Creating a Campaign to Build Students’ Habits of Mind

1. Creating a Campaign to Build Students’ Habits of Mind Bryan Reece Steve Clifford Cerritos College Strengthening Student Success Conference, October 2009

2. Agenda for Student Success The Initiatives . . . Student Work Affect students’ time on task—time spent on educationally meaningful activities. Learning Services/Support Nurture, enhance and develop services which offer direct benefit to the learning processes at Cerritos College. Teaching Expertise Share, sustain and develop teaching expertise across the entire faculty. Academic Infrastructure Provide superior facilities and systems to support learning at Cerritos College. Instructional Program Excellence Promote excellence across all instructional programs.

3. Habits of Mind (Overview) • Student Work Initiative • Affect students’ time on task—time spent on educationally meaningful activities. • Habits of Mind is one of the projects under this initiative. • Habits of Mind • Students need effective Habits of Mind to succeed. • The Habits of Mind campaign is one of the ways we propose to teach these skills to students.

4. Habits of Mind (Overview) • The Need • Many Cerritos College students struggle academically because they do not have the practices, behaviors, or skills that are needed for a successful college experience. • Most of Cerritos College’s students possess at least one of the characteristics that put them most “at-risk” for dropping out of college or otherwise failing to achieve their educational goals: • 75% first-generation • 60% are low-income (receive some form of financial aid) • 93% require some form of remediation in math, reading, or both • 42% are second-language learners. • Many students are unaware of the practices that lead to successful learning because they are first-generation-students.

5. Goals and Objectives • Primary Goals of Campaign • Raise awareness of the habits of mind across the entire student body (all 24,000 students) • Increase the number of students that incorporate practices which lead to academic success. • Objectives of Campaign • Introduce students to practices, behaviors, and attitudes that lead to success. • Invite students to join the academic community. • Prompt students to succeed with specific and proven approaches. • Assimilate students into a lifestyle centered around learning.

6. Breakout Session 1 • What are “habits of mind”? • Carol Nancarrow, “Profile of a Quality Learner”: • “Quality learners exhibit definable behaviors that optimize learning and predict successful performance. These behaviors can be classified and assessed. By recognizing these behaviors, learners and instructors can work towards ideal behaviors, and instructors can design instruction to foster grown-in learning behaviors.” • What academic habits do you most want your students to practice? • Academic habits are distinct from discipline-specific habits and apply across the curriculum • Take 10 minutes and create a list of 15 academic habits that your students need to learn or to reinforce • When possible, note specific examples of those habits as they benefit the student (or the effect when students fail to practice them)

7. Six Core Habits/Skills The habits of mind are summarized around the FALCON acronym. OCUS DVANCE INK UP OMPREHEND RGANIZE EW IDEAS

8. Two Campaigns The habits of mind are presented through two coordinated campaigns. • General Campus Campaign • Main Goal: Raise General Awareness and Curiosity About the Campaign throughout Student Body • Message Delivered Via Banners, Posters, Digital Media and Cards. • Student Driven • 1 Year Cycle • In-Class Campaign • Main Goal: Teach the Habits of Mind at Detail Level • Website Is Main Resource For Content • Faculty Driven (Voluntary) • 14 Week Campaign Cycle (1 per Semester) Wks 1-2…..…… Wks 3-4……….. Wks 5-6………. Wks 7-8…....... Wks 9-10........ Wks 11-12…….. Wks 13-14…….. Intro to Habits of Mind Focus Advance Link Up Comprehend Organize New Ideas 14 Week Cycle

9. Campaign Slogan and Logo Slogan/Hook • Do you falcon? iFalcon. • Treats “falcon” as a verb. • “To falcon” is to practice the habits of mind. Logo iFalcon iFalcon .com Do you falcon? Do you falcon?

10. Campaign Theme Silhouettes of Cerritos Students Featured on Banners, Posters, Websites, etc.

11. Campaign Card Habits of Mind Cards Distributed Over the Counter Vendors and Student Services

12. iFALCON Website • http://www.cerritos.edu/ifalcon

13. Breakout Session 2 • How Can You Implement a Habits of Mind Campaign? • Which habits of mind are most important for student success? • How will you “package” those habits of mind for ease of concept? • School mascot • Success-oriented language • Community-based symbol or imagery • Popular cultural allusions • Practice: Define Your Habits of Mind • Take 10 minutes and create a list of academic habits that you want your students to learn or to reinforce • Manipulate the language of the academic skills to best fit your model • e.g., “Focus” in FALCON becomes “Attention” in ANGELS or “Directed” in WILDCATS. • Take notes and be prepared to share your results

14. Making it Happen on on Faculty Students • When you teach study skills, use the FALCON frame • Work FALCON into your courses and syllabi • Start teaching the Habits of Mind in the spring semester • Help develop content for iFalcon website • Encourage colleagues to support this campaign • Help develop campaign materials • Help promote the campaign • Encourage other students to adopt the Habits of Mind • Help recruit other students for videos and silhouette photos • Help identify and secure resources to launch and sustain the campaign

15. Making it Happen on on Staff Managers • If you come in contact with students, work this campaign into your routine—simple message • Encourage colleagues to support this effort • Develop a “counter” strategy for distributing cards • Contribute to the iFalcon website content • Keep this on your agenda. Discuss it at meetings. • Contribute to the web content • Encourage your colleagues and programs to incorporate this effort • Help find resources to launch and sustain the program • Work the campaign into your exchanges with students

16. Making it Happen on Administration and Board • Encourage the entire college to support this effort • Contribute to the iFalcon website content • Work the campaign into your exchanges with students • Keep this effort at the forefront of the College agenda • Help find resources to launch and sustain the program

17. Habits of Mind Campaign Cerritos College (562) 860-2451 Bryan Reece: breece@cerritos.edu Steve Clifford: sclifford@cerritos.edu Lynn Serwin: lserwin@cerritos.edu Francie Quaas-Berryman fquaas@cerritos.edu

18. Breakout Session 3: Making It Happen • How Can You Implement a Habits of Mind Campaign? • Knowing the resources (human and otherwise) on your campus, what are the steps you can take to begin to engage: • faculty • staff • student government • managers • administration • Board of Trustees • Take 10 minutes and in a small group map out likely first steps and available campus resources that would support a habits of mind campaign • What resources would you need to implement a habits of mind campaign on your campus?