From the beginning of this semester I wasn't sure how this class was going to turn out. I expecting the worst but hoped for the best. So far it's been great. I have explored and written about many topics I've never heard about and have opened my mind to the therapy of writing. I feel that with this class I have slowly but surely enhanced my writing abilities in which I am truly grateful. With my website I am able to let myself write without the fear of being judged. I am able to write blog posts and post videos and photos to express my thoughts. With the website I was am to identify my writerly identity and express my emotions throughout my work. I was able to boost my confidence through my writing and allowing myself to write freely. I feel that with the reviewing, critiquing, and identifying, I was able to identify myself as a writer in which I felt was impossible before I started taking this class.
For my academic mindset assignment, I turned to the help of my parents. My parents are very observant and they have picked up on my habits and can relate to it as well. I personally feel that this was a good approach because my parents are very involved with my academics and activities. I explained to them the difference between growth and fixed mindsets and asked them to identify which one I related to more. Before I did this I identified myself first so that I could see if we were on the same page. The biggest obstacle was actually reading all of the articles about growth and fixed mindsets and all of the differences. To overcome this obstacle I made list to compare and contrast the different mindsets. I found this made it easier to spot the differences and made it less painful to write about.
I wrote this project in my room but at a reasonable time. For the hiraeth project I waited until last minute and it stressed me out. I found that starting the project earlier helps. I wrote bits and pieces everyday until it was finally completed. I wrote about this topic because it was required. This was definitely not my favorite thing to write about. I threw my own personal experience into it to try and make it more interesting and to personalize it. I will adapt my writing process by continuing to doing my assignments in a timelier manner and use the method of writing bits and pieces everyday until completed. I felt that this method was less stressful and allowed me to have time to revise it. For the Film-Based Project I worked by myself. Personally, I think that I wasn't as productive as I was in the past. I feel that I work better with others rather than alone. Working alone wasn't my best idea because when I work alone I tend to get distracted a lot easier. The most difficult part of my writing process was getting the project started and making it interesting. The movie Step Brothers is a very hard movie to write about because of how immature and scattered it is. I found it hard to write in a mature and professional manner when the movie itself is far from that. I tried my best to overcome this obstacle by incorporating my own personal experiences that related to the movie to add humor to the writing. I started this project in class the day it was due. I finished it minutes before the deadline was up. This was a horrible approach however, since I have been so busy this was the only time I was able to do it. When I started the project in the classroom I felt I got a lot of the project completed because I didn't have many distractions around me. I finished my project at my kitchen bar. Both of these locations was much better then trying to complete my assignments in my bedroom. I chose to write about the way parenting can affect children and their emotional state. I used personal experiences that I have witnessed to back up my argument and try to persuade the audience. I know that I have to work on time management for many obvious reasons. Also, I know that in the future working with others helps with the productivity of my assignments and helps to keep me on track.
In Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset Research Dweck goes on to explain ways to change from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. The first method is to praise a student on their effort alone rather than only praising them on their successes. Another method is giving kids a challenge to get them thinking. However, with this the teacher must problem solve and strategize with the students. Using feedback is another good method so that the students know what their strengths and weaknesses are.
In The Perils of "Growth Mindset Education" it goes on to explain how in school as students we are crammed with forgettable information. However, the quality of education can be improved. If the students become more engaged and interested in their work, improvements will be recognized. To do such a thing, adopting the right attitude is a huge part of this. The students must think optimistically and learn to not put themselves or others down. A fixed mindset is the most common and the most harmful. It is the belief that you are either good or aren’t good at something with no in between. They also believe that a fixed mindset is based on your inherent nature, because you are who you are. Basically a person with a fixed mindset doesn’t look to improve themselves because they feel that it’s no use. A growth mindset is the belief that there is always room for improvement. Growth Mindsets believe that our abilities are proven through our actions and practice makes perfect. As a college student I would say I now have more of a growth mindset. In high school I was absolutely described as having a fixed mindset. I was never open to new ideas or methods and never fixed my approaches even if I failed. However, in college my fixed mindset changed into a growth mindset. I became more positive and I try to turn every negative situation into a positive situation. I am now open to feedback to improve my work so that I can succeed as a college student. In the article of teaching adolescents to become learners (Chapter 5 pg. 28-38). I read up on all four types of academic mindsets in attempts to identify myself. The four types of academic mindsets include:
Title: Nightcrawler.
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, and Bill Paxton. Length: 1 hour 57 minutes Availability: Netflix and Amazon Prime Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller Rated: R In this movie Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal) plays the part of a petty theft looking for any way to get money. He searches for many jobs but seems to be unsuccessful from the jump however, this does not stop him from trying. He soon discovers that he can make money off of action packed crime and accident footage. He purchases a police scanner and cheap video camera to start this system up. At first he is unsuccessful and clumsy about his work but after hitting the streets his work improved and was able to sell his videos to a local TV producer Nina (Rene Russo). Lou becomes very involved in the crime investigating and ends up catching evidence that is very crucial to a deadly home invasion investigation. With the shocking footage Lou caught there could be a reward but there could also be a consequence for crossing boundaries. Possible writing topics include...
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Alina WesolowskiI am a current freshman student at DCCC who is looking to further my education and advance my writing abilities. Archives
December 2016
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