Classroom Resources - Activities

Introduction to iFALCON Activities

A1

Take the iFALCON Academic Habits Inventory to see which success habits you practice and where you may fall into traps that limit your potential.

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A2

Personal Inventory -- Review the six habits of mind with the class. After the review, break the class up into groups of 3-5. Pass out a handout of the six habits of mind or project it onto the screen in class.

  • Have each group review the six habits again to make sure everyone in the group generally understands each habit.
  • Have each individual do a personal inventory, indicating which habits they consider to be a personal weakness or strength.
  • Have each group, aggregate the individual results and develop a summary of the group's strengths and weaknesses according to the six habits of mind.
  • Pull that classroom back together to discuss the results.
  • At the end of the activity, remind the class that you will be talking about each of the six habits in greater detail throughout the semester.

FOCUS Activities

A1

Review a fictional student case study titled "Focus and Frustration."

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A2

Read Katrina De La Cruz's story. She lives in San Pedro and is a first-year student at UCLA, a great achievement on her part. But she's finding success difficult to achieve because of her lack of funding and her immigration status (she's undocumented, so she doesn't qualify for financial aid or for many scholarships). Pay especially careful attention to the last part of the article, where the writer examines Katrina's study skills. The article is at the following link:

Katrina De La Cruz's story in the Los Angeles Times (Feb. 2, 2009)

Once you've read Katrina's story in the Los Angeles Times article, write a 250-500 word response to it. How does Katrina seem to successfully demonstrate focus in her pursuit of her success goals at UCLA? Use direct quotations from the article to illustrate those successful behaviors.

How might Katrina need to work on more effective focus? What advice would you give her for finding success in her classes at UCLA, to ensure that she can finish with the psychology degree she dreams of? Direct quotes and specific examples will help here, too.

Finally, do you find yourself using any of the attributes of successful focus here at Cerritos College? How might you focus on your studies more successfully? Examples of both your successes and shortcomings, and how they relate to our iFalcon skills, will help.

Bring your written response to class and be prepared to share your ideas.

Instructors: If you'd like to print this activity to distribute to students, download a copy from one of the links below:

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A3

Download the activity "Defeating Procrastination" and use it to get started on a class assignment:

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A4

Watch the student video on Procrastination. Do you recognize any of the difficulties these students discuss?

A5

Display or project the discussion questions in class (or distribute if not in smart classroom). Have students discuss each question in groups of 3-5. Review answers as a class after all groups have completed group discussions.

A6

Have each student pick one of the Focus College resources, or you pick one for them if there is one that has direct relevance to your course. Have each student visit the resource prior to the next class meeting and write up a 1/2 page summary on the resource and how the student could use the resource to succeed at Cerritos College. At the next class meeting, you can simply collect the papers or continue the assignment with a classroom discussion on the attributes of the resource.

ADVANCE Activities

A1

If you didn't take it in the "i" section, take the iFALCON Academic Habits Inventory to see your strengths and weaknesses.

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A2

Review a fictional student case study and facilitate small group problem-solving activity.

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A3

Display or project the Advance discussion questions in class (or distribute if not in smart classroom). Have students discuss each question in groups of 3-5. Review answers as a class after all groups have completed group discussions.

A4

Several resources on campus offer support for students to advance their academic skills and to help identify and achieve their transfer goals. During week 7, have students (either individually or in small groups) research information on one of the following campus resources. They can review materials on the web links below, or, even better, you can have them visit the site to collect information, including brief interviews with one or more representatives of the campus resource. During week 8, spend 10-15 minutes having individuals and/or groups report their information back to the class. You may wish to have students write up their findings in a 250-500 response paper.

A complete list of campus resources is available at the following link: Cerritos College Resources

LINK-UP Activities

A1

Review a fictional student case study and facilitate small group problem-solving activity.

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A2

Return to Katrina De La Cruz's story in the Los Angeles Times (Feb. 2, 2009). If you didn't use it as a Focus assignment, here's your chance. Find the article at the link below:

Katrina De La Cruz's story in the Los Angeles Times (Feb. 2, 2009)

Download the activity that has students advice Katrina on how to link up with college resources for success, and then has them plan their own visits to Cerritos College's academic resources.

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A3

Display or project the Link-up discussion questions in class (or distribute if not in smart classroom). Have students discuss each question in groups of 3-5. Review answers as a class after all groups have completed group discussions.

A4

Several resources on campus offer support for students to link up with college academic groups: peer groups, tutors, counselors, and mentors. During week 9, have students (either individually or in small groups) research information on one of the following campus resources. They can review materials on the web links below, or, even better, you can have them visit the site to collect information, including brief interviews with one or more representatives of the campus resource. During week 10, spend 10-15 minutes having individuals and/or groups report their information back to the class. You may wish to have students write up their findings in a 250-500 response paper, as in Activity A2 above.

Academic Support Services:
Academic Programs and Clubs:
Tutoring Services:

A complete list of campus resources is available at the following link: Link Up Cerritos College Resources

COMPREHEND Activities

A1

Download an activity modeled after Daisy's outlining the steps of a class assignment in the Comprehend Mini-Lecture 1. This activity can help students map out and understand the goals of one of your class assignments, projects, or activities.

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A2

Following a class lecture, lesson, or activity on important information or skills, have students take some time at the end of class to record what they have learned. Provide a sentence starter, like: "So the big idea is. . ." or "What I learned today is . . ." This can be done in a two-minute freewrite, or you can give students more time (five or ten minutes) to detail the information they have processed. Stress that this is an informal freewrite meant to help them process their knowledge, not a formal essay.

Finally, have students share their knowledge. This should take only a few minutes at the end of class. Help students identify not only what they comprehended from the class lecture, lesson, or activity, but also to identify what they may be having difficulty comprehending.

A3

Following a discussion of Mini-Lecture 2, display or project the comprehend discussion questions in class (or distribute if not in smart classroom). Have students discuss each question in groups of 3-5. Review answers as a class after all groups have completed group discussions.

A4

Review the Comprehend college resources and have students identify which resources will best help them develop comprehension of your class materials.

ORGANIZE Activities

A1

Review a fictional case study and facilitate a class discussion on how best to assist the student.

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A2

Demonstrate a sample student schedule created in Microsoft Excel.

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A3

Use a spreadsheet template to create a weekly schedule.

excel downloadDownload activity 3 in Microsoft Excel (allows you to add schedule items on the computer)
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Download activity 3 in pdf format (must be printed and schedule items added by hand)

A4

Go to the Organize discussion questions page and download "The Road Trip to Success" activity questions. Have the class respond, or have small groups discuss and present their answers.

A5

Review the Organize college resources and consider which resources will best help students organize their studies, and which resources they should add to their weekly planning schedules.

NEW IDEAS Activities

A1

Review a fictional student case study and facilitate a class discussion on how best to help the students involved.

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A2

Create a set of ground rules for open and respectful classroom or online discussion.

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A3

Go to the discussion New Ideas questions page and download the discussion activity, "Shift Happens." Watch the YouTube video and respond to the discussion questions about the changing nature of the world we live in. Appropriate for small or large group discussions.

A4

Review the New Ideas college resources available and consider ways they can help create new ways of thinking about your academic and professional goals or opportunities, and about your outlook.