Behind the Blog
My Blog List
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2021 ASCD Summer Reading List4 years ago
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I'm Blogging Again11 years ago
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Philly Teacher has a new home!14 years ago
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An "Aha!" moment
Every afternoon during the workshop, we gathered in a closing circle to reflect on the learning that occurred that day. On Thursday, this group of educators synthesized their newly acquired RC knowledge by reading and responding to scenarios that paralleled their experiences in their own classrooms. These were not easy. In fact, as I checked in at each table group I heard them state repeatedly, "This is hard." However, their hard work paid off as they began to grasp the strategies and put them into action.
During the closing circle, I asked them to reflect on their day. They looked tired, spent - very evidently exhausted. One of the participants shared, "One of the things I recognized today was that even though this was hard work, I stuck with it because I am so invested in really learning and applying Responsive Classroom strategies in my classroom. This was an "Aha moment" as I think about how that applies to our students. We must make learning meaningful for them so that will continue to stick with a task, even when it is difficult."
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Having a "Growth Mindset"
Carol Dweck has completed some intriguing research which answers this question with a resounding, "Yes!" She has coined the phrase "Growth Mindset", which she explains can be developed in both children and adult learners. When people have this mindset, they believe that they can develop their brain, abilities, and talents. People that have a "Growth Mindset" care more about stretching themselves and challenging their learning. They are OK with not knowing everything. This mindset can influence both behavior and achievement.
Learning environments and learning tasks can be designed and presented to help learners develop a "Growth Mindset", which in turn, can lead to short-term achievement, ultimately resulting in long-term success.
Take a few minutes to watch this video that explains this research:
This research has profound implications for teachers. Dweck offers some concrete suggestions to help teachers create learning environments and meaningful learning tasks that will encourage students towards developing a "growth mindset": creating a classroom culture that supports risk-taking, providing specific feedback when giving students praise or encouragement, emphasizing deep learning rather than fast learning, directly teaching students how the brain works, personal goal setting, and evaluating student work with "growth mindset" criteria. While I don't believe that having a "growth mindset" will cure all academic ills, I can envision benefits for both adult and student learners; such as increased motivation and effort as they are nurtured in an environment that values "becoming" rather than "being".
Some of the questions that I'm left with to ponder:
Am I creating a risk taking environment for my students?
What does this look like as I work with adult learners?
How am I cultivating a "Growth Mindset" for myself?
Interested in finding out more about Dweck's research? Check out her book: Mindset or her website for kids: Brainology.