1.7 Supportive Messaging (Required to earn certificate)

• 

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

  💬  Reflection/Discussion:

  • Which specific messaging strategies and techniques do you intend to try in order to create a growth mindset-supportive learning environment?

• Elana Effrat (she/her)

  Member

  August 20, 2024 at 7:47 pm

  Just like in Dr. Kolak’s video, I approach the class as a tool to help personal and professional development. I make the students a part of the learning process by creating an agreement with them. This is where as a team, we set the expectations in the classroom by laying down the groundwork for the semester. Building up trust with myself is important, but to foster real conversations and growth, the students need to be comfortable speaking up in front of each other. I make it clear that we are here to learn from each other. Some of the golden rules of the class were:

  • To be present for the professor and each other in class
  • No one knows everything, but together, we know a lot
  • We can’t be articulate all of the time – give the benefit of the doubt and ask questions
  • What we learn leaves here, but what we say, stays here.
  • One mic – one voice at a time
  • If you’re ordinarily quiet, try and speak up more, and if you’re talkative, be mindful to leave room for quieter voices

  As for the coursework, their assignments would take the foundational marketing lesson and apply it to themselves. I gave a great deal of feedback and encouraged students to make small steps that lead to bigger-picture wants. If I wasn’t happy with what they turned in, I allowed them to revise and submit.

  I wish I had known about reflection exercises after tests and big projects and hope to incorporate that more into this coming semester.
  Cynthia Chris (she/her)

  Participant

  September 11, 2024 at 11:43 am

  Great reminder. Especially when teaching large classes with significant writing assignments, giving thorough feedback can be very time consuming; I might even find myself giving much more thorough feedback when I start grading, and burning out, giving less, to those on the bottom of the stack. Giving myself an assignment, so to speak, regarding the feedback I give, helps me keep on track to give critical and encouraging feedback.
  Cynthia Chris (she/her)

  Participant

  September 11, 2024 at 11:52 am

  I always mix low-stakes and high-stake assignments, and I design quizzes or very short writing assignments as building blocks of a midterm, final, or longer paper. I call the low-stakes assignments “rehearsals” or “practice” or “warm ups” in advance of the higher-stake graded assignment. In a recent course, for an assessment, I tracked closely some sample questions on quizzes and exams to see how much this helps students review and brush up on concepts they didn’t quite get the first time around. There was on thing in particular that had been a challenging piece of material for many students. In writing up the assessment, I tended to focus on the percentage of students who, despite getting feedback on a quiz and being present when I reviewed the material again in class, still got it wrong on a higher-stakes assignment. Looking back, now, though, I can see that the glass was at least half full: not all, but a good number of students improved their ability to demonstrate what they knew about this concept. The theme of what one doesn’t know “yet” in these modules is a great one, and that’s a word I’m going to be using a lot more in these situations.
  Diana Samaroo (she/her)

  Member

  October 16, 2024 at 11:27 am

  I agree with Cynthia – using a variety of assessments is instrumental when you have students with different learning styles.
  Mowmita Jabir (She/her)

  Member

  October 18, 2024 at 3:40 pm

  I really enjoyed this module, especially the clear examples of how to cultivate a growth mindset in our courses. Dr. Kolack’s introductory video was inspiring and set a positive tone for students, which shows that good videos do not have to be fancy, and it does not necessarily need a lot of editing. I would show this to the faculty I work with to grow inspiration. I also gained valuable insights into providing more effective feedback. Moving forward, I would encourage faculty to offer more constructive feedback rather that just an acknowledgement. Depending on time availability, faculty can take turn providing feedback to students. Quality over quantity.