Program of Study

 

 

 

Background for Integrative Learning

There is a growing awareness that our current institutions, including educational institutions, are not addressing the world's most pressing issues: ecological well-being, social justice, violence, alienation, and a lack of meaning and inspiration.

There is an extraordinary need for institutions to understand the new social reality. Educational programs, which have so much impact on the ability to effectively deal with these issues, have a particularly strong obligation in this regard. This M.Ed. in Integrative Learning draws on the ideas and practices of those who have deeply studied and wisely responded to today's opportunities and problems.

 

 

The Great Work

The Great Work is a phrase coined by Cultural Historian, Thomas Berry in his 1999 book of the same title. Berry proposed that the Great Work of our time comes in response to the recognition that the ecological devastation we see around us is the result of human activity. He asserted that the task before us is to reinvent the human to become a benign, but active presence on Earth.

Each of us begins this task by responding to what Mathematical Cosmologist Brian Swimme describes as "the allurements that beckon us, by following our passions and interests" The Great Work involves aligning our personal sense of allurement with the larger creative dynamics of the Earth community.

This program provides an opportunity for students to contextualize their own interests. It is an holistic approach that supports the transformative dimension of learning

"...a viable future for the human community rests largely upon a new relationship between the human communities and the planet... We would have no inner life of mind, imagination or emotion without the wonder, the beauty and intimacy offered us by the dawn and sunset, the singing birds and the cry of the wolf, by the meadows and all their flowers, by the grandeur of the mountains and the vastness of the sea. To preserve all this in its integrity is the common task before us."
Thomas Berry

 

 

Questions that contextualize the course of study include:

How does integrative learning create a context for exploring one’s Great Work?

What is a learning community and what capacities are evoked through participation?

In what ways can we bring a sense of community - local, regional and global - to the learning process?

How does systems-thinking lead to eco-learning and the creation of integrative approaches?

How can transformative education establish a foundation for students to develop their personal contributions to a healthier and more sustainable Earth community?

 

 

Collaborative Learning Communities

During recent years there has been a proliferation of courses and degrees offered under the umbrella of distance learning. For the most part these academic pursuits are similar to attending a conventional university. The professor lectures and gives out assignments, students submit papers, there are tests and there are grades.

In contrast we promote an integrative view hosted by a uniquely designed online education eCampus where students work in collaborative learning communities; where faculty are mentors and co-learners; where creativity and self-direction are valued; and where there is a an understanding of dialogue as process.

Communication embraces an appreciation for each person's contribution to the learning process.

The Endicott-TIES eCampus uses Catalyst software which is a highly customizable social space for community development, collaborative learning, in-depth conversations, and systems thinking in a supportive atmosphere that is focused and well-organized.

 

 

About the eCampus

The heart of the teaching and learning process relies on interactive dialogues accessible through state of the art conferencing software. Faculty and students meet in asynchronous classroom conferences, building upon one another's insights and understanding.

Once signed-on to the eCampus, students have an opportunity to become an active member of an enthusiastic learning community - exchanging ideas, problem-solving and responding to dialogue with students and faculty from diverse cultures and countries. There are formal and informal meetings in community journals that are relevant to current life experience.

In addition to text-based learning, there are podcasts and video DVD’s for Montessori theory lectures and for the demonstration of lessons. Faculty-practitioners advise and mentor students throughout the program. Most graduates and students will tell you that the on-line community becomes a second "home" for gathering with people who share a common vision. This web-based Internet medium offers adults a prepared environment where content and process are integrated.

eCampus activities include: meaningful interaction through directed readings; pondering provocative questions posed by faculty and students; replying to postings of other students; and online dialogues. These dialogues embrace the spirit and intent of the work of J. Krishnamurti and David Bohm.

 

"If the dynamics of the Universe from the beginning shaped the course of the [stars], lighted the sun, and formed the Earth...there is reason to believe that this same guiding process is precisely what has awakened in us our present understanding of ourselves and our relation to this stupendous process.."
Thomas Berry

 

 

Integrative Learning Seminars

The core material and course work is presented through a series of on-line seminars where students and faculty post responses to an assigned reading (or viewing).

Subsequent to the initial posting, participants comment and weave responses, searching for new insights. Quite often the authors of the books and/or experienced scholars are available during the on-line dialogue.

A sample of an integrative seminar dialogue can be accessed from the download section at the bottom of this page.

 

 

Area of Emphasis

Each student chooses an area of emphasis --a passionate interest-- within the concentration of Integrative Learning. This "independent" portion of the work accounts for one third of the degree requirements. The integrative seminars provide a "lens" for the exploration of this emphasis area.

Examples include, environmental awareness, media literacy, art education, sense of place, leadership, learning communities, transformative education, holistic leadership, cosmology, art and community, experiential education, caring in the culinary arts, ecoliteracy, experiential learning, Earth education, administration, elementary music programs, and spiritual ecology.

All of this work is encountered with the implicit goal of developing students' content and process-based knowledge for contribution to the Earth Community.

 

 

Experiential Learning

The experiential learning or practicum is based on your Emphasis Area. Students take their new knowledge and apply it in a real setting. The practicum emerges from the research question(s) one chooses to explore and involves a minimum of 150 hours of applied learning.

 

 

Dialogue

Our premise is that humanity has the possibility of reclaiming a sustainable relationship with the Earth. One of the processes of communication that makes this possible is dialogue. In this case we refer to a variation on a particular form of dialogue described by Physicist, David Bohm. Bohm's constant thread that particularly relates to our dialogue is that we are investigating the possibilities for:

• The emergence of shared meaning
• Increasing awareness of our own and others assumptions
• Increasing sensitivity and willingness to "listen"
• The creation of space between our reaction and our response
• A willingness to experiment with the principles described

Our approach to dialogue is enhanced through the medium of the eCampus. Some graduates have called this a transformative experience.

Throughout the three semesters faculty and students also engage in telephone conference calls.

 

 

Downloads

Required Book List (HTML)
Course Titles and Descriptions (PDF)
Integrative Seminar Excerpts (PDF)