Student book club

Join Student Book Club in Reading RANGE by David Epstein

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 21:24:32 +0000

Join Student Book Club in Reading RANGE by David Epstein Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 02/17/2021 - 14:24

No matter what kinds of progress you’ve made, you probably feel behind in some capacity. When there are people your age already starting businesses or writing best-selling books, it’s easy to lament your lack of specialization.

ASSETT’s Student Technology Consultants are running an interactive book club on Range, by David Epstein. We’ll address the myth of the early head start and the benefits of a “sampling period,” where one tries new things and builds range. Learn how this mindset can be more successful (and less stressful) than early specialization! We hope to provide a community for undergraduates in the College of Arts & Sciences to discuss their career and future mindsets.

All four meetings will be held Monday nights, 7-8 p.m. MST, on Zoom. ASSETT will provide Kindle copies of Range to all participants, and the book club will meet for the following schedule:

March 15: This is our introductory virtual meeting. We will distribute the e-books, make brief introductions, and watch a relevant TED talk.
March 22: This will be our first content discussion, focusing on the first third of the book.
April 5: This will be our second content discussion, focusing on the second third of the book.
April 19: This will be our final meeting, where we’ll discuss the final section of the book and overall takeaways.

Interested participants should fill out this form: https://forms.gle/Uu2J4v1QUkYQ8QpW7
E-book codes are limited to twelve participants, all of whom must be a student of or enrolled in a course in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Students who miss the first meeting are still encouraged to reach out, since there may still be space!

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Catching Up with the STCs: Fall 2020

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 20:16:26 +0000

Catching Up with the STCs: Fall 2020 Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/13/2020 - 13:16

Matara Hitchcock

Over the fall semester, the Student Technology Consultants have been continuing to adapt our mission to the remote classroom landscape. What does it mean to help educators and students harness classroom technologies when everything is so virtual? How can we maximize the benefit we provide to students in the College of Arts & Sciences?

One of the ways we did that was through a continuation of our book club. This fall, the STCs led a second book club to help students think about kick-starting their careers and personal lives as young adults. Based on The Defining Decade: Why Your 20’s Matter—And How to Make the Most of Them Now by psychologist Meg Jay, the book club created a virtual space for students to discuss common experiences and anxieties facing young adults. The space to connect with peers was, as many participants emphasized, particularly important during the pandemic when many CU students have limited social contact with others. Read more about the fall student book club.

We’ve also created content that instructors can share or students can engage with on their own. Clara Geoghegan launched the final article, What To Do When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned, in our three-part student success series. (Previous articles include Where Are You Now? and Your Many Futures.) Ming Ming Sun produced the first in our Student Survival Guide video series. These quirky, tongue-in-cheek episodes will go over technology tools and techniques to help students hack their remote learning experience. We recently set up a feed for Pedagogy Now, where you'll be able to find our existing and future podcast content. Take a listen to our intro episode!

The Student Technology Consultants have also been hard at work on upcoming projects like a [re]defining success video series and a digital syllabus system. If you are (or know of) a grad student involved in the educational process who would be interested in sharing about how COVID-19 has affected their academic landscape, ask them to contribute by submitting this form. Undergraduates interested in user experience testing for the digital syllabus project can volunteer to participate by submitting this Google Form.

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Book Club Guides Students to Make the Most of Their Twenties

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 22:43:15 +0000

Book Club Guides Students to Make the Most of Their Twenties Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/11/2020 - 15:43

Clara Geoghegan

In fall 2020, ASSETT’s Student Technology Consultants led a book club to help students think about kick-starting their careers and personal lives as young adults. Based on The Defining Decade: Why Your 20’s Matter—And How to Make the Most of Them Nowby psychologist Meg Jay, the book club created a virtual space for students to discuss common experiences and anxieties facing young adults. The space to connect with peers was, as many participants emphasized, particularly important during the pandemic when many CU students have limited social contact with others.

The book cites a study of life-span development in which researchers from Boston University and the University of Michigan found that 80 percent of life’s most significant events happen by age 35 and that the most life-defining moments are concentrated during an individual's twenties. As Jay puts it, “as thirty-somethings and beyond we largely either continue with, or correct for, the moves we made during our twenty-something years.” The main takeaways of the book are to not put off important decisions using a “thirty is the new twenty” mentality while also understanding that building a meaningful life and career takes time and will not happen overnight or immediately after graduating college.

The students who participated in the book club were a mix of lower-division undergraduate students and near-graduates with diverse reasons for signing up. As one student explained, she was in a “quarter-life crisis” after changing majors and re-thinking her post-graduation career and education plans. As two others expressed, they were nearing graduation and were unsure how to begin a career or even what professional fields might interest them. Two sophomore students aged eighteen and nineteen said they signed up in order to feel prepared for their twenties.

Book club meetings were minimally structured conversations where participants were able to freely discuss themes of the book that resonated with them or connected to experiences in their personal lives. As multiple students expressed, the book club was a place to connect with peers in the face of the pandemic, which has uprooted the social settings of CU. In an exit survey, participants said that although they had thought about their futures frequently prior to the book club (these are students who signed up for an extracurricular self-help book club—they’re go-getters) the book and discussions were helpful in thinking about their young adult lives moving forward.

The Defining Decade is the second book club led by ASSETT’s Student Technology Consultants. In the spring 2020 semester, the STCs led another student-support book club based on Designing Your Life.

Image: "Books HD" by Abee5 is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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Student Book Club to Explore the "Defining Decade"

Anonymous — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 17:44:47 +0000

Student Book Club to Explore the "Defining Decade" Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/23/2020 - 11:44

Your twenties are often as exciting as they are paralyzing. With your whole life ahead of you, it can be difficult to decide what you want and how to get there. Join ASSETT’s Student Technology Consultants for an interactive book club to help you navigate and make the most of your twenties.

Based around the book The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter -- And How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg Jay, ASSETT will lead a series of discussions and activities covering common themes in twenty-somethings’ careers, relationships, and mental and physical health. We hope to provide community, connection, and a framework for undergraduates thinking about making the most of their lives and careers during and after college.

All four meetings will be held Wednesday nights from 7-8:30 p.m. on Zoom. The schedule is as follows:

Sept. 16: Virtual orientation meeting to distribute ebooks and exchange brief introductions
Sept. 30: First meeting, covering work, identity capital, the strength of weak ties, social media perceptions, and the customized life
Oct. 14: Second meeting, covering love, picking your family, the cohabitation effect, and being "in like"
Oct. 28: Third and final meeting, covering the brain and body, mental health, physical health, and how good habits will get you ahead

Interested participants should contact Sam Kindick (Samuel.Kindick@colorado.edu). Free ebook codes are available for up to 12 participants. Interested students who may have missed previous meetings are encouraged to reach out as spaces may be still available or other accommodations may be made to include them in the book club.

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Book Club Supports Undergraduates, Helps Them to ‘Design Their Lives’

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 21:14:28 +0000

Book Club Supports Undergraduates, Helps Them to ‘Design Their Lives’ Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 06/04/2020 - 15:14

Clara Geoghegan

In a book club led by ASSETT Student Technology Consultants, undergraduate students looked toward their futures while at CU and beyond. The program, which was piloted in the spring semester of 2020, was based on Designing Your Life by Stanford professors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. The authors guide readers through a number of exercises designed to craft what they want their future careers, life, love, and fun to look like. Their rounded approach and encouragement to consider your "many lives" (the many possible directions your life could go) promotes creative thinking about one’s future.

“Even if I don't figure out what exactly I want to do, I would like to walk away with a mindset that I can use when approaching new opportunities. I want to know which questions to ask for job or internship positions and how to feel confident in my choices,” explained one participant about why he joined the book club.

Undergraduate students participated in this book club for a variety of reasons. Many wanted a game plan for after graduation, or at least a better idea of what they would like to do. Some wanted the group setting of a book club, to hold them accountable and help them better develop their own ideas about their futures. Some went in without expectations and an open mind.

Originally, the book club consisted of four in-person meetings, with independent reading and exercises. The first meeting was held in person, but after COVID-19 precautions taken by ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ, the following three meetings were held over Zoom.

After the rapid shift to virtual sessions, not all of the original attendees could make the following meetings. For some, classes going virtual meant their commitments had changed and for others, uncertainty with COVID-19 made thinking about the future more taxing. For the remaining participants, however, the independent reading, the exercises to get them thinking about their future, and the group discussions were predominantly helpful. For students, the group setting, feedback from peers, and exercises to facilitate open-minded thinking for the future was helpful for better approaching their futures at CU and beyond.

“It was a good environment to keep me accountable to keep reading and doing the activities, and a good resource to share my findings and reflect on the feedback.”
“Awesome book club! I really enjoyed it and learned a lot of valuable skills. I gave the book to my mom and she’s reading it now.”

ASSETT and the Student Technology Consultants plan to facilitate another student-focused book club in the fall of 2020. The book is still to be determined, but they want to bring back the peer setting, group conversation, and self-reflection for students.

For more information on future book clubs, reach out to Jacie Moriyama, Student Services Portfolio Manager.

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

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Student Book Club: Design Your Life in Two Months

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 17:22:15 +0000

Student Book Club: Design Your Life in Two Months Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 01/20/2020 - 10:22

Unsure about life after college? You're not alone. Join ASSETT's Student Technology Consultants for an interactive book club. As we read the book Designing Your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, ASSETT will lead a series of activities and discussions meant to help students think about what their life after college could look like and calm any quarter-life-crisis anxieties about the future. Half book club, half discussion and activity, "Design Your Life in Two Months" helps break down future directions post-graduation.

This is a relatively low-commitment book club, but we do ask that interested students to show up to meetings since that is where most of the in-depth activities and discussion will occur. ASSETT will provide the books and pizza at meetings.

The meeting dates are as follows. Location is still TBD.

March 2 - meetup, distribute books, brief introductions
March 16 - First meeting
April 6 - Second meeting
April 27 - Third and final meeting

If you are interested, please email S am Kindick by Wednesday, February 26, with your name and contact info. We need to order books in advance and space is limited, so we can’t guarantee spots for anyone after this date.

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