This Week for Faculty: 🌱 5 Practices to Promote a Growth Mindset

Five tips to help your students learn and grow

Support your students’ learning this Fall through practices that are learner-centered and inclusive.

1. Set the tone for the semester by expressing your belief in your students’ ability to achieve your course learning objectives. Explain to students that mistakes and failure are part of the learning process, and that the course is structured to support their success. This can be communicated through your course syllabus (explore the CTL resource on Designing an Inclusive Syllabus), in your CourseWorks site, and in class. 
2. Plan to offer your students low-stakes opportunities to practice applying course knowledge and skills throughout the semester. Explore the CTL’s resource on Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs): Low-Stakes Strategies to Assess Active Learning. Consider how you might integrate instructional technology such as Poll Everywhere to get your students to think, engage, and receive your feedback in real time; and low-stakes quizzes in CourseWorks using QuizCon to boost your students’ confidence in their ability. 
3. Rethink how you assess student learning. Consider how course assignments can be broken down into smaller tasks with opportunities for students to receive feedback and iterate prior to moving on to the next task. Checkout the CTL’s resources on Assessing Equitably with All Learners in Mind and Designing Assignments for Learning. 
4. Frame feedback in terms of growth. Give feedback that focuses on the process. Use rubrics and encourage students to self-assess their performance or work. The CTL’s resources Feedback for Learning and Incorporating Rubrics Into Your Feedback and Grading Practices are good places to start. 
5. Encourage students to reflect on their learning, as well as their preparation, their process, their performance, and the strategies that are and are not working for them in the course. Explore the CTL’s Metacognition resource for strategies to support the development of this skill in your students.

Related upcoming live sessions

It’s in the Syllabus! Or is it?: Designing a Transparent Syllabus
90-minute workshop on August 22, 10:00-11:30am. Online. 
Syllabus Office Hours: August 29, 2022, 10:00am-12:00pm. In-person or online. 
Resource: Designing an Inclusive Syllabus.

Teaching Inclusively From the Start
60-minute workshop on August 22, 12:00-1:00pm and August 29, 12:00-1:00pm. Online. 
Resource: Guide for Inclusive Teaching at Columbia

Teaching with CourseWorks
90-minute workshop on August 22, 1:30-3:00pm and August 31, 10:00-11:30am. Online. 
Resource: CourseWorks Support

Engaging Students with Poll Everywhere
30-minute demo on August 23, 11:30-12:00pm and August 30, 10:00-10:30am. Online. 
Resource: Poll Everywhere: Audience Response Systems

Making Feedback Matter: Strategies That Serve You and Your Students
60-minute workshop on August 25, 12:00-1:00pm. Online. 
Resource: Feedback for Learning

Setting Up Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions in CourseWorks
30-minute workshop on August 25, 1:00-1:30pm and August 31, 12:00-12:30pm. Online.
Resource: self-paced course – Assessment and Grading in CourseWorks (Canvas)

Introduction to Gradescope: Grading and Feedback for Science and Engineering
60-minute workshop on August 25, 2:00-3:00pm. Online.  
Resource: Creating Assignments and Grading Online with Gradescope

Establishing Shared Values of Academic Integrity with Undergraduates
60-minute workshop on August 26, 12:00-1:00pm. Online. 
Resource: Promoting Academic Integrity

The CTL is here to help you get ready for Fall 2022!

Office Hours 
Join us for office hours via Zoom (or phone) Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm to have your teaching with instructional technology questions answered.

Consultations
Schedule an in-person or virtual consultation to discuss any teaching and learning need by emailing ctlfaculty@columbia.edu or email the CTL Learning Designer assigned to your school or department.