First day of work.
Tomorrow many of you will be starting the first day of work for many of you on your summer internships. Others will soon be starting your first day of work in the post-college real world. How about a new set of Ron's rules?
1. Be early to work every day.
2. Have a great attitude, even when there are reasons not to.
3. Be nice to everyone - smile, say good morning, say hello, especially to the people who you might not think of right away.
4. Find the appropriate mix between asking for guidance when needed, but not asking so much that you are a pain.
5. Have confidence in your abilities, but don't be cocky.
TBL: Have fun... and...learn as much as you can about people and situations.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Metacognition.
During the past 12 months I have been studying about how to be a better teacher. I have read several books about How People Learn, How the Best College Teachers teach, How to Make Ideas Stick and many more. One theme that was found throughout was that students need to be actually "doing" the learning and not just receiving answers to questions they haven't asked as most prominently happens in a lecture.
To "do" learning is a lot easier when we know how we are learning and how we are thinking. Thus the term metacognition. Metacognition has many different definitions. Here are two:
* Thinking about one's own thinking.
* Awareness of an knowledge about one's own learning
Many studies have proven that we learn more when we spend time analyzing how we learn. What processes we use, the quality of the approach we took, the quality of the actual learning.
We can learn more and better when we plan, monitor, and regulate our thinking and learning.
Monday, I get to rejoin students in the classroom in a course called thermodynamics. We are going to spend some of our time learning about metacognition so that we can better learn thermodynamics.
TBL: Somebody always said you should learn a new word every day. Maybe this was a new word for you.
Angie and I took a kayak trip up out of Tioga Beach today. It was great!
During the past 12 months I have been studying about how to be a better teacher. I have read several books about How People Learn, How the Best College Teachers teach, How to Make Ideas Stick and many more. One theme that was found throughout was that students need to be actually "doing" the learning and not just receiving answers to questions they haven't asked as most prominently happens in a lecture.
To "do" learning is a lot easier when we know how we are learning and how we are thinking. Thus the term metacognition. Metacognition has many different definitions. Here are two:
* Thinking about one's own thinking.
* Awareness of an knowledge about one's own learning
Many studies have proven that we learn more when we spend time analyzing how we learn. What processes we use, the quality of the approach we took, the quality of the actual learning.
We can learn more and better when we plan, monitor, and regulate our thinking and learning.
Monday, I get to rejoin students in the classroom in a course called thermodynamics. We are going to spend some of our time learning about metacognition so that we can better learn thermodynamics.
TBL: Somebody always said you should learn a new word every day. Maybe this was a new word for you.
Angie and I took a kayak trip up out of Tioga Beach today. It was great!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Graduation.
What a great time of year. Fun - excitement - family - food - it just doesn't get any better than this. I wish my full congratulations to all of the ICCers who graduated tonight. The banquets just keep getting better every year.
To the UNDers who got your rings tonight. I am sorry I couldn't be there. We'll do the secret pinky shake next time we hook up.
And to all of you who are reaching the pinnacle of your college career this spring, thank you for the effort you have put in and for making your teachers look good. Enjoy this feeling. It is one of the most powerful accomplishments I ever felt.
Hope to see you all soon. (Like at the ICC Engineering Reunion!)
What a great time of year. Fun - excitement - family - food - it just doesn't get any better than this. I wish my full congratulations to all of the ICCers who graduated tonight. The banquets just keep getting better every year.
To the UNDers who got your rings tonight. I am sorry I couldn't be there. We'll do the secret pinky shake next time we hook up.
And to all of you who are reaching the pinnacle of your college career this spring, thank you for the effort you have put in and for making your teachers look good. Enjoy this feeling. It is one of the most powerful accomplishments I ever felt.
Hope to see you all soon. (Like at the ICC Engineering Reunion!)
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Speaking of transition.
Today is my birthday. It used to be that my birthday could slide right by unnoticed, which I didn't mind at all. However, Facebook broadcasts one's birthday to all of his friends. So today I have received numerous happy birthday messages, which isn't so bad either.
Birthdays are funny. When we are young, they mean milestones towards freedom - driving, voting, drinking, (only in New Orleans do those three happen as a concurrent event). Anyways, we look forward to our next birthday as an anticipated event. As we get older, the anticipation isn't as great. We reach a point where we are likely to have fewer birthdays left than we have already celebrated.
For me, my birthday is one of two times during the year when I reflect back on the past year and look forward with new hope on the upcoming year. I ask myself what I would really like to accomplish and then set out a plan to do so. I gain a sense of determination and focus on the new goal.
TBL: On a periodic basis, I encourage you to think about the one thing you would really like to accomplish and to make a plan and make it happen.
Today is my birthday. It used to be that my birthday could slide right by unnoticed, which I didn't mind at all. However, Facebook broadcasts one's birthday to all of his friends. So today I have received numerous happy birthday messages, which isn't so bad either.
Birthdays are funny. When we are young, they mean milestones towards freedom - driving, voting, drinking, (only in New Orleans do those three happen as a concurrent event). Anyways, we look forward to our next birthday as an anticipated event. As we get older, the anticipation isn't as great. We reach a point where we are likely to have fewer birthdays left than we have already celebrated.
For me, my birthday is one of two times during the year when I reflect back on the past year and look forward with new hope on the upcoming year. I ask myself what I would really like to accomplish and then set out a plan to do so. I gain a sense of determination and focus on the new goal.
TBL: On a periodic basis, I encourage you to think about the one thing you would really like to accomplish and to make a plan and make it happen.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
A time for change.
May. This is a month filled with more change than any other. First it is extremely busy as schools everywhere are wrapping up for the year, sports seasons are ending (GO ICC Baseball - STATE CHAMPS!), summer jobs are starting up, etc. For those of us at ICC and those of you at universities it means graduation. Either graduation for you or for some of your friends. It means it is time to say goodbye - maybe just for the summer or maybe for a long time. It is hard. People who have become an integral and important part of our daily lives are no longer there. It is sad.
But it is also exciting. Accomplishments are being achieved. The end goal whether at ICC or at university is being met! It is time to transfer and take on new adventures or graduate and enter the world of no homework!
TBL: This is both an end and a beginning. I encourage you to embrace the change - relish the past but charge into the future. Congratulations on your achievements this year!
May. This is a month filled with more change than any other. First it is extremely busy as schools everywhere are wrapping up for the year, sports seasons are ending (GO ICC Baseball - STATE CHAMPS!), summer jobs are starting up, etc. For those of us at ICC and those of you at universities it means graduation. Either graduation for you or for some of your friends. It means it is time to say goodbye - maybe just for the summer or maybe for a long time. It is hard. People who have become an integral and important part of our daily lives are no longer there. It is sad.
But it is also exciting. Accomplishments are being achieved. The end goal whether at ICC or at university is being met! It is time to transfer and take on new adventures or graduate and enter the world of no homework!
TBL: This is both an end and a beginning. I encourage you to embrace the change - relish the past but charge into the future. Congratulations on your achievements this year!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Asking for help.
Today. I finished the submission of a grant to the National Science Foundation. Over the years I have written about 20 grants to NSF and have been fortunate enough to have been awarded 7. Writing grants is a long process. There are several parts, but the heart of the proposal is a 15 page document called the "project description". It takes about 40 hours to write a good project description. Over the years I have encouraged different people to get help with their writing - get fresh sets of eyes to review and make suggestions. Some people will, tell me "I can't get help. That would be cheating. Then it wouldn't be my work." I say bologna. Getting help on your writing to make it the best is not only smart, but essential to getting the most out of your writing.
This afternoon, I was fortunate enough to have my Mom, my supervisor Barbara, and my colleagues Liz and Bart all take their time to read my paper before I uploaded it. This help improved my product and caught several small errors that would have been embarrassing. Over the years Angie and my Mom have consistently been there to help out.
TBL: Build yourself a support network of good editors. It will make you a better writer and better professional.
Today. I finished the submission of a grant to the National Science Foundation. Over the years I have written about 20 grants to NSF and have been fortunate enough to have been awarded 7. Writing grants is a long process. There are several parts, but the heart of the proposal is a 15 page document called the "project description". It takes about 40 hours to write a good project description. Over the years I have encouraged different people to get help with their writing - get fresh sets of eyes to review and make suggestions. Some people will, tell me "I can't get help. That would be cheating. Then it wouldn't be my work." I say bologna. Getting help on your writing to make it the best is not only smart, but essential to getting the most out of your writing.
This afternoon, I was fortunate enough to have my Mom, my supervisor Barbara, and my colleagues Liz and Bart all take their time to read my paper before I uploaded it. This help improved my product and caught several small errors that would have been embarrassing. Over the years Angie and my Mom have consistently been there to help out.
TBL: Build yourself a support network of good editors. It will make you a better writer and better professional.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Failure.
This is something that happens to all of us. We fail a test or we fail a course or we fail to get the job we want or we fail at a relationship. It is a fact of life.
The question is what do we do next? I believe that part of what defines us is how we respond to failure. I see three options.
1. Quit and go home.
2. Charge right ahead as though nothing happened.
3. Try and figure out why we failed and have that lesson improve who we are as we go forward.
If you followed the rule for taking a multiple choice test (the longest answer is the right one), you would of course be right.
This sounds so easy. It is not. Dealing with the emotional let down of failing something is hard. It is demoralizing. It is embarassing. But it is a necessary part of life. If we don't put ourselves in positions where we might occassionally fail, we are not challenging ourselves enough.
TBL: Failure sucks. But get back up, dust yourself off, and move on. Life will be ok.
This is something that happens to all of us. We fail a test or we fail a course or we fail to get the job we want or we fail at a relationship. It is a fact of life.
The question is what do we do next? I believe that part of what defines us is how we respond to failure. I see three options.
1. Quit and go home.
2. Charge right ahead as though nothing happened.
3. Try and figure out why we failed and have that lesson improve who we are as we go forward.
If you followed the rule for taking a multiple choice test (the longest answer is the right one), you would of course be right.
This sounds so easy. It is not. Dealing with the emotional let down of failing something is hard. It is demoralizing. It is embarassing. But it is a necessary part of life. If we don't put ourselves in positions where we might occassionally fail, we are not challenging ourselves enough.
TBL: Failure sucks. But get back up, dust yourself off, and move on. Life will be ok.
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