Mindsets in the Classroom

Building a Growth Mindset Learning Community

Mary Cay Ricci

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000494662
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Psicología educativa

When students believe that dedication and hard work can change their performance in school, they grow to become resilient, successful students. Inspired by the popular mindset idea that hard work and effort can lead to success, this updated edition of Mindsets in the Classroom provides educators with ideas for ways to build a growth mindset school culture, wherein students are challenged to change their thinking about their abilities and potential. The book includes a planning template, a step-by-step description of a growth mindset culture, and Look Fors for adopting a differentiated, responsive instruction model teachers can use immediately in their classrooms. It also highlights the importance of critical thinking and teaching students to learn from failure. The four most important components of a growth mindset learning environment are also presented. The book includes a sample professional development plan and ideas for communicating the mindset concept to parents. This updated edition also presents ways to build the concept of "grit" and includes application to Makerspaces, instructional coaching, grading, and more! With this book's easy-to-follow advice, tasks, and strategies, teachers can grow a love of learning in their students.

CHAPTER 1
WHAT ARE MINDSETS, AND HOW DO THEY AFFECT THE CLASSROOM?

DOI: 10.4324/9781003236689-1

“Look at her paper–she’s the smart one!” It was the first month of school in a third-grade classroom, and I was visiting the students to see if they had any prior knowledge about the brain. This particular school had a 70% poverty rate and the majority of students did not have English as their first language. As I circulated around the tables, I was observing a student writing copiously when I heard it: “Look at her paper–she’s the smart one!” This announcement proudly came from one of her classmates. When I assured him that he along with his classmates were all working hard on the assignment, he agreed, but again shared that this particular classmate would have the best paper.

What I discovered in this classroom was a profound example of a fixed mindset at play—an 8-year-old child who believed that his classmate was the “smart one,” and that no matter the amount of hard work he put in, her paper would always be better. In this case, the child didn’t see that he, too, could also be the “smart one” or have one of the “best papers” in his classroom, a mindset I have seen during my time as an educator and consultant often. That’s where this book comes in—to help the many teachers, administrators, parents, and students like the one in this story realize that they can change the way they think about success and intelligence in the classroom.

Can Intelligence Be Changed? What Are Growth Mindsets and Fixed Mindsets?

The belief that intelligence is malleable and can be developed is not a new concept. However, the idea that intelligence can be changed and grown in both children and adults has seen more popularity in recent years thanks to the work of Stanford University professor of psychology, Dr. Carol Dweck, and her 2006 book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, which looks at the concept of “growth mindsets” and “fixed mindsets” among successful people as far-ranging as athletes Alex Rodriguez and John McEnroe, CEOs Lou Gerstner and Ken Lay, and teachers Marva Collins and Rafe Esquith. Dweck’s research and development of the fixed and growth mindset theory has also contributed to a major shift in thinking about student learning and intelligence.

Dweck (2006) described a belief system that asserts that intelligence is a malleable quality and can be developed—a growth mind-set. Learners with a growth mindset believe that they can learn just about anything. It might take some struggle and some failure but they understand that with effort and perseverance, they can succeed. The focus of a growth mindset individual is on learning, not on looking smart. An educator with a growth mindset believes that with effort and hard work from the learner, all students can demonstrate significant growth and therefore all students deserve opportunities for challenge. Add to this belief an effective teacher armed with instructional tools that differentiate, respond to learner’s needs, and nurture critical thinking processes, and you have a recipe for optimum student learning.

growth mindset

a belief system that suggests that one’s intelligence can be grown or developed with persistence, effort, and a focus on learning

Dweck also presents a different belief system about intelligence; the belief that intelligence is something you are born with and the level of intelligence cannot be changed—a fixed mindset. A person with a fixed mindset might truly believe that he has a predetermined amount of intelligence, skills, or talents. This belief system is problematic at both ends of the continuum. For those students who struggle or do not perceive themselves as smart, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because they don’t really believe that they can be successful, they will often give up and not put forth effort. For those students who are advanced learners, they can become consumed with “looking smart” at all costs. They may have coasted through school without really putting forth much effort, yet they are often praised for their good grades and strong skills. Often, an advanced learner with a fixed mindset will start avoiding situations where she may fail; she can become “risk adverse.” In her book, Dweck (2006), using tennis star John McEnroe as an example, noted that a person with a fixed mindset often is a high achiever who blames outside forces when he or she “fails” at a task.

fixed mindset

a belief system that suggests that a person has a predetermined amount of intelligence, skills, or talents

Think for a minute about your own mindset. A mindset is a set of personal beliefs and is a way of thinking that influences your behavior and attitude toward yourself and others. An educator’s mindset directly influences how a child feels about him or herself and how he or she views him- or herself as a learner. A child’s mind-set directly affects how he or she faces academic challenges. A child with a growth mindset perseveres even in the face of barriers. A child with a fixed mindset may give up easily and not engage in the learning process.

A fixed or growth mindset can directly affect family dynamics as well. It is not surprising to note that parents also have a big impact on how children view themselves. They will often view their children through specific lenses, “Joseph was born knowing his math facts,” “Domenic has always asked good questions,” and “Catherine just knows how to interpret a piece of literature,” These are all examples of a fixed mindset, even though the statements sound positive. These statements describe who these children “are,” not the effort that they have put forth. As educators, think of some occasions when you have heard a parent describe her child in a way that rationalizes perceived weaknesses: “She is just like me; math was not my thing either” or “I can understand why he does not do well in reading, I never liked to read.” (Ideas and resources for helping parents embrace a growth mindset will be discussed in Chapter 6.)

Shifting Mindsets

Breaking down the belief that intelligence is static can be a challenge, but with the proper groundwork and education, little by little a mindset can shift. Expecting a shift in mindset immediately is not realistic; after all some educators have had a fixed mindset belief for most of their lives. Even after someone has had a self-proclaimed mindset shift, she will need to make a conscious effort to maintain that belief.

A fixed mindset has an elasticity that continually wants to spring back. For example, a twice-exceptional child (a gifted student with learning disabilities) called to share a college schedule with his mother who also happened to be an educator. The parent had a mindset “shift” several years ago and had proudly told me all she did to encourage a growth mindset culture within their home. The schedule her son shared involved 8 a.m. classes and a course roster that included macroeconomics, international business, accounting, analysis of media, and management. His mother noted that the fixed mindset mentality buried within her wanted to scream, “Are you crazy? You are setting yourself up for failure!” Instead, she responded, “It sounds like a challenging schedule, and I know that with continued effort, you will be able to manage it.” Believing that all children can, with effort, persistence, and motivation succeed, is the heart of this belief.

Brain-Based Research

One of the reasons for this shift in thinking about intelligence is due to the available technology that examines the function and make-up of the brain. Recent brain research negates the notion that intelligence is “fixed” from birth. Formal and informal studies demonstrate that the brain can develop with the proper stimulus. Other current research in neuroscience emphasizes the concept of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to change, adapt, and “rewire” itself throughout our entire life. Anyone who has ever witnessed someone recovering from a stroke has had a front row seat in watching neuroplasticity. In the case of a stroke, for most patients, the brain begins the rewiring process almost immediately so that patients learn to speak and become mobile again. (However, it takes the hard work and effort put forth in therapy for stroke patients to fully regain what they’ve lost.) Neuroplasticity works both ways; it creates new connections and eliminates connections that are not used very often.

neuroplasticity

the ability of the brain to change, adapt, and “rewire” itself throughout our entire life

Understanding and believing in neuroplasticity is an important part of a growth mindset belief. Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers: The Story of Success, related the idea of neuroplasticity back to academic success when he discussed how some children are at a disadvantage academically simply because they don’t have the opportunities to learn at the same levels of their peers during the summer months. He shared the following,

It turns out that summer vacation is a massive disadvantage for poorer kids. Richer kids get a lot of help over the summer. Their homes are filled with books and things that advance their knowledge; they go to camp and have all these other activities. But a poor family can’t do that. To improve that, we as a society would have to provide it in the first place. During the school year, poor kids actually outlearn richer kids. Then they stall over the summer. (Newman, 2008, para. 5)

This is an example of how neuroplasticity eliminates or weakens connections—in this case, the connections go unused for the children whose families cannot afford academic programming during the summer while the students who are provided with such opportunities during the summer can maintain their learning.

We now know so much more about the neurological aspects of the brain that it cannot help but inform the way we approach learning, instruction, and motivation. It directly affects teachers’ beliefs and expectations about student potential and achievement. It is when educators and children (as well as their parents) learn about the brain and all of its potential and when they witness the impact that it has on learning that mindsets can begin to shift (see Chapter 8 for a discussion of how you can teach children about the brain).

Intelligence and Measuring Intelligence

Is it possible to increase your IQ? The University of Michigan partnered with the University of Bern to conduct a study that looked at the possibility of increasing IQ. This 2008 study (see Palmer, 2011) required participants to continually play a computerized memory game that involved remembering visual patterns. Each time a different pattern appeared, the participants heard a letter from the alphabet in their headphones. They were asked to respond when either the visual pattern on the screen or the letters they were hearing in their headphones were repeated. The time between the repeating of patterns and letters became longer as the game became more difficult. The researchers found that as the participants had practice and got better at the game, scores on IQ-style tests increased (Palmer, 2011).

This research and other studies like it contribute to the understanding of malleable intelligence, a key factor in mindset and a concept many educators struggle to understand. In general, educators do not have a lot of background in cognitive science. I recently asked several groups of educators, “What do cognitive abilities tests/IQ tests measure?” Without exception, there was hesitancy in responding to the question; after giving sufficient wait time, a few responses were shared: “a child’s capability,” “how smart they are,” and “their innate ability.” What surprised me more than their responses was the observation that so many of these teachers and administrators just could not answer the question. There are many times that educators are in situations where data is shared about a student, and that data often includes cognitive scores from gifted and talented screening processes, special education screening processes, and/or IQ tests. Who knew so many educators really have no idea what these assessments actually measure?

Cognitive ability tests measure developed ability. Therefore, if a child has never had an opportunity to develop reasoning processes, the outcome of one of these assessments would not be noteworthy. David Lohman (2002), professor of educational psychology at the University of Iowa and cocreator of the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), stated that abilities are developed through experiences “in school and outside of school” (para. 3). When parents and educators review these “intelligence” scores, assumptions may be made about the child and beliefs may kick in that place limits on the child’s potential.

The Role of Potential and Hard Work

Potential. What a great word. It is all about possibilities. However, “potential” is often used in ways that can make me uncomfortable. Think of the phrase, “He is not working to his full potential” or “We will help your child reach his full potential.” How does potential become “full”? Is it something that can be checked off on a report card? Potential can never be “full”; it is never-ending and our possibilities are infinite. As a person grows, learning and experiences become more sophisticated and challenging, growth continually occurs and potential is never reached because it is impossible to reach. Perhaps many thought Michael Phelps reached his “full” potential after his 10th Olympic medal in 2008—a feat he went on to shatter at the 2012 Olympics when he won 8 more medals. Believing that intelligence, talent, skills, and, yes, even athletic ability can be developed encourages these endless possibilities.

We are all born with potential. However, we might have innate strength or capacity in one or more specific areas. These strengths can manifest themselves in many ways. Strengths can be shown physically, creatively, socially, academically, perceptually—the possibilities are endless. Every child has strengths, and some children are born with a greater degree of specific strengths compared to their peer group. For those children with outstanding specific strengths or those who are identified as “gifted,” their strengths deserve to be further developed. However, it is also important to consider that other children have the potential to work side-by-side or even surpass those with intrinsic ab...