3. Sherry Turkle The Power of Talk In A Digital Age
Flight from conversation
Friendships have become more superficial: Holbrooke Middle School
Empathy delayed
Role of education: conversation to build narratives in the classroom
Technology has silenced the conversation
Flight from conversation leads to flight from self reflection, empathy, and mentorship
Faculty are finally learning to say, “tools down”
This book is a call to action, make the course corrections and begin talking

4. Technology taking places we don’t want to go: devices change who we are, they are that powerful…text during meetings, classes, with children, at dinner
The Myth of Multitasking: setting us up for trouble in how we relate to each other. “we are alone together” . The custom communication means we pay attention to only what we are interested in.
Multitasking degrades performance: students think they are doing better, and it has become the norm. In actuality, we decrease in focus and concentration, which for many students who are already struggling, this cannot be their friend to success.
This inability to focus or concentrate decreases students ability to build on ideas and have critical classroom conversations about the subject.
Connected, but alone? Sherry Turkle/ TED

5. The implications move beyond the classroom: work, relationships, and how one approaches life.
Grazing: skimming
Quick Answers:
What to do:
Make the classroom virtual: students participate in the learning, such as in groups
Feedback, both good and individual challenges
Group work and presentations allow immediate feedback from peers and the instructor
Teaching Solitude. Away from the gotta gotta gotta to the sinking like a stone into the depths of the river and sitting.
Solitude teaches the mind to focus and increase concentration.

6. Ending thoughts:
Conversation takes real time and takes away control of editing and deleting.
Relationships are rich, messy and demanding. Technology sacrifices the experience of conflict and the learning that takes place in those uncomfortable situations.

7. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance/ Angela Duckworth TED

8. Gritty Dr. Rodney Lewis and Ron Lewis
Founders of the Lewis influence, an organization designed to give first generation college students the tools they need to be successful before, during and after college
Rodney is principal of an elementary school in Rockwood School district in St Louis, Missouri
Ron is the director for the TRIO Student Support Services program at the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, IN.

9. Introduction
The authors paint a picture of growing up in a rough area of St. Louis
Grit is having the strength and resilience to overcome your obstacles and reach your goals
The book breaks down into multiple chapters that discuss real experiences of the first generation college student.
At the end of each section are prompts that allow the students to think about what they have read and how they might deal with obstacles encountered throughout their college experience.
Topics include: Habits, priorities, who students allow into their circle as support, how to focus and concentrate and prioritizing material “things over the work that needs to be done.
An important section leads students to discuss who they trust and why in relation to their best interests.

10. Angela Duckworth Grit
Grit is not related to talent but growth mindset.
Ability to learn not fixed but changed by effort
Failure creates perseverance rather than quitting.
Education is motivational and psychological
IQ not a factor in success. Who succeeds?
One thing stands out, passion and perseverance for long term goals…not for day, not for the week, for years, like a marathon.
Gritty students graduated more than students who just had high IQ’s.
But, how do we build Grit in students?
How do we motivate students.
We do know, talent alone isn’t the deciding factor.

11. Mindset (Carol Dweck) Growth mindset vs. fixed mindset
Affects student effort and response to challenges
Praise as educators (intelligence vs. effort)
Working to foster a “not yet” attitude
National average is 1 in 10 students who start out in developmental sequence eventually attain two-year degree – we all know this from CCA, but this book looks at why and who those students sometimes are – open admissions, of course, means we take everybody
Current discussion in Missouri of “floor” and “ability to benefit”
Stories of students who could not be successful in a traditional academic track who were nonetheless encouraged to enroll
Pell Grant money running out – can’t complete education because they failed developmental courses too many times
Students go into debt for courses and lack of preparation – not leading to a degree
Suggests limiting access to degree-granting programs or developing alternative programs for those who would otherwise not succeed
Encourages faculty to investigate alternative programs for students that might help them feel successful and confident

12. Community Colleges and the Access Effect
Written by our own Juliet Scherer (STLCC)
Gives helpful background and statistics about success of remedial students
Data and completion rates
Policy recommendations
Practical teaching strategies
National average is 1 in 10 students who start out in developmental sequence eventually attain two-year degree – we all know this from CCA, but this book looks at why and who those students sometimes are – open admissions, of course, means we take everybody
Current discussion in Missouri of “floor” and “ability to benefit”
Stories of students who could not be successful in a traditional academic track who were nonetheless encouraged to enroll
Pell Grant money running out – can’t complete education because they failed developmental courses too many times
Students go into debt for courses and lack of preparation – not leading to a degree
Suggests limiting access to degree-granting programs or developing alternative programs for those who would otherwise not succeed
Encourages faculty to investigate alternative programs for students that might help them feel successful and confident

13. The College Fear Factor (Rebecca Cox)
Discusses main causes behind student/teacher misunderstandings that can contribute to failure
Lack of communicating expectations (be explicit, not assume)
Intimidation factor (“come down to our level”)
Link between college and career (“how does that benefit us?”)
What I learned: I have to be more explicit with my students regarding my expectations for assignments
Used this book for our corequisite class
Beneficial reading for instructors in order to get at a student perspective – more data and interview-driven than “My Freshman Year” by Rebekah Nathan (another popular “insider” book)

14. The Power of Habit (Charles Duhigg)
Written for a business/general audience
What I learned: Building good habits in the classroom is essential for student success
How habits work: cue, routine, reward (habit loop)
Encourage students to take a look at their study skills and habits (belief and “small wins”)
“We are what we repeatedly do” -- Aristotle
How can I build good habits in the classroom – on paper, on purpose writing
What cues and rewards am I giving that would encourage them to go through a routine?
Believe in new routines
Encouraging “small wins” – a good outline, a correct response, identifying a fragment/comma splice in their own work
Leaders create habits. As a teacher, I am a leader. How can I create – and then cultivate – good habits in my classroom?

15. Unselfie (Michelle Borba)
Written for parents who want to help their kids
Applicable to classroom: Strategies to encourage empathy
Role-playing
Reading diverse essays
Affirm student contributions
Acknowledge feelings

16. The Negotiation Generation (Lynne Russell Griffin)
Written for parents who want to help their kids
Applicable to classroom: Fence-building
Setting boundaries that are clear, but allow student freedom
Being explicit about “opening the gate” (one-time exceptions)
Plugging the “holes” (revising syllabi and class policies)