Q Activity Overview Students often pay little attention to the impact of their study habits on how they learn. But, the combination of awareness and self-regulation is key to you developing metacognition, a powerful learning tool you learned about in your lessons this week. By engaging in some metacognition, you can consider what growth mindset study strategies you can develop as new keystone habits (remember, these are habits that form the foundation of other habits). Objectives • Reflect on your thinking and study habits • Identify a study skills habit that could work as a keystone habit in your life • Develop a SMART Goal based on that study skill Activity Guidelines Before beginning this activity, ensure that you have studied Chapter 4 of The Power of Habit and the resource on Growth Mindset. For this discussion, you will also complete a brief self-assessment: Step One: Define Metacognition Metacognition is essential to successful learning because it enables individuals to better manage their cognitive skills and to determine weaknesses that can be corrected by constructing new cognitive skills. Almost anyone who can perform a skill is capable of metacognition – that is, thinking about how they perform that skill. Recent research indicates that metacognitively aware learners are more strategic and perform better than unaware learners, allowing individuals to plan, sequence, and monitor their learning in a way that directly improves performance. Knowledge about cognition corresponds to what students know about themselves, strategies, and conditions under which strategies are most useful. Declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge can be thought of as the building blocks of conceptual knowledge. Regulation of cognition corresponds to knowledge about the way students plan, implement strategies, monitor, correct comprehension errors, and evaluate their learning. --Hartford Community College Learning Center Step Two: Complete the GAMES Assessment One excellent way to begin thinking about your thinking is to complete the GAMES self-assessment created by Marilla Svinicki and featured in her book, Learning and Motivation in the Postsecondary Classroom. GAMES stands for: • Goal-oriented studying • Active studying • Meaningful and memorable studying • Explain to understand • Self-monitor Marilla suggests that the use of such a tool can help you become more aware of the possibility of self-regulating your learning behaviors. Through the process of completing the GAMES survey, you will be introduced to more than 30 specific behaviors that will support metacognition about learning. The self-assessment can help you easily observe areas where you might show stronger or weaker engagement, and you can focus your efforts where you are weaker, by focusing on specific, tangible behaviors that you can apply throughout your academic and professional career. Click here to take the Self-Assessment. Once you have done so, return to the activity to complete your work! Make sure to take a screenshot of your results before closing the survey window. Step Three: Write Up Your Results and SMART Goal After completing the self-assessment, write up a response of about 250-500 words that answers the following questions. Please submit your work to this activity as a Word document titled LastName_GAMES. Please write your work in MLA format. 1. What were the results of your self-assessment, in general? What is one area where you noticed you mostly answered "never" or "rarely?" Why do you believe you haven't yet taken action to improve or apply this study skill? 2. Do you have a fixed or growth mindset about this particular skill? How does Charles Duhigg define a keystone habit in Chapter four of The Power of Habit? What could you do, based on what you now know about developing keystone habits from Chapter 4 of The Power of Habit and growth mindset, to make this skill a keystone habit? What other habits might it inspire? 3. Finally, use what you learned about SMART Goals from the growth mindset lesson this week to create a SMART goal for your new study skill. Make sure that your goal includes each letter in the SMART acronym described in this week's lessons. Add your SMART Goal to the end of your first discussion post. A. Specific – your goal targets a specific area for improvement. B. Measurable – your progress on the goal can be measured and tracked. C. Achievable– your goal is something you can accomplish now. D. Relevant or Realistic– your goal is something that will benefit you in your life as it is now. E. Time-bound– the goal has a set deadline and is not open-ended! Sample Activity After taking the self-assessment, my results, in general, were acceptable but needed improvement in some areas of study. One area where I noticed I answered "rarely" was in the "Active Study." For example, in the first option, if I ask myself questions before, during, and after studying. I believe I haven't yet taken on this study skill because I am a person who focuses more on reading and getting the main idea than forming questions to review what I read. However, I have a growth mindset about this particular habit skill because even though I haven't developed it, I know from other people's testimony it can be a growth and opportunity to improve your study habits and understanding of a topic. Charles Duhigg explains that a keystone habit is a habit that can help a person start new beneficial habits. This skill might become a keystone habit for other skills by improving my reading comprehension and review skills, which will help me earn higher scores on tests and better understand what I am reading for my classes. Finally, I will present my SMART Goal for my new study skill: S- I will develop an active reading on two articles four days a week until December 27 by asking myself questions during my reading to obtain an outstanding comprehension and improvement in my reading and review skills. M- I will read two articles and ask questions to answer myself four days a week. A- Yes, my goal is attainable because I have the time and resources to work on this goal. R- This goal will benefit me in my active study skills area and improve my reading and review skills. T- By December 27, I will have to develop this skill already and make part of my study habits. Late Policy: • All activities (except for discussions and Power Ups) may be submitted late at a deduction of 5 participation points per activity for one week after the closing date. After one week, the activity will be marked as a zero and can't be submitted late. Rubric Growth Mindset and SMART Goals Growth Mindset and SMART Goals Criteria Ratings Pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeActive Reading For short answer responses student refers to specifics from the text in developing his or her answer, clearly illustrating active reading of the assigned readings. 5 to >4.25 pts Exemplary For short answer responses student refers to specifics from the text in developing his or her answer, clearly illustrating active reading of the assigned readings. 4.25 to >3.25 pts Competent For short answer responses student refers to general from the text in developing his or her answer. 3.25 to >0 pts Needs improvement For short answer responses, student response is surface level or illustrates that the text was only skimmed rather than read using active readings strategies. 5 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeCritical Thinking and Development of Ideas Ideas are developed with careful thought of how the assigned reading ties in with the skills the student is learning for a given week. Responses are worthy of further discussion and illustrate that the student is thinking beyond the literal level, and questions, challenges, and adds to the content and ideas in the text. 5 to >4.25 pts Exemplary Ideas are developed with careful thought of how the assigned reading ties in with the skills the student is learning for a given week. Responses are worthy of further discussion and illustrate that the student is thinking beyond the literal level, and questions, challenges, and adds to the content and ideas in the text. 4.25 to >3.25 pts Competent Ideas are developed with some thought of how the assigned reading ties in with the skills the student is learning for a given week. Responses are worthy of further exploration or discussion, 3.25 to >0 pts Needs Improvement Ideas are not developed with careful thought of how the assigned reading ties in with the skills the student is learning for a given week. Responses are literal and surface-level. 5 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMLA Formatted in MLA 2.5 to >2.0 pts Exemplary No more than one error in MLA format 2 to >0 pts Needs Improvement Multiple errors in MLA Format 2.5 pts This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeGrammar Proper grammar and mechanics observed. 2.5 to >2.0 pts Exemplary Proper grammar and mechanics observed. 2 to >0 pts Needs Improvement Grammar and mechanical errors interfere with reading and comprehension of ideas. 2.5 pts Total Points: 15 PreviousNext