Learning to learn through reflection and connection Marisa Orr If possible, please include a picture of yourself here. It does not need to be high- resolution. Keywords: reflection, autonomy, connection, self-regulation, dynamics, first-year seminar

Why? What problem are you solving? – Students focused on getting the right answer rather than learning the process. What are your educational objectives? – To help students become more aware of their own learning and study habits through reflection activities so that they can become better learners and agents of their own education.

When? What is the developmental history of your innovation? One-on-one mentoring of students, usually after they performed poorly on a test Elimination of online homework, changed to effort-based grading of paper homework Students allowed to work in groups to encourage discussion Individual reflection questions added to homework throughout the term Positive results in Dynamics and exposure to a new idea at FYEE led to revising my section of University Seminar Implemented “Design your Process to become a World-Class Engineer” in University Seminar

Where? Have you tried this in other institutions? – No Is this developed for a single class, a full course, or a curriculum? – Developed for a full course – Dynamics sophomore/junior mechanical and civil engineers – Expanded for a full course – University Seminar first quarter freshmen engineers

What? What learning activities and materials have you developed? – Dynamics: Homework rubric – Dynamics: Connection questions – Seminar: Guided reflection essay homeworks and attendance questions What is your theory of change? – Self-regulation, providing autonomy and fostering reflection What has worked really well? – New homework has led to better questions in class and in office hours, less “magic math” to come up with the correct answer

Homework Rubric 1 pt Gather Information: Underline the problem number. Write the question and given diagrams. Identify knowns and unknowns. 1 pt Organize and plan: Identify law/equation/relationship to be used. Draw appropriate diagrams. This may include Free Body Diagrams (FBDs), Kinetic Diagrams (KDs), or other relevant sketches. Show your coordinate system. Show known and unknown quantities with variable names or values. 2 pts Analysis: Identify the specific equations that you will employ- write them out before you plug in values. Plug in the numbers and solve. Use sentences as necessary to explain your processes. Report the answer with an appropriate number of significant digits and appropriate units. Place the final answer in a box with units and direction (either using an arrow or vector notation). 1 pt Learn from your efforts: Do the units come out correctly? Think about why you were assigned this particular problem: What were you supposed to learn from it? How is it similar to other problems you've seen? How is it different? Is there one special step or idea that seems to hold the key to solving it? What new information have you learned about the way real objects behave? (+1 for especially thoughtful answers) 5 ptsTotal per problem -1 ptmissing staple, out of order, or otherwise unprofessional

Prognosis? How are you documenting impact? – Dynamics: performance on tests, in class – Seminar: retention in engineering and at the University – need to get IRB protocol in place How do you plan to scale-up? – Will use seminar materials for a summer professional development course as part of a S-STEM proposal What challenges are you currently facing? – Classroom space/design – Logistics of collecting and grading reflections What advice would you like from others at FOEE? – Managing workload while giving students good feedback