Book Circles - Fall 2024

The CTLT hosts book circles every academic quarter and during summers. They are open to all Cal Poly educators. Selected books draw from a broad array of thoughtful and inspiring educational literature. These are opportunities to enrich your knowledge about timely and significant topics related to higher education while engaging with colleagues from across campus. Participants receive a complimentary copy of the selected book with the expectation that they will engage in three or more discussion sessions. Themes for book circle selections include: Mindful Educators, Mastery Teaching, Inclusive Educators, Navigating Academia, Sustainability Educators, and Writing Educators. 

NOTE: Our cumulative Book Circles list of titles is available on the CTLT's Book Circle archival webpage.
 

Cultures of Growth: How The New Science of Mindset Can Transform Individuals, Teams, and Organizations

Mary Murphy, PhD

This brand-new book (published Spring 2024) offers a compelling conceptual and practical framework for improving the culture and functions of any grouping of people that strives to be a learning, growing organization. The ideas can apply widely in higher education: Classrooms, departments, colleges and even universities. Dr. Murphy shares findings from her research on growth mindsets in larger social groups as an extension of her mentor Carol Dweck's seminal work on growth mindset at individual levels. Dr. Murphy describes teams and organizations that reflect a "culture of growth" where everyone's potential to grow and to develop new skills is supported and recognized (i.e., growth mindset). This is in contrast with teams and organizations that reflect a fixed mindset "culture of genius." She tracks how these different cultures play out in organizational activities: collaborating, innovating, risk-taking and how they show up in resilience, integrity, as well as equity and inclusion. In this circle we will explore how establishing a culture of growth in classrooms can make them more inclusive and equitable and enhance the learning environment for all students.

A "Mindful Educators" selection
An "Inclusive Educators" selection

Dates: Thursdays, October 10, 17, 24, and 31

Time: 12:10-1 pm

Location: Onsite (Chase Hall 104) and online (zoom)

Facilitators: Patrick O'Sullivan, PhD, and Julie Bettergarcia, PhD

Register for Fall 2024 Book Circles

Teaching With AI: A Practical Guide To A New Era of Human Learning

Jose bowen, Phd, and C. Edward Watson, PhD

AI's capabilities and the debates over potential for good and ill continue to evolve. In the meantime, this resource provides educators a rich set of ideas, insights, and recommendations that can be helpful in the short term. While the tools change, evidence-based principles and methods of analysis can have lasting benefits. This brand new book (published in 2024) is helpful for better understanding the consequences of AI for others and ourselves, what it means for our role as educators, and the possibilities for its use and misuse by students. An initial grounding in AI can help us be informed and make more thoughtful decisions when faced with responding to the challenges and opportunities that it brings.


 

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A "Mastery Educators" selection

Dates: Tuesdays, October 8, 15, 22, and 29

Time: 12-1 pm

Location: Online; registrants will be given a Zoom link

Facilitator: Dr. Dianna Winslow

Register for Fall 2024 Book Circles