Assignments (Portfolio and Thesis Outline)

Writing projects are assigned between the summer schools every year in order for the students to continue their learning at home. These assignments document how the student, as a self-motivated adult learner, continues studying subjects from each summer school, reflects upon them and is able to write about the learning gained from each of the subjects.
The goal is to initiate life-long learning, establishing the student’s own style on a more solid theoretical base. Putting together such a writing project is like the creation of an art work.

This kind of innovative learning process passes through certain phases: getting lost, rewriting, defining, identifying, and using exact wording and precise metaphors in search of meaning. The completion and presentation of the assignments are a requirement for receiving credit for core group sessions. The core group leader checks on the completeness of the portfolio. Students bring the assignments with them to the core group and the core leader will incorporate the assignments into the core group sessions during the summer school. In core group time, students read each other’s assignments and present their own. The assignments must be written in English in order to be accepted for credit.

The Portfolio:

Content:
A portfolio is an academic journal with short entries, such as relevant learning experiences, theoretical reflections, didactic and methodological information, speculations for the practice, poetic insights, specific topics or questions that are posed and then explored. Other examples could include: learning through reading literature, going to lectures, workshops or conferences relevant to the topic. Each faculty member gives specific questions as points of departure to be further explored.

Procedure:
Students start an open file (folio) for each subject course and core group during first and second summer school and continue their work at home. All the files are collected in a folder (portfolio) that is dated with the summer school year and period. As soon as the student returns home, s/he keeps working on the portfolio addressing relevant topics and questions arising from each course. The student identifies themes and questions that are crucial for his or her artistic, professional, and academic development. This researching takes an open and searching mind. Examples of this exploration might be ‘significant notes’ regarding:

• articles and books
• relevant movies
• artistic events
• discussions
• related situations and experiences
• e-mail discourses with another student
• learning from practice or supervision
• questions that cannot be answered but want to be understood
• thoughts about one’s own professional identity and role

Before the next summer school, the student reflects on the gathered data by dealing with the following two questions:

• What emerged as being essential?
• In what respect did it enlarge the horizon of your learning?

For each course, a minimum of two pages reflection is expected.

Assignments to be fulfilled before attending 2nd summer school

These assignments have two parts:
portfolio and thesis outline.

Part One

The student brings the whole portfolio to the summer school.

Part Two

This part is a short paper, which describes what the student envisions for the thesis project. The paper culminates in a map, a potential outline for a thesis, which describes specifically the following:

• What is the topic you are interested in writing about?
• What is the question you want to explore?
• What motivates you and what makes you curious about this topic?
  It takes time to get to a specific topic and question. A well-formulated topic helps tremendously for a focused thesis project. For instance, ‘Crisis’ is a much too big as a topic. ‘Crisis Intervention ’ is already more concrete. Even more specific would be, ‘Expressive Arts Therapy and Crisis Intervention ’, which is still a huge topic. The more concrete and manageable topic would be ‘Possibilities and Limitations of the Expressive Arts Therapy within Crisis Intervention at the Clinic in Bern’.

If you formulate the topic as a question, you get the research question you want to explore. It is our hope that these assignments help to develop the student's thinking in this field and act as a preparation for thesis work to be carried out between the second and third summer schools.

Assignments to be fulfilled before attending 3rd summer school

There is also a portfolio assignment in the third year. Given that students need to produce a thesis in the year between the second and third summer schools, this portfolio is designed as interdisciplinary process notes to serve two purposes:

• as a resource to prepare for the exams
• as a resource and inspiration to keep going in the writing process of the thesis.

The portfolio should include notes, research materials, and reflections that were part of the writing of the thesis as well as notes from courses in previous summer schools. It is hoped that students will be able to find their own learning and research styles.
These process notes can be written in the language that the thesis is written.
In addition to the thesis, students should bring this portfolio to the third summer school. In the beginning of core group of the third year, these process notes will be used to help students prepare for the exam process.

Examinations

The examinations in the third summer school are designed to validate and crystallize the student's learning.

Students of the MA Program in Expressive Arts Therapy

will be examined in the following subject areas:

I Polyaesthetics and Intermodal Expressive Arts Therapy

Examination in the fundamental theories of Intermodal Expressive Arts Therapy and Consulting will be examined and coaching given in this body of knowledge.

The first part of the examination tests the student's ability to engage in a discourse with a professional (of the student's choice) outside of the field of expressive arts therapy.

The second part considers the enrichment of theoretical learning through the examination process.

II Includes the following two courses:

Illness and Healing in Anthropological Perspective II

Principles and Practices of Psychotherapy: A Critical Inquiry into a Variety of Schools and their Personality Theories II

Continuation of I. A critical inquiry will be made into various schools of psychotherapy and their concepts of 'restricted situations' (neurosis) in the view of EXA. Comparing and discussing the conceptualizations of the professional work of the participants will enrich and deepen the understanding of these topics on a theoretical and practical level. The examination is based on these concepts and includes a short lecture given by each student.

The examination is based on individual experiences and the ability of students to conceptualize their professional work. They may choose the topic of the short lecture and work mostly together in small groups. In this way, feedback and reciprocal learning is emphasized.

III Presentation and Oral Defense of the Masters Thesis

This examination will take place in the presence of the class, including the core group leader and one or two outside experts.

For this examination, students will have time for preparation during the core group and in the first session of the course through a coaching relationship. The presentation can be

• art analogue, art-oriented or play-oriented.

We emphasize that:

• the product is the process
• the student is the expert
• As a self-directed learner, we expect that the student will set out personal learning goals:
• What is it that you want to learn from your presentation?
• What do you want to explore and achieve?
• How do you recognize it and how will the audience recognize it?

Students of the MA Program in Expressive Arts Coaching, Consulting and Education

will be examined in the following subject areas:

I Polyaesthetics and EXA / Intermodal Decentering® in Coaching and Consulting

Examination in the fundamental theories of Intermodal Decentering® in Coaching and Consulting will be examined and coaching given in this body of knowledge.

The first part of the examination tests the student's ability to engage in a discourse with a professional (of the student's choice) outside of the field of expressive arts coaching.

The second part considers the enrichment of theoretical learning through the examination process.

II Principles and Practices of Coaching and Consulting: A Critical Inquiry into a Variety of Schools and their Methods II

Continuation of I. A critical inquiry will be made into various schools and their concepts of 'restricted situations' in the view of EXA / Intermodal Decentering®. Comparing and discussing the conceptualizations of the professional work of the participants will enrich and deepen the understanding of these topics on a theoretical and practical level. The examination is based on these concepts and includes a short lecture given by each student.

The examination is based on individual experiences and the ability of students to conceptualize their professional work. They may choose the topic of the short lecture and work mostly together in small groups. In this way, feedback and reciprocal learning is emphasized.

III Presentation and Oral Defense of the Masters Thesis

This examination will take place in the presence of the class, including the advisory group leader and one or two outside experts.

For this examination, students will have time for preparation during the core group and in the first session of the course through a coaching relationship. The presentation can be

• art analogue, art-oriented or play-oriented.

We emphasize that:

• the product is the process
• the student is the expert
• As a self-directed learner, we expect that the student will set out personal learning goals:
• What is it that you want to learn from your presentation?
• What do you want to explore and achieve?
• How do you recognize it and how will the audience recognize it?

These examinations are designed to help the student clarify and consolidate learning gained from all the summer school sessions at EGS. Examinations attempt to design processes that fit with our “arts based” and “self-directed” approach to learning.

The thesis work helps a great deal to prepare for these examinations. In the course of thesis researching, it is obvious that the student also reviews the theories of intermodal expressive arts as well as reflect upon practical applications of expressive arts. Doing the thesis is a step toward articulating more clearly and defining one's professional identity. In addition, the student might want to prepare by critically re-visiting the themes of their previous courses. In the process of doing this, it is suggested that the student emphasizes the core concepts and practices of EXA method and considers some of the differences and similarities with other methods in the professional field. Additionally students will be guided and will get preparation time in each course.

Over-all criteria for passing an examination would include:

1. Completing the work of the course.
2. Demonstrating that new learning has occurred. Showing that one has gone beyond the original conceptions and is entertaining new perspectives.
3. Openness to questioning in a discourse.
4. Showing a capacity for articulating concepts clearly.
5. Having a clear understanding of the core concepts of the EXA method.
6. Being engaged and interested in the subject.

The examinations are rated on a Pass/Fail basis. In the event that a student does fail any one of the examinations, they will not receive the diploma. In this case, they must meet with the examining teacher and discuss how remediation may be carried out. In an exceptional situation, the remediation may take place before graduation. The core faculty can make such a decision. If the remediation takes place after the summer school, the following steps must be carried out:

1. The student must submit a written piece of work negotiated with the examining teacher. This written work must be sent to the EGS office. It will be read by the examining teacher, one member of the core Faculty and the Director of the student's Affiliate Training Institute.
2. The examining teacher and the core faculty member must submit a written report on the student's work.
3. The Director of the Affiliate Institute will meet with the student and conduct an oral examination on the written work. The Director must submit a written report on the oral examination. The student must complete all remediation work by May 31 of the year following their third summer session unless an exemption is granted. They will also be required to pay the Maintaining Status Fee for each semester that their work is outstanding [CHF 250.- per semester].

We guarantee one graduating class in the first period of summer school. We will also have a graduation ceremony for that class. Registration is on a first come first served basis. Please do not book any travel arrangements, until final registration is confirmed. EGS cannot be responsible for travel arrangements made before confirmation of registration.