Making Connections with Students

1. Making Connections with Students Johnnie Terry, Philosophy Professor, Sierra College Anne Argyriou, Basic Skills Committee, De Anza College ASCCC Student Success Institute: Basic Skills Across the Curriculum February 25, 2011

2. Introductions Who are we??? Why are we presenting on this topic???

3. Brainstorm • Moment of connection • Who was involved? • Topic? • How did people connect? • Why? • Reflect • What factors may have contributed to that connection? • How do you think that connection affected everyone involved (any change)?

4. “Connections” & the Classroom • What would these connections look like? • What would the effects of these connections be? • Connections: • Student-Teacher, • Student-Student • First—Why? • Then—How?

5. Why do connections work? • Establish a social identity • Positive, academic self • Create one to replace any negative academic identity • Strengthen existing identity (neutral or insecure) • Social identity crucial for learning to occur • Individually • Collaboratively

6. Social Identity Before After I just need to do x, y, z! This is difficult, but I think I’m getting better. I just need to work harder so my grade will increase… • Nothing I can do… • I’m just a bad writer. • My grade will never change, so why put in effort?

7. Attribution Theory • Attribution: to establish reason(s) to explain why something happened (assign a cause). • Specifically applies to lay people (non-psychologists) • Weiner: Three main axes underlie attributions • Locus (internal—external) • Stability (variant—invariant) • Control (influence—no influence)

8. Identify: Axes of Attribution • Review the “Social Identity” slide (no. 6) • Can you identify the axis for each statement?

9. Identity Learning How does social identity affect how we learn? How do we change from the “Before” to the “After”?

10. What changes identity? • Teachers • Reasons why assignment not successful • Show steps necessary to learn • How to achieve those steps • Can you identify the three axes? • Students (peers) • How do students affect a student’s identity? • Modeling, direct instruction, verbal reassurance

11. Learn through others? • Learning is individually constructed (Piaget) • We create schema of the world • Conflict is the catalyst to create or shape schema • Schema are assimilated or accommodated • Stages: Sensori-motor, Pre-op., Concrete-op., Formal-op. • Social-cultural constructivism (Vygotsky) • Construction occurs during interaction with others • Interaction  Internalization (how experts perform task) • Zone of Proximal Development: the level at which a student can succeed only with assistance • Independence  ZPD  Potential

12. Construction: Nuts and Bolts • How does this constructed learning work? • Scaffolding (Bruner) • Narrowing the possible choices to accomplish a task so the student can concentrate on the skill itself, rather than deciding what to do… • Highly Structured  No Structure (as student progresses) • Create an “external” consciousness that student gradually absorbs to spontaneously use later (internal) • Source for Slide: Mercer, Neil and Staar Kleinemann, Judith, Lecture notes, Feb. 7, 2007

13. Learn  Identity How does socially constructed learning transform a student from “Before” to “After”?

14. Self-Efficacy • Definition: beliefs a person holds about capabilities, but may not accurately reflect actual capabilities… • “Do I belong here?” • “Can I do this? Will I be successful at it?” • Source: Webb, Jane, Lecture notes, Jan. 22, 2007 • Without a strong self-efficacy, difficult to accurately assess one’s own abilities and accomplishments, particularly what one lacks or needs to develop. • Desire to continue, and change, in face of difficulty. • Source: Dweck

15. Mindset (Dweck) Fixed Growth I just need to do x, y, z! This is difficult, but I think I’m getting better. I just need to work harder so my grade will increase… • Nothing I can do… • I’m just a bad writer. • My grade will never change, so why put in effort?

16. Facilitating Connections

17. Faculty/Student Connections • Listing office hours is not enough. • Build connection into course (see handout): • So that I can get to know who you are and associate a personality with your name, you can receive five points extra-credit toward your first exam score by calling me during my office hours tomorrow, Thursday, February 3, 2011, from 12:40-2:00. When you call me during my office hours, I'll be subjecting you to a quirky and weird set of survey questions. I'm using these survey questions to "mine for quirkiness." If I find something quirky about you, it will help me to remember who you are. The questions are non-offensive but if you'd prefer, you may always say "pass.“ 

18. Faculty/Student Connections • Listing office hours is not enough • Survey Questions • 1. Where did you go to high school? City/State/Country? • 2. What was your favorite class in high school or what has been your favorite class thus far in college? • 3. Pets? Children? Both? Neither? • 4. Are you a first, last or middle child? • 5. When you aren’t in school or completing school work, what do you like to be doing?

19. Student/Student Connections • What is the goal? • Forming groups to use throughout the semester. • Fruits: • Candy Bars: • Vegetables: • Animals:

20. Student/Student Connections • What is the goal? • Ice-breakers—First day(s) of class: • What signals do we send? • Post cards for math anxiety. What grade can you expect for this class? • Your favorites?

21. Student/Student Connections • What is the goal? • Not just once. • Evaluating personal ads for Philosophy of Women in Western Cultures • Group problem solving for Symbolic Logic

22. Student/Student Connections • What is the goal? • Not just once. • Archaeological Expedition: Mythology • Stations around the room • Your favorites?

23. Conclusion • Questions? • Comments? —What surprised you? Interested you? • Please contact us if you need more info., ideas, etc. • Johnnie Terry— jterry@sierra.edu • Anne Argyriou – argyriouanne@deanza.edu • Thank you for attending 

24. Johnnie’s References • Barkley, Elizabeth F. Student Engagement Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010. • Barkley, Elizabeth F. Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004. • Fink, L. Dee. Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003. • Gabriel, Kathleen. Teaching Unprepared Students: Strategies for Promoting Success and Retention in Higher Education. Sterling: Stylus Publishing, 2008. • Kuh, George. Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010.

25. Anne’s References • Dweck, Carol S. (2006) Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine Books. • Fincham, Frank and Hewstone, Miles. (2003) Attribution Theory and Research: from basic to applied, in M. Hewstone, and W. Stroebe, (Eds) Introduction to Social Psychology (3rd edition) (Chapter 7). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. • Vygotsky, Lev. S. and Kozulin, A. (ed.) (1986) Thought and Language. Boston: MIT Press. • Weiner, B. (1986) An attributional theory of motivation and emotion. New York: Springer Verlag. • Woolfolk, Anita. (2001) Educational psychology (8th edition). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. • Lecture Notes from Courses in MPhil Psychology and Education, University of Cambridge.