CCC 691: Reflective Practicum 1: Simulation and Case Study

Quarter One:

Course Description: Leading creative change requires thinking and reflecting in action. In our “Just do it!” lives, we seldom take time to examine our actions and learn from our experiences. Reflective practice is about learning from action and for action. Its roots lie in the seminal work of philosopher John Dewey and the writings of Donald Schön, a pioneer in the organizational development field. This course will introduce you to different ways that others have led and been involved in successful creative change and improve your ability to learn from your own and others' experiences. It is designed to prepare you for your own change project next year. Reflective Practicum 1 (RP1) will explore creative change at multiple levels of social systems through three consecutive quarters--fall, winter and spring. In Fall 2006, we will start by considering the role of the individual in social change and how to establish a learning community. We will then go on to explore community-level social change. In Winter 2007, we will address group dynamics as well as organizational change. Finally, in Spring 2007, we will focus on American cultural patterns and the role of twentieth century social movements in cultural-level change in the United States. At the same time as we are collectively exploring social change, you will individually develop your own area of interest in this subject. To do this, you will prepare a paper on your interests in the fall quarter and, based on this, a proposal for a Case Study in the winter quarter. You will conduct and reflect on your Case Study in the spring quarter.

Quarter Two:

In the fall quarter, Reflective Practicum 1 (RP1) explored creative social change in communities through a series of guided readings and activities.  Moreover, we began the process of developing a collaborative learning community, using methods that emphasize the importance of individual reflection and group discussion.  It was a very full quarter, in which you were asked to reflect on a substantial amount of information at the same time as you were adjusting to life as graduate students at the Center for Creative Change. You rose to these challenges magnificently!

In the winter quarter, we will build on our individual and collective experiences from the fall as we turn our attention to group dynamics and organizational change. For our purposes, an organization could include almost any group of people who come together with a common purpose such as private or public sector companies, government agencies, not-for-profit and volunteer organizations, political, religious and community organizations, etc. As part of our work this quarter, we will use our own experience as a group and an organization to learn about group dynamics and organizational change.  We will also continue to work on the individual areas of interest that you developed in the fall quarter by preparing proposals for the case studies that you will conduct in the spring quarter. 

Quarter Three:

Over the past two quarters in Reflective Practicum 1 (RP1) we have addressed community, small group, and organizational change processes. It is now time for us to expand our vision to include the broader cultural conditions that create the contexts for the changes we studied in fall and winter quarters. This spring, our focus will be on the ways in which all social systems maintain and change their cultures through human action, how Americans of diverse perspectives have created, sustained and transformed our culture. From this we hope to learn how it can be further transformed.

Chief among efforts at cultural change are social movements, which have been characterized as, “Collective actions in which the populace is alerted, educated and mobilized … to challenge the powerholders and the whole society to redress social problems or grievances and restore critical social values.”[1] This spring, you will be studying six social movements in small groups and reflecting on the way these illustrate processes of social change. You will also be engaged in limited inquiries of cultural and structural change in organizations or communities.

Change always occurs in the context of an existing, and seldom-questioned culture. All communities, groups and organizations embody and reflect the surrounding culture within which they are situated. This culture, comprising values, assumptions and ways of behaving, is rarely explicit and usually seems natural and appropriate to its members.  Social change requires and depends on calling attention to previously tacit cultural values, assumptions and ways of behaving—that is, the cultural doxa. Thus, animators of creative change in any social system must become knowledgeable about the culture they are struggling to alter or restore.