I plan to praise my students differently. Rather than giving positive praise in the form of intellectual praise, I will begin using effort as the basis for the praise I give. I plan to point out specific examples when conferring with my students about the hard work they put into their assignments. I will focus on the process more than the outcome. By changing the way I speak to students, I hope to encourage them to continue giving effort and working through challenging situations. I will compliment the effort that was put forth, rather than praise the outcome because of being smart.
Describe one situation where you heard a fixed mindset statement and pushed back by modeling a growth mindset or with a growth mindset statement.
I had a student who recently said, "I am not smart. I can't do this." I talked with her about changing her mindset and not thinking about how she "can't" but how she "can" learn. I said to her, "You can do this. It all comes from your thoughts, and you are free to write anything that you are thinking about." I gave her a few strategies and examples to help her with the assignment. She was trying to come up with comments based on an article that she read. I explained to her that her comments were her opinions. They were not right or wrong. Her comments were there to help her understand what she was reading. I told her to give her best effort in finding interesting facts, connections, agreements/disagreements, questions she had, or locating important information. Once I explained the process for her, she worked hard on completing the assignment, and she even told me she learned something she did not know. Her reaction was very calm once she understood how to complete the task. She continues to ask for help with directions, and I help her come up with a step-by-step plan in completing her assignments. The impact this conversation had on the student was powerful. She changed her attitude and her effort level once she understood how to break things down so the task was not overwhelming.
Describe one situation where you heard a fixed mindset statement and pushed back by modeling a growth mindset or with a growth mindset statement.
I had a student who recently said, "I am not smart. I can't do this." I talked with her about changing her mindset and not thinking about how she "can't" but how she "can" learn. I said to her, "You can do this. It all comes from your thoughts, and you are free to write anything that you are thinking about." I gave her a few strategies and examples to help her with the assignment. She was trying to come up with comments based on an article that she read. I explained to her that her comments were her opinions. They were not right or wrong. Her comments were there to help her understand what she was reading. I told her to give her best effort in finding interesting facts, connections, agreements/disagreements, questions she had, or locating important information. Once I explained the process for her, she worked hard on completing the assignment, and she even told me she learned something she did not know. Her reaction was very calm once she understood how to complete the task. She continues to ask for help with directions, and I help her come up with a step-by-step plan in completing her assignments. The impact this conversation had on the student was powerful. She changed her attitude and her effort level once she understood how to break things down so the task was not overwhelming.
