Ann Lynch, University of Maine-Farmington
Professor Ann Lynch teaches a freshman seminar on GoodWork at University of Maine-Farmington. Her semester-long class incorporates the GoodWork Toolkit along with Howard Gardner’s Five Minds to shape the syllabus. The class aims to foster an understanding of the complexities of the professional world and the challenges that arise in pursuing a meaningful and ethical career. Professor Lynch’s students use ethical dilemmas, discussions, and projects to explore ideas of excellent, ethical and engaging work in the professional world and the students’ daily lives.
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology. Common Sense Media exists because our nation’s children spend more time with media and digital activities than they do with their families or in school, which profoundly impacts their social, emotional, and physical development . As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, Common Sense provides trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume.
Design for Change, India
Design for Change is a global movement that challenges youth to put their ideas into action. The contest asks students to “feel, imagine, and do” and discover that they can make changes in their communities and worldwide. The Design for Change movement was founded around Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of children ‘being the change.’ Students work in groups of 5, choosing an issue that bothers them and then finding a solution to the problem through teamwork and creativity. Their efforts are documented and then submitted for a country-wide competition annually. In 2 years, Design for Change has spread to 21 countries, fueled solely by passion, belief, and a sense of purpose. In addition to our admiration and support for all they do, we have also conducted research to evaluate the positive effects of this competition on students and faculty from participating schools. Read more at: http://www.designforchangecontest.com/.
The Education Conservancy
Established in March, 2004, The Education Conservancy (EC) is a non-profit organization committed to improving college admission processes for students, colleges and high schools. By harnessing the research, ideas, leadership and imagination of thoughtful educators, EC delivers appropriate advice, advocacy and services. In a short period of time EC has established its presence and enlisted significant interest and support nationwide.
The Good Circle
Established by Kirsten Broadfoot, Assistant Professor of Communications, Colorado State University, the Good Work Circle is an online community dedicated to the support and education of individuals interested in constructing and sustaining good work and good workplaces. Here you can ask for advice, find resources to help you with designing your own good work and good workplace, as well as connect to others working with the same principles and commitments in place.
GoodWork Hub-The Netherlands
The GoodWork Hub, emerging in 2010, is an extension of the Stichting Beroepseer (Foundation for Professional Honor), which works to address issues of professional dissatisfaction throughout the country. The GoodWork Hub serves as a center for individuals who wish to develop their professional quality and expertise. Founders Thijs Jansen, Alexandrien van der Burgt and colleagues build networks that contribute to the awareness of professional honor and speak freely about issues in the professional world.
The Interdisciplinary Studies Project
The Interdisciplinary Studies Project is a multi-year research project at Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education, funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies. The project examines the challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary (ID) work carried out by experts, faculty, and students in well recognized research and education contexts. Building on an empirical understanding of cognitive and social dimensions of interdisciplinary work, the project develops practical tools to guide quality interdisciplinary education.
Hans Henrik Knoop, Royal Danish University of Education, Denmark
Hans Henrick Knoop is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the Royal Danish University. Knoop has conducted studies of “good work” in Denmark and Latvia. Overall, his research is aimed at gaining deeper understandings in three inter-related areas, all supporting happiness and well-being in human life: complexity, growth, self-organization and balance as key variables at all levels in nature, psyche and culture; play, learning, creativity and social responsibility within the framework of positive psychology; and psychological contributions to organization and leadership at all levels.
Joan F. Miller, Bloomsburg University
A study of nursing which draws on the concepts, methodology, and protocols of the Good Work Project has been conducted by Dr. Joan F. Miller of the Department of Nursing, Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. The purpose of this study was to explore variables that have sustained entering and experienced professional nurses in their attempts to perform good work despite the challenges they encounter in today’s rapidly changing health care environment. Guided interviews were conducted with eight entering nurses and 16 experienced nurses who were mid-level managers or leaders in the profession. Findings from this study are reported here: Miller, J. F. (2006). Opportunities and obstacles for good work in nursing. Nursing Ethics, 13 (5), 471-487.
Project New Media Literacies
The New Media Literacies project (NML) is guided by two questions: What do young people need to know in order to become full, active, creative, critical, and ethically responsible participants in a media-rich environment?, and What steps do we need to take to make sure that these skills are available to all? Project NML promotes student-driven, creative, collaborative learning environments facilitated through digital media and new network technologies. Project NML is led by Dr. Henry Jenkins at the University of Southern California.
Noble and Greenough School
Noble and Greenough School is a coeducational, nonsectarian day and five-day boarding school of 550 students in grades seven through twelve. It is located on a 187-acre campus in Dedham, Massachusetts. The GoodWork Project and the Nobles community worked closely together over the course of a year, using the GoodWork Toolkit at Nobles. Here are some examples of the work they accomplished together: Workshop with Academic Department Heads; Faculty Retreat; Class IV (9th grade) Retreat and Parent Evening; Use of Toolkit Case Studies in Personal Development curriculum; Extensive Research with Nobles Constituencies (faculty, students, parents).
Project Zero
Project Zero’s mission is to understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts, as well as humanistic and scientific disciplines, at the individual and institutional levels.
Quality of Life Research Center
The Quality of Life Research Center (QLRC) is a non-profit research institute that studies “positive psychology”; that is, human strengths such as creativity, intrinsic motivation, and responsibility. The QLRC is directed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jeanne Nakamura at the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
Stanford Center on Adolescence
Under the direction of William Damon, The Stanford Center on Adolescence aims to promote the character and competence of all young people growing up in today’s world. The Center’s work provides guidance for parenting, for improved educational practice, and for youth development in a wide variety of community settings.
Youth Purpose Project
Under the direction of William Damon at the Stanford Center on Adolescence, the Youth Purpose Project aims to establish youth purpose as an important focus of scientific study and educational practice. The project investigated the types of commitments young people hold and how those commitments develop. The Center’s interest in purpose is fueled by the conviction that it can play a powerfully generative role in development and can guard against adverse outcomes.