Graduate Course Schedule

Before taking RP 500, students will need to have attended IIRP professional development experiences within 5 years of starting this course: 

• Introduction to Restorative Practices and Using Circles Effectively or
• Restorative Practices for Educators or
• Restorative Practices for Independent Schools or
• Reimagining Campus Community with Restorative Practices

AND either

• Facilitating Restorative Conferences or
• Restorative Justice Conferencing

This course explores the fundamental principles, philosophy, theories, practices, models and skills of restorative practices. Special emphasis will be placed on proactive and responsive circles, restorative conferencing and the informal application of these processes. Issues critical to the development of restorative practices, such as models of human interaction, theories of behavior and current research will be considered. Students will assess the role of human emotion, especially shame, in social relationships.

Students may choose either RP 500 or RP 504, but may not take both, to fulfill the program requirements.

Students in this course will learn about the foundations of restorative practices as an evolving field of study. They will explore the emotional, relational, and ecological theories underpinning restorative principles, and the importance of engaging with others in equity-oriented relationships. Students will develop explicit restorative practices skills for application in their own personal and professional lives.

Students may choose either RP 500 or RP 504, but may not take both, to fulfill the program requirements. 

In this experiential course, students will use and assess explicit actions modeling restorative practices in the setting of their choice. They will examine ethical and cultural issues related to implementing restorative practices with individuals and communities. Students will practice reflection as a critical competency of restorative practices. Within a professional learning community, classmates will provide reciprocal feedback to assist each other in assessing their individual progress.

Students create a synthesizing multimedia project that describes how the field of restorative practices has the potential to impact communities and relationships in a setting of their choice. Projects are developed in a highly engaging and interactive professional learning community. Faculty and students discuss research, practice, processes, and implications that support claims made within the capstone projects. This process supports students as they prepare and present their projects.

This course introduces students to a wide range of possible applications for restorative justice and other restorative practices in varied settings including criminal justice, education and youth services, higher education, social work and workplaces. Students explore the potential, as well as the limitations, risks and obstacles to restorative practices through reading, online videos, interactive online discussion and writing assignments.

This course is an approved elective for the Education Specialization and the Community Engagement Specialization.

Students who have completed RP 535 Restorative Responses to Adversity and Trauma may not register for RP 550 Transforming Relational Harm. 

This course explores a deeper application of restorative practices as it relates to emotion and harm. Students will use group process, emotional dynamics, compassionate witnessing and mindful practice to address a wide continuum of harm. Students will explore neuroscience and how harm impacts the brain. Through the learning process, students will begin to understand how harm, human neuroscience and emotional experiences affect relationships.

This course requires participation in weekly synchronous skill-building experiences with the instructor and a willing participant with whom to practice compassionate witnessing.

Note: People have been exposed to various levels of trauma in their lives. This course considers the use of restorative practices in cases of grief, trauma and adversity. We advise students to consider establishing an emotional support system for themselves while taking this course.

This course is an approved elective for the Community Engagement Specialization. 

Students in this course will learn about the synergy between restorative practices and the field of community health. They will explore how restorative practices can help create supportive environments that facilitate well-being by prioritizing and strengthening a sense of community, connectedness, equity, belonging, and collective efficacy. Students will learn how restorative practices can strengthen community-focused efforts by fostering meaningful and sustainable cross-sector collaborations and developing the community’s capacity to advance the well-being of its members. Individual plans will be created to use restorative practices to address the social determinants of health within a community of the student’s choice.

This course is an approved elective for the Community Engagement Specialization. 

In this course, students will develop an understanding of social construction theory and narrative theories that empower the facilitation of decision making.  Students will learn to organize and maintain conversations with others to address their needs and enhance their potential, through enriched narrative conversations that acknowledge the individual or group.

This course requires participation in weekly synchronous skill-building experiences with the instructor and a willing individual with whom to practice six different narrative maps.

This course is an approved elective for the Education Specialization. 

Students in this course will examine the theory and practice of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as it aligns with restorative practices. They will explore the potential to improve student, faculty, and staff performance through the purposeful implementation of restorative practices to increase social and emotional well-being in their settings. They will develop and understanding of SEL competencies that can provide a framework to establish equitable learning environments. Students will synthesize research in the fields of SEL and restorative practices to design an action plan integrating what they learn into their classroom or organization.

Students in this course will develop skills and competencies to work with data in restorative practices and social sciences research. Students will learn about qualitative and quantitative data analysis, data interpretation, and how to communicate data-driven results. There is an emphasis on qualitative data analysis techniques, however students also will be introduced to statistical software to perform descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. This course will prepare students to pursue an independent research project.