Changing Mindset with Challenge Promoting Student Growth and Performance Dr. Emily Mofield, Sumner County Schools Dr. Megan Parker Peters, Lipscomb University
Overview Introduction to Mindset Research behind Incremental vs. Entity Theories Strategies to Promote Growth Mindset Curriculum Considerations
Self-Quiz 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.
Mindsets Growth mindset- a belief system that suggests that one s intelligence can be grown or developed with persistence, effort, and focus on learning. Fixed mindset- a belief system that suggests that a person has a predetermined amount of intelligence, skills, or talents
Vygotsky Zone of Actual Development vs. Zone of Proximal Development ZAD What we can do/know without help ZPD What we can LEARN with help
What we know Carol Dweck 7th grade study: Grades very different after first semester, end of 2-year period Students with growth mindset outperformed students with fixed mindset at each interval.
7 th grade study (cont.) How did each group react to failure or underperforming? Fixed: must find another way to succeed since not smart enough; cheating? Growth: more hard work needed, effort leads to growth Good news: Part II of the study Study skills only group: grades continued to decline Study skills + mindset training: Improved grades
Dweck Study #2- Praise Gave students 10 challenging items 2 types of praise offered Ability praise: lead students to fixed mindset, rejected further challenges Effort praise: growth mindset; 90% wanted to try the challenging new task!
What we know Fixed mindset- link to unhealthy perfectionism? Perfectionists may cope with academic stress by avoiding failure. Schuler (2000): unhealthy perfectionists avoided mistakes at all costs Wang, Fu, & Rice (2012): May avoid situations where success not guaranteed Mofield & Parker Peters (2015): Avoidance coping is predicted by high unhealthy perfectionism
What can we do to promote growth mindset? The first step is US! Students are conditioned to have a fixed mindset, and it's due to us. Growth Mindset Educators Growth Mindset Parents Growth Mindset Children (Ricci, 2013)
Reflection- Analogies Growth mindset is like because Fixed mindset is like because
Strategies Process Praise Productive Struggle Celebrate Mistakes
Strategies Challenging Tasks Normalize the Struggle Teach Students to Articulate their Thinking When we work harder, we get smarter!
Mary Cay Ricci- Mindsets in the Classroom
Growth mindset is not just about effort. Word of Caution This is not a panacea- it can t dissolve the toxicity of bad curriculum or instruction. Beware of the false growth mindset Be careful with step-by-step programs that claim to increase student achievement by teaching growth mindset. We would rather convince students to adopt a more positive attitude rather than address the quality of curriculum. STOP! Is your curriculum meaningful? Is the pedagogy thoughtful? Is the assessment of student learning authentic? Training students to think more about effort than ability does nothing to address the fact that too much emphasis on performance undermines intellectual engagement. Dweck, 2015- Education Week; Kohn, 2015- Washington Post
What s in the box? (Ricci, 2013) Inductive Reasoning Yes/No Questions What are attributes of a sponge? How is your brain like a sponge?
(Ricci, 2013) Teach students about the brain
The brain is like a road map When you learn a new route, a new road is built. Neurons work in the same way. They make hundreds of connections. The more you learn, the more connections are made. The more they are traveled, the stronger the learning. (Ricci, 2013)
Teach students about mindset terminology
In English Language Arts Elementary: Determine mindsets of characters Secondary: Dickinson, Thoreau, Emerson, Twain Examine mindset of authors, evidence in life and writing that suggests fixed vs. growth mindset Bibliotherapy exercises (Hebert, 2010)
Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. Ronald E. Osborn
What is advanced curriculum? Differentiate by Content (harder texts) Process (high level thinking) Product (more complex products) Concept (abstract thinking) VanTassel-Baska & Stambaugh, 2006
Adding Complexity
New Advanced Middle School ELA Curriculum for Advanced Learners Emily Mofield, Ed.D. & Tamra Stambaugh, Ph.D. (Prufrock Press)
Fear of Failure vs. Fear of Success
Sample PD Plan School Culture Fear-Free Zone- Students are encouraged or discouraged, energized or deflated, invited or alienated by classroom environments. (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011, p. 31) Examine curriculum and determine where you can embed growth mindset culture. Is there an opportunity to nurture persistence, effort, intellectual risktaking, and perseverance? Book Study
Reflection What What did you learn? (3-5 words) So What- Why is this important in your practice? Now What- What will you immediately do Monday to incorporate these ideas?
References Adderholdt-Elliott, M. (1989). Perfectionism and underachievement. Gifted Child Today, 12, 19-21. Blackwell, L., Trzesniewski, K., & Dweck, C. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78, 246-263. Dewitt, P. (2015). Why a growth mindset won t work. Education Week. Dweck, C. (2007). The perils and promises of praise. Educational Leadership, 65, 34-39. Greenspon, T.S. (2000). Healthy perfectionism in an oxymoron! Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 11(4), 197-109. Hebert, T. (2010). Understanding the Social and Emotional Lives of Gifted Students. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press. Mofield, E., & Parker Peters, M. (2015). Multidimensional perfectionsim within gifted suburban adolescents: An exploration of typology and comparison of samples. Roeper Review, 37, 97-109. Project for Education Research That Scales. (2014). Mindset Kit. Stanford University. Plucker, J., Hardesty, J., & Burroughs, N. Talent on the Sidelines: Excellence Gaps and America s Persistent Talent Underclass. University of Connecticut Press.
References Ricci, M. (2013). Mindsets in the classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Acheivement in Schools. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press. Rimm, S. (2007). What s wrong with perfect? Clinical perspectives on perfectionism and underachievement. Gifted Education International 23, 114-121. Schuler, P. (2000). Perfectionism and gifted adolescents. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 11(4), 183-196. Sousa, D.A., & Tomlinson, C.A. (2011). Differentiation and the brain: How neuroscience supports the learner-friendly classroom. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree. VanTassel-Baska, J. & Stambaugh, T. (2006). Comprehensive curriculum for gifted learners (3 rd Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Wang, K., Fu, C, & Rice, K. (2012). Perfectionism in gifted students: Moderating effects of goal orientation and contingent self-worth. School Psychology Quarterly, 27, 96-108.