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?

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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. 

Final exam (reflective essay and optional rewrite)

Our "official" final exam slot is Friday Dec. 11 from 3:30-5:30PM. The dropbox will be open all day Friday until 5:30PM for you to upload your final reflective essay, and your optional rewrite of paper 1 or 2. I need to close the dropbox at 5:30PM.

Note

I forgot to collect the printouts today for attendance. Please keep them and pass them in on Friday.

For Friday (and Blog Post 38): Reflective essay organizing idea and thesis

The Student's Guide chapter 12 suggested five organizing ideas/themes for your reflective essay (p. 247-48):

1. Focus on a specific assignment, experience, or concept 
2. Compare your experience writing in this course to past experiences
3. Reflect on strengths and weaknesses 
4. Focus on course objectives
5. Focus on your writing process/self-perception as a writer

Blog Post 38: Write a sample thesis statement for each theme.  If you would like to use a different organizing idea from one of the above, describe it and write a thesis for it in addition to the ones above.

Then pick the one you are most interested in using for your reflective essay, and explain why you think it would be the most effective, interesting way to organize your essay (think about SOAPSTone).

Give detailed suggestions and feedback on two other classmate's blog posts. Link to their posts in your post.

==> FOR FRIDAY: Bring your chosen organizing idea and thesis, with the SOAPSTone, printed out, to class!!

Office hours today

I will be holding office hours today in the Main Library in the lobby area to the left of the main entrance between 9:30 and 11:00.

Blog Post 37: Audience and invention for reflective essay

Answer at length the questions posed in the chart in the Student's Guide p. 249:

1. What topic do I want to discuss with my readers? What do I want them to understand about the topic?
2. Who is my primary audience? Who is my secondary audience?
3. What do my audiences already know or believe about my topic?
4. How will I organize and develop my ideas to make them convincing to these readers?
5. How will I establish my ethos (relationship and tone) with my readers?

Change for blog grading policy

You may have noticed that the blogs are not graded on d2l. I have been reconsidering the way I assess the blogs, and I have decided that each blog will be graded on a pass/fail/bonus basis. 

• Each blog post (there will be 40 in all) will be worth 2.5 points (100 total, or 10% of your grade). 
• If you did the blog post, you earn 2.5 points for it. 
• If you did not write the blog post, you get 0 points for that post. 
• You can earn bonus points for exceptional blog posts: for each exceptional post, you can earn extra bonus point (1) for that post, up to 25 bonus points. 

You may, if you have time and inclination, go back and write your missing blog posts, up until the last day of class (Wed. Dec. 9). Any posts revised or added after the last day of class do not count toward your grade.  Blog Post prompts. 

Blog Post 36: Discovering your writing process (Revisited)

Review Chapter Three of the Student's Guide, especially section 3.2. Think about how your own writing process may have changed over the course of the semester. 

First essay reflections word cloud

Then for this blog, answer the questions posed in the craft box on page 246. 

Writing support during finals!!

For Wednesday: SG chapter 12

For Wednesday, read Student's Guide chapter 12: Reflective Writing. This chapter provides in-depth instructions and suggestions for writing your reflective essay. 

==>>Come to class Wednesday having filled in the blanks on this worksheet from the reading. Bring a printed copy.