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You Can Learn Anything
What's the one thing that everyone needs to know about learning?
https://twitter.com/hashtag/youcanlearnanything
Learning takes time, patience, and persistence. If one makes a concerted effort to learn it will eventually happen. Don't give up. Believe in yourself!
Explore
Let's consider Dr. Carol Dweck's career work on Mindsets.
Carol Dweck 'Mindset - the new psychology of success' at Happiness & Its Causes 2013
How do Dr. Dweck's ideas relate to everything that we've investigated so far? What big connection is there to be made?
How do these ideas relate to the perspectives on STEM learning (e.g., conceptual change, models & modeling, social cognitive, situated learning)?
Everything we've learned ties in with Dr. Dweck's ideas. The big connection is that everyone can learn. The goal for Dr. Dweck and STEM educators is the same. Make students eager to learn. We want to instill a growth mindset and overcome the fixed mindset that we have a limit to our abilities based on labels. This is a motivation drainer. People who realize that learning takes practice, dedication, help and mentoring have the right attitudes and become lifelong learners. This is an achievable mindset for those with a fixed mindset once they realize the difference and with good support. Remaining engaged resulted in increased learning and better grades. We need to encourage students to look at their errors and learn from them. I read Carol Dweck's work in Introduction to Psychology and never forgot the lesson about praise and labeling. I try to encourage others to avoid labels and praise the effort instead. The process is more important. If I am told I am smart and then fail and exam I think I am no longer smart and might stop trying. If I am praised for trying hard, focus, strategies, and my work is admired then I am more likely to want to engage with my errors to interact with them to find the solutions. I become more invested in finding new ways of thinking. Problem-solving becomes more effective as a result. Ms. Dweck makes the observation that this growth mindset starts early, as early as 5-years-old, but it is never too late to adopt a growth mindset.
It is interesting to note that just realizing that one's brain is plastic and can change and grow facilitates learning. I think Dr. Dweck's ideas relate to the STEM perspectives in that every learning situation needs to have this safety net of growth mindset stimulating praise. If students know that their brains are actually learning when something is difficult it becomes more likely they will persevere. For example, in the instance of detecting misconceptions about how seasons change, it might feel embarrassing to a person realize that she/he remembered incorrectly. However, conceptual change can occur through the use of modeling, group discussions, and direct teaching. Having a student build a model, writing a description, or drawing a picture to help them articulate their thoughts leaves an opening for the teacher to make an assessment of that student's knowledge and at the same time offer praise for her/his effort.
Extend
Growth Mindset at the Florida Department of Education
In the classroom, let our motto be “Praise the process, not the person.”
This above website contains many valuable resources. One of those is a document in the Praise tab containing stems that are useful for encouraging a growth mindset in various situations. Here are a few of my favorites:
When they struggle despite strong effort
• I admire your persistence and I appreciate your hard work. It will pay off.
• When you think you can’t do it, remind yourself that you can’t do it yet.
• You might be struggling, but you are making progress. I can see your growth (in these places)
• Look at how much progress you made on this. Do you remember how much more challenging this was (yesterday/last week/last year)?
When they struggle and need help with strategies
• Describe your process for completing this task.
• Let me explain in another way with different words.
• What parts were difficult for you? Let’s look at them.
• Let’s practice (skill) so we can move it from our short-term to our long-term memory.
When they are making progress
• I can see a difference in this work compared to __________. You have really grown (in these areas).
• I see you using your strategies/tools/notes/etc. Keep it up!
• Hey! You were working on this for a while and you didn’t quit!
• Your hard work is clearly evident in your process/project/essay/assignment.
When they succeed with strong effort
• I am so proud of the effort you put forth to/in/with _____________.
• I am very proud of you for not giving up, and look what you have to show for it!
• Congratulations – you really used great strategies for studying, managing your time (behavior, etc.).
• I want you to remember for a moment how challenging this was when you began. Look at how far you have come!
• What choices did you make that you think contributed to your success?
• It’s exciting to see the difference in your work now when I compare it to your earlier work.
When they succeed easily without effort
• It’s great that you have that down. Now we need to find something a bit more challenging so you can grow.
• We need to raise the bar for you now.
• You’re ready for something more difficult.
• What skill would you like to work on next?
• What topic would you like to learn more about next?
(Solodev, 2018)
Education Week - 'Growth Mindset' Gaining Traction as School Improvement Strategy
'Growth Mindset' Gaining Traction as School Improvement Strategy
References
Solodev. (2018, March 29). Praise. Retrieved from http://www.fldoe.org/teaching/just-for-teachers-community/growth-mindset/praise.stml
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