Innovative Social Sciences Teaching and Learning: Facilitating Students' Personal Growth and Career Success

✍ Scribed by Katharina Rietig

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2024
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 199
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book offers novel insights into how students can develop a personal growth mindset during their degree programs that allows them to view new challenges as opportunity to grow personally, reflect on the new knowledge and experience, and subsequently improve their skills to critically examine and evaluate information in a journey of personal growth. Based on learning theories drawn from cognitive and social psychology and over 12 years of integrating the ‘personal growth mindset’ into course design, it offers a novel framework that allows higher education teachers to constructively align learning objectives and assessments with crucial transferable skill development, and fostering a mindset for personal growth among students that focuses on continuously improving and reflecting on feedback. The objective is to empower academics to build courses and degree programs that are ‘fit for purpose’ by equipping social science students with the skills and mindsets that will benefit them throughout their careers in ever changing and newly emerging jobs. The book will appeal to those who are interested in how individuals learn in educational settings and in the wider workplace.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents
List of Figures
Chapter 1: Introduction
Artificial Intelligence and Shifting Roles for Social Sciences Graduates
The Changing World of Work
Changing Expectations of and Requirements for Graduates
Who Is This Book For?
Chapter Overview
References
Part I: The Big Picture of Learning Theories and Course Design
Chapter 2: Learning Theory: The Power of Yet and Dreaming Big
What Is Learning?
How Do We Learn? Insights from Social Psychology and Organizational Studies
The Linear Cognitive Learning Process
Experiential Learning
Single- and Double-Loop and Deutero Learning
The Complete Cycle of Choice
Non-learning: Defensive Avoidance, Unlearning, and Muddling Through
The Learning in Governance Framework
The Growth Mindset, Grit, Perseverance, and Try: Attributes of Policy Entrepreneurs as Agents of Change
The Personal Growth Mindset: Framework for Analysis
Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Constructive Alignment in Course and Degree Design
The Personal Growth Mindset and Constructive Alignment
Constructive Alignment in Degree Programs
Constructive Alignment Within Courses
Conclusion
References
Part II: Teaching Activities to Develop a Growth Mindset in Students
Chapter 4: Lectures
Lectures, Lecturers, and the Personal Growth Mindset
In-person Lectures, Online Lectures, and Blended Approaches
Preparing the Lecture
Delivering the Lecture
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Seminars
The Growth Mindset and Seminar Design
Face-to-Face Seminars Versus Online Seminars, and Hybrid Approaches
Seminar Preparation
Running the Seminar
Seminar Activities
Student Presentations
Answering Sample Exam Questions
Working Through Math Problems and Quantitative Methods Training
Discussing Questions and Case Studies
Debates
Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: Study Groups
How Can Study Groups Help Develop/Embed a Growth Mindset?
Study Group Examples and Typology
Study Group 1: The Friendship and Peer Group
Study Group 2: The Social Club
Study Group 3: The Student-Led Exam Prep Course
Study Group 4: The Incentivized Group
Study Group 5: The Never Have-Beens
Integrating Study Groups into the Course
Advantages of Study Groups
Addressing Challenges
Conclusion
References
Chapter 7: Simulations
Benefits and Challenges of Simulations
Planning, Preparation, Running the Simulation, and Reflection
Negotiation Venue
Country/Role Assignments
Position Paper
Training and ‘Working Up’ to Larger MUNs
During the Simulation
Element of Reflection
The Simulation Itself
MUNs and Other Simulations in 1–2-Hour Seminars
Half-Day up to 2 Day MUNs as Part of a Course
MUNs as Week-Long Championship in Diplomacy and Debating
Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Supervising Dissertations
Developing a Supervisor-Supervisee Relationship
Identifying the Research Question: Or Seeing the Trees in the Forest
Typical Dissertation Structure
Addressing Common Challenges Faced by Students
Procrastination and Writer’s Block
Getting Lost in the Woods During the Literature Review
Data Availability and Analysis
Too Exhausted for a Clear, Concise Discussion Section
Confusing a Dissertation with an Essay or Including Too Much Personal Opinion
Conclusion
References
Chapter 9: Conclusion
Constructively Aligning Degrees and Courses with the Personal Growth Framework
Mainstreaming Major Societal Challenges
The Personal Growth Framework and the World of Work
References
References
Index