tools might enhance learning settings in both K-12 and post-secondary environments. This course should not be thought of, however, as purely a space where IE is applied to professional practice. Rather, students will be encouraged to develop personal authority over their understandings of IE theory and to explore how the application of cognitive tools in a number of traditional subject areas augments their understandings of what it means to teach using IE. Throughout the course, students will also have an opportunity to consider the affordances of a number of digital tools with a view to exploring the intersections between Imaginative Education, digital technology, and their professional education environment. A significant portion of the course will be devoted to the conceptualization, creation, critique, and refinement of an “Imaginative Learning Design” project that will encourage students to spend a sustained amount of time refining a digital tool that is built according to principles of IE.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Students will begin to extend their imaginative pedagogical practices into their professional contexts by: considering how IE challenges conventional notions of learning design, developing and critiquing imaginative lessons/units that are personally and professionally relevant, and considering how IE approaches to education might productively engage students’ affective experiences of learning.

Grading

  • a) Road Map. Students will keep a blog of their developing understandings of IE and of the course material. Although the blog itself will not be assessed, students will be required to create a “road map” to provide insight into a particular line of thinking they developed over the term. 25%%
  • b) Discussion Paper. Students are required to write a short discussion paper, aimed at peers, that makes a case for the potential for IE to address many long-standing concerns in a particular disciplinary area. 25%%
  • c) Imaginative Learning Design: Students will be required to use a variety of digital affordances to create an “imaginative learning design” project that clearly applies IE principles to address a learning problem that is articulated in the literature. 50%%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Egan, K. (1997). The educated mind: How cognitive tools shape our understanding. University of Chicago Press: Chicago.
ISBN: 0-226-19039-0

**A list of additional readings will be provided in the first class.

Graduate Studies Notes:

Important dates and deadlines for graduate students are found here: http://www.sfu.ca/dean-gradstudies/current/important_dates/guidelines.html. The deadline to drop a course with a 100% refund is the end of week 2. The deadline to drop with no notation on your transcript is the end of week 3.

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS