Community Problem Solving
Community Problem Solving is a full year course dedicated to expanding students networks in the community and solving social issues in action. This is a very hands on course that uses all of the hypothetical discussions from RC classes and applies them to what is being done in the real world. Students work in groups with community partners from Fredericton and help them so solve problems that they simply do not have the staff or resources for. As a student in this course, I can say that it is full of highs, lows, and spirals, but the growth in leadership is undeniable. I have learned about professionalism, self-advocacy, and research methods. However, these things could be achieved wth any good professor in a university course. The most significant aspects of my learning have been remaining optimistic in times of failure, navigating relationships in a work atmosphere, finding a balance of what you can give to your team, and building relationships with those who reinforce positive energy.
I had the pleasure of working with The Learning Disabilities Association of New Brunswick in this course. I worked alongside Annie Sheehan, Taylor MacDonald and our community partner, Ainsley Congdon. Each of us brought a different skillset to the table for this project and as we began to work together, we used each of our skills to maximize productivity. I learned that I am comfortable filling silence and hosting casual conversation. This is a helpful skill as I chair meetings because I can navigate the conversation through all of the items on the agenda in a natural way that makes everyone comfortable. I can also adjust my strategy to accommodate a more structured meeting in different settings. This skillset has worked well with my team as they were all fairly analytical. While I would ramble, they would reflect and add on to my points to carry on the discussion. Because of the skills I have learned in this course, I am more confident in my social interaction and problem solving skills.
In the context of our project, we were collaboratively creating a vision for what we want to achieve this year. We did this by creating a Memorandum of Understanding and a timeline with all of the action items we wanted to achieve. This was an effective way to plan all of the outcomes we wanted to achieve and design alternative plans in case we ran into any obstacles. The entire project hit different indicators of problem solving both in the the action items and the team dynamic. Additionally, we all learned about social interaction and navigating friendships with professional partners. I would be lying if I said it wasn't challenging to work on a year-long project with my roommate. I got through it knowing that this is the most involved with a partner I will ever be and this experience will make us both stronger leaders. This year I wanted to scream, cry, and yell at times, but other times I wanted to display all of the work we were doing. I coped with these emotions in healthy ways and have a better grasp on a sense of holistic wellbeing. Additionally, I built up my confidence when I was working for a project that I knew was helping others. The project was solving a social issue which is a very significant indicator of effective citizenship. We were doing our part to help the Fredericton community. This is a timely process but we made significant headway in the direction of LDANB's next steps.
I learned more than I can put into words in this course. I am more equipped to join the workforce because of my work as a student consultant, and I am more prepared to deal with conflict with my colleagues. I am unbelievably proud of the work I did in this course, even if all I have to say is that we spent 2 semesters searching and found nothing. We are leaving Ainsley with a big to-do list, but she has said many times that our work has shown her the areas that need immediate attention.
One phrase that I was reminding myself as I work through this course was "It is what you make it out to be." If I wanted to do a mediocre project, I could have just made up fake accomplishments. I made every aspect of problem solving, social interaction, relationship building, and skill development an opportunity to experiment and learn. I have put a lot of trust in the process and am taking away a new version of myself as a leader prepared for the workforce. I can't imaging having to face the real world without the experiences I have under my belt from this course.
I had the pleasure of working with The Learning Disabilities Association of New Brunswick in this course. I worked alongside Annie Sheehan, Taylor MacDonald and our community partner, Ainsley Congdon. Each of us brought a different skillset to the table for this project and as we began to work together, we used each of our skills to maximize productivity. I learned that I am comfortable filling silence and hosting casual conversation. This is a helpful skill as I chair meetings because I can navigate the conversation through all of the items on the agenda in a natural way that makes everyone comfortable. I can also adjust my strategy to accommodate a more structured meeting in different settings. This skillset has worked well with my team as they were all fairly analytical. While I would ramble, they would reflect and add on to my points to carry on the discussion. Because of the skills I have learned in this course, I am more confident in my social interaction and problem solving skills.
In the context of our project, we were collaboratively creating a vision for what we want to achieve this year. We did this by creating a Memorandum of Understanding and a timeline with all of the action items we wanted to achieve. This was an effective way to plan all of the outcomes we wanted to achieve and design alternative plans in case we ran into any obstacles. The entire project hit different indicators of problem solving both in the the action items and the team dynamic. Additionally, we all learned about social interaction and navigating friendships with professional partners. I would be lying if I said it wasn't challenging to work on a year-long project with my roommate. I got through it knowing that this is the most involved with a partner I will ever be and this experience will make us both stronger leaders. This year I wanted to scream, cry, and yell at times, but other times I wanted to display all of the work we were doing. I coped with these emotions in healthy ways and have a better grasp on a sense of holistic wellbeing. Additionally, I built up my confidence when I was working for a project that I knew was helping others. The project was solving a social issue which is a very significant indicator of effective citizenship. We were doing our part to help the Fredericton community. This is a timely process but we made significant headway in the direction of LDANB's next steps.
I learned more than I can put into words in this course. I am more equipped to join the workforce because of my work as a student consultant, and I am more prepared to deal with conflict with my colleagues. I am unbelievably proud of the work I did in this course, even if all I have to say is that we spent 2 semesters searching and found nothing. We are leaving Ainsley with a big to-do list, but she has said many times that our work has shown her the areas that need immediate attention.
One phrase that I was reminding myself as I work through this course was "It is what you make it out to be." If I wanted to do a mediocre project, I could have just made up fake accomplishments. I made every aspect of problem solving, social interaction, relationship building, and skill development an opportunity to experiment and learn. I have put a lot of trust in the process and am taking away a new version of myself as a leader prepared for the workforce. I can't imaging having to face the real world without the experiences I have under my belt from this course.
Interdisciplinary Leadership Seminar
Similar to many of my experiences at Renaissance College, the world threw us another curve ball at the beginning of this course. Our professor had to take a step back from RC due to a family emergency about 2 weeks into the course. She was very honest about the circumstances that she was entering the course with, but I don't think any of us had an idea of what would happen. The faculty did a good job of adjusting to this, but it was far from what I expected in the course. We had a different integrator teaching the course each weak which meant that the topics were all over the map. Some weeks we were talking about the complexity of poverty and the housing crisis, while other weeks we were taking leadership lessons from Star Trek characters. I valued learning something new every class, but it is very difficult to summarize these topics and see the connections between them all.
The first learning outcome that I practiced in this course was social interaction. We worked with a new speaker every week and had to quickly adapt our communication styles to benefit the discussion. As a leader, I know that I tend to talk to fill space, especially when my classmates don't participate. However, in this course, I started to get comfortable with long silence because eventually one of them would share. This strategy has benefited me outside of the RC context as well because people are often equally as uncomfortable with silence as I am. I learned that sometimes I need to shut off my social butterfly mode to let other students find their wings. I would write down the things I wanted to say rather than say them aloud to share the floor better. That being said, I also learned that with some facilitators, my classmates will be more hesitant to speak because they are intimidated. In these cases, I used casual conversation to answer questions to prove that it was a safe space. Another activity that enhanced my social interaction skills was our discussion about a hypothetical camping trip. We collaboratively made a plan for who would be responsible for which parts of the trip. This taught me a valuable social lesson that a team will be successful in the short-term if you tell the members of the team what they want to hear. At times it is very helpful to avoid conflict and support peoples immediate thoughts. This is definitely a short-term solution, however, it is valuable to have when you need to get through short meetings or minor projects.
Another dimension of growth that I saw in this course was in the knowing self and others learning outcome. I experienced this in my empathy not only for our professor, but also for the facilitators who were brave enough to fill the class slots throughout the semester. As an aspiring teacher, I can empathize with how nerve-racking it is to work with a new group of students, especially when you know that the relationship could only last one day. I tried to use my extroverted behaviour to welcome them and show that the space is safe. I am hopeful that there are leaders in my future classrooms who will feel comfortable to do the same for me on my first day with them. Additionally, I expanded my knowledge of my own behaviours and beliefs through my personal leadership philosophy paper. This paper was my first step towards summarizing everything I have learned in my time at RC. I have used this paper in one of my blog posts on this site as it was a very critical moment of understanding for me as a leader. I have gained deeper knowledge of where my values lie and how they influence my leadership lens.
Finally, this course taught me a lot about new ways of learning. I practiced multi-literacy in the classroom components of the course and in some of the assignments we completed. In class, we reflected on the leadership styles of characters in movies which was a new approach of leadership analysis. Additionally, we created lego projects in class without the instructions to practice our visual comprehension skills. In our assignments for this course, we practiced reflective research which was a new tool to back up our values. Another aspect of the assignments that I found to be quite formative was a further analysis of futures studies. I had gained some aspects of this type of literacy in the Leadership and Foresight course in second year, but revisiting it when I had my internship knowledge in my toolkit was very influential. I have become more relaxed in my expectations for the future now that I am more considerate of the major impact that minor moments can have on my life.
The first learning outcome that I practiced in this course was social interaction. We worked with a new speaker every week and had to quickly adapt our communication styles to benefit the discussion. As a leader, I know that I tend to talk to fill space, especially when my classmates don't participate. However, in this course, I started to get comfortable with long silence because eventually one of them would share. This strategy has benefited me outside of the RC context as well because people are often equally as uncomfortable with silence as I am. I learned that sometimes I need to shut off my social butterfly mode to let other students find their wings. I would write down the things I wanted to say rather than say them aloud to share the floor better. That being said, I also learned that with some facilitators, my classmates will be more hesitant to speak because they are intimidated. In these cases, I used casual conversation to answer questions to prove that it was a safe space. Another activity that enhanced my social interaction skills was our discussion about a hypothetical camping trip. We collaboratively made a plan for who would be responsible for which parts of the trip. This taught me a valuable social lesson that a team will be successful in the short-term if you tell the members of the team what they want to hear. At times it is very helpful to avoid conflict and support peoples immediate thoughts. This is definitely a short-term solution, however, it is valuable to have when you need to get through short meetings or minor projects.
Another dimension of growth that I saw in this course was in the knowing self and others learning outcome. I experienced this in my empathy not only for our professor, but also for the facilitators who were brave enough to fill the class slots throughout the semester. As an aspiring teacher, I can empathize with how nerve-racking it is to work with a new group of students, especially when you know that the relationship could only last one day. I tried to use my extroverted behaviour to welcome them and show that the space is safe. I am hopeful that there are leaders in my future classrooms who will feel comfortable to do the same for me on my first day with them. Additionally, I expanded my knowledge of my own behaviours and beliefs through my personal leadership philosophy paper. This paper was my first step towards summarizing everything I have learned in my time at RC. I have used this paper in one of my blog posts on this site as it was a very critical moment of understanding for me as a leader. I have gained deeper knowledge of where my values lie and how they influence my leadership lens.
Finally, this course taught me a lot about new ways of learning. I practiced multi-literacy in the classroom components of the course and in some of the assignments we completed. In class, we reflected on the leadership styles of characters in movies which was a new approach of leadership analysis. Additionally, we created lego projects in class without the instructions to practice our visual comprehension skills. In our assignments for this course, we practiced reflective research which was a new tool to back up our values. Another aspect of the assignments that I found to be quite formative was a further analysis of futures studies. I had gained some aspects of this type of literacy in the Leadership and Foresight course in second year, but revisiting it when I had my internship knowledge in my toolkit was very influential. I have become more relaxed in my expectations for the future now that I am more considerate of the major impact that minor moments can have on my life.
Leadership for Social Innovation
The Leadership for Social Innovation course was a continuation of the leadership seminar and democracy courses that we have taken at RC. In this course, we explored multi-literacy, problem solving, social interaction and wellbeing. Through a connected lens we explored social issues through systems thinking the interconnectedness of problems. We analyzed complex issues without avoiding the hard questions and "wrong" answers. Our assignments this semester were a blend of complex research based papers and internal research to creative journal writing and reflective practice.
Our first assignment in this course was based on our understanding of a wicked problem. We learned the definition of a wicked problem and the implications that they have in the Dilemmas Reading (Rittel & Webber, 1973). This was a new scale for evaluating problems that expanded on a new type of literacy. I consider this new scale developmental for the information literacy indicator. This paper was focussed on exploring both perspectives through the research. We had to defend both perspectives prior to generating potential solutions which was not the common method to our research papers. Additionally, this paper allowed us to expand our understanding of information literacy as we worked through both sides of the research and we learned how to use search terms to see all of the results. This new approach led to more complexity in the research and even further complication when generating solutions. This unique approach also enlightened my problem solving skills as I learned how to plan a variety of solutions and generate the steps in problem solving for each outcome. I have gained insight on how to solve problems with different levels of complexity and used the brainstorming process to envision what I wanted solutions to look like.
Another key element of this course was the design thinking challenge. The objective of this project was to work through the stages of the design thinking cycle as explored in the DESIGN THINKING READING. The stages of this cycle are empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. These stages started out linear but the repetition of certain points of the cycle brings design thinking into a cycle of innovation. This cycle evolved our multi-literacy skills as we learned how to design prototypes for projects that were physical or virtual displays.
This was also a new approach to problem solving as we used the design thinking model to envision how we go about finding a solution. We managed the project through this framework and lead RC Students to raise their voices for what they see as needing to be changed. We lead this project as a proposed action plan for change in the Renaissance College community and learned about how social innovations happen. For our design thinking challenge, we assessed the reputation of RC and how it is impacting students. Based on a survey, we designed prototypes for a new name and course code for the program to best improve the reputation of the school. We designed the prototype to make it clear what RC is and what it could be with clarity of the name. We learned how to request feedback and what we would do differently to move this project forward. This was a project that expanded our skills in knowing self and others. We were not only learning how to work with each other as a big team, but we were learning how to engage with a community of leaders get their perspective on what they see as crucial issues.
This course expanded my knowledge of myself as a leader and how I work with others, along with my problem solving skills with new literacy skills to support me. I was able to see real-world examples of social innovation in action and observe the leadership skills needed to get there. I have learned from Ola's teaching in this course the skills that I would like to use in my classroom such as class discussions and co-creation of course objectives. This was one of the courses that re-constructed my understanding of academic thinking and performance. I am eager to use the tools from this course in my future social innovation endeavours.
Our first assignment in this course was based on our understanding of a wicked problem. We learned the definition of a wicked problem and the implications that they have in the Dilemmas Reading (Rittel & Webber, 1973). This was a new scale for evaluating problems that expanded on a new type of literacy. I consider this new scale developmental for the information literacy indicator. This paper was focussed on exploring both perspectives through the research. We had to defend both perspectives prior to generating potential solutions which was not the common method to our research papers. Additionally, this paper allowed us to expand our understanding of information literacy as we worked through both sides of the research and we learned how to use search terms to see all of the results. This new approach led to more complexity in the research and even further complication when generating solutions. This unique approach also enlightened my problem solving skills as I learned how to plan a variety of solutions and generate the steps in problem solving for each outcome. I have gained insight on how to solve problems with different levels of complexity and used the brainstorming process to envision what I wanted solutions to look like.
Another key element of this course was the design thinking challenge. The objective of this project was to work through the stages of the design thinking cycle as explored in the DESIGN THINKING READING. The stages of this cycle are empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. These stages started out linear but the repetition of certain points of the cycle brings design thinking into a cycle of innovation. This cycle evolved our multi-literacy skills as we learned how to design prototypes for projects that were physical or virtual displays.
This was also a new approach to problem solving as we used the design thinking model to envision how we go about finding a solution. We managed the project through this framework and lead RC Students to raise their voices for what they see as needing to be changed. We lead this project as a proposed action plan for change in the Renaissance College community and learned about how social innovations happen. For our design thinking challenge, we assessed the reputation of RC and how it is impacting students. Based on a survey, we designed prototypes for a new name and course code for the program to best improve the reputation of the school. We designed the prototype to make it clear what RC is and what it could be with clarity of the name. We learned how to request feedback and what we would do differently to move this project forward. This was a project that expanded our skills in knowing self and others. We were not only learning how to work with each other as a big team, but we were learning how to engage with a community of leaders get their perspective on what they see as crucial issues.
This course expanded my knowledge of myself as a leader and how I work with others, along with my problem solving skills with new literacy skills to support me. I was able to see real-world examples of social innovation in action and observe the leadership skills needed to get there. I have learned from Ola's teaching in this course the skills that I would like to use in my classroom such as class discussions and co-creation of course objectives. This was one of the courses that re-constructed my understanding of academic thinking and performance. I am eager to use the tools from this course in my future social innovation endeavours.
Conflict Management
The conflict management course was a crucial course in my degree even if it was only an elective. I learned from my international internship the importance of managing conflict effectively. This course taught us in new ways how to mediate conflict and how to navigate conflicts that you are a part of. Working in conflict is frustrating, intimidating, and only when dealt with properly, rewarding. As we learned in this course, we all have immediate responses to conflict whether it be fight, flight, or freeze. However, when we learn to embrace conflict as an opportunity, it becomes a transformational experience where both parties can grow.
In this course, we practiced conflict scenarios where we learned how to listen and ask curious questions about the other persons values and interests. We then used what we learned in these practice scenarios and applied them to real conflicts in our lives. I had a critical conversation withy Townhouse team who wasn't showing dedication to the project or following through on tasks. I had a tough conversation with the team and in the end saw tremendous growth in each of their dedication to the team. I learned about problem solving and knowing self and others through this experience because I saw what the team needed to be successful and worked collaboratively with them to co-create a solution. We had to all reflect on our values and priorities as leaders and make a plan of action to help each other be successful.
Additionally, the course expanded my social interaction skills through mediation of other conflicts because I explore the needs of both parties and do my part in helping them find a common ground. This is a particular process as I have to be aware of my language choice and tone to ensure that my perspective is neutral. I used the practice scenarios in class to work on my mediation and find mutual goals between two separate parties. This was important for my individual being as well because I was exposing myself to conflict and getting used to these critical conversations without being fearful and running away.
My wellbeing improved while taking this course because of the activities and the content. In some of our earlier classes, we worked collaboratively with Lego and learned a lesson about working as a whole team rather than being in competition with other groups. This was an important learning experience for me because I often go straight into competition mode. I found I was much happier when we all worked together to do big things rather than see who can make the biggest impact. Another aspect of my wellbeing that improved was due to self-advocacy. I learned the importance of standing up for myself in this course while also learning how to be a collaborative leader. I practiced this throughout our hands on learning and I know feel I am more equipped to face conflict in the future. Finally, we practiced aesthetic literacy as a summary for the course when we made vision boards for our future endeavours. This new practice of literacy was not only impactful for my creative skills but helped me achieve more wellbeing practices. I became more comfortable with trusting the process through this course and am very excited to face conflicts in the future where I get curious rather than furious.
In this course, we practiced conflict scenarios where we learned how to listen and ask curious questions about the other persons values and interests. We then used what we learned in these practice scenarios and applied them to real conflicts in our lives. I had a critical conversation withy Townhouse team who wasn't showing dedication to the project or following through on tasks. I had a tough conversation with the team and in the end saw tremendous growth in each of their dedication to the team. I learned about problem solving and knowing self and others through this experience because I saw what the team needed to be successful and worked collaboratively with them to co-create a solution. We had to all reflect on our values and priorities as leaders and make a plan of action to help each other be successful.
Additionally, the course expanded my social interaction skills through mediation of other conflicts because I explore the needs of both parties and do my part in helping them find a common ground. This is a particular process as I have to be aware of my language choice and tone to ensure that my perspective is neutral. I used the practice scenarios in class to work on my mediation and find mutual goals between two separate parties. This was important for my individual being as well because I was exposing myself to conflict and getting used to these critical conversations without being fearful and running away.
My wellbeing improved while taking this course because of the activities and the content. In some of our earlier classes, we worked collaboratively with Lego and learned a lesson about working as a whole team rather than being in competition with other groups. This was an important learning experience for me because I often go straight into competition mode. I found I was much happier when we all worked together to do big things rather than see who can make the biggest impact. Another aspect of my wellbeing that improved was due to self-advocacy. I learned the importance of standing up for myself in this course while also learning how to be a collaborative leader. I practiced this throughout our hands on learning and I know feel I am more equipped to face conflict in the future. Finally, we practiced aesthetic literacy as a summary for the course when we made vision boards for our future endeavours. This new practice of literacy was not only impactful for my creative skills but helped me achieve more wellbeing practices. I became more comfortable with trusting the process through this course and am very excited to face conflicts in the future where I get curious rather than furious.
Learning Portfolio
This year, my cohort was the first to experience a new portfolio model. This model was designed to be shorter and more flexible than in previous years. Instead of writing a long-winded paper, each student was given the choice of how they wanted to display their RC journey. In the portfolio course, we learned through creative thinking about every RC learning outcome. We experimented with multi-literacy to expand our knowledge of self and others while interacting with one another to solve problems and enhance overall wellbeing. As an optimist, I went into this course knowing that this project is going to give as much back to me as I give to it. I worked tirelessly to bring my best attitude to class and engage in thoughtful discussion while also balancing working on the project behind the scenes. I learned how to stay organized and be on top of my assignments this year but in all honesty, I struggled to stay on top of portfolio. This was partly because of the creative thinking element and how often I felt guilty for working creatively on a project. I learned a lot as I reflected on this because I recognized how my peers have different values and attititudes toward creativity so I felt as though being productive meant doing tasks that could quickly be checked off the list. I had to learn how to break up such a big project into chunks to try and manage my time effectively.
During class time, the course was dedicated to expanding our understanding of the learning outcomes. We also practiced wellness techniques to prioritize each of the outcomes in a way that mattered most to each student. While we still display each of them with equal information and growth, we learned how to see our underlying values and connect them with specific outcomes. As a leader, I found this course inspiring in the way it was set up because the creation of a safe space was truly the number one priority. I was able to grow with my peers as we all faced similar obstacles and help those who were on a different journey than me. I learned how to rewire my brain to think creatively and produce more innovative ideas. In the end, I am more proud of my creative components and the risks associated with them because they taught me the essential skills that I will need as I go into education. I want to give my all to being a teacher and I now know how to empathize with students, plan for their success, problem solve their obstacles, work on their personal wellbeing and try new ways of understanding and demonstrating information.
During class time, the course was dedicated to expanding our understanding of the learning outcomes. We also practiced wellness techniques to prioritize each of the outcomes in a way that mattered most to each student. While we still display each of them with equal information and growth, we learned how to see our underlying values and connect them with specific outcomes. As a leader, I found this course inspiring in the way it was set up because the creation of a safe space was truly the number one priority. I was able to grow with my peers as we all faced similar obstacles and help those who were on a different journey than me. I learned how to rewire my brain to think creatively and produce more innovative ideas. In the end, I am more proud of my creative components and the risks associated with them because they taught me the essential skills that I will need as I go into education. I want to give my all to being a teacher and I now know how to empathize with students, plan for their success, problem solve their obstacles, work on their personal wellbeing and try new ways of understanding and demonstrating information.