Episode 149: Strategic Half-Assing

We all know a perfectionist who struggles with beliefs like “Only perfect is good enough.” But there is a way to derail those damaging beliefs! Join Adam and Dinur as we talk about the technique of strategic half-assing. Show Notes “How to Set Goals: Die Empty” sketchnote video on YouTube Die Empty: Unleash Your Best Work Every Day by Todd Henry Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies System 7 Steps to Remove Toxic Beliefs and Overcome Confirmation Bias How to Overcome Perfectionism: 4 Secrets from Research How to Stop Wearing Yourself Out

Often, our students measure learning not by skills gained or new ways of looking at content, but by the grades earned. We have talked about what grades mean in college and that grades should not define students’ identities, but we know they do. So, as teachers, what can we do to help our students focus on learning and growing, rather than on their GPA? Join Dinur and Adam as we discuss this question! Show Notes Edutopia.org, “5 Ways to Help Students Focus on Learning Rather than Grades” CultOfPedagogy.com, “Delaying the Grade: How to Get Students to Read Feedback”  

Mistakes are one of the cornerstones of how learning happens, but many educators and students are afraid of them. Join Dinur and Adam as we discuss why mistakes are beneficial and how to use them to your advantage. Show Notes Edutopia.org, “The Mistake Imperative—Why We Must Get Over Our Fear of Student Error” Wested.org, “Zone of Proximal Development: An Affirmative Perspective in Teaching ELLs” Edutopia.org, “6 Teacher-Approved Tips for Faster, More Effective Feedback” KQED.org, “How Teachers are Changing Grading Practices With an Eye on Equity” CultOfPedagogy.com, “Delaying the Grade: How to Get Students to Read Feedback”

Patchwriting is a form of plagiarism that most students aren’t aware is plagiarism – substituting in words into the sentence structure of a source. It’s like Academic MadLibs. In this episode, Adam and Dinur compare paraphrasing to patchwriting, explain why patchwriting is a form of plagiarism, and go over how to paraphrase instead of patchwrite. Show Notes University of Guelph, “Paraphrasing and Summarizing” University of Hawaii, “Patchwriting” Purdue OWL, “Contextualizing Plagiarism”

It’s way too easy to blame others and ourselves when things go wrong. But there are more healthy ways to handle problems! In this episode, Dinur and Adam talk about what blame is, why we do it, how it interferes with learning and growing, and what to do instead. Show Notes Peg Streep at Psychology Today, “Tackling Self-Blame and Self-Criticism: 5 Strategies to Try” Bill Joiner at LinkedIn, “How to Shift from Blame to Learning” Jordan Harbinger, “How to Stop Blaming Other People When Things Go Wrong” Todd Henry, “Toxic: Dealing With A Culture Of Blame” Michael Timms at Harvard Business Review, “Blame Culture Is Toxic. Here’s How to Stop It.” Mitch Gyger at LinkedIn, “Curiosity and Problem Solving”  

We’ve all probably heard the term “inclusive teaching.” But what does it mean, for ourselves and our students? Join Dinur and Adam as we talk about the different aspects of inclusive teaching, and how to bring it into the classroom. Show Notes The Chronicle of Higher Education, “How to Make Your Teaching More Inclusive”

In a recent Inside Higher Ed article, survey results showed 9 different reasons why students cheat. Join Adam and Dinur as we go over these reasons, as well as some ways to help students stop cheating. Show Notes Inside Higher Ed, “How Students See Cheating, And How Colleges Can Contain It”

Finding joy in learning used to be easy – when we were in grade school. What happened? Why did learning become drudgery, instead of fun? In this episode, Dinur and Adam talk about why learning used to be fun, why it stopped being fun, and how to bring it back again. Show Notes Bitdegree.com, “Making Learning Fun: An Easy Challenge To Overcome” Educause.edu, “Badges and Credentialing” TheLearningCoach.com, “Get Your Audience Pumped: 30 Ways to Motivate Adult Learners”  

We’ve all been there – we have a decision to make, and we can’t make it.  In this episode, Adam and Dinur talk about the different reasons this can happen, and some ways of moving forward and actually making the decisions we need to make, even if we’re stuck. Show Notes DrivenWoman.com, “11 Ways to Make Hard Decisions When You’re Feeling Stuck” Medium.com, “Feeling Stuck? 7 Ways to Get Out of Your Own Way and Make Better Decisions” AnnieWright.com, “Three Nitty Gritty Truths About Making Life’s Big Choices & What to Do If You’re Feeling Stuck” Betterup.com, “Feeling Stuck? 7 Ways to Climb Out of a Slump” CounselingSouthAustin.com, “Feeling Stuck? Here’s How to Handle Choice Paralysis” Lifehack.org, “What to Do When You Just Can’t Make the Decision” Psychcentral.com, “Feeling Stuck? How to Remove Those Roadblocks” HeySigmund.com, “How Anxiety Interferes With Decision-Making – And How to Stop it Intruding” Healthline.com, “Five Steps for Overcoming Indecision” Eugenetherapy.com, “How to Make a Difficult Decision” PsychologyToday.com, “Do You Have Analysis Paralysis?” JordanLeeDooley.com, “High Standards vs. Unrealistic Expectations” Linkedin.com, “Do You Have High Standards or Unrealistic Expectations?”

The pandemic has traumatized almost everyone. In higher education, however, we are trying to keep going on as if nothing’s wrong. Borrowing from the K-12 practices of trauma-informed teaching, Adam and Dinur talk about how to implement these practices in our own teaching practice – and how it will help both ourselves and our students. Show Notes Reddit.com, “Masks, Revulsion, and the Uncanny Valley” Chicagonow.com, “The Uncanny Valley and the Grocery Store: Feeling Reality Recede” Forge.medium.com, “The More Normal Things Get, the Weirder Life Feels” EducationNorthwest.org, “Trauma Informed Practices in Postsecondary Education” MSNU.edu, “Trauma Informed Teaching” Edutopia.org, “Trauma Informed Teaching: How and Why” Chronicle of Higher Education, Teaching Newsletter ALA.org, “Keeping Up With Trauma-Informed Pedagogy”  UCI.edu, “Trauma-Informed Pedagogy” Inside Higher Ed, “Seven Recommendations for Helping Students Thrive in Times of Trauma” Guilford.edu, “For Faculty: Resilient Teaching” Ohio.edu, “Trauma-Informed Teaching” Mary-Ann Winkelmes’ Transparent Teaching Archive