In a course,
Understanding Self-Efficacy, that my colleagues, Elli Stern/Jennifer Wolfrum, and I teach, we ask participants
(teachers, counselors, administrators, tutors, nurses, etc.) to get into
a group and "become the expert" on an article that we have assigned for
homework. To this end, we then ask the group to construct a graphic
organizer, mnemonic, or other visual aid to help "teach" the other
groups about the article.
P
Praise is connected to promoting students’ views that intelligence is malleable.
R
Recover well from setbacks/Resilience.
A
Ask questions and focus on the process of achievement.
I
Intelligence grows because your brain is a muscle.
S
Students praised for performance remained determined to learn, showed excellent performance, and continued to improve.
E
Escalate their efforts and look for new learning strategies when they face failure.
Mnemonic above created by Beth, Rita, JoAnne, Pam & Diana
NOTES & COMMENTS:
The number one reason why people are fired from jobs is the inability
to work with others. If you want kids to cooperate, you must give them time to practice bouncing ideas off of each other. Brainstorming is a strategy which helps groups of students come up with ideas, categorize and find ways to share their ideas with the class.
"Motivation is fragile" Using constructive feedback is very important.
Praise is recognition for student accomplishment, and feedback needs to be very specific to the task, providing description and information that encourages a student to develop further.
Avoid using the phrase "I think …" when praising a student's work because it creates dependency on what others think of the student's performance instead of recognizing the effort a student has put forth.
Use "and" instead of "but" when critiquing work because it increases the effort factor. And don’t forget “yet” – it’s not that a student can’t or hasn’t, it’s that he/she “can’t yet” or “hasn’t yet.”
Non specific praise becomes empty to a student after a while or, even worse, it creates a student who is extrinsically motivated to simply please others. Praising children for their intelligence puts them in a fixed mind-set and students who are "so wrapped up in their performance" can't admit their mistakes and, when faced with a challenge, lose their confidence.
It is easy to say, ” Good job!," however, it takes effort to be specific, to notice effort, and to clearly express this to students. With specific praise, students realize their own skills. When "Good job!" comes out, just keep going, “good job (fill in the blank)” and with practice, the praise will be more specific every time.
Carol Dweck’s research about people thinking their abilities are
fixed or people thinking that they can develop their abilities includes the growth mind-set. It is positive for students, as well as teachers. Why teach, if you
don’t think that a child can improve and grow? Kids don’t grow at the
same pace, but they can put in effort and see improvement. It’s an
important link to make.
“In the growth mind-set, students care about learning. When they make a mistake or exhibit a deficiency, they correct it. For them, effort is a positive thing: It ignites their intelligence and causes it to grow. In the face of failure, these students escalate their efforts and look for new learning strategies.” (from article)
“People nearly always perform better if they focus on things they can control, such as their effort, rather than the things they cannot.” Directly teaching this to our students provides them with hope that they can improve; that they have some control over how they do. It’s a powerful message that reinforces strength in their capabilities.
Teaching Girls to Adopt a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic
qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may
differ in every which way – in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests,
or temperaments – everyone can change and grow through application and experience.”
The differences between these two mindsets have profound implications for how
students approach academic challenges and academic setbacks – two arenas that
essentially dictate a student’s ultimate academic achievement.
Start Where Your Students are At
The article about understanding the currency valued by students.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb10/vol67/num05/Start-Where-Your-Students-Are.aspx
Brainology
www.brainology.us
I recommend subscribing to the free electronic newsletter.
History of Intelligence
http://www.iub.edu/~intell/index.shtml
More Dweck
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7406521
Grow your Brain
http://www.slideshare.net/swbrandt/grow-your-brain-interesting-version
What Research is saying about Brain-based Teaching and Learning
http://www.slideshare.net/swbrandt/grow-your-brain-dull-version?src=related_normal&rel=4557738
Brain Rules
http://www.brainrules.net/
Getting the Class I Always Wanted
Written by a teacher who writes about how she taught her students about the brain.
http://www.slideshare.net/mindsetworks/mindset-student-presentation-8666017?from=ss_embed
