On Course Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life Chapter 2 ACCEPTING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2|1 CASE STUDY IN CRITICAL THINKING THE LATE PAPER Which person in the case study do you think is most responsible for Kim's failing grade in Psychology 101? Why? What choice(s) did Kim make that sabotaged her success in Psychology 101? What other choice(s) could she have made? Dive Deeper: Is there someone not mentioned in the story who may also bear responsibility for Kim's failing grade? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2|2 ACCEPTING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY • Do you accept personal responsibility for creating the life you want? • Are you a successful student? Have you adopted a creator mindset by believing that your choices create the outcomes and experiences of your life? Have you mastered creator language, accepting personal responsibility for the results? Do you make wise decisions, consciously designing the future you want? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2|3 CRITICAL THINKING: FOCUS QUESTIONS ADOPTING A CREATOR MINDSET • What is self-responsibility? • Why is it the key to creating the life you want? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2|4 THE VICTIM MINDSET • A Victim Mindset causes people to believe that what happens to them is out of their control, that their outcomes and experiences are determined by such things as luck and other people. • Read the following statements and decide if they represent someone with a Victim Mindset. Yes I could never go to college. I don’t even know the first thing about getting started. Yes I wish the college wasn’t so far from my house. I can’t go to school until I get a car. No I have never filled out a college application, but I can go to the school and ask for help. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2|5 THE CREATOR MINDSET • A Creator Mindset causes people to believe they control their own destiny by the wisdom of their choices (even though this belief is not always true). • Read the following statements and decide if they represent someone with a Creator Mindset. No I have never been good in math, so I know I wouldn’t be able to pass the college entrance exam. Yes My best friend's party is this weekend. I think I will do my homework on Friday instead of on Sunday. No I used all my money paying rent and can’t afford to buy my textbooks. I may have to drop out of college. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2|6 Why did you miss class? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2|7 ROSA PARKS • In 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was ordered by a bus driver to give up her seat to a white passenger. Parks refused and was arrested. A few days later, African Americans began a boycott of Montgomery buses that ended when the laws requiring segregation on public buses was lifted. Break into groups and discuss how this story relates to having a Creator Mindset. Be prepared to give a brief summary of your group’s discussion. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2|8 Indicate the extent to which each of the following statements applies to you. Use the following scale: 1 = Strongly disagree 2 = Disagree 3 = Slightly disagree 4 = Neither agree nor disagree 5 = Slightly agree 6 = Agree 7 = Strongly agree 1. When I get what I want it’s usually because I worked hard for it. 2. When I make plans I am almost certain to make them work. 3. I prefer games involving some luck over games requiring pure skill. 4. I can learn almost anything if I put my mind to it. 5. My major accomplishments are entirely due to my hard work and ability. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 6. I usually don’t set goals because I have a hard time following through on them. 7. Competition discourages excellence. 8. Often people get ahead just by being lucky. 9. On any sort of exam or competition I like to know how well I do relative to everyone else. 10. It’s pointless to keep working on something that’s too difficult for me. 2|9 ACTIVITY: RESPONSIBILITY AND CULTURE • Imagine an imaginary line from one side of the room to the other. This line represents a continuum of beliefs about personal responsibility. One end represents the belief that you determine your own destiny (internal locus of control). The other end represents the belief that fate or other people determine your destiny (external locus of control). Your score places you on the line that best represents your beliefs. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 10 RESPONSIBILITY AND CHOICE QUOTATION • “When you make the shift to being the predominate creative force in your life, you move from reacting and responding to the external circumstances of your life to creating directly the life you truly want.” ~Robert L. Fritz Write about a time when you either did or did not act as if you are the “predominate creative force in your own life.” How did this choice affect your life? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 11 CRITICAL THINKING: FOCUS QUESTION MASTERING CREATOR LANGUAGE • How can you create greater success by changing your vocabulary? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 12 SELF TALK: THE INNER CRITIC • The Inner Critic is the internal voice that judges us as inadequate, blames us for whatever is wrong in life, and can find fault with anything about us. • How many times does the character makes an Inner Critic statement? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 13 SELF TALK: THE INNER DEFENDER • The Inner Defender judges, blames, complains, accuses, criticizes and condemns others. Write about a time that either you or someone else made Inner Defender statements. Break into groups and discuss your examples. Also discuss: What lessons can you learn from these examples as it applies to the college environment? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 14 SELF TALK • Divide into groups and discuss how the Inner Critic and Inner Defender are similar and different? Examples of each. • Be prepared to share your findings with the class. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 15 SELF TALK: INNER GUIDE • The Inner Guide seeks to make the best of any situation and knows that judgments do not improve difficult situations. Give an example of when you faced a difficult situation and your Inner Guide helped you to make a wise choice. What was the outcome or experience of your choice? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 16 THE LANGUAGE OF RESPONSIBILITY • Look over the qualities of Victim and Creator language in the chart below. What are some benefits of using Creator language? Victim Language Creator Language Focuses on weaknesses Focuses on how to improve Makes excuses Seeks solutions Complains Turns complaints into requests Compares oneself unfavorably to others Seeks help from those more skilled Blames Accepts responsibility Sees problems as permanent Treats problems as temporary Repeats ineffective behaviors Does something new Tries Does Predicts defeat and give up Thinks positively and looks for a better choice Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 17 THE LANGUAGE OF RESPONSIBILITY Change the following Victim language to Creator language • Our classroom is so cold, I can’t even concentrate. I don’t want to be distracted by being cold, so I’ll bring an extra sweater to wear during class. • My roommate bothers me every night and I can’t study. I know my roommate is going to want to talk when I get home, so I’ll study in the library before I leave campus. • The gym is always so crowded that I can’t work out. The gym has been really crowded the last few times I went, so I am going to go at a different time and see if there are fewer people there then. • No matter how hard I study, I’m just no good in chemistry. I find chemistry to be challenging, so I’ll go to the chem lab and find out if there’s a tutor who will help me. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 18 CRITICAL THINKING: FOCUS QUESTIONS MAKING WISE DECISIONS • How can you improve the quality of the decisions you make? • How can you take full responsibility for the outcomes and experiences in your life? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 19 THE WISE CHOICE PROCESS • The Wise Choice Process is a 6 step decision making model that empowers you take full responsibility for creating the life you want. Step 1: What is my present situation? Step 2: How would I like my situation to be? Step 3: What are my possible choices? Step 4: What is the likely outcome of each possible choice? Step 5: Which choice(s) will I commit to doing? Step 6: When and how will I evaluate my plan? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 20 THE WISE CHOICE PROCESS 1. What’s my present situation? (Identify the problem or difficulty.) 2. How would I like my situation to be? (Define my desired outcomes and experiences.) 3. What are my possible choices? (Without evaluating, make a list of options.) Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 21 THE WISE CHOICE PROCESS 4. What’s the likely outcome of each possible choice? (Missing information? Stop and get more!) 5. Which choice(s) will I commit to doing? (Make a promise to myself.) 6. When and how will I evaluate my plan? (Assess my results.) Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 22 THE WISE CHOICE PROCESS EXAMPLE 1. What’s my present situation? I don’t have the $900 it will cost to get my car fixed, so I have to take the bus or ask people for rides wherever I go. 2. How would I like my situation to be? I own a safe, reliable car so I can conveniently go where I want when I want. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 23 3. What are my Possible choices? 4. What’s the likely outcome of each choice? 1. Work extra hours at my job. 1. Earn more money but have less time to study. 2. Make out a tighter budget; 2. Save money and have more stop eating at restaurants. time to study. 3. Ask Chuck to give me a ride to campus. 3. Save bus money and maybe develop a new friendship. 4. Ask for a raise. 4. Might get more money for same amount of time, especially if I do jobs that others don't like to do. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 24 THE WISE CHOICE PROCESS 5. Which choice(s) will I commit to doing? By February 1st, I will develop a budget that will cut $125.00 off my monthly bills (including not eating at restaurants), I will ask my supervisor for a raise, and I will ask Chuck for a ride to campus until I get my car fixed. I will put all extra money into a savings account. 6. When and how will I evaluate my plan? By July 15th, I'll have at least $900 in my savings account and get my car fixed. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 25 THE WISE CHOICE PROCESS • Think of a problem or challenging situation you are now facing, and write out the steps of the Wise Choice Process. Step 1: What is my present situation? Step 2: How would I like my situation to be? Step 3: What are my possible choices? Step 4: What is the likely outcome of each possible choice? Step 5: Which choice(s) will I commit to doing? Step 6: When and how will I evaluate my plan? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 26 PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AT WORK • If you took responsibility for choosing your ideal career, how could you get more information about possible career choices? • Which of the following would be your first choice for getting information to help you decide on a career? Why? Seek part-time employment doing an entry-level position in a particular career field. Talk to others presently in a career field. Research careers online. Take a career interest inventory. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 27 CRITICAL THINKING: FOCUS QUESTION CHANGE YOUR INNER CONVERSATION • How can you raise your self-esteem by changing your self-talk? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 28 THE CURSE OF STINKIN’ THINKIN’ A + B = C (Activating event + Beliefs = Consequences) Activating Event Belief Consequence Which “internal voice” does this sound like? Instructor didn’t show up for a meeting. “Instructor thinks I am dumb. I’ll never finish college. I’m a failure.” Got depressed and wasted the evening. Which “internal voice” does this sound like? Instructor didn’t show up for a meeting. “Instructor wont help me. Instructor doesn’t care.” Got angry and spent the night complaining to friends. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 29 STINKIN’ THINKIN’ & STEREOTYPE THREAT • Using A+B=C when faced with Stereotype Threat Activating Event Belief Consequence Female student taking a math test. Women are not good in math. Female student What do you gets anxious, think the distracted consequence and forgets would be inshe this everything scenario? studied. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 30 DISPUTING IRRATIONAL BELIEFS • Become familiar with your inner voice Dispute irrational beliefs dealing with the stereotype threat that “women are bad in math.” Offer evidence that your judgments are wrong Offer a positive explanation of the problem Question the importance of the problem Offer a plan to improve the situation I did pretty well in high school math and many women have great jobs using math skills everyday. When I excel in math, I’ll have fewer women to compete against for jobs. I don’t have to be the smartest woman in the class, I just have to continue to learn more everyday. I’ll study every What would be a night, do all good plan ask to homework, improve questions inthe class, situation? go to tutoring, and see the instructor during office hours. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 31 QUICK REVIEW • Identify each of the following as Inner Critic, Inner Defender or Inner Guide statements I am failing English because the teacher doesn’t know how to explain things clearly. Inner Defender My car has a flat tire. I’ll ask John if he can give me a ride to school tomorrow while the tire is being fixed. Inner Guide I’m too clumsy and slow to be on the soccer team at school; they would laugh at me if I showed up to practice. Inner Critic I know I won’t get the job I interviewed for; I have never been good at answering questions on the spot. Inner Critic My math book is horrible, so there’s no way anyone can pass that course. Inner Defender I know I have a habit of procrastinating, so I’m going straight home today and pay all my bills so I don’t incur late charges. Inner Guide I know I stutter a lot when I get nervous, so I am going to practice my speech at least one hour every day. Inner Guide My friend said he would buy my textbooks for class, but he didn’t. Now I’m going to fail and it’s all his fault. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Inner Defender 2 | 32 QUICK REVIEW • Identify each of the following as a Victim Mindset or as a Creator Mindset. I’ll never pass math. It’s just too hard. Victim My study group is a waste of time. Victim I have a meeting with my teacher to discuss how to improve my grades in English. Creator My coworkers like to gossip a lot; I need to stay to myself so I can get my work done. Creator My roommates yell a lot when the football game is on so I can never concentrate on my studies. Victim Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 33 QUICK REVIEW • People respond differently to certain situations. Identify each part of the “A + B = C formula” My instructor didn’t show up for a Activating Event scheduled meeting. I’m not sure what went wrong. Sometimes things just don’t turn out the way they were planned. I need to reschedule with my instructor. Then, I am going to use this time to study for my history class and get ahead in my biology class. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Belief Consequence 2 | 34 ONE STUDENT'S STORY: Dominic Grasseth What thoughts did Dominic change? What old classroom behaviors did Dominic also change? What choices could you make about your thoughts or classroom behaviors that would help you achieve your desired outcomes and experiences? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 2 | 35 WISE CHOICES IN COLLEGE: READING • What four things are you Collecting when you read actively? Key concepts Main ideas Secondary ideas Supporting details Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. SS 2 | 36 CHALLENGES WITH READING • In groups, make a list of the biggest challenges you are having with reading assignments for your present courses? What are the three most common reading problems identified by your group? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. SS 2 | 37 STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE READING: BEFORE READING • You now know that Prior Learning, Quality of Processing and Quantity of Processing are crucial to learning. In groups, create a list of strategies you could use to apply these three concepts before reading an assignment. Review the next 2 slides and compare your results. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. SS 2 | 38 STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE READING: BEFORE READING • Approach reading with a positive attitude. Quality of Processing Attitude is the foundation of your success. Get your mind in the mood to learn! • Create a distributed reading schedule. Spread your reading over time. Cramming leads to superficial and short-lived learning. • Read when you’re most alert. Study during your mental peak each day. Don’t study when you’re tired. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Quantity of Processing Quality of Processing SS 2 | 39 STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE READING: BEFORE READING • Read where you can concentrate. Minimize distractions. Quality of Processing • Review past readings. Make neural connections stronger by connecting new information to what you already know. • Preview before reading. Relate the new material to what you have already learned. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. Prior Learning Prior Learning SS 2 | 40 STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE READING: BEFORE READING • When you are previewing your reading, what should you be looking for? Diagrams Titles: Graphs Charts Headings Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. SS 2 | 41 STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE READING: WHILE READING • What are some strategies you could use to decrease the amount of time you spend reading? Read in chunks. Concentrate on reading faster. Read for answers to questions on your list. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. SS 2 | 42 STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE READING: WHILE READING • How will looking for answers to specific questions help you while you read? • How will writing new questions and answers that you discover while reading, improve your reading? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. SS 2 | 43 STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE READING: WHILE READING • If you had to read something about which you have no interest, what strategy could you use to avoid mindless reading? Look for something that is particularly interesting to you. or Look for information that you could use. In other words, read for IOUs (Interesting or Useful). Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. SS 2 | 44