EVERY STUDENT EVERY DAY INCORPORATING GROWTH MINDSET IN

EVERY STUDENT, EVERY DAY! INCORPORATING GROWTH MINDSET IN EVERY CLASS ORIGINALLY PRESENTED BY BETH MCCALL, JAMI MCSWAIN, MATTHEW PUTMAN AND SHERRY SHERRILL (GASTON COLLEGE, SPARC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE, NOV. 1, 2019)

WHAT KEEPS ONE STUDENT TRYING WHILE ANOTHER GIVES UP? The answer depends in part on the student's MINDSET

MINDSET IS WHAT A STUDENT BELIEVES ABOUT HIS/HER INTELLIGENCE AND ABILITIES AND POSSIBILITY OF GROWING MORE SUCCESSFUL AS A STUDENT.

THIRTY YEARS OF RESEARCH BY STANFORD UNIVERSITY PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR CAROL DWECK AND HER COLLEAGUES HAS REVEALED SEVERAL TRUTHS ABOUT MINDSET EACH STUDENT EITHER HAS AFIXED MINDSET ABOUT LEARNING OR HAS A GROWTH MINDSET STUDENTS WITH A GROWTH MINDSET HAVE A MUCH GREATER LIKELIHOOD OF REACHING THEIR ACADEMIC POTENTIAL STUDENTS WITH A FIXED MINDSET EXPERIENCE MORE NEGATIVES THAN JUST LOWER GRADES A STUDENT MAY HAVE A GROWTH MINDSET IN MANY AREAS YET HAVE A FIXED MINDSET ABOUT A PARTICULAR SUBJECT

SO WHAT IS FIXED MINDSET ? A BELIEF THAT INTELLIGENCE AND TALENT ARE DETERMINED AT BIRTH AND BASED ON THE UNCHANGEABLE FACTOR OF GENETICS

FIXED MINDSET IN LOWER PERFORMING STUDENTS SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS • VERBAL CLUES BEHAVIORAL CLUES • I'M NO GOOD AT _____. NOT PREPARING ADEQUATELY • JEFF IS SO LUCKY HE GOT ANA. NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES • WHY SHOULD I KNOCK MYSELF OUT TRYING? NOT READING FEEDBACK

HUGELY IMPORTANT! NEITHER STUDENTS' IQS NOR GRADES INDICATE WHETHER THEY HAVE FIXED OR GROWTH MINDSET

STUDENTS ON BOTH ENDS OF THE ACADEMIC SPECTRUM AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN CAN BE LIMITED BY HAVING A FIXED MINDSET

FIXED MINDSET IN HIGHER PERFORMING STUDENTS SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS VERBAL CLUES I'M SATISFIED WITH MY GRADE THIS ASSIGNMENT IS STUPID MY TEACHER IS AN IDIOT BEHAVIORAL CLUES NOT ACCEPTING CHALLENGES PASSING ON THE BLAME WHEN PERFORMANCE LAGS

SOME DANGERS OF FIXED MINDSET STUDENTS FEEL DEFINED BY A FAILING OR LAGGING GRADE/PERFORMANCE THEY LACK COPING SKILLS ("CAROL DWECK REVISITS") THEY SUFFER FROM HIGHER RATES OF DEPRESSION (DWECK 38)

GOOD NEWS! STUDENTS CAN CHANGE THEIR MINDS(ETS)! NEITHER ACADEMICALLY GIFTED NOR STRUGGLING STUDENTS HAVE TO REMAIN IN A FIXED MINDSET.

MORE GOOD NEWS! AS THEIR TEACHERS, WE ARE THE ONES WHO GET TO MODEL AND TEACH GROWTH MINDSET TO OUR STUDENTS!

WHAT IS GROWTH MINDSET? “IN A GROWTH MINDSET, PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT � THEIR MOST BASIC ABILITIES CAN BE DEVELOPED THROUGH DEDICATION AND HARD WORK— BRAINS AND TALENT ARE JUST THE STARTING POINT” (“CAROL DWECK REVISITS”) � ANOTHER DEFINITION: READINESS TO GROW

KEYS TO DEVELOPING GROWTH MINDSET Productive Effort Outside resources New Strategies GROWTH

UNFORTUNATELY. . . SOME TEACHERS/INSTRUCTORS. . . ARE NOT AWARE OF THE TWO MINDSETS ARE NOT AWARE THAT MINDSETS CAN BE CHANGED ARE NOT AWARE THAT THEY HAVE A FIXED MINDSET ABOUT THEIR STUDENT(S)

AGREE OR DISAGREE? ? 1. YOUR INTELLIGENCE IS SOMETHING VERY BASIC ABOUT YOU THAT YOU CAN'T CHANGE VERY MUCH. 2. YOU CAN LEARN NEW THINGS, BUT YOU CAN'T REALLY CHANGE HOW INTELLIGENT YOU ARE. 3. NO MATTER HOW MUCH INTELLIGENCE YOU HAVE, YOU CAN ALWAYS CHANGE IT QUITE A BIT. 4. YOU CAN ALWAYS SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGE HOW INTELLIGENT YOU ARE. (DWECK 12)

IF WE ANSWERED YES TO 1 AND 2. . . � WE NEED TO ACCEPT THAT OVER THIRTY YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDIES PROVE PEOPLE’SINTELLIGENCE CAN GROW. � WE NEED TO ADJUST OUR BELIEFS/ATTITUDES AND BEGIN TO SHARE THE TRUTH WITH OUR STUDENTS. � THEY MAY HAVE TO WORK MORE EFFECTIVELY, TRY NEW STRATEGIES, AND ASK FOR HELP AS NEEDED, BUT THEY WILL EXPERIENCE GROWTH.

SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO BECOME MORE GROWTH MINDSET ORIENTED? WE CAN ADJUST OUT BODY LANGUAGE AND FACIAL EXPRESSIONS WE CAN CHANGE OUR VERBAL RESPONSES WE CAN INCLUDE GROWTH MINDSET ACTIVITIES IN OUR CURRICULA WE CAN HELP STUDENTS SEE THE CONNECTION WE CAN CELEBRATE THEIR STEPS TOWARD BECOMING MORE GROWTH MINDSET ORIENTED

ADJUSTING BODY LANGUAGE EYE CONTACT FACIAL EXPRESSION POSTURE MANY TIMES WE SIGNAL STUDENTS THAT THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OR EMBARRASSED BY A GRADE. THEY MAY INFER A FAILING GRADE MEANS THEY ARE FAILURES. WE MUST AVOID SENDING THIS MESSAGE!

CHANGING VERBAL RESPONSES “I KNOW YOU TRIED. ” “GREAT JOB! YOU’RE SO TALENTED! “MAYBE THIS JUST ISN’T YOUR STRENGTH. DON’T WORRY-YOU’RE GOOD “THAT DIDN’T WORK. LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW YOU APPROACHED THE ASSIGNMENT AND WHAT MIGHT WORK. GREAT“ JOB! WHAT’S ONE THING THAT COULD HAVE BEEN EVEN BETTER? I HAVE“HIGH STANDARDS. I’M HOLDING YOU TO THEM BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE CAN REACH THEM TOGETHER AT OTHER THINGS. “THIS IS HARD. DON’T FEEL BAD IF YOU THIS IS“ HARD. DON’T FEEL BAD IF YOU CAN’T DO ITYET. ” CAN’T DO IT. ( DUCKWORTH 182)

ACTIVITIES

INCLUDING GROWTH MINDSET ACTIVITIES � ASSIGN BRIEF READINGS ABOUT PEOPLE WITH GROWTH MINDSET QUALITIES. � ASSIGN READINGS THAT PROVE SCIENTIFICALLY THAT INTELLIGENCE CAN BE GROWN � ASSIGN WRITING THAT LETS STUDENTS COMMUNICATE WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED ABOUT MINDSET ( A LETTER TO FUTURE STUDENTS) ASSIGN A PROJECT IN WHICH STUDENTS RESEARCH GROWTH MINDSET WEEKLY VIDEO ASSIGNMENTS/FOLLOW-UP QUIZZES � MAY BE PAPER QUIZ � MAY BE BLACKBOARD QUIZ � MAY BE EDPUZZLE

HELPING STUDENTS MAKE THE CONNECTION � SO MANY OF THE LESSONS WE TEACH AND INSTRUCTIONS WE GIVE INCLUDE ONE OR MORE OFDWECK’S THREE KEYS TO GROWTH… � PRODUCTIVE EFFORT NEW STRATEGIES OUTSIDE RESOURCES VERBALLY REMIND THEM THAT, BY DOING THESE THINGS, THEY ARE CHOOSING TO HAVE A GROWTH MINDSET AND INCREASING THEIR LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS.

CELEBRATING STUDENTS' GROWTH AS YOU SEE STUDENTS BEGIN TO DEMONSTRATE GROWTH MINDSET, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED FIXED MINDSET, CALL THEIR ATTENTION TO IT. � EXAMPLE: I NOTICED HOW MUCH TIME YOU SPENT REVIEWING BEFORE THE UNIT ASSESSMENT. THAT HARD WORK PAID OFF! �

WORKS CITED 15 GROWTH MINDSET QUESTIONS TO ASK. ” UNDERSTOOD, PDF FILE. DWECK, CAROL. “CAROL DWECK REVISITS ‘GROWTH MINDSET’. ” EDUCATION WEEK, 22 SEPT. 2015, HTTPS: //WWW. EDWEEK. ORG/EW/ARTICLES/ 2015/09/23/CAROL-DWECK-REVISITS-THEGROWTH-MINDSET. HTML ---. MINDSET: THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY OF SUCCESS. BALLENTINE, 2016. DUCKWORTH, ANGELA. GRIT: THE POWER OF PASSION AND PERSEVERANCE, SCRIBNER, 2016. “GROWTH MINDSET. ” THE GLOSSARY OF EDUCATION REFORM. GREAT SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP, 29 AUG. 2013, HTTPS: //WWW. EDGLOSSARY. ORG/GROWTH- MINDSET/

EVERY STUDENT, EVERY DAY! IT REALLY IS POSSIBLE TO INCORPORATE GROWTH MINDSET IN EVERY CLASS!