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Mathematical Mindset
Jo Boaler (Standford University) is one of the leading researchers on the importance developing a growth mindset from an early age. Several key findings from her book Mathematical Mindsets (2016) are copied here for your consideration and reflection:
"...the brain sparks and grows when we make a mistake, even if we are not aware of it, because it is a time of struggle; the brain is challenged, and this is the time when the brain grows the most....if we believe that we can learn, and that mistakes are valuable, our brains grow to a greater extent when we make a mistake" (pg 12-13)
" Teachers should share with students that they are looking for their favorite (conceptual) mistakes" (versus numerical errors) (pg 17)
"There are strong beliefs in society that if you can do a calculation quickly then you are a true math person and that you are 'smart.' Yet mathematicians, whom we could think of as the most capable math people, are often slow with math...because they think carefully and deeply about mathematics." (pg 30)
"...the most powerful learning occurs when we use different pathways in the brain...the left side of the brain handles factual and technical information; the right side brain handles visual and spatial information. Researchers have found that mathematics learning and performance are optimized when the two sides of the brain are communicating. " (pg 39)
"In the early years of school...this is the time when it is most critical that teachers and parents introduce mathematics as a flexible conceptual subject that is all about thinking and sense making." (pg 35)
Normalizing the Struggle: The Learning Pit
One way to help students see that we all struggle when learning something new is sharing the idea of the "Learning Pit". The Learning Pit analogy provides a visual for the idea that we may not initially know what to do or how to solve the challenge we are working on, and that's ok. It is worth having discussions around what to do when you don't know what to do. See what you think of some of the visuals in the slide deck below.
Videos that support developing a Growth Mindset
Class Dojo is a student friendly version that shares the same messaging as Jo Boaler's research on growth mindset.
Growth Mindset for students - Episode 1/5
Class Dojo's Growth Mindset Series - Episode 2
Class Dojo's Growth Mindset Series - Episode 3
Math Should Be FUN
In Math Recess, Sunil Singh and Dr. Christopher Brownell talk about the importance of playfulness in the math classroom. Here are some of their thoughts that contribute to a positive, growth mindset:
"My job is to provide math recess...Classrooms should and can look like math playgrounds. Shape blocks, Unifix Cubes, puzzle books, math games, walls teeming with number lines and patterns created by students, some technological devices, riddles, conundrums, unsolved problems, open problems, symmetrical art, game theory and so much more. All interwoven with the communal bliss of learning together...developing a kindergarten mindset for K-12 math learning." (pg xix-xxiv)
"...have students create a portfolio of their work...students would curate a collection of demonstrations of techniques and skills and put them on display - digitally or in print..." (pg 55)
"...(these goals) should permeate all classroom experiences in mathematics: helping students to be pattern sniffers, experimenters, describers, tinkerers, inventors, visualizers, and conjecturers." (pg 63)
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