MIND OVER MATTER Applying Grit and the Growth Mindset to ACA 122

Mind Over Matter Kerry F. Cantwell Chair, First-Year Experience Durham Technical Community College Deidre Yancey Instructor, College Success Durham Technical Community College

Agenda Background Learning Outcomes Introduction to Metacognition Metacognition and Bio-reaction Metacognition and Grit Metacognition and Resilience Conclusion and Questions

A Little Background ACA 122 at Durham Tech All students in all degree programs Three Main Themes Goal Discernment Learning Strategies College Culture ACA Faculty Summer Read 2013: Mindset 2014: Social-Psychological Interventions in Education Academy for College Excellence Five-Day Experiential Learning Institute (Summer 2015)

Learning Outcomes 1.Participants in this workshop will be able to explain clearly the concepts of metacognition, resilience, grit, and bio-reaction. 2.Participants in this workshop will be able to explain the connection between metacognitive skill-building and student success. 3.Participants in this workshop will leave with strategies that they can use in their own classrooms to incorporate metacognitive skill-building.

College Success Academic Success Determination and Personal Reflection

Metacognition Thinking about thinking.

Count the Vowels Dollar Bill Dice Tricycle Four Leaf Clover Hand Six-Pack Seven-Up Octopus Cat Lives Bowling Pins Football Team Dozen Eggs Unlucky Friday Valentine’s Day Quarter Hour

Write the Words Write down all of the words you recall from the list.

Memorize the Words Dollar Bill Dice Tricycle Four Leaf Clover Hand Six-Pack Seven-Up Octopus Cat Lives Bowling Pins Football Team Dozen Eggs Unlucky Friday Valentine’s Day Quarter Hour

Write the Words Add to your list the words you remember this time.

Organize the Words Dollar Bill Dice Tricycle Four Leaf Clover Hand Six-Pack Seven-Up Octopus Cat Lives Bowling Pins Football Team Dozen Eggs Unlucky Friday Valentine’s Day Quarter Hour

Write the Words Can you remember all of the words this time?

Learning Styles We can improve our ability to learn! We learn better when we know exactly what we’re supposed to do. We learn better when we can see how new ideas are organized.

Research John Flavell: Father of metacognition Related to self-efficacy Kharaman & Sungur (2011): Strong self-efficacy leads to stronger metacognitive strategy use, which leads to better planning and self- monitoring, and, thus, better academic performance.

Metacognition and Bio-Reaction

Reflection: Identify and think about a stressful situation that occurred for you recently (don’t pick anything too traumatic!). For a moment of two, revisit that situation. Picture it in your mind, and pay close attention to the thoughts you had at the time, and to your body’s response – both then, and now. How did (do) you feel? What was (is) going on in your body?

Bio-Reaction – our body’s physical response to stress FIGHT FLIGHT FREEZE APPEASE STIMULUS Amygdala senses threat Conversant Solutions, LLC, 2002

Choosing our reaction to stress Recognize when you’re in a state of bio-reaction so that your brain has time to stop and think logically. Your reaction to stress can be either positive, or negative

Choosing our reaction to stress Negative Positive Deal with the situation and improve it in some way Make the situation worse or cause more problems down the road

Common Negative Responses to Stress Becoming angry or upset Blaming someone else Acting out with physical violence Ignoring or avoiding a problem or situation Pretending the stress isn’t happening Lying to avoid responsibility Overindulging (food, alcohol, sleeping too much, etc.) Withdrawing

Common Positive Responses to Stress Take a break until you calm down Figure out what’s in your control and what’s not…and gauge your reaction accordingly Get more information about the situation Talk to any others involved in the situation to see if you can arrive at a solution View the situation as a chance to learn something. Plan ahead to help avoid this kind of stress in the future. Decide on one step you can take to handle the situation and act on it.

Common Stressors: 1. Drowning in a pile of homework Negative ResponsesPositive Responses Not completing/ submitting the assignment(s) Ignoring the homework altogether Breaking up the assignment(s) into smaller, more manageable pieces Requesting assistance from the instructor

Common Stressors: 2. Realizing that you are unprepared for a big exam Negative ResponsesPositive Responses Mentally “giving up” and marking answers at random Getting frustrated and simply leaving class without finishing the exam Take a moment to breathe! Scan the test to see which answers you DO know – and do those first Come back to remaining questions after first pass- through

Common Stressors: 3. Getting stuck in traffic Negative ResponsesPositive Responses Shouting or gesturing at other drivers/acting aggressively Becoming frustrated and anxious Taking a deep breath Reminding yourself that the situation is outside of your control Focusing on something else instead – using the “extra time” to your advantage

Common Stressors: 4. Being assigned a task in class that you don’t know how to do Negative ResponsesPositive Responses Complaining or grumbling about it Not attempting it at all Asking a peer or the instructor for clarification Seeking assistance in other ways – online, tutoring center, etc.

MetacognitionScenario NegativePositive Scenario NegativePositive

Research Academy for College Excellence Diego Navarro, Cabrillo College Effect of non-cognitive factors on college success academyforcollegeexcellence.org

Metacognition and Grit What is grit? “Passion and perseverance for long-term goals” (Duckworth, 2013).

The Past Reflection... Thinking back over your life thus far, what are you proud of? What difficult things have you accomplished? What have been your victories? List them in “The Past” box on your reflection sheet.

The Present Reflection... What have you done, or what steps have you taken, in THIS, the current leg of your journey? What sacrifices or choices have you made, and what chances did you take – for better or for worse? Maybe they worked out well, maybe they didn’t – either way, list them in “The Present” box on your reflection sheet.

The Future Reflection... As you look to the future, what things do you want to achieve? What things do you see yourself doing in the future, with regard to your education and your career? List those thing in “The Future” box on your reflection sheet.

Revisions Reflection... Looking back on your Past and your Present, what changes would you make? What (if any) lessons did you learn? What would you do differently, if you had a second shot at the same opportunities? List those in the “Revisions” box on your reflection sheet.

Your previous experiences don’t define your future, but they do inform it. ➔ Look at your Past – what you’ve accomplished, and the amazing things you can do. If you did it before, you’re capable of doing it again! ➔ Look at the Present – what you’ve sacrificed, and the work you’ve already put in. ➔ Look at your Revisions – what you’ve learned from your mistakes. You have every tool in your power to make the things in your Future happen. The rest is up to you!

SMART Goals Draft Academic Goal Refine and Revise Applying Grit

Research Angela Duckworth: The Power of Passion and Perseverance Nine item “grit scale” Students in her research showed greater likelihood of reaching long-term goals.

Metacognition and Resilience What is resilience? The ability to recover quickly.

Neuroplasticity ACA 122: COLLEGE SUCCESS

Your Brain Intelligence is fixed Intelligence grows

Which One Is True? Why?  The brain is like a muscle: the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.  You are born being however smart or dumb you will ever be, no matter how hard you try.

Neuroplasticity Video

Adaptive Plasticity The ability of the brain to adjust to experience, adapt to function losses, and maximize function after brain damage.

Effort Leads to Learning

Failure Leads to Learning

Carol Dweck: Mindsets Intelligence is fixed Intelligence grows Fixed mindset Growth mindset

Fixed vs. Growth

Fixed vs. Growth

Fixed vs. Growth

Rethinking Your Brain  The brain is like a muscle: the more you exercise it, the stronger it gets.  You are born being however smart or dumb you will ever be, no matter how hard you try.

Additional Activities Core Values, Strengths, and Weaknesses Beginning of Course: What are your three most important core values? Why are they important to you? End of Course: Are these still your three main core values? Name a situation in which each value has been important. How can your core values help you solve problems? Letters from the Past

Research Carol Dweck: Mindset David Yeager and Gregory Walton Gregory Walton and Geoffrey Cohen Carol Dweck: Mindset David Yeager and Gregory Walton Gregory Walton and Geoffrey Cohen

Cognitive Reaction GritResilience

Questions?

Works Cited Asera, R. & Navarro, D. (2013, June 3). A day in the life: Pedagogy for the Academy for College Excellence’s foundation course. The RP Group. Retrieved from Duckworth, A. (2013). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. TED. Retrieved from on_and_perseverance#t Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House. Kahraman, N., & Sungur, S. (2011,) The contribution of motivational beliefs to students’ metacognitive strategy use. Education and Science, 36 (160) Retrieved from Yeager, D., & Walton, G. (2011, April 19). Social-psychological interventions in education: They’re not magic. Review of Educational Research, 81,

Thank You! Kerry F. CantwellDeidre Yancey