Mindset Matters

Image Retrieved September 15th, 2017 from http://bit.ly/2xrdv41

"Mind over Matter."

How many times have we all heard this phrase over the course of our lives? And how many times have we been given this advice and answer it with an over dramatic eye roll? But we can no longer answer this advice with an eye roll because research supporting this phrase is plentiful!

The power of our brains is truly incredible and coming to the realization that we have the power to do anything we want to is even more powerful (Or atleast, almost anything). Research shows that having a positive mindset can actually increase our chances of achieving what we want, but we already knew this right? I certainly did. However, even knowing this, I still never lived my life with this fully in mind. As educators I think it is imperative that we open our students eyes to the power of their own mindset because developing a growth mindset can help our students succeed in anything they do for the rest of their lives.

Teaching a growth mindset to a student who has a fixed mindset can be a difficult task because we as humans are very stubborn. But, as educators we can tackle this problem together.

Edutopia has an article titled Resources For Teaching Growth Mindset, which outlines a copious amount of resources for teachers. Particularly, there is even a section for growth mindset within math. A common theme we have seen among ourselves is that many of us have had negative math experiences, which is why we have never liked math. Through this resource I came across a book titled Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching. I haven't got far into the book, but so far it is a fantastic resource for teachers to gather ideas on how to cultivate that growth mindset in their math class through various activities and encourage everyone to give it a read!  

I find this book to be really valuable for teachers because providing students with the right tools and encouragement to build a growth mindset in all subject areas is possibly one of the most important aspects of teaching.  In the classroom there is always going to be varying abilities, which can be very discouraging for students that struggle more with a particular subject or task.  In this weeks module, the video portrays a study that shows when people are reflective when doing a task, they are more likely to succeed rather than just thinking "this is too hard."  I think many people are prone to this fixed mindset, which is why as educators we must explicitly guide and teach students a growth mindset.

During our phys-ed class this week, we focused on reflective thinking even when playing games. While playing these games it is important to have students stop and speak to their peers for even just 30 seconds on a strategy that worked or didn't work in the game in order to do better.  This teaching style can be adapted in all subjects and can really contribute to a student's growth mindset.

Image Retrieved September 15th, 2017 from http://bit.ly/2ftLwam

This can be applied in math class as well, for instance during math talks.  Math talks  can be highly beneficial to promote this collaboration and reflective thinking.  Students can listen to their peers on how they solved a problem and maybe try them in their own work.  Giving students exit tickets at the end of each math lesson can also be a great opportunity for students to write down an area they found difficult and a way they can tackle it differently next time.  Teachers could also, at the end of a lesson have students talk to their elbow partner for 2 minutes about the math they just did to determine what they liked, didn't like, found easy or hard, strategies they used etc.  I think in doing so, students will begin to gather the skills to have a growth mindset.   

Also, for any teachers who enjoy using ClassDojo in their classrooms, they have created a separate aspect of ClassDojo specifically for learning a growth mindset! The Mojo Show is a series of videos and activities that guide students through the importance of developing a growth mindset in a very kid friendly way. The app also creates full Discussion Guides for teachers to prompt students with critical thinking questions. Their first video Your Brain is like a Muscle specifically addresses students struggling with math. This could be a great gateway to introduce a growth mindset in your math classroom!

Image Retrieved September 15th, 2017 from https://ideas.classdojo.com/i/growth-mindset-1

I hope you all find these resources as fantastic as I did and hope we all have an easier time developing growth mindsets within our students!