For further inquiry in this area please see the following links that were referred to me by Dr.
Wade Leuwerke, Ph.D., GEAR UP Iowa, Research and Training Director.
Carol Dweck’s Website:
Ted
Talk with Carol Dweck: http://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?language=en
Take the Mindset Quiz:
Neuroplasticity Video Clip:
I think a lot has to do with how we, as educators, think about what entails being "smart" - our students start believing that being smart MEANS making no mistakes, that you're supposed to get everything "right away"
ReplyDeleteThis summer, I went to classes that covered the growth mindset and it really made start to think about what messages I send my students this year.
To start the school year, mrs Moore and I were very intentional in telling our students that we expect them to make mistakes, we expect them to be confused... If they are not feeling that ... If everything is just coming too easy for them... Then we told them we are not doing our job. We want to challenge them and challenge should not be easy.
Also , we are adamant about using our cpm team roles . Too many times we have students in the class that need to be first to finish an assignment ( thinking that finishing the assignment first means they are the smartest ones) ... Our teams roles emphasize the No man left behind. Mrs Moore and I are looking for teams that work together abs help each other out. We will be disappointed if we have each student in a team at different parts of the assignment .. Because it doesn't show teamwork.
I'm looking forward to seeing how these messages play out thought the year in our classroom .
I really like that you expect students to make mistakes. I think setting that tone, letting them know that they must struggle, is key. We grow and learn from those mistakes/struggles. School should be challenging. As educators our job is to support students through the challenges, teach them to persevere, and model that behavior as well. I am so encouraged by the resilience our staff models on a regular basis.
DeleteWhat a targeted reply in regards to "thinking that finishing the assignment first means they are the smartest ones." What a misconception that is. Looking for the hook, or catch, or aberration is critical in reading comprehension. Great idea to address such a misconception head on.
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ReplyDeleteOoooooo. My husband and I are part of the crowd that think the Self-Esteem Movement is to blame for the current generation of entitled and lazy kids....... Pretty unpopular opinion I think (sorry). Resiliency is built through perseverance and enduring hardship. Dealing with things that might be unpleasant or make one uncomfortable and coming out on the other end still alive and still going. We shouldn't make things easy for kids, show them how to succeed but also let them fail. Coach them through whatever it is they're struggling with.
ReplyDeleteI think purposely teaching life skills is valuable. Teaching them how to ask for help. Sending them on little missions or expecting kids to complete a task before they themselves think they're ready. When my step-daughter was 6yrs. old, we were visiting friends (with cats) and my husband called her over, gave her the car keys and asked her to go down the stairs to the curb and bring back the Claritin he had left in the car. I was Shocked! What?! He shushed me and as soon as she walked out the door we rushed to the balcony and watched her exit the apartment complex, successfully complete her mission, and come back into the building. We ran back to the couch and sat down as she came back in through the door proudly holding out the allergy medicine and keys to her dad with a HUGE smile on her face. Today she is so self-reliant and independent we never worry about her getting lost or not being able to do something.
Well put!
DeleteDefinitely agree with you on the Self-Esteem movement being partially to blame for our lazy and apathetic generation!!!
DeleteI think that you are absolutely right about showing students to succeed and coaching them through struggles (not solving their problems but teaching them how to fish). I would say that is what the growth mindset is all about. So often our kids give up because they don't have tools or the mindset to persevere.
DeleteI can't wait for the Gear UP pd on 9/23 to revisit Growth Mindset. :)
*Promote positive social connections between staff and students, among students, and between schools and home.
ReplyDelete*Nurture positive qualities, such as empathy, optimism, or forgiveness, and give students a chance to use them.
*Notice and reinforce qualities that are key to resilience. Avoid focusing on failure or negative behaviors.
*Teach by example, which is an effective approach; train staff to develop the same qualities.
*Apply restorative justice techniques can help schools by giving students a structured opportunity to work difficulties out by encouraging reflection and empathy.
*Foster feelings of competence and self-efficacy.
*Set high expectations for students; teach them to set realistic, achievable goals, and also how to reach out for help when needed.
I routinely allow students to revise their writing after I return it to them. I tell them they can improve their score if they do a better job second time around. This week, I encountered students who took the initiative to ask if they could do this. I agree with Ms. Wester and her husband about things like the Self-Esteem Movement, Whole Language and trophies just for participation. Everyone needs to compete, really compete. We must remember to praise hard work, not innate intelligence, when it manifests itself.
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed Mr. Mitchell that you have students revisit there writing once, twice or more. Always seems to be better after rethinking or modifying an idea. What a great model and life lesson to demonstrate for them.
DeleteFrom the very beginning of the semester/school year I use sports/music "stars" and other famous people that have failed and succeeded. Many of the people we talk about they already know.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite example is a pitcher that gives up a home run, quarterback that throws a pick, a basketball player that misses a free-throw, or a soccer star that misses a goal. They all must shake it off and try again. They can't be entrapped in that moment of failure.
I also them that failure means they haven't found the right way to do something. To truly fail is to give up.
Last but not least, I always say a positive, sandwich by a negative/critique, followed by the reinforcement of the positive.
I agree with teaching and reteaching the fact that until you quit, you have not completely failed. Good point!
DeleteI don't know if I can compete with Ms. Vega's blog, but I do believe that with some students starting small, and building 'small' successes, can motivate those individuals that are accustom to "failing". They learn that making mistakes is ok, but how you bounce back is what matters.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
DeleteWell said. I am always impressed by those that bounce back. They are the ones that are truly BUILDING the habits of successful practices.
DeleteI think there is a fine line between teaching resilience and discouraging students, and that lesson is very dependent on the student and their specific needs. I think of the variety of learners that I have in a given SPED class and how I must approach each student. Some students benefit from tough love, while others require gentle encouragement and reinforcement.
ReplyDeleteResilience is a valuable life lesson, as it helps us navigate the challenges we face in life but our student are still at a tender age and developing these skills, therefore they must be considered as we attempt to toughen up our students.
High expectations for all students regardless of their cognitive skills will have students engaged during all academic lessons.
ReplyDeleteWe must to teach the students the definition of resilience. We also need to give examples and stories on being resilience.
ReplyDeleteResilience takes practice. It develops best in a safe learning classroom, where students can freely and safely ask all types of questions. Student's misconceptions are teachable moments when teachers respond to questions with questions. How might a teacher cultivate resilience ? What are the optimal conditions for resiliency? Ed Colacion
ReplyDeleteOne way we can build more resilience in our students is by using their strengths to help them overcome their struggles or needs as a launching point for activities and lessons. If a group of students in our advisory, for example, are struggling with constructing paragraphs, but perform very well with writing complete topic sentences, you may try and have them write topic sentences and in group or class-wide circles, help them construct the supporting topics and conclusion sentences that they struggle with to complete the construction of a paragraph. Using strengths may help engage the students as well as scaffold their needs. This, in practice, is resilience.
ReplyDeleteBy utilizing group structures in order to accomplish a common goal, I usually start the year off with very simple/basic group engineering activities that allow me to easily identify the individual roles that students excel at in a group setting (such as group leader, task master, recorder, creative input, etc). Based off these observations, I then reconfigure the groups so that the student groups will be homogeneous and individuals are able to contribute in a more meaningful, and less intimidating way.
ReplyDeleteStudents must learn that failure is part of the overall learning process. Failure isn't something we should feel ashamed about, or something we make fun of people over(even though our students love doing this). By failing at something, we gain a better understanding of it, and this will ultimately lead to more success in the future.
ReplyDeleteI try and make situations in the classroom less about the student, and more about the action, question, product, etc. So it's not praising or condemning the individual, and it's less likely to feel like a personal attack to them.
In my advisory class, we discuss personal goals and achievements in order to help students look back at how much they have already achieved in life and how many little victories they have already won. This normally boosts student morale and empower them to believe in themselves.
ReplyDeleteTo build residence in students, I expose them to different projects and opportunities to put themselves out there to try new things. Students are learning to build resilience through strategic interventions such as problem solving, goal setting, and service learning. I am hopeful that the outcomes will help students feel competent, belonged, useful, and potent.
ReplyDeleteI think it is really important to make sure that we normalize mistakes and that as teachers we always accept our mistakes and become vocal about them to our students. That way we humanize ourselves as teachers/adults who also make mistakes but work to improve them. Once we do this, students are more likely to be ok with being vocal about the mistakes they make in class and accept that they can correct them, and learn from it.
ReplyDeleteI also think is important to provide our students with reflection time at the end of class, after certain assignments, after quizzes/test, and at the end of a grading period. Doing this allows students to understand that they can pick themselves up and or become better.
I really like that you mention the importance of modeling the resiliency we hope to instill in our students. Yes, we all make mistakes and, as educators, showing how we respond or rebound from a mistake speaks volumes. I like that it also humanizes us. Reminds students that we are people, just as we have to sometimes remind ourselves that our students are people with a lot going on that we may not see in the block period they are with us.
DeleteI think reflection time is incredibly important and something we should more consistently engage in. It's invaluable for students.
Well said, Ms. Lugo
I come from a background where I feel like hard work is what matters. I have never been a person to easily give up and I hope that is what I am instilling to my students. I have many conversations about lifting our self-esteem and always trying our best.
ReplyDeleteIn class:
I emphasize the importance of showing work as a way for me to learn what type of learners they are, and the importance of making mistakes because it gives me an insight to what goes on inside their heads. I try to for them to not feel bad when they get an answer incorrect and during conversations I try to point out how incorrect thinking helps the formulation of specific correct statements in math.
I think our students need to be reminded that mistakes are okay. However, they have to learn from those mistakes and make changes. I noticed that middle school students constantly needs positive feedbacks as well as encouragements. The growth mindset quotes are really helpful for our students to think differently and to push themselves forward rather than giving up.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I am starting the year with Rules and Expectations, how the listening skills can affect their academic successes etc. I am starting this week by teaching students how their brain works, the mindset by Carol Dweck. I will show the difference between fixed and growth mindset and train students how they can change their mindset from fixed to growth. I have several video clips to go with that and students will also take a mindset survey from which I can see as well at the students where their minds are. The goal will be to change their mindsets to growth. I have a leadership group who are the leaders of the class. They are responsible for passing and collecting, breakfast, running errands etc. Each month I change seating charts so that all students will have a chance to become leaders. Each group are responsible for their team that every student in their group is on task. Students are on the job while they are in my classroom, and my expectations are that they remain professionals within the classroom. I also use incentive pads with stickers for applying their listening skills.
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ReplyDeleteOne of the things we can do is to put some importance on effort. Instead of only praising the correct answer, we can praise effort. Just because a student may get a correct answer does that not mean they tried. When that student gets something incorrect, they might easily get discouraged.
ReplyDeleteFrom a science and engineering standpoint, I emphasize that these fields are iterative. Science and engineering are not books of facts and information, but rather they are processes that answer questions and solve problems. As a result, during labs, you don't have wrong answers, but rather every result is something you can learn from. In engineering problems, there is never a failed solution, but rather something you can improve upon. I see 'failures' in my life as learning experiences as opposed to an indictment on my ability. I try to pass that on to my students.
Ferrel
I believe that one critical way that we build resilience is by acknowledging our weaknesses and defeats, and being able to learn from them. This can be a difficult thing to do, but it can be incredible learning experience and allows us t build resilience. As educators and mentors of our students it is important that we model our own resilience and share with them how we learned from our mistakes. This will help students identify how to build resilience and begin to identify their own weaknesses that they can begin improving upon.
ReplyDeleteI think resilience builds by maintaining a 'keep moving forward" and a "where do we go from here" attitude whenever an obstacle stands in our way. Moreover, since students learn so much from watching teachers' behaviors and responses, it is great modeling when teachers openly confront and overcome obstacles within the classroom environment.
ReplyDeleteI think emphasizing Carol Dweck's growth mindset could do wonders regarding a student's ability to bounce back from failures. Being resilient and tenacious have always characterized my academic pursuits because I was always convinced by my parents that anything worth having was going to take effort and the struggle to achieve it. I think instinctively I viewed the pathway to accomplishment as a willingness to work hard. If students believe they can succeed if they only work hard enough, I think that would encourage them to become more resilient when it comes to failures.
ReplyDeleteI use specific exercises from a book about Resilience I have from my teaching credential as well as a from a self-help book named Bounce Back. I also aim to expose them to stories about others that they can relate to and gain inspiration from to become more resilient themselves.
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