Dropbox is open for your final reflection essay

The d2l dropbox is now open for your final reflection essay. It will close tomorrow (Friday Dec 11) at 5:30PM.  
If you are also submitting a rewrite of one of your first two essays for a better grade, upload the rewrite to the appropriate dropbox folder for that assignment. I have the settings arranged so that your rewrite will appear in addition to your original paper, so that I can compare them and regrade the assignment. 

I should have your final grade for the course posted by late Tuesday Dec. 15. 

Extra Credit Holiday Activity (10 points)

Join two phrases together to form a complex sentence, using proper punctuation, conjunctions, or subordination. Make 5 sentences. (10 points extra credit if they are all correct!)

It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Up on the Housetop

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Deck the Halls

I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas

Silent Night

I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Baby It’s Cold Outside

It’s a Marshmallow World

Jolly Old St. Nicholas

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

I heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Example:

I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus:Jolly Old St. Nicholas!!

Conference slots Tuesday and Wednesday

Here is the link to sign up for a conference slot on Tuesday or Wednesday (these are optional). 

Checklist for your reflective essay

Things to pay attention to in your essay:

1. Do not just list what you did this semester, or even what you learned. (Why not?) Write about HOW and WHY your activities contributed to your learning. 
2. Please take some time to study how to join clauses together!! Review the semi-colon versus the comma, especially. 

Online course evaluation link

Here is the link to the online course evaluations. Please take 15 minutes to complete this evaluation.
https://tce.oirps.arizona.edu/TCEOnline

BLOG POST 40: write a letter of encouragement to yourself

Educational research shows that your mindset is key to growth as a learner. If you believe that learning/school success is mainly outside of your control, you will be tempted to give up. Having a growth mindset can help you persevere to achieve your goals. 

Fixed Mindset versus Growth Mindset:

FIXED MINDSET GROWTH MINDSET

No amount of effort will produce success: “I’m just not smart” or “I can’t write” or “I’m not college material.”	Hard work will produce improvement:  "I believe I can develop my abilities.”
Learning should be easy: “If I have to try hard, I’m not smart.” “I don’t understand.”  “I can’t do this.”	Achievement results from effort:  “I may not understand yet, but I can  get better at this.”
Needing help is a sign of weakness:  "I should be able to do this without asking for help."	Needing--and asking for-- help is an  opportunity to grow: "I will welcome multiple opportunities to learn and improve."
Only emphasize outcomes:  "If I'm getting Cs I'm a failure."   "If I'm getting As I must be pretty smart."   "I have to pass this class or my life will be over."	Emphasize process:  "Even though I may not be getting the grades I wanted, I am learning from this experience."   "I'm growing as a writer and I want to keep growing."

BLOG POST 40: write a letter of encouragement to yourself to read when things get tough next semester. 

Online course evaluations; BLOG POST 39

BLOG POST 39: If you could write a letter to your former writing self at the beginning of the semester, what would you say? What do you wish you had known?  What advice would you give yourself about writing?

------
Also, on Monday, we will take the first 15 minutes to complete the online course evaluation. I value your feedback so that I can improve my course design and teaching practice, so please make thoughtful responses.