Growth Mindset– Teacher Edition

My last post was about guiding students towards success with classroom strategies that support a growth mindset. This week, I’d like to flip the script and focus on supporting that growth mindset when you are an adult. What’s out there to help us grow and keep the right attitude when times get tough?

Grow your PLN— There is nothing better than turning to your colleagues for support. They’ve been there, maybe done that, and survived. Building your Professional Learning Network is one way to support your growth mindset. Lots of teachers have begun turning to Twitter for an easy way to connect with other educators. Join a Twitter chat which takes place on a certain day or time about a specific topic, or just take a quick dip into the never-ending river of posts. A number of educators have created groups through Facebook and other social media, as well. Want to know more? Check out this post on TeachThought for the rundown on using hashtags, chats, and more. Not sure where to start? Start following a few people that you know and then check out who they follow. Taking the time to read the person’s “little blurb” and check out a few of their posts will let you know if you are interested in following them. Here are a few Twitter hashtags to get you started– #TLAP   #lrnchat   #edchat   #edtech   #k12

Breaking the Mold– Look into non-traditional professional development opportunities. I just finished reading The Four O’Clock Faculty: A Rogue Guide to Revolutionizing Professional Development by Rich Czyz. What a breath of fresh air it can be to learn something new in a fun, informal, and relevant way. “Un-conferences” such as EdCamps have become popular in my district as well as around the nation. This style of PD brings to mind the idea that “the smartest person in the room, is the room.” Groups hold casual discussion about topics of interest– no presenter, no expert, no agenda. Think about visiting other classrooms to observe another teacher for ideas and strategies. Here at North, teachers that welcome visitors post pineapples outside their doors. Don’t be nervous– they are welcoming you in! Join a book study or even host one. Interested in some “outside the box” PD but not finding it in your district? Ask for it!

Work with your Instructional Coach– Your Instructional Coach is a great resource and is happy to find and share new strategies, ideas, and info– but that’s not all! One of the most relevant and powerful forms of professional development comes from having a few conversations with your coach and trying something new. Here’s what it looks like:

• Identify an area of growth– what do you want to try, learn, or change? Think about that one class period that you drive home replaying in your mind. Or that idea that you’ve wanted to try but have just never implemented. Possibly that daily battle with a certain student.
• Learn more about that “something new” by talking with your coach.
• Improve your practice by trying out this new growth focus and seeing what you think. It might not be perfect the first time, or even something you want to stick with, but it was worth the try! Talk about how it went with your coach.

Notice Self-Talk– Don’t forget to go easy on yourself. Noticing negative self-talk can be difficult for us– we are usually noticing it from our students, right?! Try to stop yourself from verbalizing those negative thoughts you may be having about something you’ve attempted and flip that to a positive. Maybe think about a mantra that you will say out loud anytime you catch yourself like, “mistakes are proof that you are trying” or “all things are difficult before they are easy.”  I know it might sound silly, but a little positive thinking can go a long way.

Get Out of the Building– Sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves is to learn something new that has nothing to do with work. Get out and try something new that does not involve your school, content area, or education. Stretch your brain! Look into a fitness or cooking class. Attend a movie night with a group each month. Sign up for a basketball league, art class or knitting club. Anyone interested in starting a group for “hopeless-adults-that-still-love everything-Harry-Potter?” The possibilities are endless!
Have some ideas on building and maintaining a growth mindset as an adult? I’d love to hear them!

Enjoy!

The Growth Mindset Playbook– Retrieval Practice

I just received my copy of The Growth Mindset Playbook by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley and thought I’d share a few tidbits. This book follows up the much-loved The Growth Mindset Coach that I am sharing information, tips, and strategies from throughout the year with teachers at North. The feedback that I have received from teachers is that they would like to know the “how” of implementing a growth mindset focus in their classrooms. What do they actually “do” in their classrooms to support this idea? I came across this chapter and it screamed to be shared. Here are a few ideas–

Retrieval Practice– Brock and Hundley hone in on research by Pooja Agarwal and provide a few quick strategies to help support new learning. They say, “Teachers, Agarwal contends, are usually focused on getting information into student brains through the delivery of content, but often don’t consider how the student will get the information out later on.”

• Quick Quiz– Ask students a few questions about the content that has been taught. This should be a low-stakes quiz, focusing on recall vs recognition, that also provides feedback. My instant thought is to use Kahoot for this, but I wonder if it would lack that essential part of providing feedback? Would another online tool like Quizizz provide more info? Or a Google doc/slide/whatever that students use to respond then get feedback from you and their peers? Brainstorming here.
• 3-2-1– Many of us use 3-2-1s in different ways already, so think about using the format for an exit ticket. Have students recall 3 things they learned from the previous class period, 2 from today’s class, and then ask 1 question about the topic at hand.
• Entry ticket– Exit tickets are pretty much a “go-to” when wanting to collect formative feedback from students. Try flipping the script and having students complete an entry ticket to connect learning from the previous class period, such as: connect to their lives or other content/classes, answer an open-ended question, solve a problem, or ask a question.
• Practice Prompts– Here are a few exit or entry ticket ideas to get students thinking back to what they have learned:
  • Two things I remember from today’s lesson are:
  • If I had to explain __________ from yesterday’s lesson to someone who missed class, here’s what I would say:
  • Draw a picture that represents what we learned today.

I know that none of these ideas are really reinventing the wheel, but do keep in mind that utilizing those tried and true strategies correctly and consistently can lead to big learning. Want more? Check out http://www.retrievalpractice.org/ or check out these bookmarks from The Learning Scientists that remind students of quick strategies for retrieval practice.

Enjoy!