2010-11 CEREMONY: Relating Hospitably to the Land

This program is for learners who have a research topic (with a major focus on spirituality and community) in mind, as well as for those who would like to learn how to do research in a learner-centered environment. Learners will be exposed to research methods, ethnographic research and interviewing techniques, writing workshops, computer literacy, library workshops, moving River of Culture Moments to documentary, educational technology and the educational philosophy that supports this program. Yvonne Peterson will offer theory-to-praxis workshops to support the particular academic needs of first and second-year participants.

We ask participants to take a personal stake in their educational development. Within the program's spirituality and community theme and subjects, learners will pay special attention to what individual and group work they plan on doing, how they plan to learn, how they will know they learned it, and what difference the work will make in their lives and within their communities. Learners will be encouraged to assume responsibility for their choices. Faculty and learners together will work to develop habits of worthwhile community interaction in the context of the education process and liberation. We are interested in providing an environment of collaboration where faculty and learners will identify topics of mutual interest and act as partners in the exploration of those topics.

Learners will develop individual projects (with an academic focus on ceremony, hospitality and community in close relationship to the land) to examine what it means to live in a pluralistic society at the beginning of the 21st century. Through each learner's area of interest, we will look at a variety of cultural and historical perspectives and use them to help address issues connected to the program theme. Work will be concentrated in cultural studies, human resource development, and ethnographic studies to include historical and political implications of encounters, and cross-cultural communication. We shall explore Native American perspectives and look at issues that are particularly relevant to Indigenous people of the Americas.

In the fall, participants will state research questions. In late fall and winter, individually and in small study groups, learners will develop the historical background for their chosen questions and do the integrative review of the literature and data collection. Ongoing workshops will allow participants to learn the skills for completing their projects. Late winter and into spring quarter, students will write conclusions, wrap up projects and prepare for a public presentation. The last part of spring will be entirely dedicated to presentations.

Depending on their individual projects, learners will develop, use and explore some of the following areas: Bloom's Taxonomy; the theory of multiple intelligence; curriculum development, assessment and instruction and Choice Theory; expectations of an Evergreen graduate and the five foci; quantitative reasoning; self- and group-motivation; and communication (to include dialogue, e-mail, resources on the Web and our moodle site). They will also develop skills in creating interactive Web pages, blogs and documentaries, as well as iMovie editing and presentations using PowerPoint or YouTube.