A Content and Reflection Portfolio
Introduction

The question that lies at the heart of the work in which we are engaged is “Can people learn, change and grow?” Or will they be — more or less — the same people they are right now for the rest of their lives? Or — for our purposes —  for the remainder of their college years? And if we, as instructors, opt for the possibility of growth how can we best support people in that journey? 

Richland's QEP has an SLO — a Student Learning Outcome —  a statement of what we hope our students will believe, know and be able to do when they leave us.  Here’s how it reads: 

Students will recognize that they can improve their ability 

to learn through effort and the intentional practice of thinking. 

As we think about the word “recognize” it strikes us that it’s not a very difficult goal. We have no doubt that we can achieve “recognize.“ The question is whether we might be inspired to reach higher. What if we were to aim for actual substantive changes that students can see, feel, and experience in themselves before they move on?

When some of us entered college in the mid sixties, it was the beginning of a turbulent time. And we were very different people by the time we graduated four years later. But isn’t that what college is supposed to be about? Changing, and learning, and growing? 

Think about your first semester in college. Weren't you a very different person by the time you graduated?  Isn't that what college is supposed to be about?  Changing, and learning, and growing? 

Changing and Learning is one of seven dimensions that scholars have identified as being characteristic of people for whom learning has become a lifelong habit endeavor. In the literature they define it it's defined this way:

Changing and Learning.  A sense of oneself as someone who learns and

changes over time; the opposite is being ‘stuck and static.’

And the extended “official” version reads as follows: 

Changing and Learning, [or growth orientation] Effective learners

know that learning itself is learnable. They believe that, through effort, their

minds can get bigger and stronger, just as their bodies can and they have

energy to learn. They see learning as a lifelong process, and gain pleasure and

self-esteem from expanding their ability to learn. Having to try is experienced

positively: it’s when you are trying that your ‘learning muscles’ are being

exercised. Changing and learning includes a sense of getting better at learning

over time, and of growing and changing and adapting as a learner in the whole

of life. There is a sense of history, hope and aspiration.

... and at the opposite end of the spectrum:

Being static or stuck.  Less effective learners tend to believe that ‘learning power’ is fixed, and therefore experience difficulty negatively, as revealing their limitations. They are less likely to see challenging situations as opportunities to become a better learner. Their feeling of self efficacy is weak. 

Ruth Deakin Crick. Learning Power in Practice: a Guide for Teachers. London: Paul Chapman, 2006

In the mid seventies a book was published that was all the rage in architecture schools. It was written by Don Koberg and Jim Bagnall and graced with a very long title: The Universal Traveller: a Soft-Systems Guide to Creativity, Problem Solving, and the Process of Reaching Goals. It was targeted at architectural students but was really for anyone who wants to accomplish things.

In that book, the authors recommend that when problems arise we not do the natural thing which is to ask:

“What can we do about it?” Rather we should ask “What is the real (or true) problem in this situation?”

Answering that question is  probably something that we should do together, but there are some things that point us in the right direction. I don't understand what you want to say here.  That it would be best to answer this question after putting our heads together.  But in the absence of doing that, here is something to consider?  Do you include this text to set the stage for the "journey?"  Let's talk about this paragraph.  

When instructors at Richland are asked to describe their students, the a word that is most often heard is passive. Sherry Turkle, of course, has written about this and her 20 minute presentation at the TED conference, entitled “Connected But Alone”, speaks directly and somewhat sadly to the inability of many of today’s students even to engage in have a real conversations.   Do we want to make Sherry Turkle's name a link so that people who don't know who she is can find out?  Or do most people know to look in the upper right corner of the You Tube video to see her brief bio?  Does the word passive connect to the inability to have real conversations? 

It is not insignificant that one of the books we hope you’ll look closely at has as its subtitle “How to Promote Engagement, Understanding, and Autonomy for All Learners.”  What's the title?  Not clear that this sentence refers to Making Thinking Visible.

Ron Ritchhart who wrote Making Thinking Visible believes that our profession needs ideals, not just measurable outcomes. He asks in an earlier book Intellectual Character “What else should we be teaching for if not for intelligence?”

Which brings us to the subject of this first of four modules. I think we want the INTRO to provide the purpose for the whole portfolio, not just the fist module.  That's tough since we haven't got the other 3 modules done.  But ...  We have a goal (the SLO). And we’ve started thinking about what the real problem is. And we certainly have “resources.” But do we have any ideas about how to fix what’s wrong?  We think we may -- and that’s what this journey is all about. 

Social scientist Kurt Lewin once said that the most practical thing you can have is a good theory.  

As you work your way through these materials you’ll be introduced to the ideas of some smart people. And their theories about how we can help our students become smarter. 

We asked earlier about the real source of the problem with students today.  I get where this statement comes from, but wonder if it wouldn't be better to stay focused on the questions at the top of the page ...  Can students change? ... Can we help them do that?  Do we first need to "solve the REAL  problem ... What's wrong with students?  I think we need to "convince" faculty that people can change and learn, no matter their intellect.   That anyone can get smarter and wouldn't we want that for students?  The easy answer for us is that students are just not smart enough for what we’re asking them to do.  Aren't we asking students to change and learn? Are you asking, are students smart enough to learn?   That they don’t have the necessary gray matter. That their abilities just aren’t up to the task --- the task to change and learn?  Am I making any sense here? 

So keep your eyes, ears, and minds open for the ways in which Lauren Resnick, Guy Claxton, David Perkins, Ron Ritchardt, Carol Dweck, and other scholars direct our attention to factors other than just ability. And show us how to make the very best of the abilities that students already have.  describe ability, intellect, effort, thinking, and factors that contribute to a sense of oneself as someone who learns and changes over time.  Is this sentence way too awkward?  I am trying to hook back to the definition of changing and learning.  What about the choice of words - ability, intellect... what are the best few words? 

Ability is an important part of the equation but there is so much that we can do with other factors if we'll only take the time to notice.  

Desire, courage, strategy, persistence. These factors are not really about ability . But they make all the difference.  There is much that can be done here. The handout entitled “Seven Habits of Highly Effective Learners” which you may have seen is another way of directing our attention away from the simple IQ equation (Either you got it or you don’t).

As you make your way through this material, we hope you’ll be open to the possibility that there’s much more to it than simply learning a few new teaching techniques. Think of it as an invitation to look where you may not have looked before. And to consider new possibilities.

Let the journey begin.