The College Classroom (Fa14) Week 4: Fixed and Growth Mindset and Assessment that Supports Learning

on target by hans_s on flickr CC-BY-ND mindset and assessment collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 1

The College Classroom Week 4:

Fixed and Growth Mindset &

Assessment that Supports Learning

November 4 – 6, 2014

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Vocabulary Check: Mindsets [1]

Entity, Helpless,

Performance-oriented,

Fixed

Mastery-oriented,

Incremental, Malleable,

Growth

mindset and assessment collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

The helpless [children]

believe that intelligence is a

fixed trait: you have only a

certain amount, and that’s

that.

The mastery-oriented

children think intelligence

is malleable and can be

developed through

education and hard work.

3

Diagnosing Fixed/ Growth Mindset

mindset and assessment collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 4

Each card has contrasting fixed and growth behaviors. With

the others at your table:

1. sort the cards to show the fixed mindset

behaviors

2. one by one, flip all the cards over to see the

contrasting growth mindset behaviors

fixed

growth


Graphic by Nigel Holmes [2]













Agency “Human agency is the capacity for human beings to make

choices. It is normally contrasted to natural forces, which are causes

involving only unthinking deterministic processes.” Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agency_(philosophy)


growth mindset?

deliberate

practice

more

expert-like

Growth mindset and deliberate practice


In your opinion, which of these is true?

A) [necessary] you need a growth mindset to engage in

deliberate practice

B) [sufficient] if you have a growth mindset, then you’ll

engage in deliberate practice

C) [necessary and sufficient] you engage in deliberate

practice if, and only if, you have a growth mindset

D) [neither] no relationship between mindset and

deliberate practice


If a growth mindset is necessary for us to engage in deliberate practice to become more expert-like in our disciplines…

…what about your students? What is their mindset towards your class? Most likely a mix of

fixed, growth, and no mindset yet.

How do you help your students become more expert-like?

Feedback and Practice that Enhance

Learning (How Learning Works)

15

When Practice Does Not Make Perfect… Students’ writing in public policy course


The instructors don’t recognize

their own expertize, fail to give

useful practice and feedback.

expert blindness

curse of knowledge

They Just Do Not Listen! Students’ presentations in medical anthropology course



16

Goal-directed practice coupled with targeted feedback are

critical to learning. [3]


Music by Piulet on flickr CC Excellent Shot by Varsity Life on flickr CC



17



Goals can direct the nature of focused practice, provide the basis

for evaluating observed performance, and shape the targeted

feedback that guides students’ future efforts. [p. 127]

Targeted feedback gives students prioritized information about

how their performance does or does not meet the criteria so they

can understand how to improve their future performance. [p. 141]




18



practice is goal-directed

productive practice

timely feedback

feedback at appropriate level


Aside: exploring these characteristics


analogy

Students come to the classroom with preconceptions about how

the world works…Teachers must draw out and work with the

preexisting understandings that their students bring with

them. (How People Learn [1])

contrasting cases

Teachers must teach some subject matter in depth, providing

many examples in which the same concept is at work and

providing a firm foundation of factual knowledge

(How People Learn [1])

Scenarios


feedback at

appropriate level

feedback not at

appropriate level

productive practice unproductive practice

practice is goal-directed practice not goal-directed

timely feedback untimely feedback

In a moment but not yet, find 2 or 3 others with

the same colored sheet as you. Together, think of

examples/scenarios of both contrasting cases, in

sports/hobbies and in teaching and learning.

Feedback at Appropriate Level Feedback not at Appropriate Level sp

ort/

hobb

y te

achi

ng a

nd le

arni

ng


Productive Practice Unproductive Practice sp

ort/

hobb

y te

achi

ng a

nd le

arni

ng


Practice Goal-directed Practice not Goal-directed sp

ort/

hobb

y te

achi

ng a

nd le

arni

ng


Timely Feedback Untimely Feedback sp

ort/

hobb

y te

achi

ng a

nd le

arni

ng



What kind of assessment gives

timely feedback at an

appropriate level to support

goal-directed and

productive practice?


Wait, what do you call this?

A) a rubric

B) a grading scheme

C) a marking scheme

D) I have another name for it

Fixed or Growth?

27

Does this grading scheme foster a

A) fixed mindset (performance-oriented)

B) growth mindset (mastery-oriented)

C) neither

D) both



mindset and assessment collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu Robert Talbert

tinyurl.com/RobertTalbertRubric 29


Presenter speaks

clearly and distinctly,

demonstrates mastery

of the problem and

methods used for

solving it, and fields

questions effectively

Rubric = Instructional Scaffolding

31

supports growth mindsets

goal-directed

Goals can direct the nature of focused practice, provide the basis for evaluating observed performance, and shape the targeted feedback that guides students’ future efforts.

targeted feedback

Targeted feedback gives students prioritized information about how their performance does or does not meet the criteria so they can understand how to improve their future performance.

path to improvement: rubric needs to be given before, and built into, assignments (not just a grading scheme at the end.)


Carl Wieman

Science Education Initiative

cwsei.ubc.ca

Take Away

32

Plan your course (learning outcomes, activities and

assessments)


What should

students

learn?

What are

students

learning?

What instructional

approaches

help students

learn?

Take Away

33

Plan your course (learning outcomes, activities and

assessments)

Motivation and expertise

growth mindset is necessary for deliberate practice and the

development of expertise

Monitor how YOU behave in the classroom

rewarding errors, etc.

take care to support and be sensitive to minority

experiences

watch for microinequalities (like more-frequently asking

male students to respond)


Mindset for your students


You

must foster

a growth mindset

in your students.

Mindset for your students


You must have a

growth mindset about your

students’ ability to learn.

You

must foster

a growth mindset

in your students.

and you

Watch the blog for next week’s

readings and tasks

Learning Outcomes - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 37

Next time

Week 5: Alternatives to Lecture

References


1. Dweck, C.S. (2007). The Secret to Raising Smart Kids. Scientific American, 18,

6, 36-43.

2. Nigel Holmes http://nigelholmes.com/home.htm

3. Ambrose, S.A., Bridges, M.W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M.C., & Norman,

M.K. (2010). How Learning Works. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.