Resetting your goals

 In education right now, many of us are at the midpoint of the year.  We have finished one semester and are starting a second.  I try to use this break to reset myself so that I will perform better the next half of the year.  I do this in two ways: One is that I have students evaluate my performance, and secondly I evaluate my own performance.  I want to take you through the questions I ask myself as I get ready for the spring. 

The first question is what were some things that worked well during the fall?  Typically, we think first about the things that went wrong. However; I think it is important for all of us to examine our successes when we are trying to move forward. 

The second question is, what specifically made those successes happen?  For example, did I have more time to plan a certain lesson?  Alternatively, was that something that I changed from the previous year?  Was it a topic that students found relevant to their lives? 

Thirdly, what energized me during the course of the semester?  I think about specific events, lessons, or interactions that brought energy to my day-to-day life 

The last question might be the most important.  What can I do this next semester that will help replicate the successes I had first semester more often?  Now I can take the answer to this question to develop a plan to make the second semester better than the first. 

What I have found through experience is that people are more likely to stick to a plan if it is laid out in a positive format.  I hope that this type of performance assessment can work for you. 

As always, I would love your feedback. 

Overcoming boredom

 As a teacher, you often look out at the classroom to see students who seem very bored with the lesson.  What causes this boredom, and how do we overcome it?  The first thing is to recognize that you are bored and then to try to figure out why. 

Erin Westgate, a psychologist, would suggest three reasons for boredom.  One reason is that the content is too easy for you.  There needs to be a certain level of difficulty to keep your interest.  On the other hand, you can get bored if the degree of difficulty is too hard.  Here, you often just give up.

 

A third possible cause for boredom is that you find the lesson to be meaningless.  You often have students ask, “What is the value of learning this material?”  When they cannot answer the value of learning the material, they often become bored. 

How can we overcome the problem that the task is too easy?  When I worked in a pizza store, you had to fold boxes so that you were prepared for the busiest time in the day.  This was a boring task until one day we had a box-folding contest.  By putting a time limit on something that is relatively easy, you can make it a little more difficult and therefore alleviate the boredom. 

How does the student who struggles with the task being too difficult stop themselves from giving up?  One way is to chunk the problem—break it down into small parts so that you might be able to solve a bit at a time. 

The last situation is often the toughest.  Why am I reading or listening to this?  It has nothing to do with my life

.  My suggestion would be to put together a list of things that are important to you.  Then try to connect what you are learning to one of your priorities.  When you are able to do this, you not only decrease boredom but also increase learning. 

I hope that you were able to get through this blog post and that these tips prove helpful to you.  Let me know how they work. 

Feedback

 

Feedback is often called the breakfast of champions. When I started my career, I thought that if you had good relationships with people, they would provide you with feedback. What I’ve learned, however, is that you truly have to seek it out.

Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor, provides four suggestions for getting feedback from people (more here). The first rule is to ask an open-ended question For example, you might ask, “What can I stop doing or start doing that would make you more productive?”

Second, once you have asked the question, remain quiet. Do not talk at all, so the person has time to think about the question and is forced to break the silence by answering it.

Third, listen with the intent to understand, not to respond. Often, when people ask for feedback, their first reaction is one of defensiveness. Once you start with a defensive response, it will be harder to get feedback from that person in the future.

Lastly, you need to reward the feedback. It is not enough to thank the person tor the feedback. You need to act and show the person that you have listened. One of Scott’s points is that you have not answered the feedback unless you have overcorrected for it.

All of us, no matter our position, need feedback to learn. I challenge you to use this four-step approach and tell me how it works.

As always, your feedback is appreciated.

Strategies for Stress

 

Covid has brought out a lot of stress in all of us.  While I would not encourage people to look for additional stressors, there are ways to handle stress that can be beneficial instead of harmful.

As we approach the halfway point of the school year, many students are facing midterms, which can be stressful.  In one research study, a group of students was told to think of stress as helpful—that breathing harder got more oxygen to your brain, that stress made you more focused, and that people who thought stress was good for them performed better on exams.

The control group was told what many teachers say to their students: Relax, take a deep breath, you will be okay.  The group that thought stress was helpful outperformed the group that was told to relax.  When you are preparing for your next exam, remember that the stress response is helping you maximize your achievement.

The second strategy is to form a t-chart.  On the left side of the chart, list all the stressors that you have in your life.  On the right side of the chart, list the resources you have to handle those stressors.  As educators, we want to be on the right side of our student’s charts, but I suspect we often slip onto the left side.  It is important to realize that while you have stressors, you also have resources that can help you handle that stress.

Thirdly, realize that you are not the only one going through these stressful times.  People often feel that admitting they are overwhelmed or stressed out is a sign of weakness.  The truth is that many of us are going through the same thing but might be doing a better job hiding it.

Is it easy to change your mindset about stress?  Is it easy to ask for help and use your resources?  The answer for many of us is no.  It is hard work to change mindsets.  What we have to strive to do is the hard right thing instead of the easy wrong one.

The challenge for all of us is to reach out for help when we need it and, of course, to be there to help those who are in need.

Advice

 

A former student recently got in touch with me to ask for some career advice.  While my response was focused on the workplace, I think it can also apply to school.

My first recommendation was to volunteer for the hard jobs at work.  When you are taking on the most difficult tasks, it will force you to take your game to the next level.  The same would be true for those attending college: Take some difficult classes with tough teachers.  When you are uncomfortable, it forces you to stretch yourself.

Secondly, be a great learner.  If there is one strategic advantage a person can have in the workplace, it is the ability to learn.  If you are a great learner, you will be flexible because you are able to adjust to different situations.  While nobody can truly predict the future, those who learn and adapt will be able to thrive.

Do not worry about what you have to do to be promoted.  Focus on the job you are doing and do it to the best of your ability.  Allow your performance to speak for itself.  The same can be applied to those in college.  Do not worry about building your resume.  Instead, focus on figuring out what you enjoy and what you want to pursue as a career.

Finally, yet importantly, develop a network of strong friends—people who you can trust to help you solve difficult problems and who will rein you in when you are off base.  All jobs have their down moments, and these are often the people who will provide support when you need it most.

My former student asked me if I followed my own advice.  I let him decide.  Hope this is helpful and would love to hear some feedback from both those in the business and academic world.

Power of Negative thinking

 Recently a student asked me if I believed in the power of positive thinking. They wanted certain things to happen and were trying to will them into being, yet these goals were not coming true. 

I remembered a research study I had read in which participants all wanted to lose at least 40 pounds. The control group was told to think about positive thoughts: how they would look, compliments they would receive from their friends, how much healthier they would be, and how this might improve their romantic lives.

 

The experimental group was told to think about what they would feel like if they did not lose the weight, the obstacles blocking them from hitting the goal, and their friends not noticing any weight loss. 

What happened was surprising. The group that thought negatively about the goal lost 10 more pounds on average than the group who had positive thoughts. Psychologists speculate that when you think negative thoughts, it triggers your body into action, which gets you to move toward your goal. 

With this research in mind, Gabriele Oettingeno developed a process called WOOP (more here). stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacles, and Plan.  

Before you start, I recommend shutting down all your electronics. Then take five minutes and think about a wish that is achievable, challenging, and important to you. Try getting this wish down to 3-6 words. 

Secondly, close your eyes and think about what is the best outcome of accomplishing your wish. Visualize the feeling you will have if you accomplish your wish. 

Thirdly, you switch gears and think about the obstacles that might prevent you from hitting your goals. Is the obstacle an excuse or something you can overcome? 

Lastly, you develop a plan to overcome the obstacle. So, when the obstacle occurs, you have already developed a plan to handle it. 

WOOP has been successful in improving grades, weight loss, and time management. I challenge you to think about something important to you and use WOOP to accomplish it.