Growth Mindset
When I learned about the growth mindset in the AdL program, I viewed it as a silver bullet or tool that could be the missing link in helping students close the achievement gap. Therefore, I fully adopted the concept as the bases of my idea of change in the classroom in the growth mindset proposal. I added growth mindset posters to my classroom to reflect my change in thinking to reflect the model for my students. This thought was mainly based on helping students identify their mindsets and, second, showing the student their potential by accessing their growth mindset. However, based on the some research, this plan would need to be revisited and changed not to be dependent on the growth mindset alone but modified to focus on a specific group of students or used at particular times of transition along with other tools to encourage growth and learning inside and outside of the classroom as some of the research showed in the (Sisk, 2018)
​
Other factors to consider in using the growth mindset are socio-economics, whether the student is academically behind or if the student is transitioning. My initial plan for my growth mindset called for a weekly warm-up where I would gradually share information on fixed vs. growth mindset. The weekly warm-up was a passive approach that focused on all students. Now, I plan to make it more targeted at growth-mindset activities focused on struggling students and students at the beginning of the school year as they transition grade levels. A straightforward way that the growth mindset can be modeled is by inserting the word "yet" in my feedback to students and giving personal examples of how I have used the power of "yet" to overcome unique challenges. By implementing the concept of "yet" into my feedforward feedback to the student, I will encourage the learning process and improvement through feedback and offering ways to improve, as shown in Austin's butterfly, where the student continued to improve on his drawing by having constructive and timely feedback on his picture. (Berger, 2016)
With all of the plans of revising and changing how I plan to use the growth mindset in my class, I also wonder how to reshape my student's focus from grades and prioritize the learning process. Changing the attention from grades is challenging since society and parents have trained students to care about their grades. Transcripts and report cards are not reflective of "grit." To shift some of the focus off grades and more on growth, on my campus, we have a monthly assembly to acknowledge students for leadership, citizenship, and growth. When we announce the students' names for growth, the teacher shares with the grade level where the student started and described the process they observed as the student progressed. Acknowledging the student's change goes a long way in creating a learning culture and not just celebrating having all "A's."
In education, it's easy to have the "shiny object syndrome." We constantly chase the next new idea, process, or product that will answer all our concerns. However, we can prevent the Growth-mindset from becoming the next fade or "shiny object" by changing our perfective as we view new ideas in education. There is no silver bullet to "fix" education but tools in a toolbox that can be one piece of the puzzle as we continue to grow as educators.
​
To reignite the learner's mindset, I will focus on Inquiry-based learning and using COVA in the classroom. By offering choice and authentic learning opportunities, learning can be reignited. (Harapnuik, 2021)
​
Berger, R. (2016, October 4). Austin's Butterfly: Models, Critique, and Descriptive Feedback. YouTube. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_6PskE3zfQ
​
Dweck, C. S. (2007). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House Publishing Group.
Fink, D. (2003). A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning. deefinkandassociate.
www.deefinkandassociates.com_GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf
​
Harapnuik, D. (2021, February 9). Learner's Mindset Explained. It's About Learning. Retrieved March 5, 2023, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=8705
Sisk, V. F., Burgoyne, A. P., Sun, J., Butler, J. L., & Macnamara, B. N. (2018). To what extent and under which circumstances are growth mind-sets important to academic achievement? Two meta-analyses. Psychological science, 29(4), 549-571.
​
​
In this course, I have learned to start with the learning, but using my learning philosophy as the bases of my thinking, I will use the Ubd model to focus on what my students should know, not just the assessment items or the activities. I plan to further shape my learning environment by creating an atmosphere that uses critical aspects of the growth mindset, praising the process, and offering feedforward feedback. Finally, by creating a voice and choice for my innovation plan, I will be able to develop a learning experience that will be memorable and impactful for years to come.
Learning can occur effortlessly in the classroom when we connect learning to a personal passion. In the video, Thomas discussed engaging the passion of the students. Unlocking passion in my students can be very challenging sometimes, depending on the subject of the course and the student's interests. For example, I currently teach U.S. history, which can sometimes take a lot of work to make relevant connections to teenagers. However, I have had the most success when I have given my students a choice in the subject and how they would like to present the issue.
​
With education not being my background, I found the exercise of reading various learning theories to be very beneficial. As I read about multiple ideas, I matched various activities or procedures. For many of the activities, it is easy to see how one could fall into more than one category of learning philosophy.
​
I needed to keep the end in mind in creating a significant learning environment. The primary thought for me was what I wanted the students to remember three years from now. Given that my innovation proposal involves Financial Literacy and e-portfolios, there is an excellent opportunity to make a meaningful, tangible impact on the students for years to come. Therefore, I want to integrate practical and sensible activities that give the students hands-on experience in everyday financial decisions. Along with the interactive activities will be implementing Fink's 7 Principles of Feedback (Fink, 2003). In this process, he advocates offering time for resubmission while giving constructive feedback for improvement, not just the positives and negatives.
​
Fink, D. (2003). A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning. deefinkandassociate. www.deefinkandassociates.com_GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf
​
In education, we talk about teaching with the end in mind; however, this is sometimes geared toward preparing the students for the exam. Typically I would create the exam and then prepare my pacing of instruction to ensure that I cover all of the items for a test. This model works very effectively in creating a system that allows that to teach all of the things that somebody will test. However, this model of design prepares the student for the exam. By using the 3-column or the UbD process, the teacher has to focus on the broader goals and outcomes of the course or lesson. By focusing on the results and what the student should know or be able to do at the end of the period, the focus now shifts from task to focus that is based on skills and knowledge that will be retained past the test. Therefore, both models allow the teacher to teach with the end in mind but a future that is not totally focused on multiple-choice questions.
​
If I had to choose between the two models, I would select the three-column model. This decision would be based on the easy use of the unit plan for my content. However, the 3-column model was very intuitive and straightforward in focusing on the learning that would take place during the course. Whereas the Ubd model was very in-depth, focusing on the standard and the essential questions. I found the goals in the 3-column model easier to use since it forced you to focus on the learning and not the activities.
​
​Wiggins, Grant, et al. Understanding by Design. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2005.
We can encourage our learners to develop a growth mindset by focusing on the process of learning and not just the letter grade. Just this afternoon, while helping my second grader review some assignments, we looked at a few assignments he could improve. I was very thankful for the teacher's feedback on several assignments. We focused on what could be improved and what he learned. He concluded he needed to slow down since he was making simple mistakes and felt excited to try again with his new knowledge. We, as teachers, can do the same in the classroom by offering constructive feedback and encouraging the learning process, not just the outcome. We can also promote the growth mindset by adding "yet" to our vocabulary. By adding the word yet, we create an expectation of learning and achievement not being fixed but changing based on our actions.