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Photo: Justin Lubin / NBC.

My Teaching Philosophy

I believe that learning is a form of liberation. It sets you on the path towards greater independence, self-mastery, and success in life. When done with others (as is often the case), it also strengthens our relationships, creating communities of mutual respect and trust. I am truly humbled to serve you in that journey. For this particular course, I will work with you to cultivate your abilities to negotiate and resolve conflict with others. I do all this with a spirit of generosity, hoping that you too will freely share your gifts to better the lives of those around you.

 

Our Pact

What you can expect from me:

1. I will treat you with dignity and respect and be flexible to support your individual needs.
2. I will provide you with a clear, organized course that is designed to ensure you meet our learning outcomes in a meaningful manner.
3. I will be actively present in your learning.
4. I will provide a supportive and safe environment for you to share and discuss ideas with your peers.
5. I will reach out to you when I sense that you need support.
6. I won’t be perfect. I am human and will make mistakes at times. I will view mistakes as an opportunity to learn and grow.

What I will expect from you:

1. You will treat me and your peers with dignity and respect.
2. You will strive to be an active participant in this course and aim to meet due dates.
3. You will maintain an open line of communication with me so I understand how to support you.
4. You will strive to regularly contribute to collaborative activities to ensure other members of the community have ample opportunity to read/listen, reflect, and respond to your ideas.
5. You will contact me if you have a concern with meeting a due date.
6. You will give yourself grace. Expect to make mistakes. You are human and mistakes are part of learning and growing.

(This pact comes from Michelle Pacansky-Brock. Generally speaking, this whole welcome page draws on many of her insights—she’s an inspiration!)

 

Week #1 Success Kit

This course will start moving quickly, and getting off to a good start is the best way to prepare yourself for success. Read this page carefully and you’ll have all you need to start this course on the right foot!

Due Dates for Week #1

Sunday, August 28 at 12:00PM (noon), Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time
(All the extra credit due this day qualifies for an additional 36-hour grace period for completion.)

• Complete all these items of introductory extra credit:

1. Complete the Conflict Reflection. This just has you spend 15 minutes reflecting on what conflict means to you. This is not graded, but gives you a chance to write or list out the (emotional, intellectual, personal, impersonal, whatever) associations you have when you hear the word “conflict”.
2. Watch all the orientation videos in the Orientation Videos section on UB Learns, and complete their Panopto quizzes. (Some of these videos are the same as those posted here, but just open these up in Panopto so you can answer their quiz questions. Also, these quizzes should be super easy. And if you don’t know an answer, just rewind the video to find it!)
3. Fill out the introductory survey that is posted on Google Forms.
4. Read the Academic Honor Code for the course and “sign” the Honor Agreement.

Completing each item (which includes each individual orientation video) earns you 0.25 of a free pass. So that means you have the chance to start the course with some additional free passes.

In any case, the purpose of doing all these is to encourage you to get a jump start on the course. If you encounter any problems with this course website, UB Learns, Panopto, Box, or Twitter, let me know and I will be sure to fix them!

Monday, August 29 at 3:00PM (noon), Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time

• Our first day of class! Before class, be sure to do the reading, look over the reading questions, and come prepared for some excitement: I have an activity planned for earning some participation points.

Tuesday, August 30 at 12:00PM (noon), Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time
(All the items due this day qualify for an additional 36-hour grace period for completion.)

• Complete all these items for earning introductory participation points:

1. Complete the Conflict Reflection. This just has you spend 15 minutes reflecting on what conflict means to you. This is not graded, but gives you a chance to write or list out the (emotional, intellectual, personal, impersonal, whatever) associations you have when you hear the word “conflict”.
2. Watch all the orientation videos in the Orientation Videos section on UB Learns, and complete their Panopto quizzes. (Some of these videos are the same as those posted here, but just open these up in Panopto so you can answer their quiz questions. Also, these quizzes should be super easy. And if you don’t know an answer, just rewind the video to find it!)
3. Fill out the introductory survey that is posted on Google Forms.
4. Read the Academic Honor Code for the course and “sign” the Honor Agreement.

Yup—each of these items is the same as from the list of extra credit items. So if you already did these, then you are already done! If not, you can still earn 1,000 participation points for doing each of these. (Each video is counted as a separate item for earning participation points. So a lot of points are available!)

Wednesday, August 31 at 1:50PM, Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time

• Our second class meeting! As before, do the reading and look over the reading questions. There’s also another activity is planned to earn even more participation points. It’s going to be 🔥🔥🔥.

Friday, September 2 at 1:50PM, Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time

• Our third class meeting! As usual, do the reading and look over the reading questions. Hopefully you are now getting into the groove of things, and are ready for an exciting semester!

Sunday, September 4 at 12:00PM (noon), Buffalo (Eastern Standard) Time
(Keep in mind that all self-reflection assignments qualify for an additional 36-hour grace period for completion.)

• Submit your self-reflection #1. This assignment has you think about how you tend to approach conflict with other people. In doing this, you will also need to talk with your family and friends. You’ll likely be impressed at their insights into your behavior. Of course, they’ll probably say stuff you disagree with—and that is fine too!

Log into UB Learns now

Check out the Syllabus, too!