LisaTeachR's Classroom: Effort and hard work: moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset

Sunday

Effort and hard work: moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset

Effort and hard work:

moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset

So I think it's really important to teach kids that their effort is what will help them succeed in school and in life. I have a wall filled with effort quotes in an attempt to inspire students to always try their best. I started this after reading Robert Marzano's research on his Nine Instructional Strategies for Effective Teaching and Learning. I particularly connected with his thoughts on effort.

This summer, I started reading about moving students from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. It's an idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck. It's the thought that a fixed mindset- things are the way they are and we can't change them- stands in our way of success. A growth mindset is the belief that we can develop our brains and our talent through hard work and effort. That's what I was trying to teach my kids with the effort quotes but I didn't have a name for it. So my first step was to create posters on moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Adults (visitors) really liked them but I wasn't sure I was getting through to the kids.

Then I discovered The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires! And I found this blog by Two Writing Teachers. They had a convo with the author and really went into depth examining this book. Read the blog. It's amazing. I then created a read aloud lesson plan on inferring that I used as a springboard for delving further into the idea of a growth mindset. It worked beautifully. I think the kids have a better grasp of what a growth mindset is. I heard a kid say "I am awe..." and then stop and rephrase his sentence to "I'm on the right track!"