Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 1

Scholars 2014 Fall Orientation PresentationWednesday, August 13, 2014, 12:00-1:30 PM, SC 212Scholars CabinetPresident: Agnessa KasumyanVice President: Anush KadoyanSecretary: Ani Hakobyan Treasurer: Dikran Matevosyan Campus Relations Director: Sophie Mirzaian Ambassador: Svetlana Davtyan Marketing: Reef Oldberg, Mohamed El-Farra, Renita Moradian Fundraising: Patrick Novshadian, Karin Saran, Nineli MirabianCommunity Service: Mineli Tarverdian, Misak Khachatryan, Kristie Nassar, Erica StepanianEvents: Emile Giragosian, Andrew Ovakimyan, Lilia Iskandaryan Journal: Pauline Pechakjian, Naris Barseghian, Ani Mosinyan IOC Representatives: Melvin Dilanchian and Martin Zakarian 

Michael C. Harnett [hár–net], Ph. D.Professor of English and HumanitiesScholars Program DirectorMain Email: mharnett@glendale.eduAlternate Email: mharnettgcc@gmail.comOffice: LB 211. I will be moving into LB 216.

A.B., English (Honors), USCM.A., English, The Claremont Graduate UniversityPh. D., Educational Psychology, UCSB. Specialization: Motivation.I also attended The University of Texas at Austin for graduate coursework in Linguistics, English, and English Education. I won a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to study Romanticism and William Blake at UC Berkeley as well.

I have been teaching since 1986, since 1997 at GCC. I was Interim Director last year, and this is my first year of a 3-year appointment as Scholars Director.

Welcome to Scholars! In my job description as Scholars Director, you are described as “motivated and academically advanced students” showing “the potential for success” and who are about to embark on “a rigorous curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking, in-depth analysis of issues, research experience, and evaluation of problems across a variety of disciplines.” We “prepare [you] for transfer to the four-year institution through mentorship opportunities, activities, and research…” We seek “to create a social environment that will develop the students’ sense of altruism and social conscience.” We also aim “to help foster an academic and social environment that will provide [you] with leadership training, opportunities for tutoring, and

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 2

engagement with the campus and larger community.” So Scholars is all about supporting you. It is my great pleasure and honor to do so.

Job Description/Responsibilities: Meet weekly with Cabinet, which we began doing already this

summer. Work with Ms. Roxanne Dominguez, Scholars Counselor, on

admissions and ensure that all Scholars remain in good standing in the program.

Participate in General Assembly and other Scholars meetings. Participate in and oversee committee meetings and functions. Participate in TAP (Transfer Alliance Program at UCLA) and the

Honors Transfer Council of California, and work with other Honors Program directors in the Western Region.

Chair the faculty and administrator Scholars Advisory Committee.

Administer funds allocated to Scholars and raised during the year.

Recruit new Scholars through high-school visits, Club Rush, college fairs, and other projects and events.

Help coordinate and participate in Scholars events and those in affiliation with other groups at GCC and in the community.

Oversee and maintain the Scholars website. Counsel students on probationary status and mediate conflicts. Be available to answer questions, listen to concerns, discuss

options, and otherwise be of help in office hours. Help students prepare for transfer, including writing letters of

recommendation, assist students with application essays, discuss options, and other assistance.

Mentor students for honors research conferences, including helping them with applications (see below).

Participate in the scholarship selection process.

Teaching: This semester, I am teaching 2 classes of English 101H (Honors Freshman Composition), which pushes you into new levels of thinking, organization, depth of development, and precision of expression. Readings address topics such as Nature and Optimal Experience, looking for deep levels of understanding. Writings stretch and develop your research-writing abilities.

Please note that there will be a short reading and writing assignment that will be completed on the first day; I will post the readings on my website (see below) so that you can prepare beforehand.

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 3

I am also team-teaching Humanities 120 (Literature and the Cultural Arts) with Professor Emeritus Leonard DeGrassi.

Research: My own research interests include primarily Motivation to Learn (especially writing motivation), particularly Humor and Motivation. My dissertation, a book-length study of motivation in English 101 classes, showed that humor in prewriting exercises enhances motivation to write academic essays. I have interest as well in several literary areas and authors, including Medieval Literature, California Literature, Victorian Literature, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, William Blake, and poetry and poets, such as Amy Clampitt.

Honors Research Conferences Honors Transfer Council of California (HTCC) Research

Conference at UC Irvine in Spring, 2015: Proposals (250-word description of what you plan to do) plus a 25-word summary for the conference program are due in November-December. Projects can be oral presentations, as individuals or in groups, or poster presentations. Prizes in the form of checks and scholarships are awarded for the best revised abstracts describing your project that you will do before the conference if you are accepted. Website: http://htcca.org/conference/

Bay Honors Consortium Honors Research Symposium, held in Northern California (alternating between UC Berkeley and Stanford in recent years, at Stanford in 2015). Proposals due in February, conference in late April or early May. Website: http://www.losmedanos.edu/honors/research/info.asp [note: 2015 conference information is not available yet.]

Some of my former students’ experiences with honors research conferences:

Benefits of Doing a Research Conference1. Gives the opportunity for the student to stretch his/her mind;

 2. push themselves to their limit because knowing your academic/mental/presentation limit allows you to realize your weaknesses and improve on them3. Great practice conducting research!!(not easy at all!!!)a. Primary/secondary sources (interviews, books, academic journals)   b. Reading/analyzing all the info you take in   c. Time management 4. Great practice on finding out specific subjects that you really enjoy and have a passion for.....will help you decide and be more confident on the major you chose... also possibly a path you can take in graduate  school 5.  Opens the door  to  the world  of  research  on  a very BASIC  level....students that are at a community college do not usually have it.

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 4

6. Four year  institutions offer their students multiple  pathways into research at  a CC you don’t have that path way except through  HTCC  and BHRS...SO TAKEIT!!!!!!. 7. looks good on resume/transcripts 8. opens your eyes to what other students at your level (meaning  CC) are doing and  accomplishing... 9. Will definitely  help out in courses10. Practice on presenting your research 11. Great experience  with advisors and mentors 12. Might have  the possibility  to publish your research!!!!  (WHICH  IS RIDICULOUSLY  AMAZING especially from a CC)   13. Also  at the end  of the day if  students are  serious  about  transferring  and completing an undergraduate degree  at a four year institution  then for  their senior project in any major they have to conduct research/process/write   up/present/defend their project....this is a great way to practice and prepare for that....14. also THERE IS NO REASON WHY STUDENTS SHOULD NOT  TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY....its one of the  best  choices I made at  Glendale Community  college and it  helped me transfer and  most  importantly  made  life  long relationships in the process. (DB)  

The HTCC Research Conference was an important experience in my educational career. It not only allowed me the opportunity to create, present, and publish my very own study, but it also helped me realize that I want to become a researcher. This experience prepared me for the type of research I am currently a part of at UCLA. As I apply to graduate schools this fall, having a presentation and publication on my resume/CV makes me stand out from other applicants. It is rare and impressive for undergraduates to have this type of research experience, making my application that much stronger. (LM)

"The HTCC Research Conference was a very rewarding experience and really useful to participate in prior to transferring, because it prepares you for the big research assignments that are typically assigned in almost all Upper Division courses. Besides that, it is a great way to learn something new and interesting, create your own original ideas, and maybe even collaborate with a friend. Getting published early like this also has the benefit of showing prior experience if you ever want to get involved in any undergraduate research program. Overall, I think

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 5

it is a great way to help ease the transfer process and contribute to your success as a transfer student!" (SJA)

Motivation and/or Approaches to Optimal Experiences in College. The idea of controlling how a person feels at any time, and its effects on attitudes, etc.: Situational Motivation.How Your Motivation is ImportantQuestion: Can you stand on your head? Contrast a room of 5-year-olds with a room of college students: Who is more likely to try? Why?

1. All humans have an instinctive motivation to learn that is self-rewarding and enjoyable. Learning includes every fact, method, or other form of knowledge, not just school learning. Education can be formal, like in school or college, or informal, through experiences, advice from other people, or other ways of gaining knowledge.

2. Education in the formal sense is simply a structured way to allow people, especially the new generation, to learn what society considers important. Often, but certainly not always, school can take away from the instinctive enjoyment of learning by over-relying on inflexible structure, rules, lack of variety, and other factors that make learning seem more like work and leaving students feeling bored or anxious. Bored, anxious, and otherwise unmotivated students tend not to learn or acquire skills efficiently, causing the often-criticized lack of preparation for college or career that many suffer.

3. Question: Who holds the key to motivation and success in college?Answer: You. It’s all on you.

4. The key to success in learning of any kind is optimal intrinsic motivation. When people really want to do something, they tend to do their best. If you can find ways to pursue learning, complete tasks, and achieve to your highest potential (which you may assume is massive), then high grades, transferring to a university, and a brilliant career in your chosen field will follow naturally.

5. Stress is frequently and pervasively a part of the work of dedicated people. The stress can seem overwhelming at times. How can you deal with it? Recent Research indicates that when people focus on and develop a strong sense of purpose in their work, the negative effects of stress are alleviated. So this finding suggests that if you dedicate yourself to your roles, in Scholars as well as all of the contexts and organizations in which you participate, you will be better off than if you focus solely on “getting done” and other outcomes. In fact, focus on processes and you will do well.

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 6

6. Other research also shows that although people seek contentment or happiness in some form or another, that happiness remains elusive to many. One research finding indicates that morality shapes such happiness, that if a person is doing what he or she knows is the right thing, that person is more likely to be happy. So do the right things as a student and a member of organizations, including Scholars. You, and the organization as a whole, will thrive as a result.

7. Elements of intrinsic motivation:a. Challenge: includes goals and effortb. Curiosity: the most fundamental kind of motivation

Note that curiosity is all about dealing with incongruities—things that are outside of norms and/or are not expected. This includes new learning. When a person is presented with a highly enjoyable incongruity, learning is fun! In fact, “enjoyable incongruity” describes the phenomenon of humor, a useful motivator to say the least! If a job to do is approached with humor, or in another enjoyable, self-motivated way, then it will tend to be a success.

c. Control: note that when you choose how to feel, when to exert effort, etc., you feel in command and happier than when others tell you—and you tend to succeed. Control is about mastery.

d. Fantasy: imagination, including seeing yourself in new and greater perspectives

A Little Exercise: Look at these photos and tell me your responses, initially and then upon further examination. For each photo, we might consider one or more of the elements of intrinsic motivation:

Challenge: List the elements of the photo and describe the scene that it shows. Interpret aspects of the photo that may be ambiguous.

Curiosity: What questions do you have about this photo and the scene shown?

Fantasy: Describe what you imagine that the photo inspires—a scenario, for instance, that people or animals shown might be doing or could carry out.

Control: Note that as you identify aspects of the photo, and describe them, you gain an understanding of the subject matter, the technique of taking the picture, your skills of observation and deduction, and other factors.

Photos:

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 7

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 8

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 9

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 10

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 11

8. Summary: If you can maximize your involvement and motivation to learn, along with your independent efforts and persistence, you will succeed. Rely on your own abilities; seek to expand them; and shape your own feelings, effort, and powerful motivations to learn.

Questions?

Website for my Classes: ENGL 101H, 9:10 MW & TuTh, also HUMAN 120, 10:45-12:10 TuTh: http://mharnett.weebly.com/ Website for Scholars: http://gccscholars.weebly.com/ (under construction)

Readings for ENGL 101H to complete prior to the first day of class—posted on the website ASAP. Also emailed by request; just contact me.

“My Name”“The Ultimate College Application Essay”“Frida Kahlo in Gringolandia” article

Activities with Scholars

Scholars Fall Orientation Presentationpage 12

Hikes—starting this week? I will post an announcement on the Scholars Facebook page.

Basketball—starting in September, most likely on Fridays at 7:30-9:10 AM.

Running?Museum Visits?College visits? (aside from UCLA and USC, how about The

Claremont Colleges, Cal Poly Pomona, LMU, Occidental, Whittier College, others in the area? You might find one that suits you ideally!)

Other?Please feel free to contact me or come by my office. I am happy to meet you and am dedicated to your success.

We are looking forward to a great year in Scholars!