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Unit 1: Learning Intensive Week 1

Overview

The structure of this year-long course begins with a 10-day virtual Learning Intensive focused on introducing Western and Traditional Indigenous Knowledges, theories, and perspectives on leadership, climate action, climate adaptation, resilience, and design thinking.

Through a series of online seminars, presentations, activities and the design thinking process done in the Learning Intensive, you will be exposed and discuss the interconnection between these various perspectives and being to share to the wider community via your blogs. The MACAL 501 design challenge is completed over the duration of the year long course and you will work to examine more deeply the issues connected with climate adaptation. This challenge is begun in the Learning Intensive and you will move through the Define (Steps 1 – 3) stage of the design thinking process during that timeframe.

The expectation is that during this Learning Intensive you will be able to commit to a full day schedule of synchronous and asynchronous activities. A detailed schedule of each week of the Learning Intensive can be found below, under Learning Intensive Week 1 – Schedule.

Activities and Assessment Overview

Activities are learning activities that are required, but in of themselves are not marked. A learning activity may or may not relate directly to an Assignment which is marked and the Assignments can all be found under the Assessment Tab of the 501 website.

  • Read Week 1 readings as required in advance of each day in order to participate in discussing and analyzing various approaches, and their intersection, to climate adaptation, resilience and Indigenous world views.
  • Create and participate in community building activities.
  • Discuss setting up for success in the course and program.
  • Complete a competency profile using the Climate Adaptation Competency Framework.
  • Create a team agreement.
  • Create your student blog.
  • Engage in an Introduction to Transdisciplinary Thinking activity.
  • Engage in a design thinking activity.
  • Apply a cognitive affective mapping tool as part of the discussion on complex systems.
  • Contribute to the MACAL course community.

Learning Intensive Week 1 –  Schedule

document icon Access the Week 1 schedule (Google document)

This is the most current detailed scheduled for Week 1 of the Learning Intensive. Please consider this a living document as times for synchronous sessions may change dependent upon speaker availability etc.

 

Activity 1 Learning Intensive Week 1 –  Setting up for Success

Based on the Day 1 overview presentation and your work to date in this program, reflect on what would it look like if :

  • you gave 110% to this course?
  • you gave 110% to your team?
  • your instructor gave 110% to this course?
  • you gave 110% to this program?

Review your reflections and look for common themes across your responses. What do those themes cause you to consider or change? What do you need to help you as you move forward in this course? In this program? Create a short 200 – 400 word summary (1-2 paragraphs) of your reflections and come prepared to share this when we connect on Day 2.

Activity 2 Learning Intensive Week 1 –  Competencies for Climate Action Professionals

Based on the Day 1 overview presentation and Day 1 readings on the Climate Adaptation Competency Framework (CACF), complete a draft competency profile using the CACF Self-Assessment Tool. This assessment will evolve over the course of your program – as you learn and develop skills and knowledge in existing or new areas. This tool provides one way of supporting your thinking about what competencies relevant to climate action you bring to the program, what competencies you are developing as you participate in the course work, and where you would like to develop further. The goal is to use this as a living document during the program. Write a short summary (a couple of paragraphs; not APA) on your reflections on the results of your initial thinking about your competencies and what these imply for your learning journey. Come prepared to share this on Day 2.

Activity 3 Learning Intensive Week 1 –  Team Agreements

Working effectively in multidisciplinary, multi-sector teams is a core competency of climate action leadership. The work of establishing a high-functioning team is often rushed or skipped. Creating a team agreement provides an opportunity for teams to discuss core concerns regarding how they will function, what roles each team member will take, how decisions will be made etc. Team agreements make explicit your agreements about how you will work together, and provide a reference to return to when conflict arises, or when the process of working together gets bogged down or no longer feels safe for one or more members of the team.

Based on the Day 1 session on Working Effectively in Teams and the associated resources shared [1) Build Teams Right – Preparation; 2) Ten Suggested Steps to Develop a Team Charter; and 3) What to include in a Team Charter;  and View this feedback video from MindTools, which discusses key tips on how to give feedback to your team members. Begin work on developing your team agreement with your team. Remember, this agreement is a living document and should be revisited regularly so that you as a team can decide whether it still works for you, whether you need to tweak/change it, and so that you can collectively remind yourselves of your team agreements.

See the Learning Intensive Schedule for due dates. The MACAL Team Coach will provide some feedback to you on your draft Team Agreement so that you can refine this agreement prior to final submission.When the agreement is completed it should be submitted to the appropriate drop box in Moodle.

Activity 4 Learning Intensive Week 1 –  Creating Good Questions

Based on the Day 1 readings on Indigenous World Views and Climate Change (see Schedule), identify 2 questions that you are curious about discussing with our Indigenous Educators in the Indigenous Circle on Day 2. These resources, How to Ask Good Questions, and the revised Bloom’s taxonomy might be helpful as you complete this activity.

Add your questions to your Team’s Google Jam Board before Day 2 first synchronous session during which there will be time for each team to briefly review all the questions and decide which 2-3 you would like to put forward for the Indigenous discussion circle.

Activity 5 – Learning Intensive Week 1 – Creating your WordPress Blog Site

Building on the Introduction to Blogs & Critical Academic Blog Writing presentation in Day 2, you have now been provided with access to your own instance of WebSpace powered by WordPress for you to customize and make your own throughout the program. As you build your blog and think about your upcoming blog posts, it is important to remember that your academic blog will likely be quite different from any other blogging you have done previously or perhaps than you have explored on other people’s blogs. Academic blogging requires critical reflection and critical thinking and writing, a process of analyzing and synthesizing ideas, making links between theory and practice, and in the case of MACAL, applying a transdisciplinary lens to your thinking. Don’t forget to explore the resources on the RRU Writing Centre as well.

In order to stay connected to each other via the course blog and your own WordPress blogs – be sure to set up your Feedly. See here for instructions. You will need to add the OPML files to your Feedly for each course.

As you get started, please remember this is not something you will complete in an evening, this is the beginning of something that will evolve throughout your program. Do keep track of any questions you have as you spend a bit of time on this tonight and bring them to the live Q&A with RRU Instructional Designer Ken Jeffery on Day 2. For a full recording of the MACAL blog set up process see below:

Activity 6 – Learning Intensive Week 1 – Mapping Adaptation Padlet

Considering the readings to date and panel discussion, as well as the conversation on Indigenous world views, create a drawing, map, or diagram  that conveys how you believe climate adaptation intersects with Indigenous knowledge and ways of being. Take a picture of your drawing and upload it to the Climate Adaptation and Intersection with IK padlet.

Activity 7 Learning Intensive Week 1 – Writing Your Practice First Blog Post*

*NB: Please note, this is NOT the same as Assignment 2. Activity 8 is designed to get you moving on your student blog. It is required, but not marked.  We will provide feedback on this blog so that when you come to Assignment 2 (which is marked) you have a better sense of  the expectations.

As you develop your first blog post, it is important to remember that your academic voice and your critical academic blogging will be different than perhaps the blogging you are used to or have experienced. Here is an overview of critical academic writing and a resource on academic blogging to get you started – no doubt you will find more resources as you go.

Think of your blog posts as critical academic reflection where you are analyzing and synthesizing as you make connections between theory and practice. Don’t forget to explore the resources on the RRU Writing Centre as well and to format your post as per APA.

Write a 300 – 500 word reflection on one of the topics we have explored to date. Consider the following questions:

  • What were some surprising ideas that you encountered as you reviewed your notes and artefacts? Why were they surprising?
  • Which one idea was especially intriguing to you? Why?
  • Did you encounter any ideas that you especially agreed or disagreed with?
  • Describe that idea in your own words and examine/discuss on what bases did you agree or disagree with the idea? Was the disagreement conceptual, philosophical, or ethical? What evidence would you use in supporting your agreement or disagreement with the idea?

Post your reflection on your blog. You are expected to incorporate APA standards for citations, formatting, and references and to back up your writing with evidence and appropriate academic literature as necessary. You are required to pay attention to grammar and clarity and to avoid colloquialisms. References are not included in the assignment word count.

See the Schedule for due dates.

Activity 8 – Learning Intensive Week 1 – Design Thinking & Making Immersive Learning

Participate in the Design Thinking/Maker day Day 5 . This activity will require both plenary (class) and team synchronous learning time throughout the day. This hands-on activity will be guided by the Design Thinking Process outlined in the readings, see specifically:

  1. Stanford Design Thinking Crash Course  (YouTube 1:20min)
  2. Design Thinking and Maker Day playlist (YouTube)
  3. Design Thinking in Challenge Contexts toolkit
  4. CreativeProblemSolving Tips and Resources (reverse brainstorming; SCAMPER)

Working in your assigned teams, you will learn by doing, immersing yourselves in the core steps of the Design Thinking process. Guided by the course facilitators and the CAL 501 Design Thinking Learning Intensive Process Worksheet you will undertake a design challenge, work through the design thinking process and create a prototype to present.  See the Schedule for detailed timings. Off line breaks will be built into the day’s schedule.

Activity 9 – Learning Intensive Week 1 – Team Coaching

Each team will sign up for a coaching session with the MACAL team coach (sign up using Julia’s wiki in Moodle). This is an opportunity to revisit your team agreements, explore and deepen your understanding of how to effectively manage conflict