Am I seeking perspective?

the role of cognitive flexibility

• Each group will get:

  • A pivot prompt

  • 3 minutes to “own” the room: brainstorm how to adapt

  • Everyone else, please remain silent

• When it is not your group’s turn, stretch your cognitive flexibility by listening in for different perspectives. Jot down thoughts and ideas, but please do not distract the group that is working.

• Remember: It’s about your approach and stretching cognitive flexibility, not about finding the “right” solution.

  • Practice active listening.

  • Move from
    “It is...” or “It must be...”
    to
    “Could it be..?” or “Might it be…?” 

  • Articulate your approach.

  • Explicitly name what’s difficult (maybe the activity itself).

Work in small groups to create an interactive tangible project using a new component on your Circuit Playground Express.

• You can choose any of the components we saw this week.

• You should sense at least one type of input (e.g., light, touch, gesture, distance, etc.) and respond with at least one type of output (e.g., LED/neopixel, speaker, microservo).

  • If you use an external component, remember what you learned with simple circuits an copper tape!

  • You can use alligator clips to connect from the Circuit Playground Express to external components. 

Requirements

On your web site, post:

(A) [This can be shared across your group] Documentation of your process, including successes and failures. You should include:

• Pictures/video of your process

• A final video or collection of photos that demonstrates the final product

(B) A two-part reflection:

1. Reflect back on the project and how it relates to the topic of cognitive flexibility and feedback, using the prompts below. You can choose to write the reflection (1-2 paragraphs) or record it as video/audio (1-3 minutes).

• • How did having multiple perspectives impact the project? 

  • Were there any unexpected moments? How did you respond to them? 

  • Did you find yourself providing/receiving feedback during the process? Reflecting on the video, do you think it was given/received effectively?

2. Challenge yourself to step back and think about any parallels you can draw to your learning journey at large, using the prompts below. You can choose a written format (2-4 paragraphs) or recorded video/audio (2-5 minutes).

• How does (not) having multiple perspectives impact your decision-making? How has feedback played a role?

• Can you think of ways that cognitive flexibility could help you stretch in considering what courses you take in and out of your (intended) major(s)? 

• Looking back, are there any times where you got stuck or spun your wheels when you could have paused to seek other solutions or perspectives? Do you think the outcome would have been different?

• Can you think of a time when you were committed to a plan, but could have been more effective by pivoting to a new plan? What would you tell your former self?

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.

Effective feedback

• When receiving, we can pause, and acknowledge how it was given to us. Sometimes, we may choose to walk away from it or find another person to seek feedback from.

• We can ask clarifying questions to identify action steps. 

• When giving feedback, we can signal intentions that we take them seriously and genuinely believe they can improve.

• Be specific about what went well and what did not go as well -- instead of focusing only on what’s wrong, provide a clear next step for them to take.