LFKS Secretary
It’s Back to School! How do
you feel? Are you excited? …Do you have great plans? …Big hopes and dreams for you and your
students? Will you still feel this way
in October? December? Next
Spring? Maybe it's time for a back-to-school mindset checkup.
Is your
mindset radiating excitement and confidence for new ways to teach and learn,
new possibilities, and success for all?
Is it clouded by questions, doubt, and apprehension for the changes and
new expectations for educators and students alike? Is it a little bit of both? All responses are normal, but some are more constructive
than others. Is your mindset propelling
you to great things or holding you back?
What will be your prescription for success?
Variations
of this quote have floated around social media this week
that might make us consider the health of our educational mindset:
“A goal should scare you a little and excite you a lot.”
- Dr. Joe Vitale
What
is your first response to that statement?
Whatever you say, that is your mindset
talking. That first reaction – knee jerk
if you will – says a lot of about how you think. The beliefs we hold, based on the experiences
we’ve had, reveal themselves in the way we respond to every task, challenge,
decision, or problem we encounter every day.
If we are interested or believe we can succeed, even though we may need
to learn something new, our approach is viewed as a growth mindset. However, if
we believe we are being asked to go too far out of our comfort zones, that we
might look bad, believe it is too difficult, or we had a similarly bad
experience, then we exhibit a fixed
mindset. Mindsets are usually viewed as a continuum, rather
than either/or. We all display a range
of mindsets depending on the situation. So as you examine your own beliefs and
practices, what symptoms do you have? In
other words, which mindset do you exhibit more often? And does it matter for the health of
teaching and learning?
How does the mindset with which we approach everyday life, including teaching
and learning, impact our potential for success? …Or our students’ success?
With
redesign of education at the forefront
of our planning and focus of back-to-school professional learning, educators
are being forced to reckon with many new tasks and challenges. Thinking outside the box is a requirement of
redesign and yet can produce both open doors of opportunity and possibility,
and walls of self-preservation and resistance.
How do we shift our thinking to increase chances of success? What new strategies will we try to improve
our teaching and learning health?
If we want our students to
exhibit a growth mindset, it begins
with us – the adults. Saying you have a
growth mindset isn’t enough. It’s about walking
your talk; aligning your actions with your goals; and sending the right message
for yourself and your students. Just like we can often tell if our kids are faking it; kids can
tell if we are faking it too.
Change Your Words, Change
Your Mindset
Developing
and nurturing a growth mindset
begins by reframing your thinking and
intentionally changing your words to change your mindset. It begins with the ALL of the adults in
the building and spreads to students through our instruction and modeling of
the beliefs, words, and actions that represent a growth mindset. It is a commitment, not a quick fix. It is not something you achieve, like a test
score or grade, but something you strive to live every day. It
requires a conscious effort to ensure our thinking, speaking, and actions line
up with our intent. It’s also more
than a bulletin board or school slogan. It requires us to examine the work we
give students, the class rules we post, the way we respond when feedback is
given or an intervention is needed. What
message(s) do we send? It is an intentional way of approaching every
task, problem, or situation every day. For some, the prescription may be a
lifestyle change.
So What’s the Prognosis?
Whatever mindset we have, we
can change. Growth Mindset is more than a positive
outlook or increased effort, although that is part of it. It is a willingness to work through
difficulties, plan for and deal with failures that we will most likely incur,
and a resolve to focus on possible solutions rather than the problem itself. This occurs in classrooms, faculty rooms,
professional learning, accreditation and redesign efforts, as well as how we
approach post-secondary success. It
starts early with kindergarten readiness.
Our mindsets are shaped by our experiences and it is up to all educators
to ensure we are nurturing and guiding our students in the right direction so
they can develop mindsets that lead them to be successful in school and as
adults.
Even
those with a growth mindset can slip back into a fixed mindset when faced with
multiple setbacks, lack of support or resources, or mental/physical exhaustion. Nurturing a growth mindset is always a work
in progress.
What We Understand
We
evolve through our experiences and willingness to try or be open to new things. We believe we can learn and grow with new
understandings, practice, and a commitment to continuous improvement. We have confidence in our ability to control
of our circumstances. We embrace possibilities
and persevere through obstacles and setbacks.
We are committed to the message of hope that Dr. Carol Dweck shares in this video, The Power of Yet.
Our prescription for a great
school year, fueled by a growth mindset, is to be consciously aware of our thinking, words
and actions. Are they aligned with what
we say we believe or expect? Are we
modeling and working to fulfill the Power
of Yet? What learning, feedback and
support should we see in our buildings to ensure this is happening? The side effects of a growth mindset prescription
just might be the best teaching and learning you’ve ever experienced!
Doctor's Note: Check
back in 3 months so we can monitor our
progress!
References:
"The Power of Yet" by Dr. Carol Dweck
Brock
& Hundley, The Growth Mindset
Playbook
Mike
Gershon, How to Develop Growth Mindsets
in the Classroom
