Growth Mindset TIPR
THE QUESTION: Describe how the teacher develops and promotes true growth mindset in his/her instruction, assessment, and/or procedures. What more could/should the teacher do in this regard? Provide specific examples and be sure to include a reference in your response.
Feb. 3 was my time to observe this week. When instructed to analyze and describe how Mrs. O or Mr. J develops growth mindset the experience in Mrs. O's Intermediate Theater class comes to mind this week. In this course this week they were supposed to have come to class prepared to turn in a hard copy of the monologue they had chosen and then spend the remainder of the class time working and memorizing the piece. I observed a lot of chaos. More than half of the class spent the time on their phones trying to find a monologue and asking Mrs. O how they were expected to find one. I saw a lot of disconnect and misunderstanding. I also saw a lot of frustration from the students. As the students asked Mrs. O and I how they were supposed to find a monologue, we responded "by reading plays" and were met with blank stares. I advised going to a library or looking for pdf versions online, but the looks I got back seemed utterly confused and the retorts were "I don't know how to do that. I can't do that.". It was all very messy and a little dumbfounding to even me. These teens didn't want to do anything out of their comfort zone or try something difficult. Those that had come prepared had monologues that weren't ideal, including one student that had copied the audio from a youtube video. I sensed a great deal of frustration in Mrs. O as well as the students. She often said, "I told you how to do this!" or "I told you not to do it this way." It seemed the connection and communication just wasn't there.
I don't want to sound like I'm being overly critical, but I walked away from the experience pondering two things,
#1 - How do you get students to go outside their comfort zone, realize they are capable of doing new (or old) things and properly do an assignment?
#2 - How could this assignment have been more clearly communicated to avoid confusion and actually have the students prepared?
As I contemplated this, I wondered if I modeled the behavior and walked through an example of how to pick a monologue with my students, if the outcome would have been less chaotic. Sometimes I wonder if they just have to have it proved to them that they can do it to actually develop that growth mindset, that realization that a challenge is exciting. I also wonder if I had in my model shown my own personal excitement about finding a monologue that could be new and challenging, if they might have fed off of that excitement instead of Mrs. O's frustration. I did end up helping a few girls by giving them specific names of plays and characters to look at. After having a nudge in the right direction they both seemed more up to the challenge.
Do we sometimes lend to kids fixed mindsets by not providing clear instructions? If we assume the assignment is clear and act like they are capable when maybe they haven't actually received the full picture that might play into their personal defeat. Ultimately it seems clear assessments go hand in hand with developing that growth mindset. We don't take away the challenge, but make sure the instructions are clear and provide our own excitement for the work ahead in hopes of making them see that they can grow, learn new things, and overcome that which they thought was impossible.
This reference (http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/develop-a-growth-mindset/) from informED that was used in our module supports this way of thinking. That if we view the challenge of teaching our students as an opportunity and get excited about it they will begin to model that example and view their assignments as a chance to learn and grow.
Feb. 3 was my time to observe this week. When instructed to analyze and describe how Mrs. O or Mr. J develops growth mindset the experience in Mrs. O's Intermediate Theater class comes to mind this week. In this course this week they were supposed to have come to class prepared to turn in a hard copy of the monologue they had chosen and then spend the remainder of the class time working and memorizing the piece. I observed a lot of chaos. More than half of the class spent the time on their phones trying to find a monologue and asking Mrs. O how they were expected to find one. I saw a lot of disconnect and misunderstanding. I also saw a lot of frustration from the students. As the students asked Mrs. O and I how they were supposed to find a monologue, we responded "by reading plays" and were met with blank stares. I advised going to a library or looking for pdf versions online, but the looks I got back seemed utterly confused and the retorts were "I don't know how to do that. I can't do that.". It was all very messy and a little dumbfounding to even me. These teens didn't want to do anything out of their comfort zone or try something difficult. Those that had come prepared had monologues that weren't ideal, including one student that had copied the audio from a youtube video. I sensed a great deal of frustration in Mrs. O as well as the students. She often said, "I told you how to do this!" or "I told you not to do it this way." It seemed the connection and communication just wasn't there.
I don't want to sound like I'm being overly critical, but I walked away from the experience pondering two things,
#1 - How do you get students to go outside their comfort zone, realize they are capable of doing new (or old) things and properly do an assignment?
#2 - How could this assignment have been more clearly communicated to avoid confusion and actually have the students prepared?
As I contemplated this, I wondered if I modeled the behavior and walked through an example of how to pick a monologue with my students, if the outcome would have been less chaotic. Sometimes I wonder if they just have to have it proved to them that they can do it to actually develop that growth mindset, that realization that a challenge is exciting. I also wonder if I had in my model shown my own personal excitement about finding a monologue that could be new and challenging, if they might have fed off of that excitement instead of Mrs. O's frustration. I did end up helping a few girls by giving them specific names of plays and characters to look at. After having a nudge in the right direction they both seemed more up to the challenge.
Do we sometimes lend to kids fixed mindsets by not providing clear instructions? If we assume the assignment is clear and act like they are capable when maybe they haven't actually received the full picture that might play into their personal defeat. Ultimately it seems clear assessments go hand in hand with developing that growth mindset. We don't take away the challenge, but make sure the instructions are clear and provide our own excitement for the work ahead in hopes of making them see that they can grow, learn new things, and overcome that which they thought was impossible.
This reference (http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/develop-a-growth-mindset/) from informED that was used in our module supports this way of thinking. That if we view the challenge of teaching our students as an opportunity and get excited about it they will begin to model that example and view their assignments as a chance to learn and grow.
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