READING FIG SESSION III
During this meeting we focused on chapters 3 and 4 in the book.
We talked about how birth circumstances to some extent define your pathways in life. In this chapter Steele discusses how Anatole Broyard, born a black man, lived his adult life as a white man. This enabled him to enjoy different opportunities than he could of had he not “passed” as a white man. According to Steele as a white man he faced different constraints, different opportunities and traveled a different pathway He was the same person, but his social identity had changed and therefore his social location… Only the conditions he faced had changed.
This led to a lively discussion among the group. We all concluded that the book brought new ideas and the issues were worth further explanation.
READING FIG SESSION II
During this meeting we discussed chapter 2 and chapter 3. In this chapter Steel presented evidence of experiments that explored this topic. For example did the negative stereotype of women and math create pressure on women’s success in mathematics classes. In these experiments steps were taken to remove the effect of stereotypes and results seemed to indicate that the stereotypes do affect performance. We talked about experiences with the influence of stereotypes on performance. We discusses methods we could take with our students to counteract cultural stereotypes.
READING FIG SESSION I
During this meeting we discussed the introduction and chapter 1. All present had experiences with stereotypes affecting us personally and with our students. We also talked about how important it is to feel that you belong to do well in college. One of the biggest problems with the pandemic has been the isolation of our students from other students. According to Steel, minorities members often feel like they do not belong and this along with stereotypical messages that resonate internally lowers outcomes for students. We talked about different methods we can use to help our students feel connected to other students.
In chapter 1 (p 16-17) Steel discusses the inspiration for the name of the book :
Consider the experience of Brent Staples, now a columnist for the New
York Times, but then a psychology graduate student at the University of
Chicago, a young African American male dressed in informal student
clothing walking down the streets of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. In
his own words:I became an expert in the language of fear. Couples locked arms or
reached for each other’s hand when they saw me. Some crossed to
the other side of the street. People who were carrying on
conversations went mute and stared straight ahead, as though
avoiding my eyes would save them….
I’d been a fool. I’d been walking the streets grinning good evening
at people who were frightened to death of me. I did violence to them
by just being. How had I missed this…
I tried to be innocuous but didn’t know how…. I began to avoid
people. I turned out of my way into side streets to spare them the
sense that they were being stalked…. Out of nervousness I began to
whistle and discovered I was good at it. My whistle was pure and
sweet—and also in tune. On the street at night I whistled popular
tunes from the Beatles and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The tension
drained from people’s bodies when they heard me. A few even
smiled as they passed me in the dark. (p.17)
FACULTY READING GROUP -SPRING 2022
This spring we are reading
In the book, Whistling Vivaldi, Claude M. Steel provides well-researched information on how stereotypes act as a subconscious threat impeding academic performance. Steel suggests some simple techniques that can counteract these threats and help student reach their full academic potential. The intriguing title refers to the method used by a New York Times columnist to counteract negative stereotypes he faced because of his race. Please join the KCTL Reading Group and facilitator Amy Haas (Business) in reading this eye-opening and enlightening book.
READING GROUP FALL 2021 SESSION 3
During this meeting we focused on the second chapter of the book. The second chapter is entitled Practice and Feedback. Bruff suggests that instructors consider the types of skills that their students need and then center class activities around these needs. He recommends the adoption of a flipped classroom model so students have an opportunity to practice with ongoing support from the instructor and peers. One suggestion is to begin with think-pair-share and then to add elements, such as combining pairs, forming small groups, using techniques such as jigsaw. In jigsaw each small group “works on one topic, and then shares their work with their other groups. This can be done with face to face and remote classes. Another technique is using polling. One way to find time for these in class activities is to move introductory material to outside the classroom.
FACUTLY READING GROUP FALL 2021 SESSION 2
During this meeting we discussed chapter 1 which has many interesting ideas. Chapter 1 is called A TIME FOR TELLING.
Bruff begins the chapter with an example of presenting an exciting science experiment to a group of kindergartens to raise curiosity. The presenter then went on to explain the science behind the experiment. This is an interesting technique that can be used with polling questions. Many of us use polling questions, to get instant feedback from students after teaching a concept. After reading this chapter I decided that I would present the poll BEFORE teaching the concept. What a difference timing makes.
First I get instant feedback as to the level of understanding of the concept before even presenting it. Second, Student are now primed to learn because they want to know why the answer was correct. It’s a very simple change but one that has resulted in a great improvement in my pedagogy without any additional work. The entire chapter is devoted to similar examples that instructors can use to enhance and refresh their course.
READING GROUP FALL 2021 SESSION 1
Session 1 took place on Zoom.
During this meeting we focused on the author’s introduction to the book. –Derek Bruff discusses that the overarching theme for this book is to provide guidance and examples of how instructors can incorporate technology into their course in ways that match teaching goals. A quote from the “book jacket” sums it up “Intentional Tech explores seven research-based principles for matching technology to pedagogy, arguing that teaching and learning goals should drive instructors’ technology use, not the other way around”.
Most of the discussion during the meeting revolved around the beginning of the semester, and the difficulties of another remote semester for most of us. We had technology foisted upon us and many of us have successfully found ways to shift to this new normal. During the 2nd session we will focus on chapter 1.
DISTRACTED MEETING II
The second meeting of the reading group was held on April 15th on Zoom at 12:45 p.m.
We continued our discussion of Part I of the book and began to review Part II.
We talked about the use of a concentration exercise to have students focus by viewing the same photograph, painting or document at various points in time during the semester. The point of the activity is for them to see how their experiences change their perspective on the focus object.
We also discussed apps that can be used for communicating with students that are more visual and more intuitive than BB. Lang’s research indicates that attention has a very strong social component and if he want to have less distracted students, we must find way to get their attention. So communication turns out to be a key factor in reducing distraction. We have to work on capturing student’s attention, rather than focusing on eliminating distraction.
DISTRACTED BY JAMES LANG MEETING 1
The 1st meeting held on zoom was on Mar 18, 2021 12:45 PM
There were 6 in attendance. We began with a discussion of the part 1 of the book.
In this section, the reason for distraction is explored by Lang. We all tend to blame technology but Lang believes that it may not be the true cause of distraction. It’s not only our students that are distracted, but all of us are often distracted and technology seems to be more of a symptom than a cause of distraction.
We talked about developing a technology policy for the classroom as Lang suggests, there are many ways to develop such a policy. Some instructors ban technology but such policies may not be appropriate and can be problematic when some students use technology for learning accommodations. We also discussed the particular challenges we face in this remote learning environment.
READING GROUP SPRING 21
This semester we are reading the book DISTRACTED by James Lang
Here are links discussing the book.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?476451-1/distracted 8 minutes key-note speaker
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Distracted/UebTDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover
