Cultivating Growth Mindset Marsha Lovett Ph D 2

Cultivating Growth Mindset Marsha Lovett, Ph. D.

2 Learners Approach Upcoming Test Emily: slightly worried test right after playoffs essay tests a challenge sets a plan, starts early outline key ideas notes cause-effect stops to self-assess Monica: also anxious essay tests hard for me so study harder read/re-read text memorize vocabulary no explicit plan starts night before Discuss with a partner: What are key differences underlying Emily’s/Monica’s approach (Ertmer & Newby, 1996)

Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) Ambrose, et al. , (2010). How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching.

Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) Emily: test right after playoffs essay tests a challenge sets a plan, starts early outline key ideas notes cause-effect stops to self-assess Ambrose, et al. , (2010). How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching.

Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) Your Students: What do they do? Have they been taught these skills? Ambrose, et al. , (2010). How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching.

Students often don’t assess the task ü Half of the college students who were observed as they tackled a writing assignment, ignored the instructions and instead used a generic strategy (writing-as -knowledge-telling). (Carey and Flowers, 1989)

Self-assessing strengths is hard “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge. ” – Darwin (Kruger & Dunning, 1999)

Many students don’t plan or plan poorly ü Comparing less vs. less effective writers: Less effective writers plan less appropriately. ü Comparing novices and experts in physics: Novices take more time to solve problems, but they spend almost no time planning. Experts spend more time planning than novices do. (Carey et al. , 1989; Chi et al. , 1989

People have trouble monitoring and adjusting their approach ü Poor problem solvers continue to use a strategy even after it has failed ü People often continue to use a familiar strategy that works moderately well rather than switch to a new strategy that would work better (NRC, 2001; Fu & Gray, 2004)

Self-Regulated Learning Which component gives your students the most trouble? Can you think of an example? Ambrose, et al. , (2010). How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching.

Strategies Brainstorm What strategies can we use to help students: • Assess the task • Evaluate strengths/weaknesses • Plan • Monitor and adjust their approach (Would scaffolding or modeling help? )

Some possible strategies Planning • Have students implement a plan that you provide, and eventually allow them to make their own plan • Create an assignment that focuses on (ends on) planning Applying and Monitoring • Ask students to annotate their own work during the process • Have students self-evaluate using a designated rubric or checklist • Facilitate peer review sessions for students to evaluate and monitor each others’ work, using a rubric Reflecting and Adjusting • Provide activities for students to reflect on their performance • Present students with multiple approaches to a problem, and ask them to pursue the one that works best for them

(Self-)Testing Enhances Learning When students test themselves or “self-explain” when studying, they retain more and solve subsequent problems better. Students tend not to self-assess/test themselves Study Strategy Re-read notes or textbook Re-write notes Do practice problems Use flashcards (Karpicke, Butler, & Roediger 2009)

(Self-)Testing Enhances Learning When students test themselves or “self-explain” when studying, they retain more and solve subsequent problems better. Students tend not to self-assess/test themselves Study Strategy % rank #1 Re-read notes or textbook 55 Re-write notes 12 Do practice problems 12 Use flashcards 6 (Karpicke, Butler, & Roediger 2009)

Self-Regulated Learning Ambrose, et al. , (2010). How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching.

Beliefs about learning and intelligence Growth Mindset

Research on Changing Beliefs Students in an 8 -week workshop on learning received either 2 lessons on “brain as muscle” (experimental) or “memory strategies” (control) • Students’ beliefs assessed before & after • Teachers’ (blind) effort ratings collected • Students’ math grades collected (Blackwell et al, 2007)

Key Results Experimental group endorsed “incremental” beliefs more after intervention Experimental group showed more increases in effort, according to teacher ratings Experimental group showed upturn in their math grade trajectories (Blackwell et al, 2007)

Changing beliefs: Results (cont’d) (Blackwell et al, 2007)

More Research on Changing Beliefs Stanford University students recruited for pen pals program. Program promoted view of intelligence as either “malleable” or “fixed” Pen pals met three times to write letters Race (African American, White) used as a blocking variable (Aronson et al, 2002)

Key Results Short term effects on beliefs, as predicted Long term effects – end of school year: Belief changes maintained Enjoyment of academics* Spring quarter GPA higher for “malleable”, controlling for prior SAT *Condition differences larger for African American students

The Mentor’s Dilemma Cohen, Steele, & Ross (1999) Study participants: Black and white college students Task: write a letter of commendation for your most memorable and effective teacher, coach, or mentor – for potential publication in an educational journal. Experiment: Students randomly assigned to get feedback on the letter (in the form of detailed criticisms and suggestions for improvement) in one of three ways: Unbuffered, Positive Buffer, High Standard + Assurance Outcome measures: Students’ motivation to revise, etc. Cohen, G. L. , Steele, C. M. , & Ross, L. D. (1999). The mentor’s dilemma: Providing critical feedback across the racial divide. PSPB, 25(10), 1302 -1318.

Unbuffered Criticism: Your letter needs work in several areas… In addition to some routine editorial suggestions, most of my comments center on how you could make the description… As it stands, your letter is vague and rambling. . . Positive Buffer: Overall, nice job. Your enthusiasm for your teacher really shows through, and it’s clear that you must have valued her [him] a great deal. You have some interesting ideas in your letter and make some good points. In the pages that follow, I’ve provided some more specific feedback and suggested several areas that could be improved… High Standards + Assurance: It’s obvious to me that you’ve taken your task seriously and I’m going to do likewise by giving you some straight-forward, honest feedback. The letter itself is okay as far as it goes—you’ve followed the instructions, listed your teacher’s merits, given evidence in support of them, and importantly, produced an articulate letter. On the other hand, judged by a higher standard, the one that really counts – whether your letter will be publishable in our journal – I have serious reservations. The comments I provide [below] are quite critical but I hope helpful. Remember, I wouldn’t go to the trouble of giving you this feedback if I didn’t think, based on what I’ve read in your letter, that you are capable of meeting the higher standard I mentioned.

Results & Questions for Discussion Students’ Motivation to Revise Students’ Identification w/ Writing • What do these results say to you about the role and impact of different approaches to feedback? • How might you leverage these results in your teaching? • What more might you want to know about this

Changing Mindset Through Feedback What about positive feedback? Research suggests: To enhance motivation, give praise for effort and strategies, not for ability (Mueller & Dweck, 1998)

Changing beliefs: Summary By working to change students’ beliefs about learning, intelligence, and responses to challenge, we can see: Sustained changes in belief (for months) Increased motivation/effort More positive attitudes Improved performance (even after a delay)

Apply it to your own course… What is one new strategy you might you try? • Model/scaffold a specific SRL skill • Incorporate testing as a better way to study • Promote growth mindset with “high expectations + assurances” feedback

Conclusions Most students do not naturally engage metacognitive skills or self-directed learning strategies. As instructors, we can support students in developing these skills and making them habits of mind. Doing so can pay big dividends for students’ life-long learning.

One of the most common course components is also one of the biggest missed opportunities for Self-Regulated Learning

EXAMS Think about what students typically do when they receive back their graded exams Consider what you typically do when you return graded exams

Exam wrappers promote self-assessment An exam wrapper is a short, reflective exercise that students complete upon receiving back their graded exam. Goal: Encourage students to learn from the exam results rather than ignore them Lovett, M. C. (2013). Make Exams Worth More Than The Grade, in Using Reflection and Metacognition to Improve Student Learning. Stylus Publishing.

Exam Wrappers ask students to reflect 1. How did I prepare for the exam? 2. What errors did I make on the exam? 3. How should I study for the next exam?

Exam Wrappers 1. How did I prepare for the exam? Completed a variety of practice problems Prepared a study guide Crammed for the test the night before. Reviewed general concepts only

Exam Wrappers 2. What errors did I make on the exam? Careless mistake Mis-read the question Didn’t know how to start

Exam Wrappers 3. How should I study for the next exam? What behaviors or habits should I change or maintain? Student is writing a letter to his/her future self

Exam Wrapper Procedure 1. Distribute wrappers when graded exams are returned Students complete wrapper in class or as homework 2. Collect wrappers from students, so you can: • Spot check for patterns • Keep wrappers from getting lost 3. Return wrappers to students before next exam to review (and optionally discuss) • “How closely have you been following your designated study plan? ” • “Based on your responses, what must you still do to prepare for the upcoming exam? ”

Evaluating Exam Wrappers Subjects - Students in several introductory math and science courses at CMU Treatment – Exam wrappers were tailored for each course, but always included the three core components: • How did the student prepare for the exam? • What kinds of errors did the student make? • How should the student study for the next exam? Questionnaire – Students were given pre- and post-course questionnaire (5 -point scale) about their strategies for studying and (post-course only) asked about their experience. Lovett (2013)

Exam Wrapper Results Students self-identified multiple approaches for exam preparation.

Overall Impact of Intervention Did self-monitoring lead to change? Majority of students used new strategies

New Strategies Highlight Monitoring “I didn’t really know how well or not well I knew the material until I put myself to the test: really doing the problems on practice tests and resolving homework problems without looking at the answer. ” “I went over previous tests and practice exams. Completing the practice exams in college help[ed] me to gauge what I still needed to focus in on in my study. ”

New Strategies Address Overconfidence “There is a big difference between actually doing problems and trying to memorize a particular solution while looking at examples. I have to say my advice is: do a lot of practice problems. ” “I began solving problems much more often, going to extra help sessions and, while I was reading or listening to lecture, looking for what I'm supposed to be getting out of it… actively reading/listening, instead of just reading/listening. ”

Pre- and post-course questionnaire Change in rating for metacognitive strategies, as a function of exam wrapper “dose” Lovett, M. C. (2013). Make Exams Worth More Than The Grade, in Using Reflection and Metacognition to Improve Student Learning. Stylus Publishing.

Key takeaways • Instructors can learn a lot about student study habits and perceptions of the course from exam wrapper exercises • Exam wrappers lead students to self-identify new (better) strategies • Repeated exposure to exam wrappers has a positive impact on study strategy ratings and metacognitive behaviors

Final thoughts on Exam Wrappers Not just for exams! – Homework wrappers, lab wrappers, etc. For more examples and ideas, please visit: www. learningwrappers. org www. cmu. edu/teaching