Doubt and Conviction: The Path to Meaningful Learning and Development
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Abstract: The Covid pandemic has impacted institutions and the people who inhabit them in unprecedented ways. It is demanding a wide variety of new forms of work and relationship and has siphoned energy and commitment from those activities central to our lives. The classroom is not immune to these effects as attention and commitment to learning have been impacted for both students and faculty. This paper is an attempt to rethink and re-interpret what to do on the first day of a course to maximize the potential that exists in that pregnant moment, especially in these turbulent times. To address these dramatic changes, details of an opening talk are offered that confront the new reality and provide a way forward. This talk is intended to capture students’ interest and compel them to commit to the time together in the classroom. The impact of the talk is interpreted through the Autonomy Supportive classroom literature and that of Fixed and Growth mindsets.
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