Putting Mindsets into Practice AIS Sydney September 9, 2012

Putting Mindsets into Practice

AIS

Sydney

September 9, 2012

More About Praise and More About Praise and FeedbackFeedback

Messages about what is valued

What to Praise

• Effort, struggle, persistence despite setbacks, but not just effort…

• Strategies, choices

• Choosing difficult tasks

• Learning, improving

What About Criticism?

The Coach

There’s good criticism and bad criticism….

What are ways to help students value criticism?

Criticism

• Grade takes account of revising, improving based on critical feedback

• Reward students for seeking critiques

• Cohen: How to give criticism:

High standards + reassurance

Defensive Students

• Won’t hear feedback—”I know, I know..”

Different conversations

Opportunity

Learning quickly vs. learning deeply

What About Parents?

What About Parents?

February 11, 2007

Assignment: “I am gifted at…”

Labeling

• Gifted

• Learning disabled

• Grouping (top nations in maths)

Rewards

Should Everyone Get a Trophy?

Grading and Testing Practices

Grades Tell Students What is Valued

• Grading

Does Testing Send a Message?

High Stakes Testing

Messages: What Do Test Scores Mean?

Reflection

• What is one practice you could change in your school(s) right now to promote more of a growth mindset?

Are Some Things Seen as More Fixed?

Teachers’ Practices in Maths

• Teachers with a fixed mindset about mathematical ability:

Teachers’ Practices in Maths

• Teachers with a fixed mindset about mathematical ability:

• Judged a student’s ability from one exam

Teachers’ Practices in Maths

• Teachers with a fixed mindset about mathematical ability:

• Judged a student’s ability from one exam

• Comforted student: “Don’t worry, not everyone…”

• Unhelpful strategies

“I’m not a maths person”

More About Changing Students’ Mindsets

A Mystery

For students in top charter schools in the U.S.

• Over 90% gain admission to university

• Only 30-40% make it through.

• Why?

Maths Dropout:Control vs. Growth Mindset

… but it’s not only about academic skills.

Know vs. Know-how

Another Mystery

• Study with Native Americans: Mindset intervention did not work at first

• Why?

Another Mystery

• Study with Native Americans: Mindset intervention did not work at first

• Why?

• Making the mindset message culturally relevant

Mindsets About Teachers and Teaching

Mystery:

Why Do Many of the Best Young Teachers Leave?

Natural Born Teacher?

The Egg Carton Theory

Reflection

• Think about something you’ve admired in other teachers/educators.

• What is one thing you could do to begin building that skill?

Changing Adults’ Mindsets

School Culture

Are the leaders fostering a culture of learning or non-learning?

Organizational Culture

• A mindset can permeate an organization

• Murphy & Dweck (2010)

• Affects core values of employees

• Affects their behavior and decisions

Who Are the Great Leaders?

• Identified 50 managers who achieved “breakout” results

• Conclusion: They shared one thing—

Liedtka et al., 2008

Who Are the Great Leaders?

A Growth Mindset:• Faith in their ability to change selves

and environment

• Conviction that learning is the route

• Belief in teamwork

Liedtka et al., 2008

Creating A Culture of Growth

Changing

Leaders’

Mindsets

(Peter Heslin & colleagues)

Before WorkshopBefore Workshop

• Fixed mindset managers did not welcome feedback as much

• Fixed mindset managers didn’t mentor their employees as much--people can’t change

• Fixed mindset managers didn’t notice improvement--first impressions last

Mindset Workshop

• Scientific article and video on how the brain grows with learning throughout life

Neuroscience

Mindset Workshop

• Scientific article and video on how the brain grows with learning throughout life

• Exercises to instill a growth mindset

Mindset Workshop

• What is an area in which you once had low ability, but now perform quite well? How were you able to make this change?

Mindset Workshop

• What is an area in which you once had low ability, but now perform quite well? How were you able to make this change?

• Who is someone you know who dramatically improved their performance? Or did something you didn’t think they were capable of?

What did they do that enabled them to improve?

• As an educator, what are at least 3 reasons why it is important to believe that students can develop their abilities?

Exercise

• Write an email to a student in your class/school who once found school relatively easy but is now struggling and is turning off to school. Talk about the growth mindset and how abilities can be developed.

After

After the growth mindset workshop, managers showed greater:

• Openness to critical feedback• Willingness to mentor and higher quality of

mentoring• Openness to employee change

Hearing Voices in Your Head

The Growth vs. Fixed Mindset Voice

• Facing a challenging task

• Experiencing setbacks or getting criticism

• Encountering someone more proficient than you

What are ways organizations can support or institutionalize the growth

mindset?

Changing an Organization

• Message from the top

• Public Branding: What would you like to change? What would you like to grow?

• New managers meeting organized around growth mindset: permission to learn

• Managers moved out of comfort zone, took on more challenges—and were rewarded for it.

Reflection

What is one professional challenge you are now facing?

How could you approach that challenge with more of a growth mindset?

Mindset Leadership LessonsMindset Leadership Lessons

• Effort and learning create talent

• Good leadership is mentoring and collaborating, not simply judging

• Leaders themselves need to experiment and grow