I'm sure there are many of us out there who consistently receive the same reply [or some version of it] whenever we mention to a non-teacher [or even occasionally a fellow teacher] that we teach high school students..."how?", "why?", "I could never do that!", "you're brave!"...and sure, you know what? I must admit, sometimes I make those same statements to myself, questioning why I've chosen this as my career path. But more than anything, those questions and those frustrated feelings that we feel occasionally [sometimes daily...like myself throughout most of this week], are completely overruled by the passion and love that we have for this career.
If I'm completely honest [which I always am], teaching high school students is one of the most challenging, frustrating, exhausting, demanding and at times infuriating professions...however despite that, it is also THE MOST rewarding, exciting, fulfilling, dynamic and challenging [and yes I do realise I already mentioned the 'C' word] career in the universe [over exaggeration intended].
So what makes it so challenging you ask? Well, if you are a fellow teacher you would already know that the 'C' word takes many shapes and forms in many different classrooms and school settings. Regardless of whether you have been teaching for what seems like an eternity, or if you still consider yourself to be wearing your training wheels or diapers [like myself], we all face a multitude of challenges each and every day.
I recently read somewhere on the internet [probably Facebook] that teachers make more minute by minute decisions than brain surgeons! Seriously! Upon researching into this [being the nerd...*cough cough* I mean inquisitive person...that I am] I came across this image in an article on teachthought.com
No wonder we all face that 'C' word everyday!
Although, this gets me thinking [and I'm sure you're thinking already too] as to what challenges our students face each and every day and how we, as their teachers, mentors and above all else guiders through the universe, can encourage our students to see the 'C' words that they face [and there are many] as hurdles that they are able to confidently overcome, rather than obstacles that will forever hinder their paths both in learning and in life.
[drumroll please...] Introducing 'Growth Mindset'.
Some of you [I'm hoping not all of you] will be sitting there reading this blog post thinking "huh?!" and I'm imagining the dumbfounded/confused expression on your face right now as I type...so let me give you the low down [briefly I hope].
The terms 'Growth Mindset' and 'Fixed Mindset' were coined by an utterly brilliant woman [biased I know] named Dr Carol Dweck "to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence" you can read more about it here . So how does it apply to the 'C' word and what we, as teachers, face each and every day in our [high school] classrooms?
To put it simply, a student stuck in a 'Fixed Mindset' either believes that they are already experts at a particular subject or skill and therefore do not need to continue to challenge themselves in that area because they believe that they have already reached their full potential...OR...they believe that the inherent skills to complete a particular task or do well in a particular subject comes naturally, and therefore do not challenge themselves to learn how to become better at that skill or subject.
Learning, for some students can often be viewed as a difficult task or a task that requires too much effort and time. Taking risks in class and making mistakes are more often than not [unfortunately] viewed in such a negative light, that students become more and more unwilling to put themselves at the mercy of what some of my students consider to be the dreaded, eye-roll inducing 'C' word.
So...how do we encourage the opposite reaction [excitement, physically jumping up out of their seats or a round of applause for their fantastic encouraging teacher HA!] of 'Growth Mindset' in our classroom, particularly in a high school setting?
Firstly, explicitly teaching and reenforcing the practice of 'Growth Mindset' is a must. Consider spending a lesson [or more] on teaching the students about it and how it is possible to consciously retrain your thoughts. Consider having students themselves come up with phrases that are associated with 'Fixed Mindset' and with 'Growth Mindset', discuss the differences between them, the impact that it would have on the individual in ALL aspects of their life, and then display them in your classroom, like you can see displayed in mine below.
Secondly, ensure that the way in which you verbally and non-verbally communicate with your students via feedback or in general discussion is connected specifically to fostering their 'Growth Mindset'. In this afternoons faculty meeting we were provided with the tip of ensuring that you always praise the learning and not the learner. Therefore rather than stating "good effort Billy", comment "I really like how you used this particular language feature in your writing today". This allows the student to actually acknowledge what it is in particular that they are being praised for and what they have done well.
And thirdly [but obviously not finally], attempt to cultivate a classroom culture...or if you really want to step it up, a school culture...of 'Growth Mindset'. At the beginning of each school year I have each student in each of my classes answer the following few questions:
However, after today's faculty meeting discussion, writing this post, and a little more research [nerd alert] into 'Growth Mindset', having students identify learning and non-learning goals that they would like to reach and measuring those goals with them at various stages throughout the year should definitely help to encourage and foster a 'Growth Mindset' that they can hopefully apply to all aspects of their lives. Inevitably turning that dreaded eye-roll inducing 'C' word into a much more butterflies-are-fluttering-in-my-stomach inducing one [the good kind of butterflies of course].
If I'm completely honest [which I always am], teaching high school students is one of the most challenging, frustrating, exhausting, demanding and at times infuriating professions...however despite that, it is also THE MOST rewarding, exciting, fulfilling, dynamic and challenging [and yes I do realise I already mentioned the 'C' word] career in the universe [over exaggeration intended].
So what makes it so challenging you ask? Well, if you are a fellow teacher you would already know that the 'C' word takes many shapes and forms in many different classrooms and school settings. Regardless of whether you have been teaching for what seems like an eternity, or if you still consider yourself to be wearing your training wheels or diapers [like myself], we all face a multitude of challenges each and every day.
I recently read somewhere on the internet [probably Facebook] that teachers make more minute by minute decisions than brain surgeons! Seriously! Upon researching into this [being the nerd...*cough cough* I mean inquisitive person...that I am] I came across this image in an article on teachthought.com
No wonder we all face that 'C' word everyday!
Although, this gets me thinking [and I'm sure you're thinking already too] as to what challenges our students face each and every day and how we, as their teachers, mentors and above all else guiders through the universe, can encourage our students to see the 'C' words that they face [and there are many] as hurdles that they are able to confidently overcome, rather than obstacles that will forever hinder their paths both in learning and in life.
[drumroll please...] Introducing 'Growth Mindset'.
Some of you [I'm hoping not all of you] will be sitting there reading this blog post thinking "huh?!" and I'm imagining the dumbfounded/confused expression on your face right now as I type...so let me give you the low down [briefly I hope].
The terms 'Growth Mindset' and 'Fixed Mindset' were coined by an utterly brilliant woman [biased I know] named Dr Carol Dweck "to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence" you can read more about it here . So how does it apply to the 'C' word and what we, as teachers, face each and every day in our [high school] classrooms?
To put it simply, a student stuck in a 'Fixed Mindset' either believes that they are already experts at a particular subject or skill and therefore do not need to continue to challenge themselves in that area because they believe that they have already reached their full potential...OR...they believe that the inherent skills to complete a particular task or do well in a particular subject comes naturally, and therefore do not challenge themselves to learn how to become better at that skill or subject.
Learning, for some students can often be viewed as a difficult task or a task that requires too much effort and time. Taking risks in class and making mistakes are more often than not [unfortunately] viewed in such a negative light, that students become more and more unwilling to put themselves at the mercy of what some of my students consider to be the dreaded, eye-roll inducing 'C' word.
So...how do we encourage the opposite reaction [excitement, physically jumping up out of their seats or a round of applause for their fantastic encouraging teacher HA!] of 'Growth Mindset' in our classroom, particularly in a high school setting?
Firstly, explicitly teaching and reenforcing the practice of 'Growth Mindset' is a must. Consider spending a lesson [or more] on teaching the students about it and how it is possible to consciously retrain your thoughts. Consider having students themselves come up with phrases that are associated with 'Fixed Mindset' and with 'Growth Mindset', discuss the differences between them, the impact that it would have on the individual in ALL aspects of their life, and then display them in your classroom, like you can see displayed in mine below.
Secondly, ensure that the way in which you verbally and non-verbally communicate with your students via feedback or in general discussion is connected specifically to fostering their 'Growth Mindset'. In this afternoons faculty meeting we were provided with the tip of ensuring that you always praise the learning and not the learner. Therefore rather than stating "good effort Billy", comment "I really like how you used this particular language feature in your writing today". This allows the student to actually acknowledge what it is in particular that they are being praised for and what they have done well.
And thirdly [but obviously not finally], attempt to cultivate a classroom culture...or if you really want to step it up, a school culture...of 'Growth Mindset'. At the beginning of each school year I have each student in each of my classes answer the following few questions:
- What do you most enjoy about English/History? [and yes they have to actually answer this question even if their first instinct is the eye-roll]
- What are your strengths in English/History?
- How will you improve on these strengths this year?
- How can your teacher help you improve on these strengths?
- What are your weaknesses in English/History?
- How will you improve on these weaknesses this year?
- How can your teacher help you improve on these weaknesses?
However, after today's faculty meeting discussion, writing this post, and a little more research [nerd alert] into 'Growth Mindset', having students identify learning and non-learning goals that they would like to reach and measuring those goals with them at various stages throughout the year should definitely help to encourage and foster a 'Growth Mindset' that they can hopefully apply to all aspects of their lives. Inevitably turning that dreaded eye-roll inducing 'C' word into a much more butterflies-are-fluttering-in-my-stomach inducing one [the good kind of butterflies of course].
Our school has a great whole school growth mindset focus! I think it's a great way of thinking, and even though our kids are still warming to it, they're getting better at fostering it slowly! Also nice blog post, very informative :)
ReplyDeletePersonally, I've always tried to implement it in my classroom, and usually it is with much disdain from my students (this might be because I usually teach the lower end of the scaled classes...however that might just be completely irrelevant, as I have not been able to compare it to the top ended classes).
DeleteHowever, my school has just recently opened discussion to it and is beginning to initially encourage it through our PBL system, before hopefully it fizzles out into individual KLAs. Exciting times ahead!