S. Keller:
As a result of this training, I am
>thinking…How I can “model” growth mindset when I am exploring new learning.
>planning…To make a conscious effort to embrace the growth
mindset when delivering praise.
Plan for next steps in building a
growth mindset class culture.
I am assigned Summer Bridges for the 2014
summer. I will be visiting classrooms and observing students as they interact
in math, reading, and science. I plan on delivering “praise” using the growth
mindset. Students are not required to attend this program; I hope to see the
use of praise in this manner will serve to motivate students to take the summer
opportunity to build skills and self-determination.
As a result of this training I am thinking that I need to educate my students on the ability of the brain to make new neural connections and to understand that their intelligence level is not static. I am also a bit concerned as to how to work around the major obstacle mentioned in the book: The speed in which things must be done. How do teachers deal with this? How do we accommodate the students who need more time when we are faced with constant testing and the ongoing push for pacing guidelines? In Chapter 2 the author decries the decision to keep Emma out of an advanced literature class but neglects to factor in the “time” aspects. Yes, all children can learn and expand their knowledge but not all at the same rate of speed. I believe Curriculum Compacting will benefit those who are ready to move ahead but I am not sure how an “Emma” could be accommodated in an advanced class under our present system. I believe that we should have a growth mind set in the classroom but I am not sure how to fully implement it without a district wide change in how we view learning, teaching, and evaluating students for learning.
ReplyDeleteI am planning to use the activities in this book to help me create lessons on the brain for my students. I am also planning to refer to this book on a regular basis to help me remember to praise my students for their efforts and not merely the end result of whatever they are working on. I learned that I need to “preview” the content before I give a preassessment test. I will review the MindUP resources and I will use games from Thinkfun in my classes. I will work on creating anchor activities for students in my classes. I will focus on developing students with empathy and a growth mindset – students who will internalize a sense of pride and accomplishment when they know they have expanded their mind.
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ReplyDeleteI plan to incorporate a number of the Brain/Mindset lessons from Chapter 8 into my "Back to School" activities. We've all done the "Getting to Know You BINGO" and "All About Me Summaries" as a way of initiating a welcoming classroom environment those first few weeks of school, but by incorporating brain activities like Figure 7 on page 100, it will help me learn more about my students as they learn more about the brain. In addition, making this brain/mindset language the initial "lesson" will help us cultivate a growth mindset culture right from the get go so we can build on it over time. I suspect it will be a struggle at first since by 7th grade a good majority of students have developed a fixed mindset, but encouraging the growth mindset from the beginning and revisiting it throughout the year will hopefully change that.
ReplyDeleteAs a result of this training, I think I need to incorporate a series of mini-lessons on the brain and growth mindset into my curriculum. Not a huge unit, but little bits and pieces throughout the year to keep this issue and attitude constantly in the forefront of my students’ minds. I am planning to take time to preview some of the electronic links and survey some of the short video clips to use in a few of these mini-lessons. There is a nice outline of a head in the book (page 100) that would make a great pre-assessment to a lesson on the brain, and it will be easy to get nice colored pictures of the brain and its various parts online as a follow-up. I can certainly teach what a growth mindset IS, and push students in that directions.
ReplyDeleteI need to remember to watch how I word my PRAISE, making sure to focus on the effort and not just the final product. I am guilty of saying things like “Nice job!” and failing to offer the follow-up “I can see how hard you worked on this; you really took a lot of time to get it right.” But hey – I have a growth mindset, and I know that with continued effort I can absolutely create a classroom where the overwhelming mindset is a Growth Mindset!
As a result of this training I have decided to send home I positive email daily. In addition, I have implanted in my average class that my expectation is that each one of them will take advance science next year. Also, I agree with Julia about praise to be more specific of the task.
ReplyDeleteI had the students write a letter to themselves at the beginning of the year to themselves about their goals they have set for themselves.
Since now I am required to give protests this will help me focus on what they need yo learn for mastery then teaching ALL the standards this will save more time in teaching beyond the standards.