Habits of Mind: Designing Courses for Student Success has just been published as part of the USU Empowering Teaching Excellence Open Access Book Series. Edited by CHaSS Associate Dean for Research Julia M. Gossard and Assistant Professor Chris Babits, with contributions from 32 dynamic and transformative educators, this collection highlights how USU instructors have embedded, developed, and transformed the Habits of Mind framework into their college courses and focused on student success.  

Two English faculty contributed to the anthology. Lecturer Cree Taylor offers “Improving the General Education Experience Through Equitable and Inclusive Pedagogical Practices.” As a teacher of English 1010 and 2010, Cree notes that these gateway courses are important because they are often students’ first interaction with college. Traditionally, these courses have served as gatekeepers of the university experience by funneling out marginalized students. She argues that to make these classroom spaces more inclusive, we need to participate in deep attending that centers student voices as we make practical pedagogical changes that can better support all students as they seek a university education. 

A second contributor, Professor Emeritus Joyce Kinkead, writes about the empirical research methods courses she taught in “I see research questions everywhere,” how using strategic metacognitive activities to supplement instruction provides laser-focus on students thinking about their thinking processes. As a participant in the NSF-funded UR-CURE project that spotlights course-based undergraduate research experiences, Joyce found that students make dramatic shifts in their understanding of quantitative and qualitative research processes appropriate to English majors. 

The volume is available publicly. Click here to access the e-book.