COURSE TITLE:

8 FAMILIAR FORCES FOR IMPROVING CLASSROOM CULTURE

NO. OF CREDITS:

6 QUARTER CREDITS
[semester equivalent = 4.00 credits]

WA CLOCK HRS:
OREGON PDUs:
PENNSYLVANIA ACT 48:

60
60
60

INSTRUCTOR:

Shaila Bora
kharisma.bora@gmail.com

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

Class Culture is a magical mix with no recipe and yet it is the special sauce for optimal student learning. Continue to refine your mastery as you inspire a class culture of acceptance and appreciation as learners develop intellectual character. Revisit 8 Familiar Forces: Expectations, Language, Time, Modeling, Opportunities, Routines, Interactions, and Environment. Summon these forces for guidance and support to be more effective in your everyday rhythms and relationships as curator of a culture of thinking which everyone values and that values everyone.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, participants will have:

Revisited the 8 Familiar Forces which create, sustain and enhance group culture: Expectations, Language, Time, Modeling, Opportunities, Routines, Interactions and Environment.
Imagined and visualized how to use classroom culture, as a shaper of students' development as powerful thinkers and learners, to inspire the personal, professional and planetary upgrade.
Collected an inventory of stories, practical guidelines, self-assessments, case studies, inquiry projects and other resources that inspire and guide the facilitation of cultures of thinking.
Customized and implemented in a learning environment, one supportive practice gleaned directly from any of the forces.
Reflected on their own classroom culture and considered how to strengthen and curate its culture of thinking with the guidance of the 8 Familiar Forces.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit. The Heritage Institute does not award partial credit.

HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns participants their choice of CEUs (Continuing Education Units), Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, or Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours. The Heritage Institute offers CEUs and is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, and Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours.

UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION

REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires 75% or better for credit at the 400 level and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level. These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.

Completion of Information Acquisition assignments 30%
Completion of Learning Application assignments 40%
Completion of Integration Paper assignment 30%

CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to a "C" or better, 500 level credit is equal to a "B" or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.

AUS Continuing Education quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering, determine with your district personnel, department head, or state education office the acceptability of these credits for your purpose.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION

REQUIRED TEXT

Ritchhart, Ron. Creating Cultures of Thinking. 2015. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco, CA. $16 + shipping for used textbook on Amazon.com ISBN 978-1-118-97460-5

None. All reading is online.

MATERIALS FEE

Text, Ritchhart, Ron. Creating Cultures of Thinking. 2015. Is approximately $16 from Amazon.com

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:

Shaila Bora, M.A. is currently working toward her PH.D. in Philosophy. Courses offered by Shaila are designed to tap into the creative potential and intuitive knowledge that each of us carries within. Through light touch supervision, we will open a dialogue that encourages experimentation with new techniques, and ways of being and doing that are already latent and waiting to be called forth. Nurturing this unique artistic spirit entails reflecting on and acting from your own experiences, observations, suggestions, questions, relationships, and perhaps a gentle nudge from a supportive someone else. So go ahead and choose the adventure that commands your thoughts and liberates your energy. Are you ready to try something new now? Come on, jump in, and let the magic happen.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

8 FAMILIAR FORCES FOR IMPROVING CLASSROOM CULTURE

Covey, Stephen, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Simon & Schuster: New York, NY. 2013.

ISBN 978-1451639612

This international bestseller explores how good organizations can be turned into ones that produce remarkable, sustained results. The book contains oodles of stories and examples from the great and not so great. Unleash your potential and bring the 7 Habits into your life. Note: I offer a course based in Covey's principles: Empathetic Communication for teachers, start living the habits today!

Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M, Metaphors We Live By. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL. 2003.

ISBN-10: 0226468011

Does our talk structure our experience of reality, the way we perceive the world? our experience of the classroom? Find out in this now classic book from the 80's. Metaphors are much more than a literary device; they are a fundamental part of our thought processes whenever we try to think abstractly. How is your use of metaphor inhibiting or facilitating an agenda of thinking in your classroom?

Loehr, Jim & Schwartz, Tony. The Power of Full Engagement. The Free Press: New York, NY. 2005.

ISBN 978-0-74322675-2.

Learn how to manage energy, not time. Tap into physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy as primary sources of personal renewal. Accomplish what is most important to you by changing your habits. This book includes specific daily recommendations to more skillfully balance your energy expenditure with intermittent rest and recovery. The results might be astounding!

Longman, Longman Advanced American Dictionary, Pearson Education Limited: Essex, England. 2005.

ISBN 1 405 82111 6

A rave review for a dictionary that offers help for learners of Academic English. It's nice to know a non-narcissistic dictionary that doesn't use the word being defined in its own definition!

Sizer, Ted & Sizer, N.F., The Students Are Watching: Schools and the Moral Contract. Beacon Press: Boston, MA. 2000.

ISBN 978-0-807-03121-6

Another engaging read from the author of Horace's School. How are the people in your school spending their time? Students learn from school routines and rituals. Read the book and find out what students really are learning from modeling, grappling, bluffing, sorting, shoving and fearing.

Thornburg, David. From The Campfire to the Holodeck. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA. 2013.

ISBN 978-1-118-63393-9

This entertaining book talks about how to engage every student by offering spaces for effective learning: campfire, watering holes, caves and life. Prepare better lessons when you organize around your classroom space.