AUS Senior Synthesis Evalutation 6/09
For her final undergraduate learning experience and senior synthesis, Kirsten took on a teaching assignment: to present her understanding of Paleopsychology to an audience who was unfamiliar with the discipline. Essentially, this was Kirsten’s course on Paleopsychology 101. Her learning goals were as follows:
1. To further refine the organization of her understanding and practice of Paleopsychological methods
2. To demonstrate the depth and breadth of her understanding of Paleopsychology
3. To educate the public through facilitation of a community workshop on Paleopsychology
4. To learn to communicate her vision clearly, creatively and concisely
Kirsten carefully set up a plan for assembling various materials for this presentation and laid out a schedule for the completion of her assignments. The demonstrations of her learning included:
1. Speaking for approximately 20 minutes on the relevance of the evolution of consciousness
2. Demonstrating 3 different teaching/learning methods: lecture, experiential demonstration and seminar
3. Producing a position paper on the major principles and methods of Paleopsychology (3-5p)
4. Produce a 3-5min digital presentation re: acting and physical theatre as psychology and cultural healing
5. Produce a 4-11min digital presentation about the importance of Paleopsychology in our times
6. Provide 2 examples of the application of Paleopsychological method
Kirsten then advertised and assembled a large audience for her two and a half hour presentation on Paleopsychology, given on June 19, 2009. She had a fantastic turnout and gave an outstanding performance. She has a good speaking voice and was clear and attentive to her audience. She was able to think on her feet and improvise to meet the situation at hand. Her group therapeutic skills were on display and she was careful to respect boundaries and confidentiality. Her videos were skillfully done and entertaining to watch. Most importantly, she was able to communicate her enthusiasm for this topic to her audience in a way that allowed them to engage it as well. Kirsten is a gifted presenter and this demonstration illustrated her readiness to engage the public as a teacher and healer in her chosen field of Paleopsychology.
Kirsten’s own self-evaluation reads as follows:
“It has been a challenging task to complete as much as I have through the course of this Independent Study project. As much of the product of the course was oral and experiential, I am glad that I planned to have the evening videotaped. I have learned as much or more through viewing and reflecting on the final presentation than I did in creating it, and the act of creating it was no small task or scant educational experience in itself.
20-Minute Lecture: I found it difficult to decide what not to say in this presentation. There is so much that can be explored that I found myself imagining a series of weekend workshops on the subject. My ability to organize and present information has improved immensely.
3 Teaching/Learning Methods: I am sad that the 3rd method, seminar, got very short shrift due to starting late and the experiential constellation portion going long. I now think that having the seminar portion before the experiential part would serve the group better by stimulating connection, opening and group bonding. I will always advocate for seminar discussions as opposed to Q&A because it opens everyone to his or her own wisdom and the wisdom of the group
Position Paper: This was crucial in helping me figure out what the backbone structure of Paleopsychology is; what is essential to its discipline and what supports the subject, and what does not.
Digital Presentations: These were a lot of work and a satisfying way to re-learn how to express myself in today’s digital medium. I very much enjoyed playing with imagery, sound and voice as a catalyst for triggering innate archetypal responses. I am grateful for this experience and look forward to doing more with this art form as a means to educating people about Paleopsychology and related subjects.
I feel that in completing this project I have successfully launched myself into a solid experience of the practical application of Paleopsychology. The experience has been invaluable in validating my sense of the importance of the material to our species for our time, my confidence in my own ability to effectively engage with the subject in a public setting, and, just as importantly, my confidence in my friends, family, communities and fellow humans’ willingness to engage with it as well.
In the end I am wiser and more organized in my engagement with Paleopsychology as a discipline, the principles of its methodology, its application in cultural healing and indigenous advocacy, its genesis in my heart and the heart of the human species, and its role in addressing the quandary of our current global eco-crisis through catalyzing conscious collective evolution.”
Kirsten deserves full credit for her outstanding work on this senior synthesis project.
1. To further refine the organization of her understanding and practice of Paleopsychological methods
2. To demonstrate the depth and breadth of her understanding of Paleopsychology
3. To educate the public through facilitation of a community workshop on Paleopsychology
4. To learn to communicate her vision clearly, creatively and concisely
Kirsten carefully set up a plan for assembling various materials for this presentation and laid out a schedule for the completion of her assignments. The demonstrations of her learning included:
1. Speaking for approximately 20 minutes on the relevance of the evolution of consciousness
2. Demonstrating 3 different teaching/learning methods: lecture, experiential demonstration and seminar
3. Producing a position paper on the major principles and methods of Paleopsychology (3-5p)
4. Produce a 3-5min digital presentation re: acting and physical theatre as psychology and cultural healing
5. Produce a 4-11min digital presentation about the importance of Paleopsychology in our times
6. Provide 2 examples of the application of Paleopsychological method
Kirsten then advertised and assembled a large audience for her two and a half hour presentation on Paleopsychology, given on June 19, 2009. She had a fantastic turnout and gave an outstanding performance. She has a good speaking voice and was clear and attentive to her audience. She was able to think on her feet and improvise to meet the situation at hand. Her group therapeutic skills were on display and she was careful to respect boundaries and confidentiality. Her videos were skillfully done and entertaining to watch. Most importantly, she was able to communicate her enthusiasm for this topic to her audience in a way that allowed them to engage it as well. Kirsten is a gifted presenter and this demonstration illustrated her readiness to engage the public as a teacher and healer in her chosen field of Paleopsychology.
Kirsten’s own self-evaluation reads as follows:
“It has been a challenging task to complete as much as I have through the course of this Independent Study project. As much of the product of the course was oral and experiential, I am glad that I planned to have the evening videotaped. I have learned as much or more through viewing and reflecting on the final presentation than I did in creating it, and the act of creating it was no small task or scant educational experience in itself.
20-Minute Lecture: I found it difficult to decide what not to say in this presentation. There is so much that can be explored that I found myself imagining a series of weekend workshops on the subject. My ability to organize and present information has improved immensely.
3 Teaching/Learning Methods: I am sad that the 3rd method, seminar, got very short shrift due to starting late and the experiential constellation portion going long. I now think that having the seminar portion before the experiential part would serve the group better by stimulating connection, opening and group bonding. I will always advocate for seminar discussions as opposed to Q&A because it opens everyone to his or her own wisdom and the wisdom of the group
Position Paper: This was crucial in helping me figure out what the backbone structure of Paleopsychology is; what is essential to its discipline and what supports the subject, and what does not.
Digital Presentations: These were a lot of work and a satisfying way to re-learn how to express myself in today’s digital medium. I very much enjoyed playing with imagery, sound and voice as a catalyst for triggering innate archetypal responses. I am grateful for this experience and look forward to doing more with this art form as a means to educating people about Paleopsychology and related subjects.
I feel that in completing this project I have successfully launched myself into a solid experience of the practical application of Paleopsychology. The experience has been invaluable in validating my sense of the importance of the material to our species for our time, my confidence in my own ability to effectively engage with the subject in a public setting, and, just as importantly, my confidence in my friends, family, communities and fellow humans’ willingness to engage with it as well.
In the end I am wiser and more organized in my engagement with Paleopsychology as a discipline, the principles of its methodology, its application in cultural healing and indigenous advocacy, its genesis in my heart and the heart of the human species, and its role in addressing the quandary of our current global eco-crisis through catalyzing conscious collective evolution.”
Kirsten deserves full credit for her outstanding work on this senior synthesis project.