by Anne Fletcher

This year, I was very pleased to present at the Lilly Conference in Austin. My colleague, Julia Maffei, and I chose the theme, “Motivating and Engaging Students.” This is an excerpt from my part of the presentation.

Early in the semester, after my students and I spend some time establishing a learning community and getting to know each other, I want them to get to know themselves, and I like them to start with knowing about their brains, and how regardless of their ages, their brains are still growing as they learn. A few years ago, ACC invited Dr. Janet Zadina, a famous neuroscientist and educator/researcher, to lecture to the adult education staff about her research, findings, and conclusions. I was very taken with Dr. Zadina’s work, and so I purchased her books, Multiple Pathways to the Student Brain and Six Weeks to a Brain Compatible Classroom, read them, and used some of her ideas to help students unlock some of the mysteries of their brain and learning. So, when I started to plan the resources I would share at the conference, this was my first choice. What better way is there to motivate students than to have them help in the process by learning about their own resources?

My next choice as a model for motivating and engaging students was Carol Dweck. For several years, the Adult Education Department and the Developmental Writing Department have been using Dweck’s materials to motivate students and help them to recognize their potential for success. In addition to her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol and her staff have created a number of online resources for teachers. Although much of her work is geared towards younger students and teachers of younger students, there is much of value for teachers of adult learners and adult learners themselves. This month, her online website announced a program for college students which I haven’t seen yet, but if it is like the other resources she has, I know it will be beneficial for me and my students to explore and use.

These two resources are at the core of my mission to motivate and engage students to become successful in my classes as well as in their college careers. I want them to be independent life-long learners who leave my classes with solid reading and writing skills that they will apply and transfer to other subjects and to their careers, and hopefully, develop a love for reading and writing to enrich their lives.

My attendance at the Lilly Conference was the best way to start off 2017 — meeting and getting to know new colleagues, learning together, renewing past friendships, and being inspired by so many talented and dedicated teachers from around the country. Our teachers are very special and unique individuals, and I am very proud to be one of them. Thank you, all!

Resources: https://docs.google.com/a/austincc.edu/document/d/1kTUTesa_Up1cHaMWzxjkuMDyXL75zIKZEYm7FWLgOqA/edit?usp=sharing

Please email me if you have questions about the resources I shared with educators at the Lilly Conference – afletche@austincc.edu