2012 A Year to Remember

The new year is less than a week away. I always love the new year. Heck, I love a new month. To me there is something so exhilerating about tearing off the old calendar page and revealing a fresh new page ready to be filled with limitless opportunities, events, and learning. That clean calendar month is the joy of possibility-ready to be whatever I make of it.

This year, however, I don't seem to have the same level of excitement that I usually do. I can find little delight in putting up the 2013 calendar when the news is still full of stories of parents who are burying their children in Newton and the world as a whole seems to have been turned upside down. How can I take joy in the new year, when so many people who have every right to be here celebrating aren't?

I had originally planned to write this post about stress management. Last week I even started mapping it out-no procrastination for me. I was going to talk about how to deal with December's usual anxiety-causing events such as office dynamics, Christmas shopping, traveling, and a six-year-old who counts down the days until Santa comes with an increasing cacophony of yells, singing, and cheering (somebody else out there can relate, right?)? Yet, I can't bring myself to write it. All of that seems so insignificant. How can I write about holiday stress when so many people would be grateful to have the worries I have?

Yesterday I got caught up in an online debate about gun control-specifically whether teachers should be aremed in order to better protect their students. I was (and am) adamant in my belief that this is more harmful than helpful. It teaches our children to fear. To fear strangers. To fear of being harmed. To fear the world at large. I don't know what the answer is, but I know in my heart that this is not it. I subscribe to the Free Range parenting beliefs (www.freerangekids.com) of letting my child be a child. I want her to play outside, to run from house to house, to talk to strangers, to be independent and confident in herself. For many days the media have carried the stories of hero teachers, principals, aides, and other staff. People who put themselves in harms way to save their students. No one can deny the bravery and heroism that these fine people showed in the most tragic of circumstances, but there were some unsung heroes that day as well. Children who helped each other. Who ran past the gunman and escaped. Who hid quietly waiting to be rescued (no easy feat as anyone with small children can tell you). Undoubtably these children will be scarred for the rest of their lives, as I believe the American people will be, but they are heroes. They faced the worst mankind has to offer and met that trial with courage and aptitude which is more than just the survival instinct.

And in this, there is hope. As we often do when there is a national tragedy, the American people came together on Friday. We put aside our political, religious, and moral beliefs to stand with the residents of Newtown, to grieve with them, to love with them. Thoughts and prayers as well as gifts and volunteers from around the country and around the world are with the mourners. America grieves as one for the lives and the innocence lost on Friday.

In fact, it seems that the residents have too much support and would prefer that we find a way to honor the victims without intruding on this small town. I cannot solve the gun control issue, but I believe I have a solution for this. For those of us who feel the need to do something, let us pledge to live 2013 for those who will not be a part of it. Let us love one another, be good to our neighbors, share our bounty with those who have less, and most importantly let us teach our children to do this as well. Let us not live in fear or allow our children to live in terror. Nor should we respond to this tragedy with fear, more violence, or the stockpiling of our own arsonal. Instead, we should live this year in such a way that when our grandchildren's grandchildren study this period in history they can say of America that we came together, putting aside our differences, and truly made this world a better place to be. Let us, though our actions, teach all the evil in this world that love can overcome even the most horrific of tragedies because I still believe it can.

A Season of Gratitude

Gratitude. It seems natural to me that between Thanksgiving and Christmas my thoughts naturally turn to the past year, the future, and what I have to be thankful for. This year has been a part of an amazing journey for me, so it's hard to know where to begin.

A year ago at this time I was full of dispair. I was sure that I was never going to get a new job, sure that I had blown the interview for my dream job,  sure that I was doomed to suffer the wrath of someone who seemed to hate me for no reason that I could fathom. I'm not sure I'll ever figure that one out, but I prefer not to dwell on it. Three hundred and sixty-six days later (it's a leap year you know) I find myself humming on my way into the office in the mornings. I know that I am finally in a place where I am appreciated, and I'm grateful to be here.

According to Wikipedia, gratitude is defined as"a feeling or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive." Three major world religions are focused around the idea of graitude, philosophers have studied it, and Andy Andrews says people with a spirit of thankfulness are the people we all want to be around. Even retailers are getting in on the act. A recent study showed that customers of a jewelry store who were called and thanked increased their business by 70%. Customers who were thanked and told about a sale increased business by 30% and those who weren't called at all showed no increase. Gratitude is important and makes us feel more generous-why do you think servers write "thank you" at the top of your receipt?

Two years ago I was in a very bad place emotionally. I was horribly depressed and wallowing in my misery. Thanksgiving came around, and I began feeling even more sorry for myself. I was in this horrible situation that wasn't getting any better, what did I have to be thankful for? At the Thanksgiving table that year, my four year old daughter announced (out of the blue) that she was thankful to be with her family that she loved. Well, I'm surprised no one commented on the lightbulb that surely went on over my head as it hit me-perhaps I did have a lot to be grateful for afterall (beginning with her).

That night I made a quick list of everything that I had in my life-the things I hadn't spent much time appreciating lately. I felt so good that I decided to make it a daily habit. For one year-from Thanksgiving to Thanksgiving-I would record at least one thing each day that I had to be grateful for. At first it was very difficult, but the more I did it the better I got. I found myself noticing good things more often during the day and thinking "I need to remember this for tonight because I should write it down." By the end of the year I had filled three notebooks and realized that my life wasn't completely horrible. Some days were easier than others; this gratitude journal didn't fix my job situation or end my emotional slump (it takes more than that to fight off clinical depression), but it certainly gave me a new perspective-a chance to see the good around me even though I was often overwhelmed with the bad.

So this year, as I think about all I have to be grateful for I'm again filled with appreciation for life, love, opportunity, those who are on this journey with me. I hope you are too. If not, if stress and frustration overwhelm you, take a few minutes tonight (or right now) and think about the blessings you have in your life. Make a list. Start your own "habitude of gratitude." For me it turns out 2012 was a pretty good year. I can't wait to see what's next. 

Parting Thoughts:This morning, if you woke up healthy, then you are luckier than the million that will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced a war, a loneliness of an imprisonment, torture or a famine, you are happier, than 500 million persons in this world.

If there is a meal in your refrigerator, if you are dressed and have got shoes, if you have a bed and a roof above your head, you are better off, than 75% of people in this world.

If you have a bank account, money in your purse and there is change in your coin box, you belong to 8% of well-provided people in this world.

Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
Dance like nobody's watching,
Sing like nobody's listening,
Be surprised, like you were born yesterday,
Tell the truth and you don't have to remember anything,
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

Motivation

So today I did a presentation on personal motivation. I admit I'm probably not the best person for this topic. This morning as I walked into work it was all I could do not to turn around and go home. I'm a big believer that God made yucky gray days (like this morning) so people can stay home in their PJ's curled up reading a book.

In my research for this topic I found a lot of articles and good books on the subject. They recommended things like "reward yourself" or creating incentives at work for people who go above and beyond. They were all great ideas, I suppose, but what I learned was that there are as many ways to motivate someone as there are people in this world. How am I supposed to know what will do the trick for each of my co-workers? (Especially in light of my theory on gray days!)

Fortunately, I came across the most amazing book. It was "The Butterfly Effect" by Andy Andrews. I've been a fan of his since first read "The Noticer" and was excited to get this book. Upon reading it I knew that it would be the basis for my presentation. So as not to risk being sued for copyright infringement, I can't type out my presentation here. But I can summarize some of the main points. I would definitely recommend picking up a copy of the book to read it for yourself!

Basically, the butterfly effect stems from a theory presented by a man named Edward Lorenz. His idea had more to do with the formation of hurricanes, but it was later proven to be true-that every move made by nature and man has a lasting and far-reaching impact. One of my favorite examples from the book was the story of a farmer named Moses. Moses and his wife, Susan, lived on a farm in Missouri. One night a band of radicals burned their farm, stole or killed most of the livestock, and dragged off Susan's best friend, Mary, who was clutching her infant son, George. Moses rode his last remaining horse for miles until he reached a meeting place in Kansas where he traded that last remaining horse for a naked, nearly dead baby George. He walked that baby all the way home, knowing that Mary was surely dead, and promised to take care of him, educate him, and love him like his own. And he did. That could have been the end of the story, but it's not. On the night Moses Carver gave baby George Washington his last name, he flitted his butterfly wings and set the most amazing things in motion. Sure we all know that George Washington Carver studied the peanut. And people even know about his work with the sweet potato. But what most people don't know is that when he was in college, George took a young boy out in the field with him to study plants. That little boy grew up with a love an appreciation for plants that led him to eventually become Secretary of Agriculture. Later, when Henry Wallace became the Vice President of the United States he started a facility that eventually went on to create hybrid forms of corn and wheat that could be grown in dry climates. These plants were grown in places corn and wheat had never been grown before and people who had limited access to food were suddenly growing it for themselves. It's estimated that over 2 billion people have been saved from starvation because of these plants-and all because George Washington Carver took time to instill a love for fauna in 6 year old Henry Wallace.

At one time or another I think most people wonder if they matter, if their life has any impact or meaning beyond their lifetime. Generations after Moses Carver saved that baby boy, 2 billion people are alive because of it. I'm sure that Moses, and probably even George, had no idea that those simple acts would have such far-reaching effects. But it begs the question, what impact will your life have on the future? What unborn people will be impacted because of what you do today? That student you mentor. That cashier you give a friendly smile to. Your own children or nieces or nephews. Who's life will you change that will lead to another change and another and another so that one day, many years after you're gone, the world will be a different, better place because you chose to act today?

PS Chelsea, if you're reading this, the world will be impacted if you do your homework. Get started!! :)

Student Goal Setting-What is our Role?

It's that time of year again. Time for sharpening pencils, testing pens, buying new supplies (and a new wardrobe), and of course goal setting. For me August and September tend to feel more like the new year than January 1. I guess that's because in my life August has always signaled the start of something new. I've been in school in one way or another my whole life. First as a student, then a teacher, then as a full time employee in higher education. But no matter what my role, the start of the school has always signaled the start of a new year.

For me the new year always started with back to school shopping. The smell of new clothes and sight of clean notebooks signals a fresh start and a joy I just can't describe. New teachers, new friends, everything was clean and fresh and stretching out in front of me like a story waiting to be written. As I got older I also used this time to set goals for myself, to prewrite my story if you will. Whether it was my own academics or the instruction of others this felt like the perfect time to re-evaluate my life and see where I was headed. Plus it's a lot easier to plan a 9 month goal than one for 12, right?



That was why when it came time for planning a training for August, the obvious choice to me was student goal setting. Maybe it comes from my background in special ed and those wonderful IEP goals, but to me it seems like everyone who works with students should be interested in this. NC Central has developed an amazing program for first and second year students. These students get lots of individualized attention from a slew of staff including academic advisors and counselors. Even the dean can be seen meeting with students and not a day goes by that at least one doesn't stop by my office to see where he is. (The poor man is always in meetings.) However, upon reviewing my feedback forms I found people questioning the usefulness of the topic.

I understand that some people (like advisors) have very prescribed roles (get them enrolled in classes), and I understand that between caseloads, paperwork, committees, and other responsibilities it can seem like there isn't enough time to get everything done. I don't have a solution for that, I wish I did-I'd make millions. What I do know is that we need to take responsibility for our students and do what we need to do to help them. I am a HUGE fan of country singer and activist Jimmy Wayne. I attended a concert of his at ECU a couple of years ago. It was a very intimate setting and he did about as much telling of his personal story as he did singing. It was a life-changing experience for me. Jimmy talked about his time in the foster care system and how growing up there wasn't a lot of help from adults. It made me rethink my relationship with my students. My goal became to meet them as people, not schedules that needed to be changed or vessels in which to dump study skills. They were human beings who needed love, compassion, a listening ear, and someone to help them set up schedules and teach study skills. From that point forward I tried to really live the "Fish!" philosophy of Being There for my students. I can't say I was always successful. Sometimes my own problems or the paperwork piling up crept in, but I hope that they knew that I loved them and wanted the best for them.

I guess what I'm saying is that goal setting doesn't necessarily fit exactly with a lot of job descriptions, but if you're working with students, shouldn't it? Shouldn't we take the time to get to know our students, to reach out them and meet them where they are? Helping them set goals is one way to do that-to discover their hopes and dreams and to be a part of the achievement. Isn't student success why we got into education in the first place?

If you're interested in finding out more here are a couple of links:

For helping students with goal setting:
http://www.collegeparents.org/members/resources/articles/helping-your-college-student-goal-setting-%E2%80%93-and-action-plans

http://www.setting-and-achieving-goals.com/

To find out more about Jimmy Wayne or Project Meet Me Halfway
http://www.jimmywayne.com/

http://projectmmh.org/

Student Engagement

As I am working on a presentation about student engagement, I can't help but think back to students I've worked with in the past. Many were engaged in the college experience (some in less academic pursuits than others) and others struggled to maintain the appropriate level of educational involvement.

We've all had students who struggled and needed help feeling like their failures were not the result of lack of ability. Studies have shown that helping students see the connection between effort and achievement will help improve their self-esteem and overall academic engagement. But how do we get students to put forth the effort when they are convinced that it will only lead to failure?

I once had a student who struggled to make it through his college classes. His lack of success could be attributed to a number of things: lower IQ, lack of knowledge about how to study, but most of all his lack of effort. You see, Todd was a sweet student who was very likeable. He was one that people just liked to help out, take under at this particular school was not an especially difficult course for students who were willing to put in the effort. There wasn't a great deal of technical information involved, just the need to study effectively and determinedly.

Since Todd needed to repeat the class, we decided that this time around he would focus on setting small goals of consisting of tasks to be accomplished rather than focusing on the grades earned. We set up a study schedule with specific daily hours set aside to work on assignments. Each week we mapped out all the steps he would have to take (reading text, reviewing notes, completing assignments, etc.) and laid them out on a daily to-do list. Once that was done, Todd was only allowed to look at that day’s list and to work on those assignments. When he finished, he was done with Theater for the day. This focused him on the effort needed to acheive the daily goals and prevented him from getting anxious about what tests or papers lied ahead. We celebrated each checked off item rather than the grades earned, and I saved every one of those lists. At the end of the semester, I laid them all out in front of him, and we looked at all of the tasks he had accomplished. This was the most dedicated that Todd had been to any class since he started college. But would it be enough?

At the end of that semester, not only did Todd have an “A” in a class he had previously failed, but he also found a new understanding of how effort equals success. It was a lesson he would need to be reminded of periodically throughout his college career. Todd was a student with a learning disability and many years of failures behind him. There were times for him that it was easier to think about those than the successes he had with just a bit more effort. I am proud to say however, that after 5 years of taking classes Todd successfully finished his undergraduate degree and went on to bigger and better things. It is here I hope he continued to put this lesson to good use.

It is possible to try and fail. But it is impossible to not try and succeed.

Hot Buttons and Hair Triggers

Last Friday I asked members of the University College to express some of the things that drive me crazy. As a new employee at NCCU and the UC, I was encouraged when I saw that no one responded to the prompt "The University College would be a better place if people would stop..." In fact, the overall response to the prompts that directly dealt with work were fairly small. People definitely don't like the temperature issues we have in the Alexander-Dunn Building, but aside from that your co-workers simply asked that people help each other out more and communicate.

Among other trends I noticed that many of the comments dealt with the Golden Rule-being willing to accept others, practice forgiveness, not put people down, not stealing [And after the lunch and laptop thief that's a good one], and basically treating others as you would want to be treated. Wouldn't it be nice if we all, staff and students, approached our lives this way? How much better would the world be if we offered solutions instead of just complaining, share information, stopped using bad language, and simply did the right thing?

We have no power outside of ourselves, but even that can be enough. Doing the right thing can make us feel good and more appreciative of our fellow human beings. Each of us can decide for ourselves what we want that to look like. It can be as simple as letting the person with only a few items standing behind you in the grocery line move ahead. Or we can take on more complex roles with volunteer organizations. No matter what we choose to do, we can work at making our little corner of the world that much better.

My first year of teaching, back in 2001, I was working in a rather small and poor school district making $20,000 a year. (In Ohio each school sets it's own teachers' salary and benefits based on the amount of tax money that comes in, so small, rural districts didn't pay very much. To put it in perspective, that was approximately $21,000 less per year than the typical female wage earner at the time.) I had just gotten married, and my husband was still in school. Because the district was fairly rural, there were no part-time jobs available for him, so my income was all we had. That Christmas we hand-made Buckeyes (a chocolate and peanut butter candy) and cookies because we couldn't afford to buy gifts. On the last day of school before Christmas vacation, I came home tired and discouraged. I knew I was facing a bleak night ahead in the dark (we used candles to save on electricity) eating Ramen noodles with hopefully a chicken breast. As I got the mail I saw that one Christmas card had no return address and a "postage due" stamp. While the amount was fairly insignificant, less than one dollar, it was a very depressing moment. I opened the card expecting to see a generic message from a local restaurant or insurance agency. To my surprise there were several gift cards enclosed and a note saying that the senders knew things were tough and they wanted to help us out. The only repayment was the request that someday we "pay it forward." Now I knew it must have come from my mentor and the other teaching staff. No one else knew what kind of shape we were in, but of course they never said. I was so grateful and promised that someday I would do something for someone else.

It took several years before we had the opportunity, but since that Christmas I have been able to do just that. I have sent money anonymously to different people over the years, but it's more than just buying a gift card and sticking it in the mail. The people I worked with didn't have much themselves. We were all struggling. The salaries in that district were quite low compared to the rest of the state. The possibility of a teachers' strike was looming. It was a rough time for everyone. What really made that gift matter wasn't the money, although we did appreciate their sacrifice, it was the fact that despite the depressing circumstances my co-workers were thinking of people other than themselves. That has stuck with me for the last ten years.

I can't say that I have always been the best at noticing when others were in need. Sometimes, especially the last couple of years, my own pain overwhelmed my ability to do anything but get through the day. But even in my lowest times, I remember that card and the people who so generously followed the Golden Rule. My
circumstances have greatly changed since that December and even just since my most recent Christmas. And I am trying to remember to do the right thing on a regular basis. In 1916, Lily Hardy Hammond wrote, "You don't pay love back; you pay it forward." Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if we all lived to pay it forward? I think I'll start by sharing my popcorn with Mr. Coleman!

Getting Lost in Cyberspace

When I first decided to create a presentation on using social media in higher education, I realized that I was going to need an education of my own. I joined Facebook a couple of years ago under duress, and while I have since learned to enjoy it, I have not exactly embraced other forms of social media. In fact, other than the occasional comment on a Yahoo! news story or Dear Abby, I prefer using the internet as a solitary exercise. That all had to change when I realized that there was a desire from the University College staff to learn about ways to use social media to engage students.

I spent several weeks combing internet articles, joining various sites, and soliciting advice and opinions from my more tech-savvy friends and family. My cousin, a sixth grade English teacher in Michigan, has been writing a blog for years. I read her posts occasionally, and enjoyed them, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized how much she was doing with it. She’s an avid reader who has promoted books and made contacts with famous authors. They actually approach her with offers of free books if she’ll review them on her site. She also has sponsors and over 700 members (made up mostly of people outside the family!). Her most recent post detailed a visit from author Carrie Harris who came and spoke to Beth’s classroom.  I’ve always thought she was a good writer, but I had never paid attention to how advanced her blog was becoming (this one has a long way to go in comparison) until I started looking into ways to use social media.

And she’s not the only person out there who has found a niche in the online community. I found wikis, Twitter accounts, Pinterest boards, and hundreds of other sites dedicated to the use of social media in furthering education (amongst other relevant topics). One of my favorites is a blog written by Dr. Rey Junco (http://blog.reyjunco.com/about).  He is a professor who researches how college students use social media. What impressed me most is that even a non-social media person like me can read and understand what he’s saying. Overall I was amazed at how many different uses there are for social media. I guess I had thought that Twitter and Facebook were about it.

I’ve enjoyed my foray into cyberspace and will probably continue to stretch myself to see what other formats I can use in my current position and in my personal life. However, one thing I’ve learned through all of this is the importance of going slow. Pick out one or two forms to start with and ease into them. Create a plan so you know where you want to go. As Yogi Berra once said, “You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." I hope you’ll wave to me on your journey.

Here are my top 5 tips for using social media followed by links to some excellent sites:

5. Start simple. Figure out which format you feel most comfortable with and start from there.

4. Solicit advice. The cyber world is full of people willing to help. You can even solicit friends and family members to provide feedback. Just don’t give out personal information to anyone you don’t know.

3. The internet is actually pretty safe-but be smart. No one gets something for nothing. If you didn’t enter a drawing or contest you probably didn’t win anything. Clean the cookies off your computer regularly (here’s how: http://www.wikihow.com/Clear-Your-Browser's-Cookies#Steps) and don’t give out any  personal information-EVER!

2. Remember that social media is a tool. It’s not a strategy. It can be one piece that fits into an overall strategy to reach a specific goal, but you can’t rely on it to do all the work. Think about what you want to accomplish and then figure out how social media fits into that.

1. Take a chance! You never know what amazing things you might discover. I never thought I’d enjoy social bookmarking, but I’ve now found a place to keep all those fun sites I accidentally stumble across when I’m working and don’t have time to enjoy them. Like the Yoda hat I’m going to crochet for my nephew or the peanut butter cup brownies I hope to make for training one day. So sit back and enjoy the ride through cyberspace. I did!

Some really good web sites:

50 Definitions of Social Media:

http://thesocialmediaguide.com/social_media/50-definitions-of-social-media

Mom, This is How Twitter Works (Not Just for Moms!)

http://www.jhische.com/twitter

Meet Your Students Where They Are: Social Media

                http://blog.reyjunco.com/pdf/HeibergerJuncoNEA.pdf

Adapting Social Media into College Advising: What is the Connection?

                http://www.collegeview.com/articles/article/adapting-social-media-into-college-advising

Academic Advising, Social Media, and Student Engagement

                http://blog.reyjunco.com/academic-advising-social-media-and-student-engagement

Thinking About Dirt

People are like dirt. They can either nourish you and help you grow as a person or they can stunt your growth and make you wilt and die.
~Plato

I am one of those people with a strong helper personality. It's served me well in the jobs I have had in the past. However, I will confess that my new position really scares me.The trick here is that I'm not working with students any more. In those relationships I was the one with the knowledge and the experience I needed to impart upon them. Now I am working with professionals-people who in some cases have a great deal more education than I do. So how do I go about "helping" these people without coming across as the savior who was brought in to fix their institution? One of the reasons I applied for the job in the first place was the chance to work with this amazing program. It's already so good and staffed by experts in their field. I know I don't have all the answers, but my goal is to make a difference wherever I am.

Earlier this week I attended a conference called "Presentations That Make an Impact." It was developed by Jim Knight who works with KU and does instructional coaching. Despite the large balance now on my credit card, I am so thankful for this opportunity. I learned a great deal but not just about how to present. I learned a lot about people and how to relate to them. One concept really resonated with me. I'd like to share that with you now. The concept is about helping people. In relationships there are 5 truths when it comes to offering assistance. They are:

1. People don't often realize when they need help.
2. People take it personally when you offer help.
3. People have to be involved in creating a solution. If you do the thinking for them they won't engage.
4. If people perceive you as putting yourself one up and them one down, they won't accept assistance. (Think here about men stereotypically not being willing to ask for directions.)
5. Unless people care about the goal, they won't work to achieve it.

What I loved about this notion of helping is that it goes to the heart of who we are as thinking, caring human beings. I love to help others but struggle to ask for help myself. And frequently I don't realize how badly I need help until it's too late. I've also developed a new way of looking at my role at NCCU. At first I thought about how I've struggled for years trying to get students to do what I tell them to do. Because the audience is so different now (i.e. not students) my relationship must be different. No longer am I the teacher, but the facilitator of learning. And then I realized that even when working with students, I need to take these principles into account. No one likes to be told what to do, and people want an opportunity to solve problems for themselves. College students are no different. Given the needed information, they can make informed choices for themselves on how to proceed.

So now my understanding of my new job has shifted. I'm not necessarily here to provide all the answers. We have over 30 people in the University College with many years of experience in a variety of areas. My job is not to control the learning environment but to present information in such a way as to promote the ability to make informed choices about what to do in our profession. How wonderful! We can learn from each other. And how amazing would it be if we took this approach with our students? What if we made them equal contributers to the learning process? What if we gave them choices in they way in which we solve their problems? What if we listened more than we talk to them? Or even at least as much. In order to reach the people we want to help, we must equalibrate the conversation so that all participants have an equal voice. What an amazing world we would have if we all tried to approach each other in this way!

I'm interested to hear your thoughts. What do you think about the principles of helping? Are they realistic in the higher ed environment? And how can we better help our students knowing this? Please post a response below (it can be anonymous). I hate to think I'm having a conversation with myself! :)

Challenges in Motivating 3rd and 4th Year Students

One of the comments in the feedback from today's presentation indicated a need for motivating upper level students to do well, stay in college, and prepare for post graduation. A lot of what we talked about could be applied to older students. They still need to set goals, have a cheerleader in their corner, etc. The difference is the level at which they are working. For example, hopefully a junior will be pretty good at laying out his or her weekly study schedule. Additionally, they probably have an idea of what they want to do after graduation. However, despite the fact that they have achieved so much, they may need support more than ever.

I remember one particular class in my graduate program. It was summer and I had one more summer session and my thesis in the fall and I was done. But this one class was just killing me. I struggled to comprehend the material, the assignments present an even more difficult challenge, and I was definitely not motivated to work. To top it all off the professor was someone who believed that students learned more if they discovered answers for themselves so asking questions just led me to doubt whether I understood anything at all. I remember one Saturday crying at my desk because I just couldn't do it anymore. My husband came home (he had taken our daughter out to give me some quiet working time) and sat with me-reminding me how far I'd come, what my goals were, and what I would get when I finally earned that degree. I can't say that I immediately went back to work, but every time I was tempted to give up after that I remembered what he said. I reminded myself how far I'd come and what I was working for. I think our juniors and seniors need that. They need people to remind them that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and what will be there when they reach it. An uplifting speech, effective praise, or a motivational tip may be just what they need to keep going when things seem to be at their darkest.

Upper classmen also need help preparing for life after college. It's wonderful to have a job or career path in mind, but how do they get there? Hopefully students have started working with Career Services (see document for an example of what students can be doing throughout their education), and at this point we should encourage them to check out career fairs. Giving them a list of concrete actions they can take right now to prepare will help them be more motivated to get through to graduation. I was fortunate to work at a university with a fabulous Career Center (they helped me with my own job search as well). I have not had the opportunity to explore the services here at NCCU, but I do have quite a bit of material for students on finding a career after graduation. I'm happy to share that if anyone is interested.

I have also found some links to articles that might be helpful for additional ideas and information. Please let me know if there is more I can do or if we need a session specifically on this.

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/motivation.html

http://www.virtualsalt.com/motivate.htm

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/boost-your-skills/8454.html

Motivation-Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?

Human beings are pre-wired to be motivated. Think about it. Something gets us up every morning. Whether it’s the need for coffee or breakfast or the desire to go to work so we can pay the bills we’re motivated to satisfy those needs.

When it comes to work, some people just seem to be naturally more self-motivated than others. And every one of us can recall a time when we felt less motivated about our current situations. The work project we don’t want to do, the laundry piling up at home, there are plenty of things in real life that act as de-motivators. On the other hand, when we’re excited about what we’re doing, we reap the rewards.

Job performance= ability X motivation

So how do we, as professionals, respond when we are feeling less than motivated? After all, how can I inspire students to achieve if I’m not enthusiastic about being at work myself? Just as with students, there is no one size fits all solution to discovering ways to motivate ourselves. There is a motivation cycle that looks like this:

Basically it means that our motivation leads to increased job satisfaction which leads to increased productivity and therefore increases motivation. But remove one of the links and the cycle falls apart. You can’t be productive if you aren’t motivated but lower productivity decreases motivation. We can start by remembering what brought us into this work in the first place? Did you want to make a difference? Enjoy college? Delight in working with college students? Or was it just a job? Think about a time when you were excited to come to work in the mornings. What was it about that time that made it enjoyable? How can you get that back? It’s important to understand the sources of your motivation so you can use them to dig yourself out of a slump.

It’s also important to spend some time looking at what decreases our motivation. College students can be a frustrating group. They are adults, smart and competent, but in so many ways they can still be very immature. Listen to your own self-talk. Are you struggling because you feel unappreciated? Like you aren’t making a difference? Overwhelmed with the workload? And what will improve these feelings?

I am a quote queen. I have been collecting motivational quotes since I was very young and have several volumes full of statements that inspire, motivate, and move me. I love reading inspirational books and going to conferences with speakers. When I'm working I surround myself with motivational objects-quotes, pictures, plants, stuffed animals,-whatever will make me feel good when I look at it.These things energize me and help me regain focus when my motivation dwindles. What works for you and how can you incorporate them into your work life?

I've got another story for you:

The last day of classes before Spring Break in 2008 was rough, and I was feeling severely unmotivated. I had the job of my dreams, providing support services to students with learning disabilities who were attending college, but I was unhappy. I finally had a chance to make a difference for a group of students who were grossly underrepresented in higher education, but I didn't feel like I was reaching them. I was sitting at my desk that cold rainy morning trying to beef up my lesson for the day when I got an email video from my sister.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, the speaker was Randy Pausch, a computer science professor from Carnegie Melon who had given a talk at the university called “The Last Lecture.” He had recently been diagnosed with inoperable cancer and was dying. His speech was really aimed at leaving something for his children, but it had become an internet sensation. He was even invited to be on Oprah giving the scaled down version in my email inbox. My sister simply wrote "Watch this when you have 10 minutes. Very inspirational." I was in the mood to be inspired, so I watched. And I cried. And then I scrapped my entire lesson and brought the video into class. I can’t say that all of them reacted the way I hoped, but I know it touched a few. That day I realized that I cannot reach every student, but I also can’t give up on them. Four years later I still watch this video whenever I'm feeling discouraged or need a little inspiration. I hope it helps you as well.

I hope that this might inspire you the way it has for me. And if it does, take some time to watch the original lecture. The full version is available on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7zzQpvoYcQ

Course Progress Record: Breathe Some Life into Your GPA!

A course progress record (or CPR) is really just an individual’s report card. It helps students keep track of the assignments for each class and also gives them a great icebreaker for meeting with an instructor for the first time. Students who take time to read the syllabus and then meet with the professor also tend to make a good first impression, and it increases the likelihood they will seek help if needed. Plus the instructor knows that at least one student read their syllabus.

It’s a win-win!

Students choose a format for use with each class (they may use different forms depending on the type of class or they may stick with just one method for all classes). The important thing is for them to fill out as much information as possible before the semester gets too far underway. Of course some syllabi have every assignment, due date, lecture topic, etc. and some don’t. Students just have to do the best they can knowing that they may have to add, subtract, or change assignments down the road.

I find that students often don’t know what their grade is in a class. They’ll tell you they’re doing great because they got an A on a 10 point assignment and they completely forget the D on the 100 point test they earned two weeks before. Conversely some students are sure they’re failing as soon as they have one poor grade not remembering that they’ve still got 1000 points possible to earn in the class.

During the first week of classes the student reads each syllabus and completes one form for each class including all listed assignments, a way of recording attendance, due dates, etc.

By the second week of classes the student needs to make an appointment to meet with instructor and follow through. In the meeting, the student should show his/her CPR to the instructor and ask for feedback. It may go something like this:

“Professor Jones, I read your syllabus and want to make sure I do well in this course. I have taken what you wrote and created a chart for myself to help me keep track of my assignments and grades. Would you be willing to take a look to make sure I haven’t missed anything and that if I do everything on this list and do it well I will learn the content and earn a good grade in the course?”

Sometimes the response will be noncommittal or even unimpressed, but in my experience instructors tend to react favorably to this kind of early interaction with students. It shows that the student 1) read the syllabus and 2) has taken the information and created a new represtentation. No matter what happens, the student has most likely made a favorable first impression on the instructor making it easier to come back later in the semester. I once had a student whose instructor suggested that he use a particular web resource from the textbook when studying for his exams. He did, taking every sample test they offered. It turned out that the instructor simply used that program and copied and pasted the test questions directly. So when the student went to take the test he had already studied every single question ion it. She didn’t share that information with the entire class just those who went to see her.

Grades should be added to the CPR as soon as they come in, and I encourage students to keep the form in their notebooks or with their syllabi to facilitate this. Once a week students should review their grades, make additions as necessary, and calculate their grade for each class. Students who are in academic difficulty can be required to email the form to their instructor, advisor, tutor, or anyone else who might be able to help them. I also recommend that a student send them to the instructor if s/he is struggling in the class.

Students struggle with deadlines and understanding syllabi, keeping track of their grades, and realizing the impact that each assignment has on their GPA. Using a CPR encourages students to actively engage in the evaluation process and reduces the risk of missing an assignment.