Episode 2

Agency

We begin our exploration of Learning to Learn with COL lead for the School of STEM and Math professor Tom McKenna.

For Tom, student agency is the key to success. And from his experience, student agency is built through mindset. Tom's own biography from first-generation college student to Naval pilot to college professor is a study in the power of agency that he discovered and developed as he grew and learned over the years. He brings his experience and perspective to his classes in a relational teaching method.

In our conversation, we explore the connections between mindset, agency, and student success. Tom is currently the COL lead for the School of STEM and he has infused his Math courses with COL ideas, principles and activities. Fostering a growth mindset is a priority in his teaching and he shares his methods for doing so for students with a wide range of needs and experience.

Join us to explore the role of agency in learning and success. Below, you'll find activities and resources from our conversation that you can adapt and use in your own teaching.

Episode 2

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Tom's Personal Motivation

As a first-generation college student, Tom often felt uncertain about his choices as he worked on his undergraduate degree. He had a clear goal for himself: he wanted to fly F-14s for the Navy and the way to do that was to get his degree and pass Calculus, a difficult course he did not relish. Over his desk, he pinned up two personal motivators: a picture of the F-14 he yearned to fly and a steel barrel rim he had manufactured in a factory in Pittsburgh. Factory work, while worthy, was something Tom decided he did not wish to pursue and he kept the rim to remind himself what he wanted to move past in his career. The F-14 remained his grail, what he was reaching for. When he was sick of Calculus or other schoolwork, he would remind himself of what he was working for and persist to stay on track.

Here are the images he shows students when he tells his story to show them that personal motivation is individual and powerful. Below the images, you'll find the exercise he then has students complete to help them make their personal motivation concrete and have a touchstone they can return to when the going gets tough.

my motivation.pptx

Activities for Motivation and Mindset

Tom's Motivation Activity

Here's is Tom's activity that he begins his classes with to help students identify their personal motivators. You can adapt and use this exercise with your students to help them recall their goals and the meaning they have especially when the going gets tough.

Growth Mindset / Fixed Mindset TestGrowth Mindset Test, based on the work of Dr. Carol Dweck, Ph.D.

Growth Mindset Quiz

Use this link to a Growth Mindset Quiz your students can take in your classes to assess their mindset and find new ways of thinking.

Five Minute Fact Break

In our conversation, Tom mentions that he likes to break up lengthy classes with a brief interlude to let students reset their minds before they turn to the next topic. He likes to share little bits of information about the college in these brain breaks such as when students should talk with their advisors, how to contact Financial Aid, information about tutoring in his subject and other useful tidbits that students may forget in the hectic pace of their lives.

Try a Five Minute Fact Break to refresh your students and help them understand a little but more about their college and our services.

Making Skills Visible

Tom explicitly tells students when they're working on valuable essential skills and tells them how to succeed in his Math classes. Here are a few things he makes visible for them. How do you make such things visible in your classes?

Explains and shows how to effectively study math when not in class
Explains how students can test themselves and know when they're ready for a test
Teaches and explains time management by offering "time on task" guidelines for how much time students should spend on work outside of class

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