Building Growth Mindsets at Yelm Middle School

Staff Building Day 1August 25th, 2014

Quiz-Quiz-Trade*Take a statement from the center of your table.*Choose your % of agreement (from 0-100%).

-totally agree 100%-totally disagree 0%

*Stand up, hand up, pair up -with someone holding a different colored paper*Share statement, % agreement, and reasoning and listen to partner’s statement, % agreement, and reasoning.*1 minute per pair up -wait for announcement to switch partners*4 total pair ups*We will revisit these statements later.

Intelligence is fixed and cannot be changed.100%Agree

0%Disagree

Motivation is determined more by external conditions than internal drive.

0%Disagree

100%Agree

Quiz-Quiz-Trade

People care less about what you do than why you do it. 100%

Agree0%

Disagree

It is important to praise student ability and intelligence to build student confidence.

0%Disagree

100%Agree

Quiz-Quiz-Trade

Extrinsic rewards work well to motivate students to learn. 100%

Agree0%

Disagree

The more intelligent you are, the less likely you will persevere through challenges.

0%Disagree

100%Agree

Quiz-Quiz-Trade

Raising expectations can set lower performing students up for failure and cause them to give up.

100%Agree

0%Disagree

Effort can be taught. 0%

Disagree100%Agree

Quiz-Quiz-Trade

Quiz-Quiz-Trade*Take a statement from the center of your table.*Choose your % of agreement (from 0-100%).

-totally agree 100%-totally disagree 0%

*Stand up, hand up, pair up -with someone holding a different colored paper*Share statement, % agreement, and reasoning and listen to partner’s statement, % agreement, and reasoning.*1 minute per pair up -wait for announcement to switch partners*4 total pair ups*We will revisit these statements later.

Building Growth Mindsets at Yelm Middle School

Staff Building Day 1August 25th, 2014

Growth Mindset Essential Questions

1) How can YMS best motivate students to maximize learning and achievement?

2) How can YMS use a Growth Mindset to help us be more effective in responding to

the challenging work of focused school improvement, school-wide goals, and

positive culture among students and staff?

To be able to articulate the differences between growth mindsets and fixed mindsets.

To be able to describe student and teacher practices that exemplify each mindset and to analyze how environments and culture lead to the development of both growth and fixed mindsets

To consider growth mindset as the “why” that drives our “what” and “how”

To understand how growth mindset strategies can increase student learning and motivation

Building Growth Mindsets at MS

Learning Targets:

A Need Across the NationIn a 2012 survey of a diverse group of teachers across the U.S., they listed student motivation as the greatest challenge they faced in their efforts to improve student learning. Chosen by a 2-1 margin over any other answer, student motivation was defined as “a desire to engage, an interest in learning, and the ability to sustain efforts in the face of challenges.” Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset has identified a core belief that drives a pattern of motivation-related behavior and outcomes.

A Need at YMS?

• “Get the kids that don’t care involved. Biggest challenge for me.”

• “Find a way for kids to care and find that drive (motivation).”

• “Give the students more work ethic and motivation. They sincerely think they are working sooooo hard, but they do 15 minutes of homework a night.”

• [Find a way to] “make students responsible for their own education.”

• “I would make 9th graders care. I would make them realize they are only hindering their future when they are apathetic.”

• “...effort appears to be dropping and we don't have many positive options for students who are doing well already.”

• “Make [kids’] home life happy so they are all happy and not stressed at school.”

• [We need] “some kind of master plan” and “A vision of something beyond where we are now.”

From staff survey question: If you could wave a magic wand and make YMS more awesome than it already it, what would you do?

See this handout for a graphic organizer on the basic differences between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

FIXEDvs.

GROWTH

Listen to each student speak about how they respond to challenges. What do you hear that reflects either a growth mindset or fixed mindset? Do you hear any students contradicting themselves?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sixp6QJP9rM

What do you hear that reflects either a growth or fixed mindset?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V61LCE2EKAQ&feature=youtu.be

Mindsets and the Learning Environment

So the culture we create will influence the mindset of students and staff.

Take turns with a shoulder partner generating examples of a “fixed mindset” in contemporary popular culture. (one minute). (Hint: Think of media messages and popular sayings or slang).

Praising intelligence, risk-adverse behaviors, non-specific feedback (“good job”)

3 Key Strategies for Developing Growth Mindset in the Classroom?

1. Create a risk-tolerant environment by normalizing mistakes and “fast failures.”

2. Set and model high expectations through high-challenge, high-support practices.

3. Praise effort and process, not ability or intelligence. Avoid generalities such as “good job” – praise specific behaviors and thinking strategies that are within student control

Cold Call (by Popsicle Stick), Stretch It (or Repeat), No Opt Out

What is the difference between high standards and high expectations?

Listen carefully to the experiments described in this video and how students reacted to different forms of praise. What resonates with you after hearing the results? How can this inform our instruction?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWv1VdDeoRY

Growth Mindset is not just TFC!

Intelligence is fixed and cannot be changed.

Motivation is determined more by external conditions than internal drive.

Quiz-Quiz-Trade ResultsGrowth or Fixed Mindset?

Growth Fixed

Growth Fixed

People care less about what you do than why you do it.

It is important to praise student ability and intelligence to build student confidence.

Quiz-Quiz-Trade Results

Growth Fixed

Growth Fixed

Extrinsic rewards work well to motivate students to learn.

The more intelligent you are, the less likely you will persevere through challenges.

Quiz-Quiz-Trade Results

Growth Fixed

Growth Fixed

Qualifying Statement: Research shows that extrinsic rewards have proven to work well at motivating people to do simple tasks that are well within their abilities, but extrinic rewards actually decrease performance results on creative and/or problem-solving tasks. For more complex, problem-based tasks, the conditions of autonomy, mastery, and purpose must be present to produce motivation that results in improved performance.

Qualifying Statement: This statement, whether it can be said to represent a fixed mindset or not, is actually true. So if you agreed with the statement 100%, you were correct. Angela Duckworth’s research on “grit” and perserverance showed an inverse relationship between talent and effort.

Effort can be taught.

Quiz-Quiz-Trade Results

Growth Fixed

Growth Fixed

Raising expectations can set lower performing students up for failure and cause them to give up.

The Golden CircleWhatEvery organization on the planet knows WHAT they do. These are products they sell or the

servicesthey offer.

HowSome organizationsknow HOW they do it. Theseare the things that makethem special or set themapart from their competition.

WhyVery few organizations know

WHY they do what they do. WHY is

not about making money [or for us, student achievement]. That’s a result. It’s a purpose, cause or belief. It’s the very reason your organization exists.

Growth Mindset is Our “Why”

Our SIP Work, School-wide Goals, Teaching Framework, PBIS

Tasks, strategies, culture, supporting each other (“All In”)

All about growth – student learning & behavior, professional learning

The Golden Circle + Human Brain

People respond to the “feeling” of a message first before even trying to comprehend the logic of the message.

What drives motivation in students?

Autonomy(the urge to direct their own learning; having choice)

Mastery(the desire to get better and better at something that

matters; having useful feedback)

Purpose(the yearning to do work that is relevant and in the

service of something greater than ourselves)

Exit Question / FeedbackHow could practicing Growth Mindset as a

staff and teaching it to students help us improve teaching and learning at YMS?

Continue the Conversation, Keep the Learning Going Ask me more questions. Give me your ideas. Talk with your fellow staff members. Explore the resources sent to you by email today. Review this PowerPoint (sent to you by email). Listen and watch for “mindset” in what others say and do. Try the strategies in your classroom.