32-DayCommitment(II)–ChangeHabits

Aswemakeandkeepcommitments,evensmallcommitments,webegintoestablishaninnerintegritythatgivesusthe awarenessofself-controlandthecourageandstrengthtoacceptmoreoftheresponsibilityforourownlives.Bymakingand keepingpromisestoourselvesandothers,littlebylittle,ourhonorbecomesgreaterthanourmoods.StephenCovey

Purpose:

The“32DayCommitment”activityhelpsastudentchangehabits.Thepurposesaretwo-fold:1)acquirenewhabits thatwillhelpthestudentsucceedand2)discontinuehabitsthataredetrimentaltocollegesuccess.

Duration/Semestertiming:

•Thisactivitytakes32daysorlongertoseeresults.Itdoesnottakemuchclassroomtimetomonitor, however.The32-daytimeistheresultofresearchonbreakingabadhabitorestablishinganewhabit– avoidingorrepeatingeverydayfor32dayshasahighsuccessrateinbreakingorestablishingthehabit.

•The‘gotcha”isthatasinglemisscausesthecountertorestartat1.Someusersadvocateagentlerrestart (e.g.,miss2in5).Further,someactivitiesdon’trecurdaily,butthe32daysofconcertedefforttomakeit happenoneachpossibleoccurrenceisagoodstartonmakinganewhabit(sayexercise3daysaweek,or goingtothetutoringcenterMWF).

•Thisactivitytakes30-40minutestosetup,assumingnootherrelatedactivitiesarebeingdone.Ifother relatedactivitiesaredone(e.g.,calendar,nextactionlist,actiontracking),lesstimeforexplanationis required.

•Monitoringprogresstakesabout5-10minuteseachcheck.Idothemattheendofaclassperiod,and,since extracredit,onlythoseparticipatingstayaroundthelast5minutes.Thisminimizestheimpactonteaching time.

•Becauseofthelongtimeforresults,thisactivityneedstobedoneearlyintheterm--beforethethird weekinthesemester.Usingthe32-daycommitmentrightafterthefirstquizcanprovideajustificationfor theactivity–combiningitwitha”coursecorrection”,especiallyifasignificantnumberdidnotdowell.

Description:

•Studentsidentifygoodstudyhabitsanddetrimentalhabits.Studentsexaminetheirstudhabits(andsome lifestylehabits)for1)thingstheydothatareconducivetostudying,2)thingstheycoulddobetter,3) thingstoavoiddoingthattheycurrentlydo.

•Eachstudentidentifiesoneormorehabitsoftheirsthattheywouldliketochange.Thesearewrittendown onthe“32-daycommitment”form,andtrackeddailyfor32days.Eachstudentmonitorstheiractivity againstthe32dayform,indicatingiftheactivitywasdonethatdayornot.

•Astudentgetscreditonlyiftheirpartnerfromtheclasschecksprogressfrequently(ifclassmeets3or4 daysaweek,beforeclassisOK);sharingwithsomeoneelseimprovessuccessratesonthisactivity.

•Theteacherperiodicallyreviewsprogresson32-dayformandassignscredit(orextracredit)forusingthe formtochangebehavior.

•Goalforeachthepartnercheckingandperiodicreviewsishonestreporting;ifthestudentandpartnernote

a‘restart”,anewformmaybeneeded.

Materials

Listofgoodhabitsandpoorhabits(samplesattached)32-daycommitmentform(attached)

Objective:

Acompletedformisevidencethestudentcomplete32daysofexercisingthe'new'habit(oravoidingtheold habit).Thehopeisthatthebetterhabitsareestablishedforfuturesemester,thusensuringbettersuccess.

Procedure:

•First,aninclassactivitytoidentifygoodstudyhabitsanddetrimentalhabits.Thiscanbeahomework assignmentinstead-witharead-outinclass.

•Instructorhandsout“topten”orsimilarlistsofactions(includeresourcesthatcanbeusedregularly,like themathtutoringcenter).Studentsexaminelistsfor1)thingstheydothatareconducivetostudying,2) thingstheycoulddobetter,3)thingstoavoiddoingthattheycurrentlydo.Thelistsmaygetexpandedby students,sosometimeforreadoutisneeded.

•Ifindthatteamsof3–4workwellforareadout.Ifthiswasahomeworkassignment,alittletimeforthe teamstoconsolidateitemsisneeded.Eachteamreadsouttheirtopfewthingstostartdoingtoimprove theirsuccess,orstopdoingbecausetheyhinderstudy.

•Second,eachstudentidentifiesoneormorehabitsoftheirsthattheywouldliketochange.Theseare writtendownonthe“32-daycommitment”form.

•Third,eachstudentispairedwithapartnerforregularprogresschecks.[Thepartneringmayneedtobe changedasstudentsdropoutortoresolveanypersonalityconflicts.]

•Eachstudentmonitorstheiractivityagainstthelist,indicatingiftheactivitywasdonethatdayornot.

Someactivitiesmaynotbedaily,so“NA”isappropriate.Forexample,theactivityofgoingtothetutoring center3timesaweek

Assessment:

•Havingacompletedformwithoneortwonewhabitsandoneortwohabitstoavoidandapartnertoreview isthebeginning.PartnerreviewsandPeriodicreviews-checkthatdatesarebeingmarkedsuccessoroops andthatrestartsarenoted.Partnerinitialsneardayhe/shecheckedhaspartneragreeingthatform updated(notassuringhonesty).

•Astudentgetscreditonlyiftheirpartnerchecksprogressalmostdaily(ifclassmeets3or4daysaweek, beforeorafterclassisOK);sharingwithsomeoneelseimprovessuccessratesonthisactivity.Theteacher periodicallyreviewsprogresson32-dayform.Ionlycheckthem2or3timesduringthesemester.

•"Honestreporting"isthegoalforboththepartnercheckingandperiodicreviews.Ifthestudentisstarting, notfollowingthrough,startingagain--thatisevidenceforthestudenttousetoevaluateifthe commitmentismaking

Sourcesresources:

OnCourseIworkshop,SkipDowning,pages25–37

Seealsocalendaractivity,trackingactivity,nextactionsactivity,and“IVQuadrant”activity,whichcanfeedinto thisactivity(identifyingactionsthatneedtobehabits).

Sampleactionsforsuccess/failure

1.Readthesyllabuscarefully,andlookatit regularly

2.Readthetextbookandassignedarticles

3.Attendeveryclassontime

4.Listenactivelyandtakenotes(usingthenote takingguidesprovidedonthecoursewebsite)

5.Participateinclassdiscussionseverysession (inwholeclassdiscussionsaswellassmall groups)

6.Checkthecoursewebsiteregularly

7.Askquestions

8.Takeadvantageofalltheextracreditoptions

9.Turninallassignmentsontime

10.Usethestudyguidestoprepareforquizzes

11.Readthescoringrubricscarefullybefore writingpapers(extensivedetailsonhow

papersaregradedandwritingtipsavailableon website)

12.ReviewthePowerPointspostedonthecourse website

13.PreparefortheFinalaheadoftime

14.Keeptheirgoalsinmindandworkhard

1.Ignorethesyllabus

2.Don’teverpurchasethetextbook

3.Missmorethan4classes

4.Cometoclasslate

5.Daydream

6.Donotparticipateinclassdiscussions

7.Rarelyornevercheckthecoursewebsite

8.Neveraskquestions

9.Donottakeadvantageofextracreditoptions

10.Missmultipleassignments,turnin assignmentslate

11.Donotprepareforquizzes

12.Donotreadscoringrubricsonwebsiteprior towritingpapers

13.Donotreviewpowerpointsonwebsite

14.Donotprepareforthefinaltillthelast minute

15.Forgetthatpassingthisclassfitsintotheir plantoachievetheirgoals

16.Thinktheywillpasswithoutputtingineffort

"TopTen"strategiesforsuccess(andfailure)

BestStudyPractices

1.Readassignedtexts/handouts

2. Don’tprocrastinate

3. Payattentiontotheorganizationofthetext

4. Highlightkeypoints/termsintextasyouread

5. Reviewoften!

6. Studywithastudygroup

7. Gethelpbeforeit’stoolate

8. Dohomeworkassignments

9. Makeanoutlineortakenotesofyourreading

10.Setasideaquietplacetostudywithfewdistractions

BestWaystoStudyforaTest

1.Reviewandreorganizenotes

2. Reviewtextsummariesandhighlightedpoints

3. Gettogetherwithstudypartners(chooseoneswhoareseriousaboutsucceeding)

4. Completestudyguides

5. Askquestionsyouareunclearonbeforetheexam/understandwhatisbeingtested

6. Makepracticetests

7. Don’tprocrastinate

8. Readassignedtexts/handouts

9. Makenotecards

10.Eatwellandgetenoughsleep

Thirty-twodaysisthelengthoftimethoughtbysomebehavioralpsychologists40tobe necessaryforcreatinganewhabitorextinguishinganoldone.

11. BestThingstoDoinClasstoSucceed

1.Askquestionsandparticipate

2.Takenotesthatyoucanunderstand

3.Attendclass

4.Payattention(turnoffcellphone)

5.Comeprepared

6.Sitwhereyoucanseeandheartheinstructor

7.Tellinstructorifyouarehavingtroublewiththewayhe/sheisteaching

8.Gettoknowtheinstructor(gotoofficehours)

9.Readapplicabletextbeforeclasssoyouknowwhattoexpect

10. Eatwellandgetenoughsleep

BestResourcestoHelpYouSucceed

1.Instructor

2.Studypartnerforeachsubject(choosesuccessfulstudents)

3.Tutor

4.Library

5.StudentSuccessCenter

6.TeachingAssistants

7.StudyGroup

8.You–beproactive

9.Professionalsinthesubject

10. Selectinternetresources

CommonMistakesStudentsMake

1.Notattendingclass

2.Nottakingresponsibilityforthemselves

3.Procrastinating

4.Notaskingquestionswhensomethingisunclear

5.Notspendingenoughtimestudying(forevery1hrinclass,shouldstudy2-3hoursoutsideofclass)

6.Notgettinghelpsoonenough

7.Nottakingnotes

8.Notansweringquestionsfullyonhomeworkandtests

9.Notcompletingassignmentsandbeingup-to-dateonmaterial

10.Beingpassive

32-Day Commitment – 1 of 2

BecauseIknowthatthiscommitmentwillkeepmeoncoursetomygoals,Ipromisemyselfthateverydayforthenext32daysIwilltakethefollowing actionsandrecordeachday’ssuccess: Name Partner _Start/RestartDate

Actions / Day1 / Day2 / Day3 / Day4 / Day5 / Day6 / Day7 / Day8
1
2
3
4
5
SameActions / Day9 / Day10 / Day11 / Day12 / Day13 / Day14 / Day15 / Day16
1
2
3
4
5

32-DayCommitment–2of2

SameActions / Day17 / Day18 / Day19 / Day20 / Day21 / Day22 / Day23 / Day24
1
2
3
4
5
SameActions / Day25 / Day26 / Day27 / Day28 / Day29 / Day30 / Day31 / 32
1
2
3
4
5

Partner