Lesson 3.2 Growing Your Mindset

Lesson 3.2 Growing Your Mindset TO THE TEACHER Enduring Understandings Essential Questions Objectives Key Terms Lesson Synopsis Background Information Our beliefs or mindsets about intelligence and other abilities affect our motivation and behavior. A growth mindset leads us to engage in learning, enjoy challenges, overcome obstacles, and seek situations in which we can develop ourselves. What are underlying beliefs? What are the two types of mindsets and how do they differ? Which mindset is more likely to motivate us to learn and achieve? Students will be able to Contrast and compare the underlying beliefs that create a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. Recognize the mindset that they currently hold. Describe how each mindset affects motivation, behavior, and achievement. Motivation, underlying beliefs, fixed mindset, growth mindset, nature vs. nurture, performance goals, mastery goals This lesson explores our underlying beliefs regarding intelligence and other abilities. After taking a brief survey that assesses their underlying beliefs about intelligence, students compare the effects of a growth mindset and a fixed mindset on motivation to learn and ability to deal with challenges and setbacks. They then decode social messages that may have influenced their mindset, discuss role models with growth mindsets, and learn how they can change or grow their mindset if they choose. The ideal student loves learning, seeks challenges, values effort, and, when faced with obstacles or setbacks, persists and delights in conquering them. Students who excel and/or exceed others expectations of them possess another defining characteristic that accounts for all others a belief that intelligence is malleable, that with effort and guidance a person can, in effect, grow smarter and develop new abilities. Psychologist Carol Dweck uses the term self-theories for our underlying beliefs about intelligence and other abilities. Self-theories are a form of learned automatic thought, operating below the surface but having a profound impact on our behavior. There are two overarching classes of self-theories: entity theory (represented by a fixed mindset ) Copyright 2009 School-Connect Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Module 3 Page 11

LESSON 3.2 Growing Your Mindset and incremental theory (represented by a growth mindset ). Entity (fixed mindset) theory holds that we are born with a fixed amount of intelligence and ability. Incremental (growth mindset) theory holds that, like the description of the ideal student given above, effort and perseverance pay off. Roughly half the people in the United States have a fixed mindset, and half have a growth mindset. Which mindset we possess can have a direct impact on our motivation to learn, our response to new experiences, and our success in school and in life. Through self-awareness and exposure to alternative modes of thinking, those with fixed mindsets can question the usefulness of their beliefs and expand their horizons, and those with growth mindsets can gain a better understanding and appreciation of what has helped them to develop and succeed. Should we choose, we can change or grow our mindset. Teaching Tips Preparation Recommended Resource Strive to see students as full of potential. Emphasize that, through effort, all students can learn and achieve. Model thinking out loud to guide thought processes and foster curiosity and engagement in learning. Model the relishing of challenge and the thrill of learning. Recognize students for their curiosity, diligence, and perseverance. Refrain from over-praising, especially for easy tasks; recognize effort instead. Emphasize advantages to learning other than grades. Write essential questions on the board. Have Koosh ball handy. Copy Handouts 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.2.4, and 3.2.5. Take the Underlying Beliefs Survey* (on Handout 3.2.1) yourself, and reflect on your findings. *Used with permission of Carol S. Dweck. Dweck, Carol S. (2000). Self-Theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development. Philadelphia: Psychology Press. This short book is a fascinating read for anyone who has ever wondered about what makes learning fun and worthwhile for some students but not for others. Dr. Dweck s extensive research in schools across the United States provides substantial backing for her far-reaching theories. Page 12 Module 3 Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Copyright 2009 School-Connect

Growing Your Mindset LESSON 3.2 Dweck, Carol S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House. Dr. Dweck s graduate students convinced her to translate her earlier work into a useful self-help book for the general populace. Readers will be glad she took up this challenge; the result is an easy-to-read and engaging exploration of how we can effect positive changes in our lives by questioning our underlying beliefs and growing our mindset. Dweck, Carol S., Blackwell, Lisa S., & Briceno, Eduardo (2008). Brainology: Building Students Confidence and Achievement Through the Concept of Expandable Intelligence. Available at www.brainology.us. This interactive online program provides a fun way for students to learn about selftheories and to practice using a growth mindset. It is designed for middle school students but is appropriate for most ninth-grade students. Copyright 2009 School-Connect Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Module 3 Page 13

LESSON 3.2 Growing Your Mindset LESSON OUTLINE Introduce Essential Questions (<5 minutes) motivation: the reasons that drive one s actions and behavior What Are Your Underlying Beliefs? Survey & Discussion (10 minutes) Pass out Handout 3.2.1: Survey: What Are Your Underlying Beliefs? underlying beliefs: deep-seated beliefs that we may or may not be aware of but that have profound effects on our motivation and behavior fixed mindset: belief that ability is fixed at birth growth mindset: belief that people can improve their abilities with effort Introduce the essential questions. Today we will investigate how our underlying beliefs about intelligence affect our motivation and behavior. The essential questions that we will seek to answer today are What are underlying beliefs? What are the two types of mindsets and how do they differ? Which mindset is more likely to motivate us to learn and achieve? Have students complete Handout 3.2.1. We are going to begin by taking a brief survey designed to investigate your underlying beliefs about intelligence. What do you think are underlying beliefs? [Encourage students to use each word as a clue; after they guess at the meaning, offer the definition from the column at left.] Discuss and interpret the survey. What basic question does the survey pose? (Are we born with a certain amount of intelligence, or can we become smarter with effort?) Statements 1 and 2 on the survey represent a fixed mindset an underlying belief that abilities, in this case intelligence, are more or less fixed at birth. Statements 3 and 4 represent a growth mindset an underlying belief that we can develop our abilities, in this case we can essentially become smarter with effort. You can be a mixture, but most people lean one way or the other. Item 5 on the handout tells you which way you lean. If you gave effort a higher percentage, you have more of a growth mindset. If you gave ability a higher percentage, you have more of a fixed mindset. In fact, researchers found that students from across the country who were given a similar survey were split 50/50 in terms of their beliefs about intelligence. Half tended to have a fixed mindset about intelligence, and half tended to have a growth mindset. Similar results were found among adults who completed the survey. Another finding: One s mindset has nothing to do with IQ as measured by tests. People who score high on IQ tests can have a fixed mindset, and people who score low on IQ tests can have a growth mindset, and vice versa. It s interesting to note that the man who developed the first IQ test, Alfred Binet, did not intend the test to measure students unchangeable intelligence. He meant it to be used to identify students who were not benefiting from the standard school curriculum so that new programs could be created for them. Page 14 Module 3 Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Copyright 2009 School-Connect

Growing Your Mindset LESSON 3.2 In addition to intelligence, we can have mindsets about other abilities (for example, athletic ability). How does a fixed mindset compare with a growth mindset regarding athletic ability? (Fixed: top athletes are naturals. Growth: people can develop athletic skill with practice.) Can you name an athlete, famous or not, who was not very skillful at first but who developed their abilities through effort and perseverance? (NBA star Michael Jordan did not make first string on his high school basketball team.) What are some other abilities or traits about which we can have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? (Artistic ability, musical ability, personality traits such as being shy or outgoing) Once again, you can have different mindsets about different abilities or traits, but most people tend to lean toward one of the two mindsets. nature vs. nurture: the debate over the degrees to which we are affected by heredity and our environment Introduce Joe Stay-the-Same & Jack Change (10 minutes) Pass out Handout 3.2.2: Responding to Challenges and Setbacks. Emphasize the importance of applying effort for brain development. Many research studies have tried to measure the degrees to which people are affected by heredity (nature) and their environment and experiences (nurture). This debate called nature vs. nurture has raged for years. Most scientists now say that both heredity and environment play a role in how we develop. For example, you may naturally favor one of the multiple intelligences, but it doesn t become one of your top MI strengths unless you apply effort and are given repeated opportunities to develop the strength. Recent research points to adolescence as a time of great brain development. [Refer back to Lesson 2.1.] Think of the brain as a muscle the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. Every time you put forth effort and learn something new, your brain forms new connections. Over time, these new connections will make you smarter. What matters most, however, is the mindset you hold, because the two mindsets affect our motivation and behavior in different ways. Discuss Handout 3.2.2: Responding to Challenges and Setbacks. What are the effects of these two different mindsets? This handout shows how someone who has a fixed mindset (Joe Stay-the-Same) might react to a challenging new unit in algebra, compared to how someone with a growth mindset (Jack Change) might react in the same situation. You may recognize some of your own thoughts and reactions in a similar situation. Take a minute to read the handout. Notice the different types of automatic thoughts Joe and Jack have. Copyright 2009 School-Connect Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Module 3 Page 15

LESSON 3.2 Growing Your Mindset What are the effects of a fixed mindset on Joe Stay-the- Same? (He is worried about his performance and what others might think of him; he gives up without really trying.) How might Joe s fixed mindset have influenced him in his decision not to work on the math problem? (His assumption about not being smart enough takes his attention away from working on the math problem.) Now let s look at Jack. What are the effects of a growth mindset on Jack Change? (He is focused on coming up with a solution to the problem, not with what others think of him.) How might Jack s growth mindset have influenced him in his decision to keep working on the problem? (His belief that effort pays off encourages him to think about the math problem rather than about himself; this helps him to persevere.) performance goals: external indicators of competence, such as grades and recognition mastery goals: internal indicators of competence, such as mastering a new skill Contrast performance goals with mastery goals. Psychologists use the term performance goals for goals that are focused on external rewards such as good grades and positive recognition, and the term mastery goals for goals that are more concerned with applying skills and gaining knowledge. Which type of goal does each mindset tend to promote? (The fixed mindset promotes performance goals, the growth mindset mastery goals.) Based on this information, which mindset do you think better motivates students to learn? Which mindset better motivates students to achieve? (The growth mindset better motivates students to learn and achieve.) We can all develop a mastery approach to learning. We can change the way we think and the way we behave as learners. Should we even strive for performance goals such as grades and recognition? (Yes, it is okay to have performance goals, but they should not be more important than mastery goals that is, learning for the sake of learning. Grades can be used as indicators of whether we need to apply more effort or as a sign that our efforts have borne fruit.) What questions do you have about these findings? One of the most important findings of this research is that students who emphasize mastery goals tend to enjoy learning more than students who emphasize performance goals. Students with mastery goals and a growth mindset often perform beyond peoples expectations of them. Page 16 Module 3 Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Copyright 2009 School-Connect

Growing Your Mindset LESSON 3.2 Mindsets in Action (15 minutes) Pass out Handout 3.2.3: Mindsets in Action. Have students complete Handout 3.2.3 in pairs. Mindsets can affect our overall school experience. You will be working in pairs. For every situation on the handout, work with your partner and write down a typical response for each mindset. Try taking turns: The student who comes up with the response for the fixed mindset in one situation should come up with the response for the growth mindset in the next situation. Discuss the handout. [Hold a class discussion about their written responses. Emphasize that we can change or grow our mindset by replacing our negative automatic thoughts with more positive thoughts that encourage personal growth.] Where Do We Learn Our Mindsets? (10 minutes) Pass out Handout 3.2.4: Common Sayings. Explore how we develop mindsets. How and where do you think we learn our mindsets? (From what we hear and observe in our family, friends, teachers, fellow students, and the media.) As we learned in a previous lesson, people often use labels to describe themselves or others. Many labels can lead us to think with a fixedmindset. What labels used in school might lead us to think with a fixed mindset about our own or others abilities? (E.g., gifted and talented, dumb jock ) Have students complete Handout 3.2.4: Common Sayings. Another way we learn a mindset is through messages we hear almost daily. Complete this handout by indicating which mindset each saying represents. What mindset fixed or growth does each saying represent? (ANSWER KEY: Fixed mindset: 1, 4, 7, and 8. Growth mindset: 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, and10.) Which of these sayings have you heard? Can anyone think of other sayings that represent a fixed or growth mindset? What effect do these sayings have on you? [Emphasize that fixed mindset sayings may cause us to think that our potential is limited, while growth mindset sayings may spur us to believe that we can increase our potential.] Copyright 2009 School-Connect Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Module 3 Page 17

LESSON 3.2 Growing Your Mindset Highlight role models with growth mindsets. One way we learn a growth mindset is through role models. Albert Einstein is an example of someone with a growth mindset. He did not get outstanding grades, but he pursued knowledge for its own sake and surpassed people s expectations of him. Helen Keller is another example of someone who exceeded people s expectations of her abilities. What other famous persons, past or present, have displayed a growth mindset? We also personally know people who emphasize effort and have overcome obstacles and setbacks. Who has an example of someone they know who fits this description and can say why? [Have an example ready to get the ball going.] Emphasize that students can choose a growth mindset and become smarter through effort. Wrap-up (5 minutes) Review the essential questions. What are underlying beliefs? What are the two types of mindsets and how do they differ? Which mindset is more likely to motivate us to learn and achieve? Ask for voluntary sharing of what students learned from this session. [If students offer not to worry so much about grades as a guideline, emphasize that they can use grades as indicators of whether to apply more effort or find out what concepts they don t understand. We cannot deny that grades have taken on greater importance in recent years, but if students focus on curiosity and effort, then good grades will usually follow.] Homework Pass out Handout 3.2.5: Reflecting on Underlying Beliefs. Homework Follow-up (5 10 minutes) Assign Handout 3.2.5: Reflecting on Underlying Beliefs. This assignment asks you to reflect on how today s lesson affected your underlying beliefs. Do you like your mindset, or do you want to change it? Our mindset is not set in stone. We can change the way we think and feel. We can grow our mindset! Homework Follow-up [Ask students to share their guidelines for developing a growth mindset.] Page 18 Module 3 Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Copyright 2009 School-Connect

Growing Your Mindset LESSON 3.2 LESSON EXTENSIONS Literature Link: The Writer Literature Link: The Journey Writing Window Writing Window Questions That Guide Richard Wilber s poem The Writer (in The Language of Literature) displays the engrossed concentration of someone with a mastery approach to learning. Have students take turns reading the stanzas aloud. Then lead a discussion as to what mindset the writer might hold, and ask students to explain how they can tell. Mary Oliver s poem The Journey (in The Language of Literature) describes a young person s struggle to overcome the confines of her environment and develop herself more fully. Have students take turns reading the stanzas aloud. Then ask them what self-theory the young woman probably holds, and have them explain how they can tell. Write about an individual who, through effort and perseverance, exceeded others expectations of them. Their achievements can be academic, professional, or personal. How did your chosen individual display a growth mindset? Have students write about a skill in which they have improved over time. How did they develop this skill? What did it require of them? What were some of the obstacles or setbacks? How did they respond to them? How did they feel about acquiring the new skill? Individuals who take a mastery approach to learning often speak to themselves (self-talk) when they are engaged in a learning task. Ask students to select some new task to work on, such as doing a puzzle or solving a math problem. As they apply themselves to the task, they should make statements that guide them in the process of figuring out how to perform the task. Have them write down these self-statements. How might they describe or categorize these statements? Did they help them to focus? Did they help them to perform the task better or more quickly? Copyright 2009 School-Connect Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Module 3 Page 19

HANDOUT 3.2.1 Survey: What are Your Underlying Beliefs? Directions: Read each statement below, and check whether you mostly agree or mostly disagree with the statement. There are no right or wrong answers. 1. Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can t change very much. Mostly agree Mostly disagree 2. You can learn new things, but you can t really change how intelligent you are. Mostly agree Mostly disagree 3. No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit. Mostly agree Mostly disagree 4. You can always substantially change how intelligent you are. Mostly agree Mostly disagree 5. Complete the following statement so that the numbers in the blanks add up to 100. Intelligence = % ability + % effort. * Used with permission of Carol S. Dweck. From Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House (2006). Page 20 Module 3 Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Copyright 2009 School-Connect

HANDOUT 3.2.2 Responding to Challenges and Setbacks Joe and Jack are in the same math class. Notice how they respond differently to a tough math problem. Joe Stay-the-Same has a fixed mindset. He tends to Tell himself he s no good at the task; feel helpless. (Oh, no. I hate word problems. I m just no good at them.) Prefer repeating successes to taking on a new challenge. (Why don t we just do computation? It s much easier.) Oh no, I hate word problems. I m just no good at them. See setbacks as indications that he s a failure. (I m such an idiot; I can t even do the first problem.) Worry about whether he looks smart. (Everybody s getting it but me. They ll think I m stupid if I ask questions.) Emphasize grades and praise. (My dad calls me the math whiz in the family. I ve got to get an A. ) Say that he doesn t care whether he does well. (Oh, what do I care? I ll never use this algebra stuff.) Distract himself when confused and worried about failure. (I can hardly wait to play that new video game. I ll master it before anyone else.) Jack Change has a growth mindset. He tends to Approach challenges with interest rather than apprehension. (This is a tricky word problem. I ve got to think it through.) This is a tricky problem. I ve got to think it through. Focus on the problem rather than on himself. (Let me see I can try this formula ) See setbacks as indications that he needs to apply more effort. (No, that didn t work. Better switch gears What else can I do?) Maintain a sense of curiosity and seek help when needed. (If I multiply both sides by x Hmmm, what next? Maybe I should ask.) Delight in challenges and reward himself for effort. (Wait, if I try this Yes, that s it! I did it. That was a tough problem!) Work collaboratively, rather than competitively, with others; see helping others as a way of solidifying his own knowledge. (I wonder if anyone needs help. Explaining it will help me understand it better.) Copyright 2009 School-Connect Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Module 3 Page 21

HANDOUT 3.2.3 Mindsets in Action Directions: Write what a person with each mindset might say or do in response to the given situations. Situation Fixed Mindset Response Growth Mindset Response You receive a low grade on a mid-term science test. I feel so stupid. I might as well give up. I need to find out where I went wrong and then study more and better. I have time to improve before the final. You have to give a speech in English class but fear public speaking. A friend wants you to go out for a school sports team, but only one out of five will make the team. You really hit a wrong note on your instrument in a school band competition. A school counselor suggests you take a much more challenging math course. You get back your history paper, and it has a lot of red marks. Page 22 Module 3 Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Copyright 2009 School-Connect

HANDOUT 3.2.4 Common Sayings Which mindset fixed (F) or growth (G) does each of the following sayings represent? 1. She s a born leader. 2. Life is what you make of it. 3. He s a self-made man. 4. She s a chip off the old block. 5. If you believe it, you can achieve it. 6. Life is an open road. 7. He s a natural. 8. Like father, like son. 9. You are limited only by your dreams. 10. If at first you don t succeed, try, try again. Can you think of other sayings that represent a fixed or growth mindset? Copyright 2009 School-Connect Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Module 3 Page 23

HANDOUT 3.2.5 HANDOUT 3.2.3 HOMEWORK: Reflecting On Underlying Beliefs 1. What did you learn about your underlying beliefs and mindsets today? 2. How do you think your current mindset affects you in school? 3. Did your mindset change today? Explain. 4. What are five (or more) guidelines you and others might follow for developing a growth mindset? Page 24 Module 3 Building Academic Strengths and Purpose Copyright 2009 School-Connect