Life Lesson

Way back when, half a lifetime ago when I worked in a lab, I learned the lesson of follow through. Or to be more exact, I learned the consequences of not following through. Let me clear up your confusion by sharing some back history.

My mother and most of my family go to a doctor in my little hometown, I will call him Dr. Big Stuff.  I never cared for Dr. Big Stuff, I just couldn’t relate or talk to him, ever.  I think it’s important to be comfortable with and able to talk with your doctor, to share intimate details about yourself. Not going happen with Dr. BS.  I was a young adult when I realized I didn’t have to see him, I could choose to see someone else, which is what I did.  Dr. BS discovered this fact one day and he was never nice to me again, not that he ever was in the first place.  I worked in the local hospital and had many occasions to interact with him.  He treated me with barely veiled contempt.  Whatever.  The fact that my Mom and family were his patients didn’t give me a pass.  Nope, I had rejected him, HIM, and deserved his contempt.  Again, whatever.

One day I received a call from his office nurse who phoned in a lab order for one of his patients.  I quickly jotted it down, and instead of going to the front office and filing the order, I shoved the paper in my pocket, I would do it later.  Procrastinate, procrastinate, procrastinate.  I was a procrastinator from way back.  To be fair, I wasn’t such a procrastinator anymore and was very busy, running my fanny off that day, but I should have filed it right then and there.  I didn’t.

Back in the day we wore paper lab coats and they got gross, covered in all manner of body fluids.  Can you say DNA?  The following day I was wearing my shiny new, clean lab coat, going about my business when it hit me.  I remembered the lab order from Dr. BS that I had shoved in my pocket and neglected to file.  It was gone, still in the pocket of the lab coat I threw in the biohazard trash at the end of my shift.  Horror!  I struggled to remember the patient name and orders, but of course, that was also gone.  Nothing for it but to suck it up and phone his office to beg Sue (his nurse) to forgive me, pull the chart, and repeat the order.  It really was no biggie, not really.  So who do you suppose answered the phone when I called the office?  Why, Dr. Big Stuff, of course.  And heaven only knows why, I still question it to this day, but he was delighted to hear from me!  He was so pleasant and kind, downright cheery. Until I confessed my sin of not following through and throwing away his lab order. His voice got really flat and he handed me off to Sue as quickly as possible.  I know my face was burning with shame.  Seriously?  It was not a big deal, not really, an honest mistake, but it was a big deal to me.

What is it about shame that teaches us (me, for sure) some very valuable life lessons?  I need to search psychology books on this phenomenon, it’s kind of fascinating to me.  I swore that day to always follow through and try my very best to complete a task as accurately and quickly as possible.  And for the most part, I do a decent job with follow through.  When asked about qualities I consider most valuable in colleagues, I always reply with the practice of follow through, it’s right up there for me.  It tells me that my request and time is important, that the person who follows through cares about me and my needs.  Or the needs of our students and colleagues.

I learned a painful lesson that day, but it has stuck with me through all of these years.  I am grateful to Dr. Big Stuff.  He was a player in an interesting chain of events that reinforced a quality I hold most dear.  Our relationship has mellowed over the years and grown to one of mutual respect.  I email him for news of my mom’s health, and he always follows through, replying to me very quickly.  Thank you, Dr. BS, I appreciate you and all you do for my mom.  Thank you for teaching me this valuable life lesson.

 

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?

It is simple to say, “Be kind.” It takes more work to apply it. It takes even more work to synthesize it (Right, CRE Learning Community Colleague Sherry? I’m bringing in my Bloom’s here.). One way I think about crafting my skill of kindness is to think of myself, thanks to Carol McCloud’s work and my first grader, as either a bucket filler or a bucket dipper. A bucket filler is a person who practices kindness by proverbially filling people’s emotional buckets. The best way to fill a bucket is by being kind. Listen. Give a compliment. Show gratitude. Of course, the yang to this cheery yin is the gloomy bucket dipper. A bucket dipper is someone who empties other people’s buckets by saying or doing cruel things.

A moment of authentic kindness functions as a salve to soothe emotional shards of absolute grief, frustration, sadness, desolation. Despite this, research shows that our brains pack boxes of negative memories and associations, because of their impact, for safe-keeping more frequently than those that are positive. I believe that seconds of genuine kindness can reverberate, sink in, sponge through the bones eventually attaching themselves to our long term memory, and begin to overlap or push over and supersede the negative.

At the end of the day, we are in the work of helping people and doing what is best for students. When you have the choice to fill or dip, I hope you decide to fill and pass it on.

 

Facilitating Classroom Leadership

When asked to comment on instructor leadership techniques, I immediately self-reflected upon the many leaders and teachers who regularly attend my classes. No matter what age my students are, I view all of the participants as teachers. Learning is most powerfully committed to memory not by just viewing and listening to the instructional input,  but rather by teaching another learner the skill or knowledge set will solicit about 90% retention of presented material. Hence, cooperative learning has become very common place within American classrooms ranging from preschool even through the university platform. Considering the heavy influences and integration of various technology devices, I question whether or not learning will be enhanced or diminished through lessened physical face-to-face interactions. Network connectivity is a progressive technological phenomena and possible teaching pedagogy, which will enter the performance educational psychology domain in the near future.

 

Video Investigations as Assessment

Photo by Cheryl Colan

Sian (left) and Merry (right) at SCC Tech Talks 2017

On January 27, I attended TechTalks at SCC and watched Geology faculty Sian Proctor and Merry Wilson present their talk Video Investigations: Students Presenting Their Understanding of Our World. From their abstract (scroll down the linked page a bit to read it in full):

Video investigations are a unique way of having students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of complex topics and establish accountability in an online learning environment.

I love this idea for assessment in an online class. Merry assigns 4 video investigations per semester, while Sian assigns them weekly. Their students:

  • receive specific guidelines for each assigned video investigation
  • see an example video made by the instructor
  • get a link to the free Screencast-O-Matic.com
  • do not need to be given instructions on how to make a screencast – they figure it out on their own
  • create 1- to 5-minute videos to show knowledge, demonstrate mastery or reflect on course topics
  • embed their videos into Canvas Discussions to share with the rest of their class

Photo of presentation slide on the Design of Video Investigations

Sian and Merry had some goals in mind when they designed the video investigation assignment. One goal was having a way to be sure the students were actually the ones submitting the work in an online environment. A video submission goes beyond plagiarism detection via Turnitin, because you are hearing the student’s own voice, and possibly even seeing the student via webcam. Another goal was to cut down on grading time. You can grade a 5-minute video in 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how much feedback you write per student. Other goals included increasing student engagement and learning retention.

Being top-notch scientists, Sian and Merry gathered data about their students before and after introducing video investigations into the courses they teach. If my memory is accurate, they found students tend to report they enjoyed the topics where video investigations were assigned more than the topics that did not involve a video investigation. Students also felt more of a sense of community, because they saw and heard each others’ faces and voices as they shared their videos. The process of creating video also built up the students’ information literacy skills over the course of the semester.

Photo of presentation slide on Engagement and Literacy

I’ve used video in the classroom as a student and as an adjunct, and I can confirm that having students produce short videos is an excellent learning and engagement tool. If you would like to learn more, reach out to Sian and Merry, or contact me in the Center for Teaching, Learning and Engagement for more information.

 

Choosing Your Side – Everyday

Never give up. Never surrender.

Still behind on Write 6×6 posts, but not giving up.

People this past week have been writing about kindness, and the opportunity to be vulnerable, as it relates to their work in teaching and learning. Ann Riley wrote about noticing the connection between kindness and vulnerability and challenged us to be the first make eye contact and to say hello as we walk around campus. That’s a challenge I issued to myself at the start of the semester this year. 

Often when I smile and say hello to someone I don’t know, I am ignored. And that’s ok. It doesn’t feel great, but I know that I tried and will try again.

Just as often, I receive a silent smile back, or maybe a returned “hello” or “good morning.” That’s nice and makes me smile.

But I feel like the real opportunities are when I see something I can do. When I ask someone with a confused expression if I can help, and I end up spending five minutes walking them to the right building and finding out someone’s name or what they’re here to study. Or when I open a door for someone loaded down with books, and see that they look surprised and grateful.

A lot of students tend to open doors for me, and I always express my gratitude. But I am really enjoying when I find a true opportunity to be on a stranger’s side. I feel like I have to be very observant and alert in order to make it happen. 

So far this semester, instead of just helping students find the room they say they’re looking for, I’ve made sure several of them know how to search the GCC website to find their teachers’ office location and office hours. I taught one student how to read the campus map. I helped a Muslim woman locate a few private options for one of her daily prayers. I made time to get to know an older gentleman who I see regularly on campus. 

I’m feeling that so much of the time, it’s easy to focus on my own immediate goal, where I’m going, what I need to do next. But it’s so much more rewarding to observe the people in close proximity and look for opportunities to be on their side for a few minutes. And this is a daily choice. Whether I’ll be on my side only, or let go of what I need at a certain moment to make sure I’m on their side when they could use a hand. Focusing only on myself makes me feel like a drone. Being on their side makes me feel like a human being.

 

 

Kindness = Benevolent = Our focus at GCC

I like the different definitions behind the definitions.  Here’s what I found when I looked up kind and it took me to benevolent:

1.  characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings: a benevolent attitude; her benevolent smile.
2.  desiring to help others; charitable: gifts from several benevolent alumni.

3.  intended for benefits rather than profit: a benevolent institution.

I especially like the expressions goodwill; desiring to help others; and intended for benefits rather than profit.
That certainly sounds like GCC to me!  We are always looking out for our students.  When I updated my Canvas announcements for the week, here’s what I included today:

Campus Resources

Glendale Community College is focused on student success, and today’s announcement contains resources that might be helpful to you or someone you know.

GCC Food Pantry
9 a.m. – Noon
Student Union – Room 123A
February 15, 2017 and
Every Wednesday Campus is Open
Students can visit and select up to five non-perishable food items.
No ID or paperwork required.
This project is made possible through a partnership with the Salvation Army Glendale Corps.
Do you need money for college? Apply online.  (Links to an external site.) There are also workshops to help you write your applications.
Scholarship Assistance.png
What a great place to teach!
 

Challenge + Support = Success

Someone once told me that you learn the most from your mistakes. Another wise person encouraged me to find my green lights. A third mentor brought these two words of wisdom together when she shared her expectation that we need to provide adequate support in challenging situations. Throughout my life, I will never forget friends, colleagues, supervisors, family, and faculty who help me live through and become stronger during emotional, financial, interpersonal, and intellectual difficulties.

The way support was offered varied based upon the people, my need, and our relationship. Sometimes it was a brief smile from a stranger when I was walking across campus. Other times, people supported me by telling what I needed to hear but didn’t necessarily want to hear in a kind and gentle way. Still others, helped me embrace my feelings which seemed to be getting the best of me. Sometimes it was about listening. Other times it was about solving problems or figuring out action steps. Regardless of what the person provided, I responded best when I knew why the person was responding to me in a particular way.

At the time I never really thought about how people decided to provide support. I have come to realize there are two different ways, the golden or platinum rule, to respond to others. From a very young age I was taught to treat others how I would want to be treated (the golden rule). This works best when someone is like me. Throughout life, there have been times when I thought I was supporting when I wasn’t. It was through these times I learned it is not about how I want to be treated, rather it is how others want to be treated (the platinum rule).

Looking back, I find myself relying upon the golden rule when I do not know the other person well. In these cases, it is easy to respond based upon how I would want to be helped. Sometimes it is scary to ask what another person needs. At times I have been uncertain on how to ask what a person needs. Sometimes I avoid asking about a need because I’m not sure I can respond. Still other times, I’m afraid to ask because I might identify the wrong need. So the golden rule is safer and works.

The platinum rule – while good in concept – requires connection, risk, trust, and sometimes getting it wrong. The platinum rule takes valuable time. With the platinum rule, I need to communicate my needs to others. I need to give others the space and time to share their needs. There will be times when I ask for something I cannot receive. There will come a time when I am asked for something I cannot do. In these cases, I will learn what is reasonable or doable. I will learn what I must do and how others help. When I am able to practice the platinum rule, I find that connection occurs, service improves, and relationships strengthen.

What will it be for you today? Gold or platinum? Testing Services recently adopted the platinum rule for our team. This means we have spent time defining workplace expectations, discussing individual & group needs and learning about the impact of the “office” on the team. It has taken time. It is an ever-evolving practice and conversation. Just when we think we know everything; new things come up. We are stronger because of the conversations, experience, and memories. We made the change because it provides strength in time of stress or challenge. When we work together, the load lightens.

 

On Kindness

Practicing it won’t make you perfect but it’ll make you aware. We’ve all probably been taught at some point in our lives of its virtues, but have we examined its meaning? What does it mean to be kind? To understand, perhaps it’s best to know what it feels like to be treated in an unkind manner.  I’m pretty sure we can all remember the last time we felt like that.  But can we remember the last time we treated someone with kindness?  What were the circumstances under which we chose to act in a kindly manner.  And no, I’m not talking about patronizing manners or obligatory responses.  I’m talking real.  Right here and right now. Starting with today. We’re all too busy thinking and worrying about ourselves and “what’s in it for me.”  And in doing so we’ve missed the opportunity to respond to an overwhelmed student or coworker.  All because, if you please, we were thinking all about “me” instead of “them.”  We know what it feels like when we’re left to feel the sting of a perfunctory thank you or please. My challenge is this:  let’s think ahead and outside of ourselves. So the next time we’re in a situation which may require compassion, we think instead of how we can best be prepared to respond to a need selflessly and with compassion for someone in need of a kind act instead of an eye-rolling dismissal. You see to be kind, we must think of someone other than ourselves. That’s how I wish to be remembered. As an example of kindness.  We’ve been taught the lesson, but so have we learned?  What a difference kindness can make.
 

The Power of Vulnerability

Dr. Brené Brown is my hero. Vulnerability is one of her favorite topics. When I read the writing prompt this week, I immediately thought of Brené. She describes herself as a researcher and a story teller. That sounds like an unusual mix. However, Brené demonstrates that stories are “data with a soul.” I love that.

Rather than try to paraphrase her incredible work, I’d encourage you to invest 20 minutes and watch her TED Talk, The Power of Vulnerability.

http://[ted id=1042]

My hope is that Brené’s ideas will help us all lean into vulnerability. Vulnerability can lead to more happiness, so give it a try. Try to notice the connection between kindness and vulnerability. Take a chance…be mindful as you walk around campus…be the first one to make eye contact and say Hello. Challenge your students to make human connections instead of just texting. An emoji can’t compare to a warm, face-to-face smile. I think our campus workplace provides limitless opportunities to spread real-life kindness since many of us work face-to-face with human beings- all day, every day. In today’s social media world, we have the chance to promote in-person kindness.  Be brave and be kind.

 

Just T.H.I.N.K

I am not a fan of acronyms, but this one speaks volumes.

In the spirit of kindness on campus, we should stop and THINK before we speak. There is always a choice in how we react to a situation.

Optimal health is tied to wellness, and wellness is a dynamic wheel rolling down the road of life. We know it is important to exercise and eat well (physical wellness). We know it is important to socialize and engage with others (social wellness). We know it is important to learn and challenge our minds (intellectual wellness). We know it is important to meditate, pray or dwell on our purpose in life (spiritual wellness).

Emotional wellness  is the fifth aspect of a well-rounded life and it needs more attention. If we are not happy, then all of the other dimensions of wellness are affected. Happiness is the key. The pathway to happiness is to not only look after our own well being, but to look out for the happiness of others.

Small acts of kindness create a ripple effect that we can’t even fathom!  One smile can change a day for someone who is sad or suffering. That smile could end up on the faces of many people through the course of the day because of the smile you chose to initiate. Imagine if everyone did that!

Any act where you give something and you don’t expect anything in return. Buying a coffee or a lunch for a stranger, or a colleague, or a student who could use a boost. Stopping to say more than “hi” even if you are in a hurry (leave 5 minutes early so you can create these moments).

Every day, try at least one act of kindness and watch how your emotional wellness takes an enormous boost!

Just THINK!