There was some great discussion on this in our breakout room. Group work is (almost) always difficult but also such an important skill. Your story also speaks to the “failure is a greater teacher than success” quote, where you can learn about yourself and how to work better in a group in the future if your group has problems than if it goes…[Read more]

I like your idea of blocking out time for the task to commit yourself to do it. This is something I need to get better at doing myself.

Yes, I think we all feel daunted by grading. Your overall approach of focusing on the big picture and breaking the task into chunks is very similar to my approach. I will have to adopt your mini-awards as well as that sounds great.

As a PI on a grant there was a lot of paperwork to submit that I didn’t want to (receipts, reports etc.) At first much of it seemed to be unnecessary or superfluous. However, I realized that the funders had their own reports to write and it was necessary to make sure money was not misspent. What really helped me to change my mind was to focus on…[Read more]

I agree with this quote in general, although an important part of being able to learn from your failures is to know WHY you failed so that you can make an adjustment to your approach when you try again. In teaching we don’t always help students with that part.

In a corollary, forgetting is a part of learning. Also knowing what we forgot helps us…[Read more]

As a linguistics and language professor, I think it is important for students to have a sense of the language they use in various contexts (past present and future). The course I often teach is LIN 110 The Structure of English, which explores that grammar (morphology and syntax) of various forms of English. The course problematizes the concept of…[Read more]

In the first week of class there are several opportunities for students to introduce themselves to their classmates and to me. I model several of these tasks by giving information about myself. In one early writing task, students write a letter of introduction to me. This assignment allows them to be direct and honest with me about who they are…[Read more]

There are a lot of things that I have done (and do) that I didn’t want to do (or don’t want to do). I’m not sure I can pick one. As several others have commented, anxiety is a daily obstacle, one that I have learned to navigate. Determination or persistence gets me through, and so does an understanding of a larger purpose or good that serves me…[Read more]

I think one of the many purposes of higher education is to challenge our perceptions of the world–who we are, who those around us are, and what’s out there. It may also have something to do with specific, vague or unformed interests or goals that we have for the future. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in a classroom knows that motivation…[Read more]

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…[Read more]

I can see several things to do and/or aspire to. First, I plan to revise the intro videos for my courses so that they highlight growth mindset more explicitly, particularly how important it is for their success in this class and beyond. Second, I plan to add more opportunities for student to reflect their learning process. This can be done as part…[Read more]

There are many ways in which I can model a growth mindset in the college community. I share with students stories from my own education (like on Day 1 of college, I registered for Philosophy thinking it was Psychology—and how I dealt with that). It was a true semester of growth on many levels. In the classroom, I think I can do more encouraging o…[Read more]