Course description
Critical conversations are those in which power dynamics in social context are illuminated, substantively examined in the moment and subsequently reflected upon in order to produce change—personal, systemic, institutional (Kang & O’Neill, 2018). This course will focus on supporting students in developing consciousness of structural power dynamics expressed through interpersonal interactions in dialogue – all with the aim to create change. Students will learn how to facilitate and enhance their authentic participation in discussions using the Critical Conversations (CC) Model in addition to other approaches grounded in humanist and critical pedagogy.
Course Objectives
Centering social justice issues and challenges students will:
1) Develop conceptual and theoretical understanding of the Critical Conversations model in context
2) Implement the Critical Conversations model with both consistency and flexibility
3) Expand their knowledge regarding manifestations of differential structural forces of oppression and opportunity across systems (individual, family, community, organizational, society, world),
4) Examine how structural power dynamics emerge, are enacted, and influence discourse and interpersonal engagement,
5) Cultivate their dialogic skills including,
a. Witnessing one’s level of connectedness through disagreement, tension and conflict;
b. Practicing “calling in” rather than “calling out” to attend to impact and mitigate potential for offensiveness and harm in critical conversations and
c. Applying a stance of curiosity and commitment to explore the intersection between structural forces of oppression (e.g., racism, genderism, ableism, classism, etc.) as enacted within interpersonal relationships. 1) Develop capacity and skills to both participate in and facilitate critical conversations
CSWE Competencies
This course engages students to strengthen and demonstrate skills in the following CSWE competencies (CSWE, 2015):
1
Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior
Use reflection and self-regulation to manage personal values and maintain professionalism in practice situations (p. 7)
2
Engage diversity and difference in practice
Apply and communicate understanding of the importance of diversity and difference in shaping life experiences in practice at the micro, mezzo and macro levels; apply self-awareness and self-regulation to manage the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse clients and constituencies (p.7)
3
Advance human rights and social , economic and environmental justice
Apply understanding of social, economic, and environmental justice to be able to advocate for human rights at the individual and systems levels. (p.8)
6
Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person in environment and other multi-theoretical frameworks to engage with clients and constituencies; use empathy, reflection and interpersonal skills to effectively engage diverse clients and constituencies. (p. 9)
Instructional Methods
Dialogic instruction is the primary method applied in this course. The following principles ground the critical conversations model, instructional methods, content, and engagement in learning:
• Mutual responsibility for learning is cultivated and expected
• Dialogic instruction fosters collective engagement – power is shared to enhance individual and collective learning
• Immediate and historical relevance is recognized in context of interactions
• Building community is based upon humanizing not objectifying
• Presuming respect does not necessarily mean agreement
• Cumulative and iterative learning is on-going and can be enhanced with intentional efforts toward expanding critical consciousness
• All dialogue is purposeful
• Dialogue fosters intersubjective generation of knowledge and experience
• Dialogue is, in essence, relational
This will be a highly interactive course. In addition to providing theoretical grounding, selected readings and course materials will be applied in class discussions. Each session will include critical conversations. We will be using multiple methods, that may include and not be limited to fishbowl exercises, tapping in/tapping out, coaching, etc. Be prepared to engage a range of strategies including but not limited to reflection, meditation, and out of classroom individual exercises to advance critical awareness and knowledge.
Participation (30% of final grade)
• Be prepared, on time and participate as fully as possible. This will not only help you get the most from the course, it will also support our collective efforts to cultivate a vibrant and engaged learning environment.
o Be curious
o Do readings
o Participate in dialogue
• You know yourself best. You are invited in this course to pay attention to self and others; to witness yourself in reaction and action. Reflect in the moment and after class – all toward enhancing critical consciousness.
• Follow the group guidelines we develop as a class.
• Be curious and inquisitive. This stance supports exploration, openness, learning and growth.
• Practice being present and attentive. This enhances your capacity to stay engaged – even when a dialogue may be challenging.
Assignments and criteria for evaluation
INTEGRATION RESPONSE -- DUE Session 6 – will be accepted early after session 4 (25% of final grade)
Select one of the critical conversations we had in class. Complete the Critical Conversation Process Evaluation Tool and Integration Response Outline located at the end of syllabus and posted on Moodle.
Small Group Assignment and Individual Reflection (40% of final grade)
In-class small group assignment (practicing co-facilitation of critical conversations using CC Model) SESSIONS 7. 8, and 9
In order to prepare for the in- class small group assignment, in session 3 students will form small groups of 6-8 students in order to plan for sessions 7, 8, and 9 of the course.
Initial Preparation Tasks:
1. Students establish co-facilitation pairs
2. Co-facilitation pairs sign up to facilitate a critical conversation (session 7, 8, or 9)
a. NOTE: Only one co-facilitator pair per class session
b. We may need to also use session 10 depending on number of students enrolled
3. Co-facilitators select a reading, podcast, video, or other relevant material regarding a critical social justice issue to serve as the initial focus for a critical conversation
a. Co-facilitators share the material with Professors O’Neill and Goitia by session 5
4. Co-facilitators are welcome to meet with professors for consultation and we may ask to meet with co-facilitation pairs
Co-facilitation of Critical Conversation (using CC model) – 45 minutes in session 7, 8, or 9
Complete and submit the Critical Conversations Model Process Evaluation Tool – Attached to syllabus and posted on MOODLE
(DUE within one week of co-facilitating the critical conversation)
Learning Needs
The school is committed to ensuring universal access to course material and learning activities. If you require accommodations for a specific learning need please contact the Office of Disability Services at 413-585-2071 (Voice, TTY; TDD).
Writing Center
We encourage all students to take advantage of the Writing Counselors who have developed a program specifically for graduate students in social work. This program is not a remedial service, but rather a support for all writers. We in the SSW believe that all writers can benefit from feedback on their individual writing patterns, no matter what their level of expertise. The Writing Counselors also offer more intensive work on writing issues common to speakers and writers of English as a foreign language and people with learning disabilities. For detailed information on the program, consult the Moodle page “Writing Resources.”
The following language will be inserted in the lower portion of page one in all syllabi by the Office of Academic Support Services (OAS)
Critical conversations are those in which power dynamics in social context are illuminated, substantively examined in the moment and subsequently reflected upon in order to produce change—personal, systemic, institutional (Kang & O’Neill, 2018). This course will focus on supporting students in developing consciousness of structural power dynamics expressed through interpersonal interactions in dialogue – all with the aim to create change. Students will learn how to facilitate and enhance their authentic participation in discussions using the Critical Conversations (CC) Model in addition to other approaches grounded in humanist and critical pedagogy.
Course Objectives
Centering social justice issues and challenges students will:
1) Develop conceptual and theoretical understanding of the Critical Conversations model in context
2) Implement the Critical Conversations model with both consistency and flexibility
3) Expand their knowledge regarding manifestations of differential structural forces of oppression and opportunity across systems (individual, family, community, organizational, society, world),
4) Examine how structural power dynamics emerge, are enacted, and influence discourse and interpersonal engagement,
5) Cultivate their dialogic skills including,
a. Witnessing one’s level of connectedness through disagreement, tension and conflict;
b. Practicing “calling in” rather than “calling out” to attend to impact and mitigate potential for offensiveness and harm in critical conversations and
c. Applying a stance of curiosity and commitment to explore the intersection between structural forces of oppression (e.g., racism, genderism, ableism, classism, etc.) as enacted within interpersonal relationships. 1) Develop capacity and skills to both participate in and facilitate critical conversations
CSWE Competencies
This course engages students to strengthen and demonstrate skills in the following CSWE competencies (CSWE, 2015):
1
Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior
Use reflection and self-regulation to manage personal values and maintain professionalism in practice situations (p. 7)
2
Engage diversity and difference in practice
Apply and communicate understanding of the importance of diversity and difference in shaping life experiences in practice at the micro, mezzo and macro levels; apply self-awareness and self-regulation to manage the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse clients and constituencies (p.7)
3
Advance human rights and social , economic and environmental justice
Apply understanding of social, economic, and environmental justice to be able to advocate for human rights at the individual and systems levels. (p.8)
6
Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person in environment and other multi-theoretical frameworks to engage with clients and constituencies; use empathy, reflection and interpersonal skills to effectively engage diverse clients and constituencies. (p. 9)
Instructional Methods
Dialogic instruction is the primary method applied in this course. The following principles ground the critical conversations model, instructional methods, content, and engagement in learning:
• Mutual responsibility for learning is cultivated and expected
• Dialogic instruction fosters collective engagement – power is shared to enhance individual and collective learning
• Immediate and historical relevance is recognized in context of interactions
• Building community is based upon humanizing not objectifying
• Presuming respect does not necessarily mean agreement
• Cumulative and iterative learning is on-going and can be enhanced with intentional efforts toward expanding critical consciousness
• All dialogue is purposeful
• Dialogue fosters intersubjective generation of knowledge and experience
• Dialogue is, in essence, relational
This will be a highly interactive course. In addition to providing theoretical grounding, selected readings and course materials will be applied in class discussions. Each session will include critical conversations. We will be using multiple methods, that may include and not be limited to fishbowl exercises, tapping in/tapping out, coaching, etc. Be prepared to engage a range of strategies including but not limited to reflection, meditation, and out of classroom individual exercises to advance critical awareness and knowledge.
Participation (30% of final grade)
• Be prepared, on time and participate as fully as possible. This will not only help you get the most from the course, it will also support our collective efforts to cultivate a vibrant and engaged learning environment.
o Be curious
o Do readings
o Participate in dialogue
• You know yourself best. You are invited in this course to pay attention to self and others; to witness yourself in reaction and action. Reflect in the moment and after class – all toward enhancing critical consciousness.
• Follow the group guidelines we develop as a class.
• Be curious and inquisitive. This stance supports exploration, openness, learning and growth.
• Practice being present and attentive. This enhances your capacity to stay engaged – even when a dialogue may be challenging.
Assignments and criteria for evaluation
INTEGRATION RESPONSE -- DUE Session 6 – will be accepted early after session 4 (25% of final grade)
Select one of the critical conversations we had in class. Complete the Critical Conversation Process Evaluation Tool and Integration Response Outline located at the end of syllabus and posted on Moodle.
Small Group Assignment and Individual Reflection (40% of final grade)
In-class small group assignment (practicing co-facilitation of critical conversations using CC Model) SESSIONS 7. 8, and 9
In order to prepare for the in- class small group assignment, in session 3 students will form small groups of 6-8 students in order to plan for sessions 7, 8, and 9 of the course.
Initial Preparation Tasks:
1. Students establish co-facilitation pairs
2. Co-facilitation pairs sign up to facilitate a critical conversation (session 7, 8, or 9)
a. NOTE: Only one co-facilitator pair per class session
b. We may need to also use session 10 depending on number of students enrolled
3. Co-facilitators select a reading, podcast, video, or other relevant material regarding a critical social justice issue to serve as the initial focus for a critical conversation
a. Co-facilitators share the material with Professors O’Neill and Goitia by session 5
4. Co-facilitators are welcome to meet with professors for consultation and we may ask to meet with co-facilitation pairs
Co-facilitation of Critical Conversation (using CC model) – 45 minutes in session 7, 8, or 9
Complete and submit the Critical Conversations Model Process Evaluation Tool – Attached to syllabus and posted on MOODLE
(DUE within one week of co-facilitating the critical conversation)
Learning Needs
The school is committed to ensuring universal access to course material and learning activities. If you require accommodations for a specific learning need please contact the Office of Disability Services at 413-585-2071 (Voice, TTY; TDD).
Writing Center
We encourage all students to take advantage of the Writing Counselors who have developed a program specifically for graduate students in social work. This program is not a remedial service, but rather a support for all writers. We in the SSW believe that all writers can benefit from feedback on their individual writing patterns, no matter what their level of expertise. The Writing Counselors also offer more intensive work on writing issues common to speakers and writers of English as a foreign language and people with learning disabilities. For detailed information on the program, consult the Moodle page “Writing Resources.”
The following language will be inserted in the lower portion of page one in all syllabi by the Office of Academic Support Services (OAS)
- Instructor: Denise Goitia
- Instructor: Peggy O'Neill