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I'm not surprised that people tend to overestimate their grittiness relative to others. I fall into this same category, but I have reasoning for why I rate my own grit and growth mindset higher relative to the populous. There's a quote I often come back to "Confidence is not shouting positive affirmations at yourself in the mirror. Confidence is having an undeniable stack of proof that you are who you say you are." I do my best to keep my word to myself, and I am not always perfect, but I believe this is how you build confidence and a growth mindset. Repeatedly keep your word to yourself and believe in the work you are doing. Instilling this belief in others is what makes a great leader, and it is how teachers can bring student along.

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Going through the Kolb’s cycle was interesting because the first thing I felt/noticed was the frosted windows that obstructed my view of the art. I sat for a moment not wanting to stand up, but I did because my curiosity ultimately got the better of me. I started to make some notes, nothing profound just some observations and questions I had. I then began to wonder about art and how it could influence the learning process, and how different kinds of art could both negatively and positively influence learning from a focus standpoint as well as an affective standpoint. Designing a research method would be difficult and undoubtedly skewed, but there are ways to do it. As for Columbia’s UDL (Engagement, Representation, Expression & Action) I’d have to revisit to give a complete answer, but I think art can obviously influence all of these domains. I’m exhausted and will have to revisit this, but art is science and science is art. As a scientist, I often shy away from the “fluff” of art, but the deeper into science I get the more I realize the two are intertwined. I’m not sure if one needs the other or they are one in the same. I haven’t really answered the questions, but these are thoughts I had. Fun times.

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One of the major ideas we discussed in regards to the case study was setting clear expectations. This can be achieved in multiple ways such as iRAT/tRAT, pre lab questions, and pre lab video lectures. This helps the TA know which students are prepared prior to class as well as priming groups for communication. Another aspect of inclusivity we discussed was Joe’s interaction with Marie. Perhaps he underestimated her ability due to her being an international student or being a woman. Often times people are underestimated if they are speaking their second language and others don’t give them the proper respect. Overall takeaways were defining clear expectations, priming students for collaboration, and providing supplemental instruction in the form of videos.

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Class engagement is a problem we have been facing in Genetics this semester. Attendance is generally pretty high, but students are very hesitant to contribute. Part of this could be due to the size of the classroom, but students are still quiet even in breakout groups. From talking to students, a reoccurring thoughts is that they’re unsure of what they need to know for exams. To combat this, we have begun to implement weekly “check-ins” that are not graded but given students an idea of questions or concepts they may see on the exam. I can use Merril’s First Principles of Instruction to strengthen these check ins and possibly design activities for class and my office hours. I think starting with positive feedback is good when suggesting change, and I plan on implementing this strategy when I suggest changes myself.

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I think having students identify key points of a piece of reading material and then separately discuss their response or the reaction to that information can be helpful. Sometimes an excerpt of a reading sticks out to us, but we’re not exactly sure why. This allows the reader to first identify the information that initially grabbed their attention and then think more about how it can impact them. When considering inclusion, this double entry journal allows time for students who may not be as inclined to answer questions to digest their thoughts. Not everyone has immediate answers to why something grabbed their attention and may require more time to process their thoughts. Compartmentalizing the attention-grabbing information itself and a student’s response to that information facilitates richer and more in-depth responses.

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One of my biggest takeaways from today was the positive impacts of exercise on mental cognition as well as mental well-being. Exercise promotes blood flow throughout the body including the brain. It also stimulates BDNF which promotes neurogenesis. For some that means running marathons or being a high level athlete. For some that means taking short walks as a study break or pacing while trying to solve a problem. For others, it could mean fidgeting in their chair rather than sitting completely still. Movement looks different for everyone, but we do know movement is good. Humans evolved to move miles across the Serengeti, and we haven’t had time to evolve to the sedentary lifestyle so many of us now live. Movement is medicine, and incorporating more movement, however that looks for you, can completely change the way you think and feel.

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Debrief: One of my main takeaways was how “shooting the shit” prior to class can make people more comfortable speaking about academic content. The emotional attitude people have entering a discussion can be just as if not more important than their aptitude when it comes to the content. I could apply this as an LA with my students by checking in with them prior to class or even during class prior to asking a question. I can also implement it as a more outgoing student in my active learning classes. I can strike up conversations with my group mates prior to class which will hopefully make them more comfortable discussing once class begins.

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I think one way to be inclusive when designing active learning strategies is to include multiple strategies each week. For example, a quick poll could diagnose the muddiest points for the class and later in the week a case study could be designed to cover this point. Some weeks could include a thought barometer or a gallery walk and a poll could be taken to determine what students resonate with the most. A combination of short and long active learning strategies is more likely to accommodate different learners than relying on a particular set of strategies. Diversity in learning will also be more inclusive than a narrow method of teaching.

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I had a math teacher in high school who implemented a “I Do”, “We do”, “You do” approach for learning new math skills that has stuck with me since that class. The first time we went over a new kind of problem he would tell everyone to put their pens and pencils down to simply watch what he was doing. He would go through the problem explaining step by step what he was doing and would not take any questions at this point. Once he was done, he would work through another similar problem where he would answer any questions and even ask students for their input to solve the problem. Finally, he would give the class a problem and have them work through it individually. Once everyone was done he would work through that problem and answer any questions as to how he solved the problem. This approach worked for me as the first step forced students to truly pay attention to what he was doing rather than trying to copy down the whole problem. The next step allowed students to clear up any confusion and help contribute to solving the problem. Finally, students had the opportunity to solve a problem on their own and confirm if their thought process was correct. This process was very effective in helping me learn math and I think it could carry over to other disciplines as well. Learning new information can sometimes feel like drinking from a fire hydrant, but this process helped me break the learning process down into smaller steps and not feel overwhelmed by not understanding something immediately.