Externship Spirituality

Course Description

Currently there is an unprecedented amount of stress in our lives. This course affords students the opportunity to develop simple quick habits that can transform our perspective toward and ease the stress in our day-to-day lives. As an externship, it requires students to examine their usual learning style and to implement and observe a different learning style and report on this experience.

According to Thich Nhat Hanh, "Living leisurely starts with cultivating a calm, aware mental perspective, even while performing the simplest and most mundane of everyday tasks."

Spirituality is defined by Lou Brusanti as "...the Way of one's being in the world. Spirituality is about self-definition at its core is surrender to otherness; a responsiveness to otherness, a relatedness to otherness...We begin to get in touch with our spirituality when we become a bit more conscious of the unconscious."

Students will use personally designed practices in the area of spirituality and leisure to explore different learning styles and the connections between spirituality and leisure in balancing one's life. Students will keep reflective journals on their learning experience writing about what they do, how they see themselves and others, what they learned and how they learned it, and how they can integrate into their daily lives the concepts taught in this class beyond the duration of this course.

In this interactive class, a number of resources will be used including reading, small group work, video, in-class exercises, guided imagery, journaling, practices and reflection papers to articulate and demonstrate understanding of the competencies.

Course Learning Goals (Undergraduate)

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Understand the concepts of leisure and spirituality and how to use both as tools to create inner balance.
• Learn to design and carry out a meaningful experiential learning project which exhibits control of the learning methods used.
• Develop critical thinking skills by becoming aware of and questioning one's assumptions and those of others.
• Learn and hones skills of centering and reflection.
• Identify learning styles in order of preference and utilize learning methods to strengthen least preferred styles.

Course Learning Goals (Graduate)

1. Identify the role of stress and chronic stress in their lives
2. Identify the ways in which stress negatively impacts various areas of one’s life, e.g. academic performance, physical health, relationships and spiritual well-being
3. Learn and hone skills of centering, reflection, and mindfulness as key strategies for managing stress, e.g. academic performance, physical health, relationships
4. Manage stress through identifying and experiencing spiritual and leisure practices
5. Compare and contrast some of the recognized spirituality theorists
6. Understand the difference among the concepts of religion, spirituality, and faith
7. Begin to understand and develop one’s own adult faith (same)
8. Define and understand the concept of True Self through the lens of faith
9. Understand the concepts of leisure and spirituality and how to use both as tools to create inner balance

Course Competencies (Undergraduate Only)

In this course, you will develop the following competencies:

Course Resources

To buy your books, go to http://depaul-loop.bncollege.com. Books are also available at amazon.com. Please note that The Piver book is requried for the first class.

Required Reading

DeMello, Anthony. (1992) Awareness: the perils and opportunities of reality. Doubleday: NY., NY. (Graduate and Undergraduate)

Levoy, Gregg. (1998) Callings: Finding and following an authentic life. Three Rivers Press: NY., NY. (Graduate and Undergraduate)


O’Murchu, Diarmuid. (2010) Adult faith: growing in wisdom and understanding. Orbis Books: NY., NY. (Graduate Only)

Piver, Susan, ed. (2008) Quiet Mind: a beginner's guide to meditation. Shambhala Publishing: Boston, Ma. (Graduate and Undergraduate)

Articles on e-reserves or within course

Undergraduate and Graduate students:

Chittister, Joan. 2008. Wisdom. Pp. 123-128 in Gift of Years. New York: BlueBridge.

Dirkx, John. 2001. The Power of Feelings: Emotion, Imagination, and the Construction of Meaning in Adult Learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education 89 (Spring): 63-71.

Lesser, Elizabeth. 1999. Mindfulness. Pp. 88-96 in The Seeker's Guide: Making your Life a Spiritual Adventure. New York: Villard.

Lesser, Elizabeth. 1999. The New American Spirituality. Pp. 51-58 in The Seeker's Guide: Making Your Life a Spiritual Adventure. New York: Villard.

Merriam, Sharan B., and Rosemary S. Caffarella. 1999. Transformational Learning. Pp. 318-339 (Chap. 14) in Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Miller, Jack. 2002. Learning from a Spiritual Perspective. Pp. 95-102 (Chap. 8) in Expanding the Boundaries of Transformative Learning: Essays on Theory and Praxis. Ed. E. V. O'Sullivan, A. Morrell, and M. A. O'Connor. New York: Palgrave.

Palmer, Parker J. 2000. Now I Become Myself. Pp. 9-29 (Chap. II) in Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Pausch, Randy. 2007. Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. Lecture given at Carnegie Mellon University (Sept. 18). [Online]. Available: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/pauschlastlecturetranscript.pdf

Pieper, Josef. 1993. Leisure As a Spiritual Attitude. Weavings 8 (2): 67-71.

Puddicome, Andy: Mindfulness, Ted Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/andy_puddicombe_all_it_takes_is_10_mindful_minutes

Tisdell, Elizabeth J. 2003. Claiming a Sacred Face. Pp. 89-93 (Part II) in Exploring Spirituality and Culture in Adult and Higher Education. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Graduate Students Only

Schneiderman, Neil, et.al. Stress and Health: Psychological, Behavioral, and Biological Determinants. Annual Review Clinical Psychology. 2005;1:607-628

Course Grading Scale

Externship is a course in the Lifelong Learning Area and is graded pass/fail.

Students who desire a letter grade should request it in writing at the beginning of the quarter.

Grades lower than a C- do not earn credit or competence at the School for New Learning. Students wishing to be graded on this letter grade scale must inform the course instructor of this preference before the end of the 2nd week of the quarter. After the 2nd week, requests for a change in the grading basis cannot be approved.

For SNL courses taken for Pass/Fail, a “Pass” represents a grade of “A” for purposes of financial aid and employer reimbursement.

Grading Policies and Practices

To complete the course, you must complete each of the assignments as described in the course and submit them to your instructor by the assigned deadline. In addition, you must participate in the course discussion forum by responding to all instructor requests and by interacting with fellow classmates as necessary.

Late submissions will result in a 1 point deduction per day.

Course Structure

This course consists of 10 modules. The estimated time to complete each module is 10 weeks. The following table outlines the course:

To see course due dates, click on the Checklist link on the top navigation bar. This page contains module-specific checklists and due dates for the work due in the course.

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Assessment of Learning

Overview of Weekly Assignments

Certain assignments will be standard every week, although the instructions will change according to the subject matter.

• Opening and Closing Reflections
• Readings, Class Materials and Assignments specific to the week's topic.
• Conducting your choice/instructor approved spiritual and leisure practice (3 times a week for each)
• Discussion Forums specific to the week's topic
• Weekly journal writing about your readings, experiences with leisure and spirituality practice, and other topics as assigned
• Participation (starting week 2) in a group Book Review (group presentation due in Week 9).
• Final Paper/Project (week 10)

Percentage distribution of Assessments

General Assessment Criteria for All Writing Assignments

All writing assignments are expected to conform to basic college-level standards of mechanics and presentation.

Consider visiting the Writing Center to discuss your assignments for this course or any others. You may schedule appointments (30 or 50 minutes) on an as–needed or weekly basis, scheduling up to 3 hours worth of appointments per week. Online services include Feedback–by–Email and IM conferencing (with or without a webcam). All writing center services are free.

Writing Center tutors are specially selected and trained graduate and undergraduate students who can help you at almost any stage of your writing. They will not do your work for you, but they can help you focus and develop your ideas, review your drafts, and polish your writing. They can answer questions about grammar, mechanics, different kinds of writing styles, and documentation formats. They also can answer questions and provide feedback online, through IM/webcam chats and email. Obviously, the tutors won’t necessarily be familiar with every class or subject, but they are able to provide valuable help from the perspective of an interested and careful reader as well as a serious and experienced student-writer.

Schedule your appointments with enough time to think about and use the feedback you’ll receive. To schedule a Face-to-Face, Written Feedback by Email, or Online Appointment, visit www.depaul.edu/writing.

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Online Discussion

Discussion Forums

Discussion Forums are an important component of your online experience. This course contains discussion forums related to the topics you are studying each week. For requirements on your participation in the Discussion Forums, please see "Course Expectations" in the syllabus.

A Course Q & A discussion forum has also been established to manage necessary, ongoing social and administrative activities. This is where the management and administrative tasks of the course are conducted, and where you can ask 'process' questions and receive answers throughout the course. Please feel free to answer any question if you feel you know the answer; this sharing of information is valuable to other students.

College and University Policies

This course includes and adheres to the college and university policies described in the links below:

Academic Integrity Policy (UGRAD)

Academic Integrity Policy (GRAD)

Incomplete Policy

Course Withdrawal Timelines and Grade/Fee Consequences

Accommodations Based on the Impact of a Disability

Protection of Human Research Participants

APA citation format (GRAD)

Additional Course Resources

University Center for Writing-based Learning

SNL Writing Guide

Dean of Students Office

Changes to Syllabus

This syllabus is subject to change as necessary. If a change occurs, it will be clearly communicated to students.

Credits

This course was designed and produced by faculty and staff at SNL Online of the School for New Learning of DePaul University.

© 2017 School for New Learning, DePaul University. All Rights Reserved by SNL.