According to research by Complete College America, the longer it takes to earn a degree, the less likely you are to succeed. The logic is straightforward. As time passes, "life happens" and completing college becomes all the more difficult. Maybe a child is born, or a spouse transfers jobs, or funds dry up, or goals change.
These numbers also bear out at Community College of Denver. Full-time students are twice as likely to persist and complete as part-time students.
Reality is rarely black and white. While part-time students may be less successful due to the passage of time, it may also be that the life circumstances that lead to part-time enrollment (financial instability, working multiple jobs, family commitments, et cetera) are the true culprits of non-completion. For students in these situations, attempting to force full-time enrollment may lead to even quicker stop out from college.
Yet, one fact is absolutely certain. The longer you are in college as a part-time student, the more it costs. There is opportunity cost, which is the extra income you will earn with a degree that is being delayed as your time to degree extends. There is financial aid cost, as extra credits may endanger your eligibility for grants and part-time enrollment may disqualify you from certain scholarships. There is interest cost, which may be accruing on your student loans to be capitalized upon exit from college. There is inflationary cost, as tuition and fees continue to rise year in and year out. There is motivation cost, as students simply burn out as college drags on and on.
The questions become: If you are a part-time student, why? Is there any way to realistically increase your enrollment in order to shorten your time to degree completion?
You may consider scholarships, grants, work-study, and the prudent use of student loans to increase your income and hence decrease your work hours.
You may consider evening, weekend, and online courses to better manage your personal commitments and increase your enrollment.
You may consider utilizing all the academic support resources possible to ensure that you do not need to repeat courses and can manage a heavier course load.
You may consider adjusting your work schedule, delegating household tasks, asking family members for help, and pausing your social life during the semester.
You may consider enrolling year round with inter-term and summer term courses.
You may use online resources such as the Khan Academy, on-campus resources such as the Prep Lab, and accelerated course options in order to hasten your time through remedial courses.
You may boost your motivation and determination to "put in the work" now that you know the cost and danger of moving along at a more leisurely pace.
What else might you do?
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Landing a Dream Job in the 21st Century
A college degree is not a guaranteed ticket to your dream job. As more and more people around the world earn college degrees, as technology and outsourcing continues apace, and as economies ebb and flow, the market for good paying and rewarding careers becomes increasingly competitive. A college degree will get your foot in the door but landing your dream job will require something more.
"Students shouldn’t just take what’s handed to them in the classroom, they should do all they can to supplement their education with additional skill-building," concludes Allie Grasgreen, in the article Qualified in their Own Minds.
But how?
The first place to start, in fact, is in the classroom.
Doing the bare minimum to earn a passing grade and seeking out "easy" courses will not prepare you to land your dream job. Focusing on courses within your academic major while skimming through general education courses is a missed opportunity.
Instead, take the initiative to cultivate higher order skills, including critical thinking and problem solving skills, the ability to speak and write effectively, and the capacity to work well with others. Move beyond mere memorization and understanding of content knowledge, and strive to apply, analyze and evaluate. Connect with your instructors to learn more about specific skills sets important to particular careers. Develop your leadership style through group work. Experiment with new technologies.
In addition, participate in career development experiences. Build your network through job shadowing and informational interviews. Volunteer with projects related to your career interests. Get a part-time job or internship within your field, even if it is the most entry level of positions. Find out about professional associations related to your dream job and become a student member. Participate in workshops and advising related to resumes, interviews, and professionalism.
Finally, get involved with student activities happening around campus and in the local community. Join a student organization or student government. Participate in service learning projects. Take advantage of workshops and seminars on leadership development and diversity. Participate in alternative spring break, inter-term service trips, and study abroad.
No doubt commitments inside and outside of school will shape and limit your ability to participate in these types of activities. Do as much as possible within your courses, attend what you can on-campus, and then strategically pick one or two time-intensive off-campus activities.
"Students shouldn’t just take what’s handed to them in the classroom, they should do all they can to supplement their education with additional skill-building," concludes Allie Grasgreen, in the article Qualified in their Own Minds.
But how?
The first place to start, in fact, is in the classroom.
Doing the bare minimum to earn a passing grade and seeking out "easy" courses will not prepare you to land your dream job. Focusing on courses within your academic major while skimming through general education courses is a missed opportunity.
Instead, take the initiative to cultivate higher order skills, including critical thinking and problem solving skills, the ability to speak and write effectively, and the capacity to work well with others. Move beyond mere memorization and understanding of content knowledge, and strive to apply, analyze and evaluate. Connect with your instructors to learn more about specific skills sets important to particular careers. Develop your leadership style through group work. Experiment with new technologies.
In addition, participate in career development experiences. Build your network through job shadowing and informational interviews. Volunteer with projects related to your career interests. Get a part-time job or internship within your field, even if it is the most entry level of positions. Find out about professional associations related to your dream job and become a student member. Participate in workshops and advising related to resumes, interviews, and professionalism.
Finally, get involved with student activities happening around campus and in the local community. Join a student organization or student government. Participate in service learning projects. Take advantage of workshops and seminars on leadership development and diversity. Participate in alternative spring break, inter-term service trips, and study abroad.
No doubt commitments inside and outside of school will shape and limit your ability to participate in these types of activities. Do as much as possible within your courses, attend what you can on-campus, and then strategically pick one or two time-intensive off-campus activities.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Highly Inefficient Efficiencies in the Workplace
In the New York Times article “Messages Galore, but No Time to Think,” Phyllis Korkki
highlights the insidious dark side of our deterministic march toward technological productivity. At any given moment, we can now use e-mail, cellphones, instant messaging, text messaging, social media, corporate intranets, cloud applications, and pagers to communicate at work. (What did I miss?) Moreover, the fluidity of these technologies means that we can mix our personal and work communication, 24/7.
Technology is in itself value neutral; its use determines its value. I am thinking of the electrical outlet at my grandparents’ old house, where we managed to use various splitters and power strips to plug in a dozen cords into a single outlet. At some point, of course, this becomes dangerous, either blowing a fuse, or worse, sending a shower of sparks into your home. This is past the point of diminishing returns.
When will we reach this point, as we plug more and more communication lines into our minds? When did we?
“Something may have been lost as we adopted these new communication tools: the ability to concentrate,” asserts Korkki.
According to neuroscientists such as Dr. Daniel Seagull, the practice of mindfulness – or sustained attention – thickens the pre-frontal cortex, which is the rational center of the brain. The pre-frontal cortex balances the more impulsive amygdala system. Balance is good, because sometimes deliberation is required, but other times (such as in dangerous situations), a quicker response is required.
For the sake of the argument, let’s assume that our excessive use of always on multiple communication technologies is the opposite of mindfulness practice. Instead, such practice is to quickly divide out attention in the name of efficiency. What does that do to neurological balance between our rational and our impulsive systems?
The question then becomes: Does the work we do require sustained rational analysis and decision making? Because if it does, we may be shooting ourselves in the foot in the name of efficiency.
Here, it seems, efficiency takes the form of a Zen koan: that which we seek we cannot find unless we stop seeking.
“To lessen the disruptive nature of e-mail and other messages, teams need to discuss how to alter their work process to allow blocks of time where they can disconnect entirely,” adds Korkki.
In other words, the most effective and productive approach requires that we set aside some time to slow down and focus on only one thing.
“Nature does not hurry, yet all is accomplished,” stated Lao Tzu, long ago.
Here is one intervention: actually take your lunch break, and put all of your electronic devices in sleep mode, if only for 30 minutes.
And another easy starting point: unless there is a legitimate reason to do so, do not send an e-mail to someone when you could take a minute to walk over and talk to them in person.
Lastly, keep in mind that neuroscience has debunked multi-tasking as a myth. Your brain is not hardwired to focus on more than one thing at a time – it is what it is. Multi-tasking is simply the rationing out of that one line to shorts bursts of limited attention. Is this really the most efficient way of doing things?
Are you busy, or are you productive? These are two different things.
highlights the insidious dark side of our deterministic march toward technological productivity. At any given moment, we can now use e-mail, cellphones, instant messaging, text messaging, social media, corporate intranets, cloud applications, and pagers to communicate at work. (What did I miss?) Moreover, the fluidity of these technologies means that we can mix our personal and work communication, 24/7.
Technology is in itself value neutral; its use determines its value. I am thinking of the electrical outlet at my grandparents’ old house, where we managed to use various splitters and power strips to plug in a dozen cords into a single outlet. At some point, of course, this becomes dangerous, either blowing a fuse, or worse, sending a shower of sparks into your home. This is past the point of diminishing returns.
When will we reach this point, as we plug more and more communication lines into our minds? When did we?
“Something may have been lost as we adopted these new communication tools: the ability to concentrate,” asserts Korkki.
According to neuroscientists such as Dr. Daniel Seagull, the practice of mindfulness – or sustained attention – thickens the pre-frontal cortex, which is the rational center of the brain. The pre-frontal cortex balances the more impulsive amygdala system. Balance is good, because sometimes deliberation is required, but other times (such as in dangerous situations), a quicker response is required.
For the sake of the argument, let’s assume that our excessive use of always on multiple communication technologies is the opposite of mindfulness practice. Instead, such practice is to quickly divide out attention in the name of efficiency. What does that do to neurological balance between our rational and our impulsive systems?
The question then becomes: Does the work we do require sustained rational analysis and decision making? Because if it does, we may be shooting ourselves in the foot in the name of efficiency.
Here, it seems, efficiency takes the form of a Zen koan: that which we seek we cannot find unless we stop seeking.
“To lessen the disruptive nature of e-mail and other messages, teams need to discuss how to alter their work process to allow blocks of time where they can disconnect entirely,” adds Korkki.
In other words, the most effective and productive approach requires that we set aside some time to slow down and focus on only one thing.
“Nature does not hurry, yet all is accomplished,” stated Lao Tzu, long ago.
Here is one intervention: actually take your lunch break, and put all of your electronic devices in sleep mode, if only for 30 minutes.
And another easy starting point: unless there is a legitimate reason to do so, do not send an e-mail to someone when you could take a minute to walk over and talk to them in person.
Lastly, keep in mind that neuroscience has debunked multi-tasking as a myth. Your brain is not hardwired to focus on more than one thing at a time – it is what it is. Multi-tasking is simply the rationing out of that one line to shorts bursts of limited attention. Is this really the most efficient way of doing things?
Are you busy, or are you productive? These are two different things.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Student Loans and SLOPE
In a perfect world, there would be no need for student loans. However, with rising cost of higher education, the reality is that most students need to take on some debt in order to achieve their academic and career goals. Up to a point, a student loan is a good financial investment, a reasonable tool to achieve a credential. You need to spend money to make money, as the saying goes. But where is the tipping point at which student debt becomes a burden, a failed investment?
The answer is: It depends. Since different careers earn different incomes, a reasonable amount of debt will vary from one person to the next. Lucky for us, there is a relatively easy calculation that will put student debt into perspective: Student Loans Over Projected Earnings, or SLOPE.
How can you estimate these amounts when you are still a student?
Total Student Loan Amount Take the overall student loans that you have already accrued (found at NSLDS) and divide by the number of semesters you have completed. This will give you an average per semester. Multiply this average by your number of semesters remaining, and add this to your current student loans in order to get your projected total. If you think your circumstance may require you to borrow more in future semesters – for example, if you will transfer to a more expensive school – you will need to figure these numbers into your calculations as best you can.
For example, let’s take an Elementary Education student – let’s call him Bob. Bob currently has $8000 in overall student loans after 7 semesters at the community college. $8000 divided by 7: he is averaging $1143 per semester. Bob has one semester remaining at the community college, so let’s add the average $1143 to his current total $8,000: $9143. Bob plans to then transfer to a university and complete his Bachelor’s degree in five additional semesters. He knows that tuition and fees at the university are about $2000 more per semester. Bob hopes to get scholarships, but for planning purposes, let’s assume he will get this extra $2000 through student loans. So, we add $2000 to $1143 (what he has been taking out at the community college), to estimate that Bob will need $3143 in loans per semester for five semesters at the university: $3143x5= $15,715. We add his community college total ($9143) to his university total ($15,715), and Bob projects his total student loan amount to be $24,858.
Monthly Loan Payment Of course, you will need to repay your Total Borrowed, with interest. The Monthly Payment is how much you will need to pay your loan provider each month. The Total Payoff is how much money in total you will repay on your loans once interest is added.
Let’s go to studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans. Click on Calculate your Estimated Loan Payments. We will use 6.8% interest, which is the current rate. Enter your projected loan total. Let’s use Bob, our earlier example: $24,858. Hit Enter and here you have Bob’s monthly payment and total payoff for standard, graduated, and extended repayment. Notice how a lower monthly payment leads to a higher total payoff, and vice versa?
What is the difference between repayment plans? We can divide these options into four categories – Standard Repayment, Graduated Repayment, Extended Repayment, and Income Repayment.
In Standard Repayment, your monthly payment is evenly divided between 120 months, or 10 years. Standard Repayment will probably have the highest monthly payment, but you will pay less interest overall, and your Total Payoff will be less. You can also pay more than your monthly payment each month, to reduce the time and total pay off. If you can afford the monthly payment, this is probably the best repayment option.
In Graduated Repayment, you also reach payoff in 120 months (10 years), but your monthly payment is lower in the beginning, and more in the end. If you cannot currently make payments under the Standard Plan, but expect your income to rise significantly in the next 4-8 years, then this is your best repayment option.
In Extended Repayment , you have more time to pay off your loans, up to 25 years. The downside is that your total payoff significantly increases as you take longer to complete payment. I would only recommend Extended Repayment after first considering the other three options.
There are a number of different options under Income Repayment, each with different eligibility requirements, but the general principle is the same: your monthly payment is based on how much you earn. If and when your income increases, then your monthly payment will increase. Based on the specific option, you will have between 10 and 25 years to repay your loans, and any remaining loan amount after 25 years of payments may be forgiven. Income Repayment will likely produce the most reasonable monthly payment, but once again, your total payoff will increase as time passes.
Projected Earnings Of course, not all careers offer the same salary. To get a general idea of what to expect for your career choice, let’s go towww.onetonline.org, the Occupational Network produced by the U.S. Department of Labor. Type in your desired career into Occupation Search. You will see all sorts of great career information here, but for today’s purposes, let’s scroll all the way down to the bottom to Wages and Employment Trends, where you will find your Annual Median Salary.
Now, a median salary is an average salary, so you can expect to earn less at the beginning of your career, and perhaps more at the end of your career. There are also salary differences based on where you work, your level of education, and so on. But the annual median salary is a good reference point.
If we return to Bob, our Elementary Education student, we see that O Net lists a median salary of $52,000. So, what would be the monthly take home pay for an elementary school teacher earning an annual salary of $52,000? Of course, we take $52,000 and divide by 12 months in a year, which comes to $4333 per month. Then we multiply $4333 by 75%, to get a monthly take home pay of $3250. Why the 75%? Roughly 25% of your monthly salary will go to taxes, health insurance, retirement accounts, and other benefits. This percentage will vary, but 25% is a good estimate for middle-income, benefited positions.
SLOPE Can Bob afford the $286 monthly payment required by Standard Repayment, which would allow the lowest total payoff? The answer is: it depends on his SLOPE. SLOPE stands for Student Loans Over Projected Earnings.
Bob's monthly student loan payment is $286. Bob's monthly projected earnings (take-home pay) is $3250. Bob's SLOPE is 286 divided by 3250, which equals 0.088, or 8.8%. In other words, 8.8% of Bob's monthly take home pay goes toward student loan repayment.
Generally speaking, a SLOPE under 10% is great, up to 15% is manageable, and 20% should be your absolute limit.
By estimating your SLOPE now (before you have accrued all of your debt), you can make proactive decisions regarding how much student loan debt you can afford.
The answer is: It depends. Since different careers earn different incomes, a reasonable amount of debt will vary from one person to the next. Lucky for us, there is a relatively easy calculation that will put student debt into perspective: Student Loans Over Projected Earnings, or SLOPE.
How can you estimate these amounts when you are still a student?
Total Student Loan Amount Take the overall student loans that you have already accrued (found at NSLDS) and divide by the number of semesters you have completed. This will give you an average per semester. Multiply this average by your number of semesters remaining, and add this to your current student loans in order to get your projected total. If you think your circumstance may require you to borrow more in future semesters – for example, if you will transfer to a more expensive school – you will need to figure these numbers into your calculations as best you can.
For example, let’s take an Elementary Education student – let’s call him Bob. Bob currently has $8000 in overall student loans after 7 semesters at the community college. $8000 divided by 7: he is averaging $1143 per semester. Bob has one semester remaining at the community college, so let’s add the average $1143 to his current total $8,000: $9143. Bob plans to then transfer to a university and complete his Bachelor’s degree in five additional semesters. He knows that tuition and fees at the university are about $2000 more per semester. Bob hopes to get scholarships, but for planning purposes, let’s assume he will get this extra $2000 through student loans. So, we add $2000 to $1143 (what he has been taking out at the community college), to estimate that Bob will need $3143 in loans per semester for five semesters at the university: $3143x5= $15,715. We add his community college total ($9143) to his university total ($15,715), and Bob projects his total student loan amount to be $24,858.
Monthly Loan Payment Of course, you will need to repay your Total Borrowed, with interest. The Monthly Payment is how much you will need to pay your loan provider each month. The Total Payoff is how much money in total you will repay on your loans once interest is added.
Let’s go to studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans. Click on Calculate your Estimated Loan Payments. We will use 6.8% interest, which is the current rate. Enter your projected loan total. Let’s use Bob, our earlier example: $24,858. Hit Enter and here you have Bob’s monthly payment and total payoff for standard, graduated, and extended repayment. Notice how a lower monthly payment leads to a higher total payoff, and vice versa?
What is the difference between repayment plans? We can divide these options into four categories – Standard Repayment, Graduated Repayment, Extended Repayment, and Income Repayment.
In Standard Repayment, your monthly payment is evenly divided between 120 months, or 10 years. Standard Repayment will probably have the highest monthly payment, but you will pay less interest overall, and your Total Payoff will be less. You can also pay more than your monthly payment each month, to reduce the time and total pay off. If you can afford the monthly payment, this is probably the best repayment option.
In Graduated Repayment, you also reach payoff in 120 months (10 years), but your monthly payment is lower in the beginning, and more in the end. If you cannot currently make payments under the Standard Plan, but expect your income to rise significantly in the next 4-8 years, then this is your best repayment option.
In Extended Repayment , you have more time to pay off your loans, up to 25 years. The downside is that your total payoff significantly increases as you take longer to complete payment. I would only recommend Extended Repayment after first considering the other three options.
There are a number of different options under Income Repayment, each with different eligibility requirements, but the general principle is the same: your monthly payment is based on how much you earn. If and when your income increases, then your monthly payment will increase. Based on the specific option, you will have between 10 and 25 years to repay your loans, and any remaining loan amount after 25 years of payments may be forgiven. Income Repayment will likely produce the most reasonable monthly payment, but once again, your total payoff will increase as time passes.
Projected Earnings Of course, not all careers offer the same salary. To get a general idea of what to expect for your career choice, let’s go towww.onetonline.org, the Occupational Network produced by the U.S. Department of Labor. Type in your desired career into Occupation Search. You will see all sorts of great career information here, but for today’s purposes, let’s scroll all the way down to the bottom to Wages and Employment Trends, where you will find your Annual Median Salary.
Now, a median salary is an average salary, so you can expect to earn less at the beginning of your career, and perhaps more at the end of your career. There are also salary differences based on where you work, your level of education, and so on. But the annual median salary is a good reference point.
If we return to Bob, our Elementary Education student, we see that O Net lists a median salary of $52,000. So, what would be the monthly take home pay for an elementary school teacher earning an annual salary of $52,000? Of course, we take $52,000 and divide by 12 months in a year, which comes to $4333 per month. Then we multiply $4333 by 75%, to get a monthly take home pay of $3250. Why the 75%? Roughly 25% of your monthly salary will go to taxes, health insurance, retirement accounts, and other benefits. This percentage will vary, but 25% is a good estimate for middle-income, benefited positions.
SLOPE Can Bob afford the $286 monthly payment required by Standard Repayment, which would allow the lowest total payoff? The answer is: it depends on his SLOPE. SLOPE stands for Student Loans Over Projected Earnings.
Bob's monthly student loan payment is $286. Bob's monthly projected earnings (take-home pay) is $3250. Bob's SLOPE is 286 divided by 3250, which equals 0.088, or 8.8%. In other words, 8.8% of Bob's monthly take home pay goes toward student loan repayment.
Generally speaking, a SLOPE under 10% is great, up to 15% is manageable, and 20% should be your absolute limit.
By estimating your SLOPE now (before you have accrued all of your debt), you can make proactive decisions regarding how much student loan debt you can afford.
Disequilibrium and the Teacher-Guide
In May, TRIO Student Support Services took a group of fifteen students on a Transfer and Cultural Tour. The student learning outcomes included: 1) Explore academic transfer opportunities beyond the Auraria Campus; 2) Experience cultural, geographical, and historical learning opportunities not otherwise accessible to TRIO students; and 3) Build communities of support among TRIO students and staff.
We know that the great majority of students that transfer out of CCD remain on the Auraria campus, with most ending up at Metro State. This in itself is not a problem; the tri-institutional arrangement of the Auraria Campus provides seamless transfer for our students, while maintaining local connections. Staying on the Auraria campus is the best value and fit for many of our students. The problem is that some of our students may be better off transferring elsewhere, but they simply do not know that.
The TRIO Transfer and Cultural Tour pushes students outside their comfort zone. We visit transfer institutions and communities that most of our students have never visited (or even heard of). Disequilibrium is pedagogy.
For example, at Western State Colorado University, a TRIO student was concerned that there were no campus police. "The Student Mountain Rescue Team once operated a safety phone line," the Admissions Rep told us, "But after two years they shut it down because not one emergency call was ever placed." (That is a bit different from the Auraria campus, where we hardly bat an eyelid at yet another person exposing themselves on the first floor of South.)
"Is there public transportation?" another student asked. "Well, there is no city bus, but it is not too hard to get around, since you can bike from one end of town to the other in ten minutes."
Certainly the small town campus was not for all of our students ("It is so quiet here...it is freaking me out"), but Western State ended up being the most popular campus we visited this year (in addition to UCCS and Colorado Mesa University).
The role of the teacher-guide is to bring our students into cognitive, cultural, social, even physical environments where they otherwise would not go, and to walk with them along the journey. With a bit of Socratic questioning and some structured time for reflection, the learning process moves along autonomously, as students synthesize new meaning and understanding from a direct and dynamic learning experience.
In TRIO, we firmly believe in the power of robust student support networks, and create opportunities for our participants to build and expand on their community of supporters. It is difficult to underestimate the significance that positive relationships with other students, faculty, and staff have on student success.
The TRIO Transfer and Cultural Tour puts students into new and different interpersonal environments. By intention, the Tour brings together a cross-section of our diverse student population, and puts everyone together in close quarters over four active and long days. As anticipated, the small scuffles and annoyances come about now and then, but when your choice is either to get back in the van, or walk 200 miles home, you make the necessary interpersonal adaptations quickly.
"It was interesting to meet and get to know people that I see at school for less than a minute. When your traveling with 17 people for four days you get to learn how the person is like and who they are. People can't hide who they are when traveling for so long with a group of people," noted one student.
Another student added, "I learned that when we build community we may have to work with diverse people who come from different backgrounds and beliefs. When we are working with the community, we need to be patient and we cannot expect that other people will perform like us because we come from different cultures, backgrounds, have different strengths and weaknesses, different personalities. It is important that we respect other people as well as ourselves."
"The trip gave me the ability to meet students whom I may not have otherwise interacted with. In doing so any of the other travelers can help to support the college experience and in return I can do the same for them. I told everyone on the trip that I work in our Office of Student Life and if they ever need books or any type of human services related help to come by. We can all support one another through our different background and experiences as college students. The camaraderie is something that is priceless and can never be replaced," reflected a third student.
The role of the teacher-guide is not to control or direct or even inform. The teacher-guide creates intentional and thoughtful learning environments that challenge students to synthesize new experiences and understandings. Whether the student learning outcomes are purely academic, or more broadly developmental, disequilibrium is a powerful and engaging method to increase student learning and success.
We know that the great majority of students that transfer out of CCD remain on the Auraria campus, with most ending up at Metro State. This in itself is not a problem; the tri-institutional arrangement of the Auraria Campus provides seamless transfer for our students, while maintaining local connections. Staying on the Auraria campus is the best value and fit for many of our students. The problem is that some of our students may be better off transferring elsewhere, but they simply do not know that.
The TRIO Transfer and Cultural Tour pushes students outside their comfort zone. We visit transfer institutions and communities that most of our students have never visited (or even heard of). Disequilibrium is pedagogy.
For example, at Western State Colorado University, a TRIO student was concerned that there were no campus police. "The Student Mountain Rescue Team once operated a safety phone line," the Admissions Rep told us, "But after two years they shut it down because not one emergency call was ever placed." (That is a bit different from the Auraria campus, where we hardly bat an eyelid at yet another person exposing themselves on the first floor of South.)
"Is there public transportation?" another student asked. "Well, there is no city bus, but it is not too hard to get around, since you can bike from one end of town to the other in ten minutes."
Certainly the small town campus was not for all of our students ("It is so quiet here...it is freaking me out"), but Western State ended up being the most popular campus we visited this year (in addition to UCCS and Colorado Mesa University).
The role of the teacher-guide is to bring our students into cognitive, cultural, social, even physical environments where they otherwise would not go, and to walk with them along the journey. With a bit of Socratic questioning and some structured time for reflection, the learning process moves along autonomously, as students synthesize new meaning and understanding from a direct and dynamic learning experience.
In TRIO, we firmly believe in the power of robust student support networks, and create opportunities for our participants to build and expand on their community of supporters. It is difficult to underestimate the significance that positive relationships with other students, faculty, and staff have on student success.
The TRIO Transfer and Cultural Tour puts students into new and different interpersonal environments. By intention, the Tour brings together a cross-section of our diverse student population, and puts everyone together in close quarters over four active and long days. As anticipated, the small scuffles and annoyances come about now and then, but when your choice is either to get back in the van, or walk 200 miles home, you make the necessary interpersonal adaptations quickly.
"It was interesting to meet and get to know people that I see at school for less than a minute. When your traveling with 17 people for four days you get to learn how the person is like and who they are. People can't hide who they are when traveling for so long with a group of people," noted one student.
Another student added, "I learned that when we build community we may have to work with diverse people who come from different backgrounds and beliefs. When we are working with the community, we need to be patient and we cannot expect that other people will perform like us because we come from different cultures, backgrounds, have different strengths and weaknesses, different personalities. It is important that we respect other people as well as ourselves."
"The trip gave me the ability to meet students whom I may not have otherwise interacted with. In doing so any of the other travelers can help to support the college experience and in return I can do the same for them. I told everyone on the trip that I work in our Office of Student Life and if they ever need books or any type of human services related help to come by. We can all support one another through our different background and experiences as college students. The camaraderie is something that is priceless and can never be replaced," reflected a third student.
The role of the teacher-guide is not to control or direct or even inform. The teacher-guide creates intentional and thoughtful learning environments that challenge students to synthesize new experiences and understandings. Whether the student learning outcomes are purely academic, or more broadly developmental, disequilibrium is a powerful and engaging method to increase student learning and success.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Growth Mindset Leadership
In his classic book on leadership, Dale Carnegie wrote, “Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain – and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”
When working with other people, we must expect that there will be bumps along the road. There may well be unmet tasks, miscommunication, conflicts of personalities, unreasonable deadlines, differing standards, bad days, and so on. Unfortunately, the first impulse of human nature is to defend ourselves and cast the blame elsewhere. We often are quick to criticize the shortcomings of another member of the team.
Rightly or wrongly, have you ever been criticized by a supervisor or teammate? What was your response?
Nine times out of ten, our emotional response to criticism is anger, resentment, anxiety, or a combination of negative emotions. We may change our behavior out of deference, but not without harboring negativity. In the end, egotistical criticism and the “my way or the highway” leadership style destroys staff motivation and leads to the decline of team performance.
“There is nothing else that kills the ambitions of a person as criticisms...I never criticize anyone. I believe in giving a person an incentive to work. So I am anxious to praise but loath to find fault. If I like anything, I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise,” asserted Charles Schwab (one of the first people in the United States to be paid a million dollar salary).
Criticism is reactive. Something does not go as hoped, so we point out all the things other people on the team should have done better. How often do we start by looking in the mirror?
It is much more effective to be a proactive leader, creating a culture of excellence that affirms the positive efforts of staff, and provides plenty of opportunities for members of the team to learn and grow as professionals.
Sometimes leaders need to have honest conversations with other members of the team. Team performance sometimes falters, and all of us make mistakes. But rather than taking an aggressive “point the figure” approach, an effective leader asks: What did we do well and what can we do better? What sorts of obstacles do we need to overcome – together – to do even better next time? Most importantly, an effective leader listens closely to what other team members have to say.
If criticism is to be in any way constructive, the impetus for change must come from within. By creating an affirmative culture of continual self-reflection and growth, mistakes and failures become learning experiences, not experiences associated with fear and negativity.
When working with other people, we must expect that there will be bumps along the road. There may well be unmet tasks, miscommunication, conflicts of personalities, unreasonable deadlines, differing standards, bad days, and so on. Unfortunately, the first impulse of human nature is to defend ourselves and cast the blame elsewhere. We often are quick to criticize the shortcomings of another member of the team.
Rightly or wrongly, have you ever been criticized by a supervisor or teammate? What was your response?
Nine times out of ten, our emotional response to criticism is anger, resentment, anxiety, or a combination of negative emotions. We may change our behavior out of deference, but not without harboring negativity. In the end, egotistical criticism and the “my way or the highway” leadership style destroys staff motivation and leads to the decline of team performance.
“There is nothing else that kills the ambitions of a person as criticisms...I never criticize anyone. I believe in giving a person an incentive to work. So I am anxious to praise but loath to find fault. If I like anything, I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise,” asserted Charles Schwab (one of the first people in the United States to be paid a million dollar salary).
Criticism is reactive. Something does not go as hoped, so we point out all the things other people on the team should have done better. How often do we start by looking in the mirror?
It is much more effective to be a proactive leader, creating a culture of excellence that affirms the positive efforts of staff, and provides plenty of opportunities for members of the team to learn and grow as professionals.
Sometimes leaders need to have honest conversations with other members of the team. Team performance sometimes falters, and all of us make mistakes. But rather than taking an aggressive “point the figure” approach, an effective leader asks: What did we do well and what can we do better? What sorts of obstacles do we need to overcome – together – to do even better next time? Most importantly, an effective leader listens closely to what other team members have to say.
If criticism is to be in any way constructive, the impetus for change must come from within. By creating an affirmative culture of continual self-reflection and growth, mistakes and failures become learning experiences, not experiences associated with fear and negativity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)