Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curiculum

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

Unit Two – Discover Who You Are – Chapter Two Goals and Objectives: •

Increase self-awareness

•

Explore the role of emotional intelligence in student success

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Encourage critical questioning for self-development

•

Reflect on the impact emotions have on lives

Reading and Comprehension Checkpoints: These questions are designed to help you facilitate a powerful in-class discussion based on student reading assignments. The answers are included.

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Q: Name and explain the three “Ds.” Which best describes you?

Which would you like to be? How can you achieve this?

A: drifter – life happens to you, dreamer – you have wonderful plans but can’t always realize your dreams, doer – you plan, act, achieve

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Q: Define emotional intelligence.

A: the ability to know what you and those around you are feeling

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Q: What is the difference between “books smarts” and emotional intelligence?

A: Book smarts relates to high IQ/test scores. Emotional intelligence is what helps you in highly charged or stressful situations

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Q: What most often fuels motivation? Name three ways you can add this to your life.

A: Enthusiasm is what fuels motivation. You can add it to your life by engaging in enjoyable activities, associating with enthusiastic people, seeking inspiration, taking on new challenges, giving yourself a pep talk and developing optimism amid setbacks.

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

Powerful Coaching Questions for Chapter Review: Use to initiate discussion after the chapter is read and activities from the book are completed.

1. What critical questions can you ask to clarify your plans for the future?

2. Can you name a movie or book character who is a drifter? What about a dreamer? A doer? How did this specific personality attribute affect each of their lives?

3. Review your answers from the survey on pages 15 to 17. Which responses have changed for you over the last few years? What do you attribute this change to?

4. The book uses the old adage “adversity builds character.” What does this mean to you? Has adversity affected you or a family member? How did it serve to shape character?

Journal Topics: Below are topics from Majoring in the Rest of Your Life to be used for student journaling. The objective here is for the students to write as freely and openly as possible. It is not about punctuation, grammar and style.

1. Do you tend to be more of a drifter, dreamer or doer? How does this dominant style help you? How does it hinder you?

2. Write about an obstacle you are confronting this month. How does it make you feel? How is it influencing your actions? How is it limiting you?

Pushing you?

3. Write about a time when you’ve had to cheer yourself on, when no one was around to support you.

4. Do you consider yourself to be more of a “feeling” person or more of a “thinking” person? How do your friends and family perceive you?

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

EXPLORATORY Activities: These activities can be used for cursory exploration and to expand upon chapter content.

1. Personality Spectrum Benefits: • Increase self-awareness • Provide an opportunity to assess strengths/weaknesses • Help define comfort zones Materials needed: Handout #2 Distribute Handout #2 to all students. Ask them to rate the responses to each question using the 1 to 4 scale described on the handout.

After students complete the assessment, facilitate discussion using the following questions: • What do your two strongest attributes tell you about yourself?

• Is this new information?

• Was there one category (thinker, giver, adventurer or organizer) where your score fell far below the others?

• How does each of these attributes contribute to a well-rounded life?

• Describe a situation when you needed to be a thinker, an organizer, a giver and an adventurer.

• Which attribute do you think effective leaders demonstrate most often?

Why? • Which occupations align with the different attributes?

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

2. Asking Questions Benefits: • Practice generating relevant questions • Allow time for wondering • Enhance team work with a fun, upbeat session Materials needed: None Chapter Two discusses the importance and value of asking questions. Much of our learning is based on memorizing and processing information. Yet possessing effective skills for asking questions is critical to intellectual advancement and personal exploration. This game is designed to help students generate relevant questions surrounding a variety of topics.

Begin by asking students to move into a large circle. Establish a topic for questioning (the solar system, our Founding Fathers, the greening of our environment, keeping healthy and fit, building bridges, etc.).

Generate an opening question based on the topic. For example, if the topic is building bridges the opening question could be, “Who developed the arched bridge?”

The next student in the circle has to respond with another relevant questionwithin 15 seconds. An example would be, “What is the key engineering principal of an arched bridge?” Continue with this process. .

If a student fails to state a question in the allotted 15 seconds, or if they offer a statement rather than a question, they must move away from the circle. The last student left in the circle wins.

This game can also be played with teams, dividing the class into groups of four.

Each team member stands for a round and then is seated, allowing for the next team member to play. The team with most players still participating in the end wins.

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

RIGOR AND RELEVANCE Activities: These activities encourage students to further explore textbook concepts while facilitating more in-depth classroom discussion.

1. Evaluating Self-Esteem Benefits: • Provide an opportunity for self-reflection • Identify experiences and people who help and hurt self-esteem • Encourage self-expression • Create an opportunity to recognize what is valued in fellow students Materials needed: Paper and pen Begin this activity by indicating that self-discovery involves reflecting on how one feels about themself. Attitudes, both good and bad, can have a huge impact on the ability to pursue strengths and deal with weaknesses.

Next, ask students to write down responses to the following questions. Make sure to give them plenty of time to reflect on each answer. Some may need time to go back to specific questions, so adding a few minutes after all the questions have been read is helpful.

After students have answered the questions, group the class into pairs and instruct students to share their responses with one another. Remind them that they do not have to share their answer to a specific question if it makes them feel uncomfortable. Suggest that they say “pass” when this question is discussed.

After students have shared with their partners, ask partners to express one thing that they especially like or respect about the other.

Self-esteem questions: • • • • • • • • • • •

Describe an instance before the age of 11 when you were very proud of yourself.

Describe a person or experience that has helped your self-esteem.

Describe a person or experience that has hurt your self-esteem.

Who makes you feel valued? How do they demonstrate this to you?

What is something you do well?

Whose self-esteem do you think you’ve positively influenced?

What is something you are working to improve?

Describe something that you can now do that you struggled with last year.

What is something with which you are currently struggling?

How does it affect your feelings about yourself?

Describe one thing you’d like to change about yourself.

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

2. Assessing Self-Management Skills Benefits: • Assess how abilities are managed • Identify areas for improvement • Create awareness around self-management skills Materials needed: Handout #3 As students prepare to move into higher education and/or the work force they need to demonstrate how they manage themselves. Do they effectively plan their time? Do they understand how to tackle problems and complete tasks? Are they self-starters? Can they adapt to a variety of situations? Do they know how to prioritize?

After discussing the above points, distribute Handout #3. Ask each student to complete the assessment. When finished, discuss the responses. Can the students generate other assessment questions that help determine their efficiency?

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

Handout #2

Personality Spectrum Directions: Rate the statements on a scale of 1 to 4 where 1 indicates “least like you” and 4 indicates “most like you.”

Example: I like it when: a. My work space is organized.

4

b. My work space is cluttered, but I have everything I need.

3

c. I don’t have a specific work space.

1

d. Other people share my work space with me.

2

1. I like instructors who: a. Tell me exactly what is expected of me. ______ b. Make learning active and exciting. ______ c. Maintain a safe and supportive classroom. ______ d. Challenge me to think at higher levels. ______

2. I learn best when the material is: a. Well-organized. ______ b. Something I can do hands-on. ______ c. About understanding and improving the human condition. ______ d. Intellectually challenging. ______

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

3. A high priority in my life is to: a. Keep my commitments. ______ b. Experience as much of life as possible. ______ c. Make a difference in the lives of others. ______ d. Understand how things work. ______

4. Other people think of me as: a. Dependable and loyal. ______ b. Dynamic and creative. ______ c. Caring and honest. ______ d. Intelligent and inventive. ______

5. When I experience stress I would most likely: a. Do something to help me feel more in control of my life. ______ b. Do something physical and daring. ______ c. Talk with a friend. ______ d. Go off by myself and think about my situation. ______

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

6. I would probably not be close friends with someone who is: a. Irresponsible. ______ b. Unwilling to try new things. ______ c. Selfish and unkind to others. ______ d. An illogical thinker. ______

7. My vacations could be described as: a. Traditional. ______ b. Adventuresome. ______ c. Pleasing to others. ______ d. A new learning experience. ______

8. One word that best describes me is: a. Sensible. ______ b. Spontaneous. ______ c. Giving. ______ d. Analytical. ______

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

9. My favorite activities are: a. Spending time with my friends and family. ______ b. Going out on the town – partying. ______ c. Doing things for other people. ______ d. Writing/learning. ______

10. Social situations: a. Make me uncomfortable if I don’t know anyone. ______ b. Are a great opportunity to meet new people. ______ c. Are a chance to observe other people. ______ d. Are ideal for inquisitive/intelligent conversation with people. ______

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

Directions: Now total the numbers of points you gave yourself for each letter and indicate them below. Indicate your two strongest personality traits and turn the page for descriptions. Are they accurate? Do you agree with the survey? Why or why not?

TOTAL SCORE for A:

______ ORGANIZER

TOTAL SCORE for B:

______ ADVENTURER

TOTAL SCORE for C:

______ GIVER

TOTAL SCORE for D:

______ THINKER

My two strongest attributes:

1. ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ 2. ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

THINKER Personal Strengths: You enjoy solving problems and love to develop models and systems. You have an abstract and analytical way of thinking.

You love to explore ideas. You dislike unfairness and wastefulness. You are global by nature, always seeking universal truth.

Work/school: You work best when assigned projects require analytical thinking and problem solving. You are inspired by futuristic ideas and potentials. You need the freedom to go beyond the established rules. You feel appreciated when praised for your ingenuity. You dislike repetitive tasks.

Relationships: You thrive in relationships that recognize your need for independence and private time to think and read. Stress can come from the fear of appearing foolish. You want others to accept that you feel deeply even though you may not often express it.

Learning: You like quiet time to reflect on new information. Learning through problem solving and designing new ways of approaching issues is most interesting to you. You may find it effective to convert material you need to learn into logical charts and graphs.

ORGANIZER Personal Strengths: You value the traditions of family and social support structures. You rarely take responsibility lightly. You have a strong sense of history, culture, and dignity.

You value order and predictability. You dislike disobedience or non-conformity. You value loyalty and obligation.

Work/school: You enjoy work that requires detailed planning and follow-through.

You prefer to have tasks defined in clear and concrete terms. You need a wellstructured, stable environment, free from abrupt changes. You feel appreciated when you are praised for neatness, organization, and efficiency. You like frequent feedback so you know you are on the right track.

Relationships: You do best in relationships that provide for your need of security, stability and structure. You appreciate it when dates that are important to you are remembered by others.

Learning: You must have organized material and know the overall plan and what will be required of you. Depending on your most developed multiple intelligences, organizing the material could include any of the following: highlighting key terms in text, rewriting and organizing notes from class or text, making flash cards.

GIVER Personal strengths: You value honesty and authenticity above all else. You enjoy close relationships with those you love and there is a strong spirituality in your nature. Making a difference in the world is important to you, and you enjoy cultivating potential in yourself and others. You are a person of peace. You are a natural romantic.

You dislike hypocrisy and deception.

Work/school: You function best in a warm, harmonious working environment with the possibility of interacting with openness and honesty.

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

You prefer to avoid conflict and hostility. You thrive when your creative approach to your work is appreciated and praised.

Relationships: You thrive in relationships that include warm, intimate talks. You feel closer to people when they express their feelings and are open and responsive. You think romance, touch, and appreciation are necessary for survival. You blossom when others express a loving commitment to you and you are able to contribute to the relationship.

Learning: You enjoy studying with others and also helping them learn. Study groups are very effective for you to remember difficult information.

ADVENTURER Personal strengths: Your strength is skillfulness. You take pride in being highly skilled in a variety of fields. Adventure is your middle name. A hands-on approach to problem solving is important to you. You need variety, and waiting is like “emotional death.” You live in the here and now. It is your impulsiveness that drives everything you do. You dislike rigidity and authority.

Work/school: You function best in a work environment that is action-packed with a hands-on approach. You appreciate the opportunity to be skillful and adventurous, and to use your natural ability as a negotiator. You like freedom on the job so you can perform in nontraditional ways and in your own style. Keeping a good sense of humor and avoiding boredom on the job are important to you. You feel appreciated when your performance and skills are acknowledged.

Relationships: You function best in relationships that recognize your need for freedom.

You thrive on spontaneity, playfulness, and excitement.

Learning: You learn exciting and stimulating information easiest, so pick classes and instructors carefully. Study with fun people in a variety of ways and places. Keep on the move. Develop games and puzzles to help memorize terminology.

This assessment is a modified version of that found in Keys to Success by Carol Carter, Joyce Bishop and Sarah Kravits.

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

Handout #3

Self-Management Assessment For each statement, rate yourself using the following scale: 4 = very strong; 3 = strong; 2 = needs improvement; 1 = deficient Next to “a” list an example of a time you effectively demonstrated the corresponding self-management skill. Next to “b” write an example of when you could have improved your self-management.

1. I work well under pressure. a. b.

______________

2. I handle conflict well and remain composed. a. b.

______________

3. I take responsibility for my work and behavior. a. b.

______________

4. I’m reliable and trustworthy. a. b.

______________

5. I pay attention to details and manage specifics well. a. b.

______________

6. I plan ahead and anticipate problems. a. b.

______________

7. I’m flexible and adapt easily to new situations. a. b.

______________

8. I keep a good attitude and work well with others. a. b.

______________

9. I’m resourceful and solve problems creatively. a. b.

______________

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Majoring in the Rest of Your Life Curriculum

10. I’m comfortable being a leader and a follower. a. b.

______________

11. I move into problem-solving mode when faced with obstacles. ______________ a. b.

12. I’m self-motivated. a. b.

_______________

13. I manage my time effectively. a. b.

_______________

14. I prioritize tasks and responsibilities. a. b.

_______________

15. I meet deadlines. a. b.

_______________

16. I divide projects into manageable segments. a. b.

_______________

17. I monitor my own progress as well as my group’s progress. a. b.

_______________

18. I ask important questions. a. b.

_______________