Possibility Books
Possibility Books (also known in prior iterations as Visual Notebooks and ThinkBooks) are a series of brief, ten-minute daily prompts, which a class responds to through the process of individual mark making, allowing for nuanced embodied reflection. Possibility Books is a signature CC pedagogy that has been used in over 100 courses across disciplines. When Possibility Books are integrated into a course, the interactions foster a collaborative learning environment in which co-creation of knowledge can occur. Implementation of Possibility Books encourages students to establish more meaningful connections with the content, thereby enhancing their learning. Over 82% of students surveyed said that Possibility Books should be used in other courses.
Faculty curious about using the pedagogy in their courses can explore more detailed information and the Possibility Books DocuGuide. C&I hosts each semester in which participants acquire practical experience with the pedagogy and learn how to adapt it to meet their specific goals. The workshops are open to anyone teaching a course at CC. Faculty deciding to use Possibility Books will receive all materials needed from C&I and can meet one-on-one with C&I staff for support on adapting prompts to their courses. When they use Possibility Books in a course, and complete the post-course survey and focus group, faculty are also eligible to receive a stipend.
Outcomes
The Possibility Book pedagogy serves outcomes related to:
- Course content and learning: By providing consistent and structured opportunities to process ideas and reflect on questions, students become reflexive learners. Possibility Books allow students to iterate their understandings of course material by connecting the content to themselves, prior knowledge, and nuanced discernment of concepts (i.e.: for CC100 classes, PB supports thinking about the nature of academic disciplines and the liberal arts).
- Creativity: Possibility Books engage students in practicing creativity and foster creativity mindsets, including curiosity, openness, possibility thinking, unexpected connections, ability to embrace ambiguity, and willingness to risk failure.
- Institutional Antiracism Commitment: Possibility Books support CC's institutional antiracism commitment by introducing modes of learning that have been excluded from traditional, colonial-based academic inquiry, and providing space that centers various identity perspectives as assets.
Possibility Books have also been found to support student learning by increasing their:
- Engagement with course content.
- Sense of community with others in the class.
- Well-being, particularly higher level of focus and less anxiety.
- Creative thinking and problem-solving.
Student Experiences
"The possibility books supported my learning process by allowing me to center myself at the beginning of class. It was also very helpful for making unexpected connections with class content to things that I think about more, like things that I do a lot or see a lot of. It also made me feel comfortable in the class because we were all sharing our thoughts and notes/drawings with each other, so it lowered the competitive barrier that is often in these types of classes."
- Student in a 300 level Chemistry course
"Gave me the space to be myself and record how I think without fear of judgement, where I came up with some ideas that surprised me and my classmates! It was amazing!"
- Student in a 200 level General Studies course
Possibility Books in Use
