Welcome to the website where you can find access to the ebook titled Helping High School and College Students Do Better Within a Broken System, and the accompanying workbook titled Helping Students Do Better Within a Broken System.
Embedded Files
What is the Ebook About?
This book is not about teaching students how to study better, or write better papers, or get better grades. Though studying techniques are important, there are other important things students can learn first to help themselves succeed in school. This book is for any parent, guardian, teacher, or counselor who has a student who finds school challenging and who could use some guidance. If you would like to know the research behind what struggling students are going through, and what they will need to succeed, this read is for you. This book gives a scientific explanation behind the workbook I created for high school and young adult students, entitled Helping Students Do Better Within a Broken System. The goal of the accompanying workbook is to empower struggling students and change their experience in school, to help them develop healthy and positive self-narratives. As a caring adult in a student’s life, you can give them the workbook to equip them with the mental tools they need to succeed in school and persevere through academic challenges. In the meantime, read this book to learn about the science behind the workbook activities, as well as the psychological theories and supporting research you should know to understand identity formation and motivation. While it is not in our power to make significant changes in the school system overall, it is in our power to learn about how we can understand, help, and support students who struggle within the broken system.
Download now for free!
Download now for free!
Click here to download the pdf file. Printing this workbook, placing it in a binder, and filling out a physical copy is recommended and encouraged.
Click here to access the workbook as a Google Doc file. In order to fill it out digitally, you will need to add a copy of it to your own Google Drive. To do this, simply go to 'File' at the top left corner, then select 'Make a copy.'
The Goals of The Workbook
This book is not for the overachiever, straight-A students who already have a great sense of academic self-efficacy and are wanting to know how to get even higher marks. This book’s aim is not to teach you how to study better, or write better papers, or get better grades. Though studying techniques are important, there are other important things you can learn first to help yourself succeed in school. This book is for anyone and everyone who finds school challenging, and finds themselves wary of the challenge. It is for anyone questioning whether school is right for them or if they really belong there, but knows that finishing school is the right thing for them to do. The goal of this book is to empower struggling students and change their experience in school. This workbook will equip you with the mental tools you need to succeed in school and persevere through academic challenges. It will also give you the well-deserved sense of accomplishment that you can do it. And the great thing is, the activities are informed and inspired by research in cognitive psychology—so there’s reason to believe they can really work.
How to Use the Materials
The workbook will be most helpful for students when done with supervision or support from a parent, guardian, teacher, or school counselor. The workbook can ideally be given to struggling students as an alternative to traditional discipline for bad grades. Rather than create shame for these students who are already struggling with school, this workbook aims to give students newfound confidence that they can turn their story around.
It can be printed out and filled out by hand, which is the recommended option, or it can be filled out digitally through Google Drive. You can download the complete file for free as a pdf file here, or as a Google Doc here. Remember to make a copy to your own Google Drive if you are opting for the digital version.
The ebook can be used as a collaborative tool for parents, guardians, teachers, or school counselors who want to learn more about the background science supporting the workbook activities. Anyone who distributes the workbook to a student is encouraged to read the ebook and provide help and support to the student as they work on filling it out.
Logic Model
Logic Model
At the right is the model which is followed by the workbook. It is developed from Walton & Wilson's (2018) wise intervention framework. The model shows how a student initially starts the process in a self-defeating cycle, but after workbook activities which spark a change in perspective, end in a self-enhancing cycle.
About the Author
About the Author
Hannah Rasmussen is a graduating senior in her undergraduate Psychology program at Pacific University. She found her niche in Cognitive Psychology, as she has had aspirations to become a teacher for years and work with high school and community college students. She loves how the study of psychology has the power to help people understand themselves and others better. She chose to create this ebook and workbook with the help of her advisor, Erica Kleinknecht, as her senior project because she was excited at the opportunity to bring creativity, cognition, and education together in one space. She hopes that the ebook and workbook are something that will touch the lives of students, teachers, and caregivers.
She lives in the Portland metro area in Oregon with her two cats, and loves life in the Pacific Northwest. In her free time she loves being creative, going for walks, long talks with friends, and hanging out with her cats.
Please contact Hannah with any questions or comments on this project at hannah.m.rasmussen@gmail.com. She would love to hear from you.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Thank you to all my classmates who gave me feedback and supportive comments while this project was a work in progress. And a huge thank you to Dr. Erica Kleinknecht for supporting your students' learning and encouraging us through an unusually stressful time. This project could not have been possible without you!
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