1.8 Course Policies & Activities (Required to earn certificate)

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  Posted by CUNY Mindset Initiative on March 11, 2024 at 11:01 am

  💬  Reflection/Discussion:

  • Which specific policies and activities do you intend to try in order to create a growth mindset-supportive learning environment? Why?

• Elizabeth Klein (she/her)

  Member

  June 12, 2024 at 11:42 am

  I really have enjoyed the shares on this forum. I usually do a self-assessment for the mid and end term with specific prompts that include performance, process and also what resonated with them the most. I also look for patterns in the responses (especially at. mid-year) and build from there. For example, last term students really liked to running notes that I distribute prior to the class. I create the notes and agenda on the Google Doc, which helps them to focus on particular aspects to discuss in class. They also can post their entrance tickets right on the running notes. In several of the responses in the mid-year self-assessment, students said it was helpful.  A majority of students admitted that they were having trouble keeping up with readings and wanted to do better.  I am able to use the mid and end year assessments to help me know how best to teach them (I will have some of the same students again)>
  Seth Lehman

  Member

  June 12, 2024 at 1:52 pm

  Sounds like a great way for your students to reflect on the course and what is working for them, and also for you to practice growth mindset as you implement changes based on their comments! I take the pulse of my class in a similar way with a mid-semester survey and often ask variations of these three questions: 1) What should I (the instructor) stop doing in the class? (What is getting in the way of your learning?) 2) What should I keep doing in the class? (What are you finding helpful right now?) 3) What should I start doing in the class? (How could I better support you?). I’ve often made changes or emphasized/de-emphasized certain teaching practices based on my students’ responses to these questions.
  Seth Lehman

  Member

  June 12, 2024 at 2:38 pm

  Has anyone ever used the Stamford videos by Dr. Stephen Chew as a resource for their students? Someone recently mentioned them to me, and I am considering how I could incorporate them into a class discussion or assignment on growth mindset.
  John Beaumont

  Participant

  July 15, 2024 at 3:57 pm

  I’m not a big believer in grading. How can we quantify learning? But I do know that grades are a commodity in education and students care about them. In all of the classes I teach, I only give grades on major assignments after several steps or stages that include peer and instructor feedback and opportunities for them to reflect on their learning and ask questions about the process. As I go forward, I’m always trying to make this process more meaningful and more transparent to students so they see learning for what it is–a process (of trial and error … and success).
  Sarah Wolf (she/her)

  Member

  July 15, 2024 at 7:53 pm

  I incorporate several of those mentioned here in some of my classes, including ungrading, scaffolding  and allowing multiple submissions of the same assignment.

  I was advised by a mentor to use metacognition and self-assessment activities as a way to promote self-reflection and I think these  contribute to a growth mindset. I ask a series of metacognitive questions for students to answer as they are reading an article, and then, give them another series of questions to answer as they are completing the assignment for a different article. Then, I give them a series of questions to reflect on to assess their own assignment (not for a grade).

  I also assign students to develop SMART goals for a personal health improvement project in a personal and community health class I teach. Moving forward, I will incorporate the SMART component into the goal setting process for the Writing Across the Curriculum course.

  There are a lot of other ideas in the reflections in this section that I will be digging into also.