On Course
Strategies for Creating Success
in College and in Life
Chapter 5
EMPLOYING INTERDEPENDENCE
Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
5|1
EMPLOYING INTERDEPENDENCE
• Struggling students have a hard time building
mutually supportive relationships. What are three
mistakes that struggling students often make in
their relationships?
They remain dependent, codependent or
independent in relation to others.
They listen poorly, demonstrating little desire to
understand another person’s perspective.
They judge others who are different as
inappropriate, wrong or bad.
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5|2
CASE STUDY IN CRITICAL THINKING:
PROFESSOR ROGERS' TRIAL
Which character in the story is most
responsible for the team's grade of D? Be
prepared to explain your answer.
DIVING DEEPER: Imagine that you have been
assigned to a group project in one of your
college courses and that the student whom
you chose as most responsible for the group’s
grade of D (Anthony, Sylvia, or Donald) is in
your group. What positive actions could you
take to help your group be a success despite
this person?
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5|3
EMPLOYING INTERDEPENDENCE
• Identify the following as Dependent, Codependent,
Independent or Interdependent statements.
 I can’t do this by myself.
Dependent
 I have to help others before I can
help myself.
Codependent
 I can do this all by myself, I don’t
need anyone's help.
Independent
 I can do some of this alone, but I
will accomplish more with the
help of others.
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Interdependent
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THE PUZZLE
• Think about the role you played
while working on the puzzle and
answer the following questions.
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5|5
THE PUZZLE
•
•
•
•
Who took the leadership role?
Who was the puzzle facing?
Who followed directives from others?
Who stated “Get all the corner/edge
pieces”?
• Who stated “We don’t have all the pieces”?
• Who worked on an area of the puzzle by
themselves?
• Who thought this was a competition?
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5|6
THE PUZZLE
Think about how you answered the questions on
the previous slide.
Those who took the leadership role, do you
believe you are a “born leader”?
Those who followed directives, do you believe
you are a good team player?
Those who wanted the “edges” put together
first, do you like things to be well-organized
and get upset when others are unorganized?
(continued on next slide)
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THE PUZZLE
Those whose thought pieces were missing, do
you tend to be suspicious of others?
Those who worked on a specific part of the
puzzle, do you prefer to work alone?
Those who thought it was a competition, do
you see yourself as very competitive with
others?
• What did you learn or relearn about the
choices you make in a group project?
• What life experiences have influenced you
to think or act this way?
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5|8
CREATING A SUPPORT SYSTEM
• Strong individualistic cultures have an “I/me”
orientation, and independence is highly regarded.
• Strong collectivistic cultures have a “we/us”
orientation and interdependence is highly
regarded.
• Examples: Olympics, selfies
 If “1” is strong individualistic culture and “10” is a
strong collectivistic culture, where do you see yourself
on this continuum?
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5|9
CREATING A SUPPORT SYSTEM
Identify the following statements as representing either
an Individualistic or a Collectivistic culture.
 My household consists of my spouse
Individualistic
and our children.
 Getting along with others is extremely
important to me.
Collectivistic
 I will be a veterinarian because I have
always loved animals.
Individualistic
 My religious beliefs are very different
from the rest of my family.
Individualistic
 I give my paycheck to my mother to
help support the household.
Collectivistic
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5 | 10
QUOTATION REFLECTION
• “For every one of us that succeeds, it’s because
there’s somebody there to show you the way out.
The light doesn’t always necessarily have to be in
your family, for me it was teachers and school.”
~Oprah Winfrey
 How could your instructors help you to be more
successful?
 How could your school help you to be more successful?
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5 | 11
GET HELP FROM COLLEGE RESOURCES
• Name a resource at your college that could
help you with the following obstacles.
Specifically how could this service help?
Confused about future courses to take
Advising
Academic problems Tutoring Lab
Financial Aid office
Money problems
Personal problems Counseling office
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5 | 12
CRITICAL THINKING: FOCUS QUESTIONS
STRENGTHENING RELATIONSHIPS
WITH ACTIVE LISTENING
• Do you know how to
strengthen a relationship
with active listening?
• What are the essential
skills of being a good
listener?
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5 | 13
LISTENING ACTIVELY
• Which of the following listening skills do you
think is the most important? Why?
Listen to understand.
Clear your mind and remain silent.
Ask the person to expand or clarify.
Reflect the other person's thoughts and
feelings.
• Which listening skill do you think will be the
most challenging for you? Why?
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5 | 14
HOW TO LISTEN ACTIVELY
Match each terms with their correct description.
Clear your mind
& remain silent
 Don’t assume you understand. In your own words,
restate what you heard, both the ideas and the
emotions.
Listen to
understand
 Don’t make assumptions or fill in the blanks with
your own experiences. Invite the speaker to share
additional information and feelings.
Reflect the other
person’s
thoughts and
feelings
Ask the person to
expand or clarify
 Don’t be distracted by your own inner chatter. Stay
focused and stay quiet.
 Focus on the speaker, activate empathy and listen
with the intention of fully understanding what the
other person thinks and feels.
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5 | 15
SHOWING RESPECT
• What are some keys to achieving success in a
world of increasing diversity?
• How could you make a conscious effort to show
respect to someone in a culture different from your
own?
Learn to pronounce names correctly.
Use preferred term for a person’s cultural group.
Learn non-verbal behaviors of the other culture.
Avoid ethnocentrism (thinking my way is “right”).
Advocate for respect.
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5 | 16
INTERDEPENDENCE AT WORK
Imagine that you have just completed your degree
and are ready to start your new career. You have
looked in the newspapers and online for potential
job opportunities. However, you have not been
able to find a suitable job. By employing
interdependence, what other choices could you
make to find employment in your field?
Conduct information gathering interviews.
Ask people you know for referrals.
Call the Public Information Office of prospective
employers .
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5 | 17
CRITICAL THINKING: FOCUS QUESTION
BE ASSERTIVE
How can you communicate in a style that strengthens
relationships, creates better results, and builds strong
self-esteem?
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5 | 18
INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STYLES
According to psychologist Virginia Satir, what are
the two most common patterns of ineffective
communication?
Placating
Blaming
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INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Placating
 Its okay if you don’t help with our
project in sociology. I’ll just do the
work myself.
 Please don’t be upset with me. I'll
drive your friends to the airport
and study for my math test later.
 I'm sorry. I should have cleaned
up the mess from our party last
night. I’ll do it right now.
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5 | 20
INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Blaming
 You never do anything to help our
study team. You’re just lazy!
 This room is a mess! When do
you plan to start doing your share
of work around here?
 My sociology instructor gives
unfair tests! He thinks he can ask
questions about anything that we
were supposed to read for
homework.
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5 | 21
BELIEVING IN YOURSELF: BE ASSERTIVE
• What is the communication style of Creators?
 Leveling.
• What are the 3 strategies that promote leveling?
 Communicate purposefully.
 Communicate honestly.
 Communicate responsibly.
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5 | 22
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Leveling
 I know you've got a lot of work to
do tonight. Could we spend just
ten minutes cleaning up this
mess together?
 Before I can help you with your
paper, I need to finish studying
for a test. How about if you help
me review tonight, and I'll work
with you on your paper tomorrow
afternoon?
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5 | 23
BELIEVING IN YOURSELF: BE ASSERTIVE
Decide which communication style is being
used in the following statements.
 Oh, don’t worry that you didn’t study with me.
I know you have a lot on your mind. I probably Placating
would have failed the test anyway.
 You’re the lousiest friend I’ve ever had! After
making me fail that test, you have some nerve
Blaming
even talking to me now!
 I'm angry that you didn’t call. I realize that I
could have called you, but I thought I could
Leveling
count on you to keep your word. If we’re
going to be friends, I need to know if you're
going to keep your promises to me in the
future. Will you?
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5 | 24
QUICK REVIEW
Identify each strategy used when actively listening.
 I am intentionally listening to understand
what Sally is thinking and feeling.
Listen to
understand
 My mind is clear, I am focused, and I am
remaining quiet while Sally is talking.
Clear your mind
and remain silent
 I need to request more information from
Sally to ensure I am understanding her.
Ask the person to
expand or clarify
 I don’t want to make assumptions, so I
will restate what I believe Sally said.
Reflect the other
person’s
thoughts and
feelings 5 | 25
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QUICK REVIEW
What are 3 styles of communication?
Placating
Blaming
Leveling
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5 | 26
QUICK REVIEW
Identify each statement as Individualistic or
Collectivistic.
Family unity, honor and
respect are vital parts of
COLLECTIVISTIC
this culture.
Personal success is
highly regarded and each
INDIVIDUALISTIC
person
is seen as unique.
Several generations may live
near or with each other.
COLLECTIVISTIC
Adults are expected to
strike out on their own and
INDIVIDUALISTIC
compete
for success.
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Feeling good about oneself
is related to one’s
COLLECTIVISTIC
contribution
to others.
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REHEARSING & MEMORIZING STUDY MATERIALS:
THE BIG PICTURE
•Which of the following rehearsal categories are
you more familiar with:
Elaborative
Rehearsal
Strategies to learn and
remember complex ideas.
Rote
Rehearsal
Strategies to memorize
facts and details.
•While studying, how would you decide which
approach to use?
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5 SS | 28
STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE LEARNING
BEFORE REHEARSING & MEMORIZING STUDY MATERIALS
• Reviewing means reading over your study
material silently and with great concentration on
the meaning. How can you avoid mindless
reviewing?
Review a brief section of your study materials.
Look away and ask yourself “What are the key
concepts, main ideas, and supporting details of
what I just read?” Think through complete
answers to those questions.
Look back at your study materials to confirm
the accuracy of your thinking.
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5 SS | 29
STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE LEARNING
BEFORE REHEARSING & MEMORIZING STUDY MATERIALS
•Identify the following strategies that you could use
while rehearsing and memorizing study materials:
Similar to reviewing but is done
aloud.
Creating a mental picture of your
notes that you can see when you
close your eyes.
Recording on paper all that you
remember after reviewing or
rehearsing your study materials.
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Reciting
Visualizing
Rewriting
5 SS | 30