1. Micro-Affirmations Small Acts, Big Impact
Presented by Candice Powell, Retention Specialist
Office of Undergraduate Education for the
Brown Bag Lunch Group
October 10, 2014

2. Acknowledgement and Gratitude
Thank you for being here. I am grateful for your attendance and attention. This is an opportunity for me to share what I am learning about the value of micro-affirmations toward our work with students, but also, in any relationship. I will learn by sharing what I know, and hope that you will participate. I want to recognize everyone. Please put your name on a card so that if this is our first time meeting, I can call your name.

3. Think of a time when you felt welcome, valued, and supported during a transition, challenging task or new environment. What was the context of the situation? What made you feel affirmed?
Activity 1

4. Micro-Affirmations
Small acts … fostering inclusion, listening, comfort, and support for people who may feel unwelcome in an environment (Rowe, 2008).
This definition bring attention to the fact that it is possible for people to feel unwelcome in various environments.
Why would anyone ever feel unwelcome here at Carolina? We’re the light on the hill, the University of the people!
Who might feel unwelcome or un-supported?
Why?

5. Micro-Inequities and Aggressions
Apparently small events which are often ephemeral and hard-to-prove, events which are covert, often unintentional, frequently unrecognized by the perpetrator, which occur whenever people are perceived to be different (Rowe, 2008).
Subtle verbal and nonverbal cues that an individual or group is unwelcome, invisible, or incapable of performing well (Franklin, 2004; Solórzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000; Sue, 2004).
Stem from bias in our every day life.
Rowe’s interest in writing about micro-affirmations began with her reflections on how many workplaces responded to increased diversity in the 70’s and 80’s. She began to notice some what she called “little issues” that deteriorated relationships and people’s ability to thrive in the work place. People’s names getting left off important s, calling a person the name of someone else of a similar race, presumptions that someone of a different race, gender or age could do a job better than someone else, or assumptions about partnerships and religious affiliations. These are all based in judgments about the capacity, worth, and potential of someone based on differences. It is also possible to commit a micro-aggression within groups because there are also many differences within groups.
What are some example of micro-inequities or micro-aggressions in your own experience? Activity 2.

6. Bias in our Everyday Life
Bias stems from our own experience and positionality along the social capital hierarchy. It influences our interactions with others and subsequently, the impact we have on others.
From Sharbari Dey’s Brown Bag Lunch Presentation, Recognizing Bias in Our Everyday Life,

7. Micro-Inequities and Aggressions
These things happen all the time – and we are all guilty of committing them. Some groups of people may be the victim of these acts more so than others. And those are the very students, and faculty and staff, that we’re trying to hard to encourage, cultivate and retain.
In her research, Rowe wondered how do minorities of any kind thrive at work? She observed hundreds of interactions with successful minority employees, and the key seemed to be one-on-one interactions with a caring advocate who provided mentorship, empowerment, meaningful responsibility and support to individuals who might otherwise be overlooked or undervalued because of their differences.

8. Micro-affirmations communicate…
I see you.
I value you.
I appreciate your differences.
I am committed to understanding your needs.
I believe in your potential.
I want to support you.

9. Power and Investment
Micro-affirmations are about so much more than being kind, or having a high level of emotional intelligence. Its about a person with more knowledge, expertise, experience, and most importantly, social capital, investing in a person through praise, acknowledgement and support. The dynamic of privilege, power and culture and the social capital absolutely contributes to the impact of micro-affirmations. For example, I could affirm my peer in a number of ways, but my support and advocacy will have more impact if I have more social capital than my peer within that particular environment because I am better positioned to endorse and move someone forward within the environment based on the “pull”, “impact” or “respect” or “legitimacy” or “authority” I carry within the environment.
Do you agree with this statement?

10. (…said Candice to herself last night).
Inclusive Excellence
Strategic micro-affirmations contribute to a campus culture of inclusive excellence by cultivating and recognizing the potential, strengths, and value of individuals and groups within a diverse community
(…said Candice to herself last night).
I also hypothesize that micro-affirmations can even be more powerful between two people with significant differences.

11. Micro-Affirmations contribute to cultivating a safe environment
We’ve also been talking about encouraging student thriving. We know that for students to thrive, they need to have their basic needs met. Part of the basic needs foundation is safety, and not just physiological safety, but psychological and emotional. These subtle signals of value, welcome, recognition, acknowledgement and support all contribute to building that safe environment.

12. Micro-Affirmations in Everyday Life
From your role or position within the University, what could you say and do to help students feel:
Seen
Heard
Valued
Included
Appreciated
Supported
Endorsed
Sticky notes. Activity 3. What can you say or/and do to communicate that students are seen, heard, values, included, appreciated, supported, and endorsed?

13. Things to Say “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I believe in your potential to succeed.”
“Here’s what I can do to support you./ How can I support you?”
“Have you considered this opportunity? You would be a great candidate.”
“Meeting with you/talking with you is important to me.”

14. Things to Do
Make an intentional effort to consider who you are leaving out and why, and to reach out to the margins.
Get to know student’s personal stories and their goals. Create a safe and welcoming environment for students to express their needs and concerns.
Demonstrate real acts of acknowledgement, accommodation and advocacy.

15. Micro-Affirmations and Challenge
Micro-affirmations can be most helpful when the situation is very challenging, when you have to deliver difficult news or disappointment, or redirect – times when people may be feeling really low, dejected or hopeless. Many of us are in the business of working with students or colleagues in this predicament. Keep in mind that students are assets to be developed especially when they’ve failed or are hopeless. And Rowe asserts that while effective managers, or leaders, cannot be impartial about facts, it is productive to consider peoples reactions and feelings and to consider ways to identify strengths and build resiliency.
Talk about scenarios when you’ve worked with someone deep in a hole. What are strategies you used to lift them up out of it? What could you have done more to affirm them?

16. Micro-affirmations and Academic Feedback
Feedback is a critical component of helping students to strengthen critical thinking, problem-solving, articulating evidence-based concepts, and meeting expectations.
Strategic micro-affirmations can strengthen students’ reception of and response to feedback within academic environments.
It is possible to provide critical feedback, including disappointment or unmet expectations, while affirming the students potential to adjust strategies and perspectives toward meeting high expectations.

17. Just curious…
What is the value of these small acts differentiated from more overt demonstrations? How can micro-affirmations, individually or over time, be transformational?
Small subtleties are the underpinning of culture and environment.
Also, in a setting where “diversity” or “appreciating differences” can be un-authentic or buzzwords, micro-affirmations are provide clear evidence of intention.

18. “Student success is the product of thousands of small gestures extended on a daily basis by caring, supportive educators, sprinkled throughout the institution who enact a talent development philosophy.” – George Kuh (2012)
The idea of a talent development philosophy aligns with Positive Youth Development framework, where youths are all assets to be developed. A seed alone, with no one to position it, is left to serendipity. George Kuh also talks about how we cannot leave student success up to serendipity. We must assume that all students are assets, uncultivated seeds, to be developed. Micro-affirmations are the nutrients, water, soil, and sun and tending that can help a seed thrive, and not just survive, in this academic soil.

19. Intention and Practice
What can you do to increase your intention of providing micro-affirmations in your work with students? In other areas of your life?
What can you do to practice this intention ?
We propose that micro-affirmations are small acts that should be practiced regularly and can have big impacts on students. It is possible for people to become better at strategic use of micro-affirmations with intentional practice.
Interactions

20. One thing…
One thing you will start doing/saying… One thing you will stop doing/saying…
Reference the back of the handout. Asking yourself questions can help check your intentions. Consider these questions. Is there something you would add to the questions to ask yourself?

21. Micro-affirmations are small acts that can have a big impact on an individual’s success.
Micro-affirmations have the power to counteract the negative impact of micro-aggressions or inequities.
Micro-affirmations involves more than simply being nice. They are used intentionally as part of a strengths-based approach to a talent development philosophy.

22. Micro-affirmations can, and should be, practiced intentionally.
Micro-affirmations can be especially powerful when given by a person with more social capital than the recipient.
Micro-affirmations can be especially powerful when delivering constructive criticism, difficult news, or when the situation is challenging.
Micro-affirmations can be transformational.

23. What I hope you will do…
Recognize the impact and value of micro-affirmations in your own life.
Affirm yourself.
Affirm others.

25. References
Kuh, G. D. (2012, October 31). What matters to student success. [PowerPoint slides]. Presentation at the National Symposium on Student Retention National Conference, New Orleans, LA. Rowe, M Micro-affirmations and micro-inequities. Journal of the International Ombudsman Association, 1(1), 45–48.