The Power of Yet –
Last year, when I was principal of AR Lewis Elementary, our
school used the book, Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci, for
our book study. This book was eye-opening for me. It was amazing to
see how many “fixed mindsets” we, as educators, had when thinking about
teaching and assessing students. Carol Dweck alludes to many of these
same points in her Ted Talk. The language and approach that a teacher
uses when working with students is critical. Helping students see the
power of yet as it relates to problem solving and continuing learning is
crucial. I found it interesting that studies showed that when students
were only given one chance to master material, they often turn to cheating or
quitting. How often do we see that in school?! The pressure that
comes from having one opportunity to do well sends a negative message that
learning is finite and you only have one chance to show what you know.
Teaching with a growth mindset means rewarding students for effort, strategy,
and progress toward goals and helping them continue to expand their knowledge
about a topic. I think the New Tech rubric is on the right track with
helping students work toward continuing learning rather than the next A+.
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you introducing me to Ricci's Mindsets in the Classroom text. I appreciate the connections you made with Dweck's work with "growth mindset" and Ricci's application of this theory into our classrooms. Like you, my biggest take away is how powerful our praise can be to either promote risk taking or to inhibit it. Praising talent and ability as Dweck points out leads to a "fixed mindset" where students learn to only apply themselves to areas they feel they will be successful at where praising effort and the process of learning, moving beyond failure helps promote a "growth mindset." I appreciate your point about the importance of us as educators providing students with multiple opportunities for learning. The "one and done" approach can be high-stakes and can promote stress as well as cheating or apathy to learning. I am also glad after evaluating the NTN agency rubric you found it to be a helpful tool. Thanks Melissa! Sincerely, Dawn