I think I can, I think I can, I think I can: Adopting a Growth Mindset as a Student and Future Teacher

When I first learned that we were going to write blogs for "EDUC 4P17 -Integrating Curriculum and Assessment" I was very overwhelmed. Being an individual who is not very tech-savvy I didn’t know if I would be able to meet this challenge. However this is my third blog and I feel a lot better about writing blogs and have overcome this feeling of doubt. For my final blog I decided to celebrate this journey and write about a growth mindset because this course has made me rethink how I learn and how I approach challenges. A person with a growth mindset adapts the approach that their abilities can improve with effort (Drake, Red, & Kolohon, 2014). On the other hand, a fixed mindset refers to a mindset where students feel that their accomplishments are from innate abilities that are genetic and cannot change (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). This course has been very beneficial to me and it has served to encourage me to adapt strategies of a growth mindset as a student and one day as a teacher.

Image  retrieved from  http://www.coetail.com/wayfaringpath/2014/12/02/growth-vs-fixed-mindset-for-elementary-students/

In investigating this topic further I found that adults can influence the type of mindset children adopt (Aditomo, 2015). It is important as teachers that we are careful in our interactions with our students so that we do not promote a fixed mindset. Aditomo (2015) suggests that it is important adults do not attribute success to a child’s intelligence. Instead the emphasis should be put on the amount of effort a child exhibited. This is because intelligence can be seen as a fixed variable, yet a student can control how much effort they put foreword. Therefore as a teacher I will like to celebrate students’ effort toward accomplishments, not intelligence in order to promote a growth mindset.

Image retrieved from:   https://goo.gl/10nHZG

Another way I wish to promote a growth mindset is to help my students to realize that they can overcome challenges. I foundA video regarding a growth mindset that features students and teachers from Vale of Leven Academy in Scotland (Winning Scotland Foundation, 2015). One teacher shared that she promotes a growth mindset by discussing personal examples. She tells the students personal stories about how she overcame a challenge and asks them to do the same. She wants students to think about something they are good at now that they struggled with in the past. This positive outlook will teach students they too can overcome challenges. We need to find ways to teach our students that they are capable of more than they think. Check out the video below for some inspiration!

Video retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hGhYSNLlY8

            Another way to foster a growth mindset is to change the way we assess our students. A blog by Katie Finley (2014) outlines some specific strategies for promoting a growth mindset through celebrating the learning process, not a final grade. Jeff waller's blog (2015) emphasizes that growth mindset involves celebrating mistakes. To promote these ideas in my classroom I would like to use assessment for learning. Assessment for learning can be described as assessment that occurs throughout a term with descriptive feedback (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014). Assessment for learning over time facilitates a growth perspective because it allows students to learn what areas they need to improve and encourages them to strive to continually to grow throughout a unit. Assessing students only at the end of unit does not allow students time to improve, it does not allow room for growth. Assessment for learning gives students the tools needed to strive for higher learning goals.

Image retrieved from:  http://thiscrazylifeofmine.com/category/choices/    

Masters (2014) also suggests that to facilitate a growth perspective students need to be assessed based on standards that suit each individual student, not grade standards. Being marked to grade standards can be debilitating for some students and individualized assessment can help students who are behind. Students enter each school year at different academic levels and what may be a substantial growth for some may have been simple for others. Academic assessments should celebrate growth, not intelligence or one standard goal.

Throughout EDUC 4P17 I have learned to appreciate the process of learning and not to focus on a final grade. I have learned to celebrate mistakes as opportunities to learn from. Albert Einstein said that, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s because I stay with problems longer.” I hope to carry this lesson with me and foster a growth perspective in my classroom so that my students will exhibit a growth mindset throughout their life and always believe in themselves. 

References

Aditomo, A. (2015). Students’ response to academic setback: “Growth mindset” as a buffer against demotivation. International Journal of Educational Psychology, (4)2, 198–222.

Drake, S.M., Reid, J.L. & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21st century learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press. 

K. Finley (2014, Oct 24). 4 ways to encourage a growth mindset in the classroom. Retrieved from 

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2014-10-24-4-ways-to-encourage-a-growth-mindset-in-the-classroom

Masters, G. N. (2014). Towards a growth mindset in assessment. Practically Primary, 14(2), 4–8.

J. Waller (2015, April 3) 6 strategies for teaching the growth mindset. Retrieved from http://7mindsets.com/growth-mindset/

Video:

Winning Scotland Foundation  (Producer), (2015, Mar 24).  How has growth mindset been used in the classroom? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hGhYSNLlY8

Images:

What Kind of Mindset do you have? (Photo) (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.coetail.com/wayfaringpath/2014/12/02/growth-vs-fixed-mindset-for-elementary-students/

Mistakes are proof hat you are trying. (Photo) (n.d.) Retrieved from http://thiscrazylifeofmine.com/category/choices/

Quotation about how 'smart' and 'dumb' are irrelevant to success (Photo) (n.d.) Retrived from https://goo.gl/10nHZG

Cooperative Learning

Image retrieved from
http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2010/11/19/cooperative-learning-effective-team-work-15-resources/

            Something of particular interest for me is cooperative learning. Slavin (2015) defines cooperative learning as a teaching method where children work together in small groups to help each other learn. This can be an effective teaching technique. The cooperative learning teaching strategy differs from traditional approaches. For example, cooperative learning classrooms seat children in a different manner.  In a traditional classroom approach students would be seated in rows facing the teacher. In a cooperative learning classroom students would sit in small groups together(Sharan, 2014). This seating arrangement supports collaborative learning because it can facilitate discussion in the classroom. As well, it changes the power dynamics of the classroom. It is no longer a teacher lecturing at the front of the classroom, but instead encourages group effort to learn collaboratively. Sharan also elaborates that it is important that students feel comfortable to ask questions of one another and the teacher in a non-judgmental way (2014). Sharan (2014) also suggests that teachers would be impressed with the ideas their students come up with. A personal goal of mine is to establish a positive classroom learning environment where children feel they can speak freely without worrying about being judged. Cooperative learning may play an important role in helping me to achieve this. Here are some examples of cooperative learning activities!

            Slavin (2015) describes that the children in cooperative learning classrooms want to learn and help one another and want to see each other succeed. This is an excellent goal for any classroom because it discourages children from competing with one another. It encourages working together and reinforces that everyone can be successful. Slavin (2015) also describes a Jigsaw puzzle method, which is a type of cooperative learning strategy.  In the Jigsaw method students work in groups of four or five and each person focuses on a particular topic. Then the students will get together with an “expert group” which will consist of students that were all given the same topic. The expert groups will discuss their topic, and then everyone will return to their original groups. Within the student’s original groups they will then discuss each member’s expert topic. This is something that one of my elementary school teachers would use to teach history. We would each get a topic to discuss and she would give us a short reading in our expert group to read and discuss. Then we would return to our original group to teach each other what we had learned in our expert groups. When reflecting back on my elementary school experiences the lessons that stick out in my mind are ones that incorporated cooperative learning methods. These lessons gave us a sense of agency because it was our responsibility to learn and to make sure that our peers learned as well. This sense of responsibility is empowering for students and can make students genuinely care about their learning. Here is more information on the Jigsaw method! 

The diagram below helps explain the Jigsaw method!

Image Retrieved from
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign/tutorial/jigsaw.html

I think that cooperative learning is a key classroom teaching method. Our blogs are a form of cooperative learning because we each take on a topic, learn more in-depth and then share with one other. I wish more of our classes provided the opportunity to investigate a topic on our own and then share with our peers. In investigating cooperative learning for this blog assignment I have come to realize that cooperative learning is an excellent teaching method. I feel this because cooperative learning has the potential to develop a positive atmosphere in the classroom, foster collaborative skills, and  create a sense of agency for the students. I would like to end with a quote from Benjamin Franklin, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn”. Therefore, in order to make learning more meaningful lessons for our students we should consider adopting a cooperative learning approach.

References

Sharan, Y. (2015). Meaningful learning in the cooperative classroom. Education, 43(1), 83-94. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2015.961723

Slavin, R. E. (2015). Cooperative learning in elementary schools. Education, 43(1), 5-14. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2015.963370

Additional websites:

Tewksbury, B. (2009, Feb 6). The Jigsaw Technique. Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign/tutorial/jigsaw.html

Insitute for Character Education. (2005). Cooperative learning or positive interdependence. Retrieved from http://charactered.ocde.us/ICE/lessons_html/cooperative.html

Photos

Cooperative Learning: Effective team work! (Photo)  (n.d.) Retrieved from http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2010/11/19/cooperative-learning-effective-team-work-15-resources/

 Jigsaw Technique (Photo) (n.d.) Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign/tutorial/jigsaw.html