What is a norm?
Norm = an attitude or belief a group of people agree on
What are our class norms?
PROTECT THE POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
In our first week of school, we will work to come up with our own definition and vision of a positive learning environment. As a class, we will decide what rules need to be put in place in order to protect the positive learning environment. Throughout the year, students will hold themselves and their peers accountable for maintaining this norm.
MINDSET MATTERS
For our purposes...
Mindset = Set of attitudes or beliefs you have about yourself and how you learn
Research in the field of Educational Psychology pioneered by Carol Dweck suggests that a dichotomy exists in students' possible mindsets: fixed mindset and growth mindset. Students who exhibit a fixed mindset see intelligence as a "fixed entity" and are focused on performance goals or appearing smart to their teacher or classmates (Dweck and Leggett, 1988). Students with a fixed mindset associate hard work with a negative connotation. For these students, having to work hard is a sign of incompetence, and thus, these students often shrink away from challenging work (Dweck and Leggett, 1988). On the other hand, students with a growth mindset see intelligence as a "malleable quality," one that they can improve upon through hard work (Dweck and Leggett, 1988). Focused on learning goals, these students readily accept challenges as an opportunity to learn more.
Several studies since the initial research of Carol Dweck have shown the positive effects of a growth mindset on student achievement and overall learning. Students with a growth mindset are better able to learn from difficult problems (Diener and Dweck, 1980), achieve better on tests over challenging material (Licht and Dweck, 1984), have a higher self esteem and a more positive attitude toward learning (Licht and Dweck, 1984), stay better focused while learning (Diener and Dweck, 1980), and are better able to transfer what they learned to a new scenario, evident of deeper learning (Farrell and Dweck, 1985).
The GREAT news...
We can actually train our students to have a growth mindset! Blackwell, Trzesniewski, and Dweck (2007) conducted research with different classes of 7th grade students in New York City. These classes were each comprised of students with different ethnicities, socioeconomic status, and achievement. Some groups of students received an intervention from their classroom teacher. In this intervention, students were taught about how intelligence can grow as a product of hard work (which is true--see proof under our next norm!). Other groups did not receive the intervention. The researchers found that the intervention groups showed an upward trajectory in grades over time, whereas the control groups showed the opposite trend independent of differing ethnicities, socioeconomic status, and achievement among students. Isn't that amazing?!
How can you "grow" a growth mindset?
Mindset = Set of attitudes or beliefs you have about yourself and how you learn
Research in the field of Educational Psychology pioneered by Carol Dweck suggests that a dichotomy exists in students' possible mindsets: fixed mindset and growth mindset. Students who exhibit a fixed mindset see intelligence as a "fixed entity" and are focused on performance goals or appearing smart to their teacher or classmates (Dweck and Leggett, 1988). Students with a fixed mindset associate hard work with a negative connotation. For these students, having to work hard is a sign of incompetence, and thus, these students often shrink away from challenging work (Dweck and Leggett, 1988). On the other hand, students with a growth mindset see intelligence as a "malleable quality," one that they can improve upon through hard work (Dweck and Leggett, 1988). Focused on learning goals, these students readily accept challenges as an opportunity to learn more.
Several studies since the initial research of Carol Dweck have shown the positive effects of a growth mindset on student achievement and overall learning. Students with a growth mindset are better able to learn from difficult problems (Diener and Dweck, 1980), achieve better on tests over challenging material (Licht and Dweck, 1984), have a higher self esteem and a more positive attitude toward learning (Licht and Dweck, 1984), stay better focused while learning (Diener and Dweck, 1980), and are better able to transfer what they learned to a new scenario, evident of deeper learning (Farrell and Dweck, 1985).
The GREAT news...
We can actually train our students to have a growth mindset! Blackwell, Trzesniewski, and Dweck (2007) conducted research with different classes of 7th grade students in New York City. These classes were each comprised of students with different ethnicities, socioeconomic status, and achievement. Some groups of students received an intervention from their classroom teacher. In this intervention, students were taught about how intelligence can grow as a product of hard work (which is true--see proof under our next norm!). Other groups did not receive the intervention. The researchers found that the intervention groups showed an upward trajectory in grades over time, whereas the control groups showed the opposite trend independent of differing ethnicities, socioeconomic status, and achievement among students. Isn't that amazing?!
How can you "grow" a growth mindset?
- By learning about the differences between fixed and growth mindsets so you know what to look out for
- By understanding how and believing that your mistakes and struggles will help you learn material better
- By expecting things to be hard at first
- By changing your language (see the image of our classroom bulletin board directed at this above!)
MISTAKES AND STRUGGLES ARE PART OF LEARNING
This is the fundamental belief that underlies a growth mindset. There has been much research to show that deeper learning results from struggling and making mistakes at first. The following is a great video that puts some of this research into a language that is easy to follow and understand: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtKJrB5rOKs.
To celebrate struggles and mistakes in our classroom, we have a designated area for students to post problems or concepts on index cards that they struggled with initially before mastering. They are even encouraged to post their mistakes in the space, as these are things to be proud of because they mean we are learning! |
OUR WORK DESERVES YOUR FULL HEART AND MIND
To explain this norm, I direct you to the film Karate Kid (1984). In this film, Daniel, the "new kid" in school, is used to being bullied by his classmates. One night, while Daniel is being beat up, Mr. Miyagi appears and fights the bullies without even breaking a sweat. Daniel is amazed! He begs Mr. Miyagi to teach him how to defend himself, and Mr. Miyagi agrees. Mr. Miyagi's training is not what Daniel expects. Instead of learning how to do karate, Mr. Miyagi has Daniel sand Mr. Miyagi's deck, wash his car, paint his house, and paint his fence. Daniel begins to think that Mr. Miyagi is just using him for free labor, until...
Our class will follow the same principles as here. There may be times you aren't interested in what we are doing in class or don't feel like participating. However, just like Mr. Miyagi, I have a plan to lead you to be successful sixth graders. You need to trust that everything we are doing is important, and thus, our work always deserves your full heart and mind.
WE LEARN TO KNOW GOD MORE
I like to believe God is the ultimate mathematician and scientist because math and science exist all over the world and help us make meaning of the world. In this way, by studying math and science, we can come to understand God's Creation more fully. If we understand God's Creation better, we can come to know God Himself better.
In our first week, we used the example of the Fibonacci sequence to learn about how math and science better help us to understand our Creator. This is a repeating mathematical pattern found throughout our natural world and beyond.
In our first week, we used the example of the Fibonacci sequence to learn about how math and science better help us to understand our Creator. This is a repeating mathematical pattern found throughout our natural world and beyond.
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, ...
Check out this awesome YouTube video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uo4Oond1e8
Blackwell, L. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child development, 78(1), 246-263.
Diener, C. I., & Dweck, C. S. (1980). An analysis of learned helplessness: II. The processing of success. Journal of personality and social psychology,39(5), 940.
Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological review, 95(2), 256.
Licht, B. G., & Dweck, C. S. (1984). Determinants of academic achievement: The interaction of children's achievement orientations with skill area.Developmental psychology, 20(4), 628.
Diener, C. I., & Dweck, C. S. (1980). An analysis of learned helplessness: II. The processing of success. Journal of personality and social psychology,39(5), 940.
Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. L. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological review, 95(2), 256.
Licht, B. G., & Dweck, C. S. (1984). Determinants of academic achievement: The interaction of children's achievement orientations with skill area.Developmental psychology, 20(4), 628.