Conflict Resolution resources

I played around with a few things last night. First, I went to the transcript of an interview I did last year with someone who works in alternative dispute resolution in a variety of different contexts. She identified issues such as the problem of frustrations building up and the assumptions we make that another person won't understand. Her emphasis was on people's need for acknowledgment, to feel heard and valued, as well as the importance of setting and reinforcing ground rules for that discourse to enable "effective talk." She also mentioned attribution theory, which I may have to investigate further, as her definition didn't quite jibe with the limited research I've done thus far.

Interesting to revisit, but mostly it helped me pick out a few key terms for further research.
I found a couple of good websites with information re: conflict resolution. Although this one is business oriented, I think the same sorts of parameters apply to most contexts.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_81.htm

This site discusses the benefits (some unexpected) of resolving conflicts, different styles of conflict resolution (competitive, collaborative, compromising, accommodating and avoiding) as well as one called the "Interest-Based Relational (IBR) Approach" which focusses on the relationships between individual standpoints. It also goes into established steps for resolving conflict: setting the scene, gathering information, agreeing on the problem, brainstorming for possible solutions and finally negotiating the solution.

Another website I found:

http://www.ohrd.wisc.edu/onlinetraining/resolution/index.asp

takes a slightly different approach by focussing on the more personal aspects of conflict.

Both are worth some time if you're interested in the subject.

Problem Based Learning

Hi,
I thought some information about Problem Based Learning (PBL) from here would be useful. There is a link to Interdiciplinary Journal of PBL if you scroll down that webpage. Furthermore, on the same page, you will find links to different theories of learning there on the website.

Resources

Here's the link to the U of T TA and Graduate Student Development conference:
http://www.teaching.utoronto.ca/conference2010/cfp.html

You'll recall (and for those who had to leave early), we left off with a few possibilities for how Gillian might respond based on what we could gather (facts and assumptions) from the scenario.

The task now is for each of us to do some further research to find out something that you think would help inform our understanding of Gillian's situation. "Research" can include conversations with other TAs, parents, friends, professors etc., and of course articles, scholarly books and journals, or any other item that you'd like to look into.

Post your idea or intended area of research (something doable between now and our next meeting on Feb 9 same time same place) and we'll report back on what we've each looked at/thought about. For my part (and since I might using this for my comps prep anyway), I will look into:

- bell hooks, Teaching Community: a Pedagogy of Hope

and

- George Fallis, Multiversities, ideas, and democracy

m

First Thoughts on Arts TA

Here are the two questions we contemplated last week, with brainstormed 'answers' (to be developed) listed below:

A) For those who participated in 2009, what did the Advanced Certificate do for you (this could be in terms of changing your approach to pedagogy, how you see your relation with the university, your relations with peers, or anything else that changed somehow in relation to your participation in program)? What outcomes would you like to see from this year's program?

B) For those thinking about participating in 2010, what would make the prospect of going through the Advanced Program (whatever that means to you) interesting? You might want to note some of the themes that you’re interested in pursuing or any other reasons why you’re interested in the program. What outcomes would you like to see from this year's program?

Peer-talking shop
- what actually happens (space to bounce actual problems)
- sharing best practices and problems
- sharing experience as powerful way to overcome isolation of teaching
- negotiating contradictory roles, e.g. with professors
Ethical dilemmas
- consciousness of power in the room
Safe environment for discussion
- more open space
- reflection on my position/experience
- reflection on the institution
Integration of anti-oppression
- conflict, deal with it better
- balance expression and anti-oppression learning
Reflections on identity
- my own as teacher
- students
- who am I going to be in the classroom? How to make sure students get out of it what they need to
Professional development
- refine details of teaching
- theories of learning and teaching