Last Wednesday we went through a survey to review our confidence levels in the different catagories. It was interesting to do, to see where I felt confident in myself and my skills and to see where I wasn't. In every category I scored to where I was fairly to completely confident. It was good to look back over to see an overview of everything we'd gone over and learned throughout the semester too.
It was also fun and a good idea to come up with questions to ask a panel of past mentors. I can't wait until this coming Wednesday to ask them and hear their answers. I really enjoy having Randi and Kris in our group of us because of their past experience, but I can't wait to hear others' experiences too.
Hope everyone had an awesome VEISHA! Enjoy the nice day today and see ya all Wednesday! :)
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Remembering Resources
On Wednesday we talked about scenarios that could possibly happen next fall and resources that are available to use for each. It's amazing the list of things that could potentially happen. Some of them I think are just normal for most students, like feeling a little overwhelmed with schoolwork at first, especially around test time, or missing home. But there were several that I honestly hope that I don't have to face like a student being raped or having thoughts of suicide. I really would be at a loss for words...
It was really good to get the list resources available on campus and go over them. I had heard of most of them but I tend to forget about the ones I either don't or haven't used. I think it's really important to be acquainted with all of them so that we are able to help our students out if and when they need it. Being aware of the opportunities and resources on campus available to us all as students is just another way to fulfill our roles as leaders for these incoming freshmen.
Having this knowledge base and the chance to go through some of the more difficult scenarios that could happen I think will help us to be more prepared to deal with them as they may come. It certainly helped me already. It was a nice review of what I tend to forget and comforting to know that I'm not the only one worried about situations I'm not really ready to handle. We're a support system for each other as much as we will be for our students next fall. It's a nice thing to remember.
It was really good to get the list resources available on campus and go over them. I had heard of most of them but I tend to forget about the ones I either don't or haven't used. I think it's really important to be acquainted with all of them so that we are able to help our students out if and when they need it. Being aware of the opportunities and resources on campus available to us all as students is just another way to fulfill our roles as leaders for these incoming freshmen.
Having this knowledge base and the chance to go through some of the more difficult scenarios that could happen I think will help us to be more prepared to deal with them as they may come. It certainly helped me already. It was a nice review of what I tend to forget and comforting to know that I'm not the only one worried about situations I'm not really ready to handle. We're a support system for each other as much as we will be for our students next fall. It's a nice thing to remember.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Decisions, decisions...
On Wednesday Chels and Matt did a great job with their chapter. They gave us two questions to reflect on in our blogs which I think is a great way to hold us all accountable.
"What can I bring to the table of a group?"
-I help build and finalize ideas and am more than willing to work to see them through. I like to lead quietly by example. I also like to think through things for a while so I can consider all sides of an idea.
"What can I improve on?"
-I think I can improve on making myself heard more of the time. A lot of the time I would rather just sit and listen, absorbing and processing everything that goes on rather than giving my input right away. I could definitely be better at putting my own ideas on the table instead of just building off of others'.
I also thought the General-Decision Making Style Assessment was interesting. My scores I thought reflected me pretty well. I was highest in rational decision making with intuitive and dependant decision making tied in a close second. Aviodant and spontaneous decision making were my lowest two by quite a bit. I like to think and reflect on all things invloved in a decision and consult others, even to just add their feedback to my pool of factors, but try my hardest to not avoid any. I think problems can occur when that happens. I like to explore all options and think long-term, not only for myself but for others the decision my involve as well.
"What can I bring to the table of a group?"
-I help build and finalize ideas and am more than willing to work to see them through. I like to lead quietly by example. I also like to think through things for a while so I can consider all sides of an idea.
"What can I improve on?"
-I think I can improve on making myself heard more of the time. A lot of the time I would rather just sit and listen, absorbing and processing everything that goes on rather than giving my input right away. I could definitely be better at putting my own ideas on the table instead of just building off of others'.
I also thought the General-Decision Making Style Assessment was interesting. My scores I thought reflected me pretty well. I was highest in rational decision making with intuitive and dependant decision making tied in a close second. Aviodant and spontaneous decision making were my lowest two by quite a bit. I like to think and reflect on all things invloved in a decision and consult others, even to just add their feedback to my pool of factors, but try my hardest to not avoid any. I think problems can occur when that happens. I like to explore all options and think long-term, not only for myself but for others the decision my involve as well.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Good Times :)
So class Wednesday was great. It was really helpful and I think I'm safe in saying that I think it will help all of us immensely as we continue working on our lesson plans. They are a lot of work, but they can be a lot of fun too, coming up with different activites and thinking outside of the box to make common subjects interesting and beneficial. Setting the standards of our LPSs as a class I think was also a great idea, so they can be fairly uniform in their content.
And just gotta say, yesterday was a blast! It was so much fun! :) And thanks to everyone for the great pictures. I had a fun time taking them lol. It's good to be able to kick off our shoes for a while and just have a fun time together. Being able to play around together and getting the chance to bond and further our friendships was great. One of many great times to come I'm sure. Y'all have a great rest of your days and I'll see you in class Wednesday! :)
And just gotta say, yesterday was a blast! It was so much fun! :) And thanks to everyone for the great pictures. I had a fun time taking them lol. It's good to be able to kick off our shoes for a while and just have a fun time together. Being able to play around together and getting the chance to bond and further our friendships was great. One of many great times to come I'm sure. Y'all have a great rest of your days and I'll see you in class Wednesday! :)
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Sticky Situations
Hey all. Well I thought that the discussion we had to go with some possible scenarios was great. Not the situations, but what we came up with on how to handle them. I think that it's very important to not single our students out, or to treat them differently, no matter the case. Whether it be at a party or in the classroom where a crush my be involved, we need to not loose sight of who we are as people and not judge them.
Last semester when I was a FHP co-leader, there were a couple times that the subject of religions was brought up. It was slightly uncomfortable because I wanted to state my views on the matter at hand, but it wasn't my place. The first time it wasn't much of a big deal and pretty much dropped after just a couple of minutes. Another time there was a rather long discussion about several of their different viewpoints and many of us found out that one of the students was Jewish. None of it was negative, it was just casual conversation, and I think all of us were curious.
I found as the semester progressed that how my co-leader and myself acted toward situations/ how we handled them, is often how our students tended to look and react to them as well. It was sort of a wake-up call to me, just making me realize how much of an influence I had in those freshmen's lives. They looked up to me not only as an older student, but as a role model. Just keeping that in mind made it easier I think to make good decisions and to think more about my actions and how they could be portrayed by others. When we get into sticky situations next semester (it's the inevitable) we just need to take a step back and think about how we will react to it. If we stay calm and collected, it will often influence those around us to be the same. How "bad" a situation is all depends on how we decide to handle it.
Last semester when I was a FHP co-leader, there were a couple times that the subject of religions was brought up. It was slightly uncomfortable because I wanted to state my views on the matter at hand, but it wasn't my place. The first time it wasn't much of a big deal and pretty much dropped after just a couple of minutes. Another time there was a rather long discussion about several of their different viewpoints and many of us found out that one of the students was Jewish. None of it was negative, it was just casual conversation, and I think all of us were curious.
I found as the semester progressed that how my co-leader and myself acted toward situations/ how we handled them, is often how our students tended to look and react to them as well. It was sort of a wake-up call to me, just making me realize how much of an influence I had in those freshmen's lives. They looked up to me not only as an older student, but as a role model. Just keeping that in mind made it easier I think to make good decisions and to think more about my actions and how they could be portrayed by others. When we get into sticky situations next semester (it's the inevitable) we just need to take a step back and think about how we will react to it. If we stay calm and collected, it will often influence those around us to be the same. How "bad" a situation is all depends on how we decide to handle it.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Fun and Amazement
On Thursday I had my first official tour of the ISU campus. Austin did a great job of providing information and fun facts. I thought it was really fun and interesting, especially since I have never had one before. I had only ever been here for a couple different conferences and looked around on my own. It was neat to experience. :)
On Friday I attended ISCORE as well. The Native American dishes that were served for lunch were amazing! And the Keynote Address given by Ariel Luckey was just beyond words. He performed part of his hip-hop theater routine and I was just completely amazed. It was different from anything I've seen before, but so amazing. It brought out so many good points that we are often so ignorant of the actual history of this land and how we came to be here. He did an amazing job!
On Friday I attended ISCORE as well. The Native American dishes that were served for lunch were amazing! And the Keynote Address given by Ariel Luckey was just beyond words. He performed part of his hip-hop theater routine and I was just completely amazed. It was different from anything I've seen before, but so amazing. It brought out so many good points that we are often so ignorant of the actual history of this land and how we came to be here. He did an amazing job!
Learning and Thinking
Facilitating learning can be a difficul topic. There is never one way better than another, especially with the mix of styles between students. The word web for being an effective facilitator was awesome though! Everyone had great ideas and all of them would be great as guidelines to anyone as a leader. A few of them included honesty, enthusiasm, inclusiveness, patience, follow-up, and many, many more! Thanks for all your cooperation with the activity! You all came up with so many more than I could on my own. It's awesome getting the chance to learn and grow together. It's a great thing to start and build on now, as I think it will geatly benefit us in the future.
Heath and Allie also had us think and jot about metacognition. I really think it's important to challenge yourself and the reasoning behind your thoughts. I find myself in the situation more than I care to admit, where I am biased with my thinking and don't see a situation as viewed from an outsider. I am working on taking a step back and looking at situations I come across as they are, rather than just how I may feel about them at the time. I think it's an invaluble asset that can greatly benefit me in the future when I work with others. My goal is to be slower to judge and quicker to forgive. It's only fair to everyone I come in contact with and myself.
Heath and Allie also had us think and jot about metacognition. I really think it's important to challenge yourself and the reasoning behind your thoughts. I find myself in the situation more than I care to admit, where I am biased with my thinking and don't see a situation as viewed from an outsider. I am working on taking a step back and looking at situations I come across as they are, rather than just how I may feel about them at the time. I think it's an invaluble asset that can greatly benefit me in the future when I work with others. My goal is to be slower to judge and quicker to forgive. It's only fair to everyone I come in contact with and myself.
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