Inquiry Into Work, the Self and Purpose
Course Outline – HTH SCI 3T03
Inquiry into Work, the Self and Purpose
Fall 2017
C01 Monday 2:30 – 5:20
with Laurie Barlow
C02 Tuesday 5:30 – 8:20
with Laurie Barlow i
C03 Thursday 11:30 – 2:20
with Laurie Barlow i
C04 Wednesday 5:30 – 8:20
with Laurie Barlow
C05 Monday 11:30 – 2:20
with Rebecca Markey
Course Objective:
Together we will explore work, self and purpose using approaches including career/life design.Students will undertake group projects and personal reflection and will complete assessment tools with a view to integrating a critical appreciation of course content into their career and life decision-making.
Learning Objectives:
In facilitating this course and evaluating your evidence we will be looking for:
Growth in your self knowledge, and depth in your personal awareness and insight
The ability to connect your experiences to aspects of yourself, for example to explore, understand and articulate those connections
Use of creativity and critical engagement with the course content and with yourself
The ability to understand and integrate your personal career concerns into the wider context of the world of work and approaches to career and life design
Evidence of having begun to develop a personal framework for making meaningful life choices
The demonstration of inquiry skills in keeping with Inquiry I (HTH SCI 1E06)
Effective collaboration with classmates and genuine respect for others - their perspectives, choices, experiences, values, etc.
Course Readings:
Mandatory for all students:
Burnett, B. and Evans, D. (2016) Designing Your Life: How To Build A Well-Lived Joyful Life. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
McGuiness, M. (2016) You’ve Got Personality. Sydney: MaryMac Books.
Other readings may be assigned during class.
Course Description:
The course will follow an inquiry model emphasizing the integration of content with personal development. Our learning will of course unfold. To assist that process we have put together the following elements and a minimal structure, which may be adapted to better suit our needs.
The first third of the course focuses upon deepening students’ awareness of their own skills, values, strengths, etc. in particular as they relate to career and life design. This will include the use of assessments (formal and informal) and completion of activities and reflections based on the course text. Each student’s assessment results will be kept confidential, and will not be used in evaluation.
In the second third of the course, we will broaden our perspectives through discussion and course content. This will include an introduction to historical and contemporary approaches to career and life design including student development theory, complexity and chaos theory as applied to careers, and perspectives on work, education, leisure, and purpose.
We will also enjoy a class together facilitated using Open Space Technology.
During the final third of the course we will increase our focus on working in small groups. Students will form small groups to complete class activities. In addition these small groups will take responsibility for facilitating the class’s learning through a question that is relevant to the course and for which group members have genuine passion. Class time will be allotted for group work, with the expectation that groups will also require time outside of class to complete well-researched and engaging activities. These activities will be shared with the class before the end of term – typically in classes #10 and #11.
Your facilitator will support you in your integration of course content with self-awareness and understanding. This will be achieved through time together in class and through an invitation to meet individually with your facilitator midway through the term. The purpose of that interview will be to discuss your experience of the course and assist you in formulating your approach to the final integration paper. Interview dates will be scheduled by your facilitator.
Evaluation:
1.Reflections – 10 are to be submitted in total, to your section’s Learnlink Reflections folder. They will be weighted 30% of the final mark. Reflections on the first 9 classes should be about 2 pages in length, in order to substantially address your learning goals at that moment in the course. The remaining tenth reflection should be 3-4 pages in length; it will be a reflection on an interview that you will conduct with a family member of a different generation, arising from an activity in class #2. The reflections on classes 1-9 are due at 12 noon the day preceding your next class, e.g. 12 noon on Sunday for students in a Monday section. Reflection #10 will be due by our final class together. Reflections will be read only by your facilitator, and individual feedback on them will be given during the mid term interview. You will also evaluate your own reflections before submitting them, using a rubric. If you miss a class for which a reflection is required, please follow up with your facilitator before the due date for further instructions.
2. Course engagement and class participation is essential in 3TO3. By this we mean: showing up, being present, paying attention to what has heart and meaning for you and for your fellow classmates, and letting go of preconceived notions. Course engagement/participation will be weighted 15% of the final mark.
3. The interactive learning activities/ presentations led by working groups (typically during our 10th and 11th classes together) will also be evaluated for their effectiveness in advancing the our learning objectives. They will be weighted 15% of the final mark.
4.A final 10 - 12 page integration paper(double spaced) will be required together with a self evaluation of the paper. Both are to be submitted electronically following the specific instructions given by your facilitator. They will be weighted 40% of the final mark. Both the integration paper and self evaluation of it are due no later than 12 noon Friday December 1st. A hard copy of each one may also be required. The evaluation criteria for the paper will be distributed and discussed in class as well as in the mid term interviews. Briefextensions of this deadline may be possible upon request but will not be encouraged. The ability to complete course work in an active, self-directed and timely way will be encouraged in this course, in keeping with our emphasis on building skills for life and work. Your facilitator will discuss this in class.
5. Facilitators may deduct marks for late submissions, to a maximum of1.5 % per day (each 24 hour period after the due date). For example, an integration paper/self evaluation submitted 48 hours late would decrease a student’s final grade for 3T03 by 3%, such as a final grade of 80 rather than 83.
Standards and Scholarship for the Integration Paper:
Basic standards: use APA standards for referencing, correct grammar and spelling, and a coherent structure and organization.
Scholarship standards: emphasis will be placed on analytical consistency, a working understanding of concepts, and evidence of critical and self critical engagement with the issues and the course material.
You will not be graded on the basis of the values and ideas that you express but on the approaches you take to understanding and reflecting upon them.
Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”) and/or suspension or expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3, located at
The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
1. Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which previous credit has been obtained.
2. Improper collaboration in group work.
3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in test and examinations.
In this course we may be using a software package designed to reveal plagiarism.Students will be required to submit their work electronically and in hard copy so that it can be checked for academic dishonesty.
Additional notes from the facilitators
In the context of 3T03 our goal is to support students' learning. Occasionally a student or facilitator identifies a learning concern related to 3T03 and both agree to work further together on it, after the completion of the course.
The primary goal of this work is to facilitate that student's learning. While a grade revision is a possible additional result,it is not the focus of this work.
We rely on students to self identify to us in this regard, and it is at the facilitator's discretion whether or how to work further with a student. This is not about 'upgrading' a mark but about remediating a skill area related to the course, in keeping with the course's developmental objectives.
We encourage students who need accommodations related to their learning needs to use the resources of Student Accessibility Services
Facilitator Contact Information:
All student meetings will be by appointment only, unless otherwise posted by your facilitator in your 3T03 section’s Learnlink folder.
Laurie Barlow
Inquiry 3T03 and 1E06 Facilitator
BHSc (Honours) Program
Email: via Learnlink
Rebecca Markey
Inquiry 3T03 Facilitator
BHSc (Honours) Program
Email: via Learnlink
1