SEPTEMBER : EVERYONE CAN LEARN
"No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that abiliy and turns it into accomplishment.
-Carol Dweck, Mindset
Assignment: Reading Chapter 2 by September 26, 2017
Be prepared to discuss the following:
1. Your SMART goal -from chapter one
2. Will you incorporate the lesson plan in your classroom? Why or why not?
3. Has this book impacted your thinking yet? If yes, how?
4. When do you believe is the Growth Mindset most important for teachers? students? administration? parents? WHY?
Growth Mindset is an important way to motivate yourself and others. With the understanding that failure is a process to work through and learn from, we are less likely to feel defeated and give up when faced with challenges. Knowing that we can try again, and do better next time gives us a reason to keep trying. Like the Power of Positivity, Growth Mindset can result in amazing things. -JC
ReplyDelete"With hard work and perseverance, anyone can achieve success in any area." Chapter one has challenged me to go into my classroom everyday with an open mind and truly believe that ALL of my students can grow. If we start having students believe in themselves at the elementary level, they will be able to bounce back from a negative situation sooner as they go out into the world. When we embrace all students and let them know that we believe in them, their confidence will continue to rise. Students need to know that failure is real life, but how you rise to the occasion and overcome is what really matters. Being honest with students and parents about achievement and struggle will help all of us unite and put children's success first - working together for every child! ALL students can rise to expectations; it's a matter of how high we set them.
ReplyDeleteChapter One has encouraged me to really think about everything I say to each of my students and to think about the things they are bringing into school with them. As educators sometimes we can get so caught up in the kids we know can pass a test that we forget about moving and growing the kids who haven’t... yet. I go in every day and try my best to encourage and build up the children in my classroom so that when they make a mistake, because inevitably they will, it doesn’t crush them - it causes them to dig deeper and learn from the tough stuff. I think that if we invest in them as people, and not just as students, and build their confidence and have honest conversations we will see the benefits all across the board; a stronger community of people who believe in themselves and in their ability to move from one place to another.
ReplyDeleteWorking now mostly with the AG kids, I see students who think they "know it all" and have no room to learn more and also students who shut down when something is very challenging because they are used to most things coming easy to them. I think that so far, the book makes me aware of the fact that I need to encourage both types of students to have the "growth mindset." We never know it all and our brain has the amazing capability of learning, stretching and growing all of the time. There is always something to reach higher for. For the kids who get frustrated at challenges, I realize that I need to patiently communicate the fact that mistakes and frustration are what lead to some of the best learning. Outside of school, I have been thinking about the growth mindset in regards to my running. The book is great!~~~Bianchi
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed chapter one. I believe in the growth mindset. This book has been great because it's from a teachers perspective. It's so important for our students to learn that everyone can "achieve their goals" but it may take more time and effort for others. Last year I thought the growth mindset "Change your words, Change you mind" classroom posters. The students really benefited from it, and it was something we referred to all year. This book has really challenged me to practice having a growth mindset and challenging myself to achieve things that may seem "impossible". I'm enjoying the growth mindset journey!
ReplyDeleteReading The Growth Mindset Coach has helped me as a teacher and a parent, and as a life-long learner. I love the idea of "not yet" rather than "can't," and it has motivated me to reserve judgement on with myself and with my own daughter, not to mention my students. I have always believed that every student can learn, but this book provides ideas for promoting that. I tried the first lesson with some of my third and 4th graders. I found Part 1:EVERYONE CAN LEARN! to be effective in getting students to think about how they learn new things. I had mixed success with Part 2:GROWTH AND FIXED MINDSETS; several of my students (4th grade English Learners; I did NOT choose to do this part with my 3rd graders) had a hard time understanding how to determine if their choice was TRUE or FALSE, so it took almost the entire class to go over what the statements mean and how to respond to them. Furthermore, a couple students were very hard on themselves when discussing how they feel about their learning abilities. I am hoping that I can use the Growth Mindset Coach to help them change their mindset to being more positive about themselves.
ReplyDeleteLastly, I want to note that I have read a couple of the recommended books to my class (from page 50)--The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds, and The Most Magnificent Thing, by Ashley Spires. The former I used in 2nd grade and the latter in 3rd and 4th. I am particularly fond of the latter in getting students to think about how they can keep trying, take a break, not give up, etc., and the vocabulary is a little more rich than the former, so I can grow my students' language skills. --Cassie Ott