Am I seeking perspective?

Fitting in is different than belonging.  

“Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be to be accepted.  Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.”  —Brené Brown

Round robin

• You'll each have about 1 minute to share out what resonated for you.

Watch the video above, as we had missed the in-class activity due to Mountain Day.

On your web site, create a reflection entry. You can choose to complete this in a written (4-6 paragraphs) or spoken (3-5 minutes as audio or video) format.

Reflect on how perspective-taking can help you practice cognitive flexibility and impact your sense of belonging. Use the prompts below to guide your reflection.

• Consider the activities from this class (the pivot challenge and when we first began engaging with the CPX). 

  • What did you notice about the fishbowl activity when you were an observer? Did it prompt you to view the technology from unexpected perspectives?

  • How was your sense of belonging in tech impacted by the format in which you were introduced to the CPX? What about brainstorming with your group? You may also wish to connect back to the role of Active Listening.

• Consider your academic journey. 

  • Creating a plan requires a great deal of mental energy, focus, and direction. Yet we also need to be able to step away from a plan that no longer serves us. Can you think of a time where you had to give up on a plan and wished you’d let go of it sooner?

  • Viewing a problem from different perspectives can help generate multiple paths forward or identify a "bug" in your approach. Sometimes, when we pause to pull back or zoom in, we gain new insight into the problem at hand. It can help to talk with others to gain new perspectives; what role does belongingness play here? Can you think of situations where the interplay between belongingness and perspective-taking moved you past an obstacle?

Here are some takeaways for the topics:

Cognitive flexibility

• • When something unexpected happens, how can we adapt and pivot?

  • Be open to new ideas and revisit assumptions.

  • Try on different perspectives and seek collaborations with others to find new vantage points.

  • Generate multiple solutions, which may mean abandoning a path altogether.

Belongingness (part 1)

• The feeling of being respected and valued.

• Impacts our motivation to persist through challenges.

• Felt within, but is impacted by messages from the surrounding environment. Inclusive climates foster a strong sense of belongingness.