Tag Archives: Growth Mindset

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Is Talent a Wall or Launching Pad?

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In the quest for delineating the difference between fixed and growth mindsets, educators have created a plethora of lists for contrasting habits, beliefs and statements.

 

With my students, I summarize all of these lists and graphics with two simple pictures that pose a simple question: “Do you see talent as a wall or as a launching pad?”

Talent Wall

Carole Dweck‘s mindset research shows that self-perception of talent as a limit or as a starting point has a tremendous influence on student learning. The mindset is really about how people perceive their natural abilities and view the potential of their efforts, not just their level of effort.

In fact, this double-pronged image of wall vs launching pad helped me make sense of two things that Dr. Dweck has said regrading effort and growth mindset. The first is that “the most common misconception is simply equating the growth mindset with effort.” (Education Weekly, September 2015).  I didn’t fully grasp the issue that troubled her until I heard her say that it isn’t just the struggling math students who have a fixed mindset, but that even some of the more “successful students” have one as well. An example of an advanced student who possesses a fixed mindset is the one who believes that they cannot learn math (remember mindset is about self-perception), so they must compensate by studying and memorizing in order to pass the tests and get good grades.

This thought leads me to another of my favorite image comparing fixed and growth mindset… the scans of the brain of someone with a fixed mindset versus one with a growth mindset.

Brain Mindsets

brain-coldWhen faced with a challenge, the fixed mindset brain “goes cold.” It literally shuts down.

brain-on-fireHowever, when faced with the same challenge, the growth mindset brain “fires up.” It knows that more is being asked of it, so it kicks into high gear to meet the challenge, rather than duck it.

Some frozen brains walk away from learning by checking out or acting out. Other frozen brains circumvent the learning by grinding through the course with a hyper-powered work ethic. If good grades is the ultimate goal, then one of these fixed mindset responses is valued more than the other. If learning is the true prize of an education, though, then neither response is sufficient; instead, Dweck claims that students need to implement a “repertoire of approaches—not just sheer effort—to learn and improve.” After all, it is how one reveals to setbacks that reveals their true mindset.

To see some of my novice attempts at teaching growth mindset in math class, see the following posts: Nicki the Neuron, Neuron Stickers, Brain Surgeons & Wrinkle Sprinkles, and Neuron Problems and Classroom Norms, or click Growth Mindset in the tag cloud.

Ready, Set, Launch!

 

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Nicki the Neuron

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NickyAfter I gave a presentation about my use of Neuron Stickers, Brain Surgeon & Wrinkle Sprinkles at Twitter Math Camp 15, Julie Wright (@julierwright) sent me a tweet that directed me to a stuffed Neuron with eyes. So Bitchen!

I took her suggestion and hung it at the front of the classroom as a class mascot, naming it Nicki the Neuron, since Nicki is a name that is gender and ethnic neutral.

Julie Wright Tweet

 

Nicki was  a bigger hit than I expected. One of my students insisted on holding our new mascot during class.

Nicky n Fan

This inspired me. I thought to give Nicki temporarily to the group to which the most recent Neuron Sticker was awarded. I was concerned the boys wouldn’t receive this too well, but Nicki quickly became of badge of honor for the groups.

Nicky n Girl

Nicki is now part of the responsibilities of the Brain Surgeon and is generating a great deal of focus on the Process Reward System that I am implementing. Thank you Julie!

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Neuron Stickers, Brain Surgeons and Wrinkle Sprinkles

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Brain-SurgeonI was inspired at a Growth Mindset workshop by Jo Boaler and Carol Dweck. I knew I was going to be teaching a class of at-risk students, qualified by being on the socio-economic disadvantaged list and having struggled in 8th grade math. Rather than repeating in high school the math course that they failed in middle school, these students would taking Algebra 1 with me. If there is a group of students that need help shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, it is a group of at-risk students who have struggled in math. However, I did not want to just put a bunch of Power Point slides saying how they should believe in themselves.

So, I came up with three vehicles to develop growth mindsets in my students:

Neuron Stickers

Dr. Boaler emphasizes the plasticity of the brain. This means that the brain actual rewires itself when it learns, by forming new or strengthening current connects between brain cells. We also know now that the outer later of the brain thickens as we learn, much like muscles get bigger from exercise. These facts create a contemporary view of the brain that is in direct opposition to the conventional view in education in which the brain is a passive vessel to be filled with knowledge. These two views are best contrasted by the following images of the brain.

Brain Pair

The image on the left implies that we are building a brain. I love that idea so much that I enlarged the graphic to poster size and put it up on the classroom wall. I tell my students that is exactly what they are here to do … build their brains. We then publicly discuss the actions that help us build our brains in class, like…

  • Sharing mistakes publicly
  • Offering unique solutions
  • Asking clarifying questions
  • Making connections
  • Having an “Aha!” moment
  • Helping others

To encourage these and other behaviors that contribute to learning, I created Neuron stickers. This was easy, I pulled a drawing of a neuron from the internet and created a sheet that I could print onto a sheet of mailing labels.

neuron color

Neuron Sheet

Each time a student demonstrated action that promoted learning, the student receives a neuron sticker which they get to place on the Brain Poster. Once the poster is filled, I put up a new one and we continue honoring growth mindset throughout the year.

Brain Color Brain Pic Final

Brain Surgeon

Each day we designate a “Brain Surgeon,” who serves as a class leader for the day. I purchased this model of the brain to be given to the day’s Brain Surgeon.

Brain Surgeon Model

The role of the Brain Surgeon comes at the beginning and end of each class.

Opening Class Duties

  • Supervise preparation for class (getting materials ready)
  • Lead Drum Roll (Class Opener)
  • Reading of Instructional Objective
  • Placing Nicki The Neuron with the group who had it last during prior lesson

Closing Class Duties

  • Supervise clean up and storing of materials
  • Return Nicki The Neuron and the Brain
  • Lead Wrinkle Sprinkle 

Wrinkle Sprinkle

Each class concludes with a debrief titled “Wrinkle Sprinkle,” implying that learning adds a new wrinkle to the brain. (Note: Anatomically we know this is not accurate, though we know that the neurons make new connections and the outer layer of the brain thickens.) The brain surgeon calls on students who raise a hand to offer something that they learned that day. These Wrinkle Sprinkles are recorded on the 180Blogs on this site. Wrinkle

 

180 Blog Algebra 2

Neuron Problems & Classroom Norms in Algebra 2

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Day 3, Fri Aug 12, 2016

A vs Don-stepmom-shoulderTarget: Recognize that  Voice = Choice when it comes to having a growth mindset as we solve problems about our amazing brains.

Entrance Ticket
I greeted the students at the door, but today I was checking homework. They only had to do one problem of their choosing from the Neuron Facts last night. If they did not have it, they had to quickly do one outside. Message sent: You are doing your homework in this class.

Growth Mindset
On the growth mindset web site they make a point of the “voice = choice,” meaning that we have a choice whether or not to listen to the fixed mindset thoughts that we all have, They give a 4-step breakdown of how to shift from a fixed to a growth mindset. I had fun soliciting the help of a very ancient visual of a devil and an angel on your shoulder.

Voices choices

Neuron Fact Problems
So then came time to practice recognizing the fixed voice and talking to ourselves in the growth voice, while doing challenging math problems. They already sit in groups of four, so I had them spend the rest of the period working through the Neuron Fact Problems, which I created from the Facts on the front side of the paper.  They were to call out any fixed mindset words or actions demonstrated by their partners. They actually did. I worked the room with Neuron stickers and Nicki. I honored about half the groups. I was pleasantly surprised at how well my crew worked.

During the lesson, as I worked the groups, I asked  one student how she got her answer, and she told me that she had copied from her partner. I praised her for her honesty, then paused the class and brought their attention to our classroom norms.

Norms

These were originally shared with us by Dr. Juli Dixon (@thestrokeofluck) in a math training at our district. They became very popular among our teachers. Our new principal has implemented them schoolwide, providing posters for every classroom. I drew the students attention, that we “Share, Don’t Copy.” When we share, one person explains, the other listens, then question follow if we don’t understand or if we disagree. If these three norms are occurring then writing down someone else’s solution is not copying.

After a half hour of solid work, we debriefed where we saw evidence of a fixed mindset and where we saw evidence of a growth mindset. This whole activity was very well received by the students. I gave them advance notice that Monday we will be debriefing their actual solutions to the problems.

Wrinkle Sprinkle

  • Share, Don’t Copy.
  • The equals about 3 lbs.
180 Blog Algebra 2

Introductions & Neuron Facts in Algebra 2

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neuron verticalDay 2, Thurs Aug 11, 2016

The Brain Surgeon
Today, we began my regular routine of designating a daily Brain Surgeon. Since this was our first day of the Brain Surgeon, I introduced the routines of the Drum Roll, Reading of the Dual Target, Music Cues, and the Wrinkle Sprinkle. The students seem to embrace the spirit of of it all.

Student Introductions
As with every new school year, I had each student briefly state their name and something interesting about themselves. When they were all done,  I recited all their names. That always impresses a class. Then I told them things about myself. I state that yesterday we started with math, because that is what we are all about here. But since I teach math to them, they are also important and I need to know who they are.

Growth Mindset
Most of our Course Teams across the district agreed to do some kind of growth mindset activity. Here was mine.

I started by summarizing the plethora of lists of fixed vs growth mind set statements with two pictures. I told the students that research in student learning is showing that self-perception of talent as a limit or as a starting point has a tremendous influence on their learning.

Talent Wall

Then I shared that scans of the brain of someone with a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset, shows something very interesting. When faced with a challenge, the fixed mindset brain “goes cold.” It literally shuts down. However, when faced with the same challenge, the growth mindset brain “fires up.” It knows that more is being asked of it, so it kicks into high gear to meet the challenge, rather than duck it.
Brain MindsetsNow it was time to test out where we see ourselves demonstrating  a fixed or growth mindset.

Neuron Facts
I gave the students the worksheet with the Neuron Facts on the front side. I found these on the internet and thought they would make for a good lesson since they highlight the amazing function of our brains. I added the subheadings of Fast, Crowded ,etc. I started with a common practice of mine Notice & Wonder popularized by Annie Fetter (@MFAnnie) of Math Forum.  My Gradual Reel-In process looked something like this:

  1. You Do: Independent response.
  2. Ya’ll Do: Each member of the group shares both their notice and wonder.
  3. We Do: Each group decides on one Notice and one Wonder from those shared. These get shared out by each group as I write them on the board.
  4. I Do: I summarize the major point(s) that I want all students walking out with. Here it was the process of Noticing and Wondering and how we facilitate group discussion in class… And of course how amazing our brains are.

The groups were then tasked with doing one problem together. Homework was to do one more.

Wrinkle Sprinkle
Tying into the concept of the plasticity of the brain, I joke that when we learn we get a new wrinkle on the brain. Each class then concludes with what we learned that day. The brain surgeon leads and records the discussion. The students today stated that they learned…

  • Negative thoughts shut down your brain
  • Speed of the brain cell
  • The amount of oxygen the brain uses
180 Blog Algebra 2

First Day – Algebra 2

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Day 1, Wed  Aug 10, 2016

{I am new to Chaparral High School, having transferred within my district as a Math Specialist.}

Opening Quiz Alg 2 on the 6Cs: After greeting each student at the door with a high-5, I started the year by answering the transformation question: “How will you (the students) be different in June than you are now, because of my class?” I am still answering that question with the same 6Cs that I launched 2 years ago. My Claims-Based grading system and the students portfolios are structured as such also.

6 Cs PicAs I do with all classes each year, I gave the students the blank copy of the quiz below, and told them this was not to be graded nor was it a test of their previous knowledge. It was like a movie trailer of things to come, but I still wanted them to give me their best shot. I then gave them my standard 3-response speech.

As a mathematician I cannot always give an accurate response; I cannot always give a complete response; but I can always, always, always give an intelligent response. Blank is not intelligent.

I pressed them to give me something… numbers, equations, drawings … anything intelligent.

Opening Quiz Alg 2 Pic

They worked on these independently, then in groups, then as a class, followed by my summary. I wanted to model this process of “gradual reel-in” (as opposed to gradual release) right away, because I use it often.

During the class discussion, one senior claimed out loud, “This is the 5th time that I have taken this class!” (She had failed two semesters as a junior, then 2 semesters in summer school.) I told her that this year she will pass because, “You are that smart, and I am that good.” I had the students repeat this:

Me: “You are that …”
Class: …smart!”
Me: “I am that …”
Class: “…good!”

This was a set-up for the Growth Mindset discussion that was coming over the next few days. In the meantime, I hope I sent the message that I believe in them, and that I believe in my ability to teach them (The 3 Growth Mindsets).

The students brought some terrific energy. I’m so looking forward to my first year as a Puma.

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Recap: NCTM 2016

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San Francisco, CA , April 2016
I have summarized each session with some simple (•) bulleted notes, red underline to encapsulate my major take-aways, and occasionally a brief italicized commentary.

The Status Quo Is Unacceptable: A Common Vision for Improving Collegiate Mathematics — Diane Briars, & Linda Braddy, Christine D. Thomas & Dr. Uri Treisman

  • Big Take-Away #1 = College failure rates are 55% higher than for more active forms of instruction.
  • Big Take-Away #2 = The math ed reform movement is now reaching the post-secondary level.
  • Big Take-Away #3 = The change must be institutional.

  • The challenge facing the Math Ed Community (the dismal stats)
    1) Only 50% of students earn A, B or C in college algebra.
    2) Women are twice as likely as men to not continue past Calc 1.
    3) While 20% of all Bachelors Degrees are awarded to Blacks & Hispanics, only 12% of Math Degrees are.
    4) Math is the most significant barrier to degree completion in ALL fields.
  • Innovation does not affect normative practice. Out of 81 different projects (2-3 yrs) connected to a grant or leader, NONE replaced normative practice, because they were based on faculty development, not institutional change.  Dr Treisman, “Institutional change is a bitch.”
  • Historically, school system does change when necessary.

The Learning Mindset Movement and Its Implications for Addressing Opportunity Gaps — Dr. Uri Treisman (The Dana Center)

  • Big Take-Away  = Besides Growth Mindset, there is Belonging Mindset and Purpose Mindset.
  • “I find Algebra beautiful, but will it knock the socks off of a 13 year old. Algebra well taught should leave them barefoot in the park.”
  • “Why do kids give up? Most of the work I do is confusing, cause no one gives me problems in the back of the book.”
  • Growth Mindset = “Can I do this?”
    Belonging Mindset = “Is this where I belong?”
    Purpose Mindset = “Does this connect to who I want to be?
  • Dr. Catherine Good:  Building Bridges to Belonging: Mindsets that Increase Participation, Achievement and Learning
  • Build Belonging through effort & engagement, not talent.
  • Positive Belonging Mindset = Assume they belong.
    Negative Belonging Mindset = Need to be invited in.

Paper Cup + Gust of Wind = Yearlong Rich Task — Peg Cagle

  • Big Take-Away = Revisiting the same task through-out the year emphasizes math as reasoning not simply answer-getting.
  • Peg had us roll a paper cup on its side. She then left us to our own devices to answer several questions, each of which addressed a different mathematical topic throughout the school year.
  • Day 35 Question: How can you convince a skeptic of the shape that the cup traces out as it rolls?
  • Day 70 Question: How can you locate the center of the shape that the cup traces out as it rolls?
  • Day 105 Question: How can you use a cup’s dimensions to determine the area of the shape it traces out as it rolls?
  • “Efficiency is overrated: That is a concern after you learn something.”

Coding to Enrich ALL Math Classes — Jason Slowbe

  • Big Take-Away = Coding in Math class helps teach the Math, not just the coding.
  • Coding can be done on the TI-Calculator
  • Can help students understand the meaning and power of mathematics. For example, Archimedes’ method for approximating the area of a circle.

Rich Problem Solving to Support Today’s Standards — Chris Shore (Teacher Created Materials)

I conducted a product promotion for Teacher Created Materials. The session was on Problem Solving and Linda Gojak’s What’s Your Math Problem Anyway? My presentation focused on the following questions about the teaching of problem solving, each of which I will answer in its own post:

  • What is problem solving?
  • Why teach problem solving?
  • Who should learn problem solving?
  • When should we teach problem solving?
  • How should we teach problem solving?
  • Where do we find resources for teaching problem solving?
180 Blog Algebra 1

First Day in Algebra 1

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Day 1 & 2, Thurs Aug 14, 2014

{My school has a special tradition of activities on the first day in order to promote our school motto at Great Oak HS: S.P.I.R.I.T., Scholarship, Passion, Involvement, Reflection, Integrity, Teamwork. Teachers do not officially see their new students until Day 2}

Selfie

The Drumroll: I have been pondering Carole Dweck‘s Growth Mindset findings, and came up with a couple of vehicles. The first is the Drumroll. I told the students that since this was my only class of the day (I am a math coach in the mornings), I will need their help getting in the right mood for class everyday with the drumroll. It goes like this.

Leader at the Front of the Room (today that was me): “Drumroll, please.”

{students drumroll on the desks);
Leader: “Are you ready to learn?”   

{Leader points as students all hit loudly once on the desk and point back}
Class: “Are you?”

{Everyone fist pumps}
All: “Yes”

The students bought into it more than I anticipated, but they will need some practice coordinating the routine. We will get there. The most important thing was setting the tone that we are going to be about learning in this class.

Opening Quiz on the 6 C’s: I always start every year by answering the transformation question: “How will you (the students) be different in June than you are now, because of my class?” In the past, I answered with the 4 E’s, and structured my Portfolio’s as such. This year, to better align with the Common Core, I answered with the 6 C’s which are the 21st Century 4 C’s and the 4 Smarter Balance claims. Since two overlap, there are only 6. I structured my grade book and my portfolios around these 6 learning categories.

  • Conceptual Understanding & Procedural Fluency
  • Critical Thinking
  • Construction of Models
  • Communication of Reasoning
  • Creativity
  • Collaboration

I gave the students the blank copy of the quiz below, and told them this was not to be graded nor was it a test of their previous knowledge. It was like a movie trailer of things to come, but I still wanted them to give me their best shot. I then gave them my standard 3-response speech.

As a mathematician I cannot always give an accurate response; I can not always give a complete response; I can always, always, always give an intelligent response. Blank is not intelligent.

I pressed them to give me something… numbers, equations, drawings … anything intelligent.

I was waiting for the “I feel stupid comment,” and sure enough I got it. I responded with the “if you made it this far, you are already smart. I am here to make you smartER. As long as you are putting something down on the paper, you are building a wrinkle on the brain.” Then I explained how learning is filling your head with stuff, but making your brain cells reach out and make connections with each other. My new crew responded better than expected for the first day.

Pic Opening Quiz

I posted on the board several of the responses that I saw on the student papers. I shared that these are the 6 C’s of the course. That these 6 things are really what they are here to learn. So I didn’t even answer the questions… that will come later in the course. I just wanted to highlight & explain what the first 4 C’s meant, and the other two would be woven throughout. I said that these things are what mathematicians really do, and that I am paid big bucks to get them all thinking like this in 10 months.

Introductions: I have each student stand up one at a time. They are to briefly state their name and something interesting about themselves. I use the time that they are talking about the point of interest to review the names in the class, so at the end, I can recite all the names in class. 100% this year! I then introduced myself. Good bonding day.

I then shared that the reason that we did math first is because that is what we all about.. learning math … not collecting points. I also assume they can read the grading policy if I gave to them I didn’t have to bore them with it. Since this is the last class of the day, they all thanked me profusely, for that’s much of what they experienced their first day.

Wrinkle Sprinkle: This is another vehicle that I created to promote the Growth Mindset. I explained to the students that when they learn, they don’t just shove stuff in their brain, but that the brain cells actually grow and connect to each. I joked that it was like getting a new wrinkle on the brain, and that we were into growing our brains in this class. Therefore, at the end of each class, we will debrief what we learned and write it on the board… thus a “wrinkle sprinkle.” My favorite for the first day…. “You will make us into mathematicians in ten months.” Yes! Glorious first day.