What impact does growth mindset have on students achievement?
I think over the last bit of reading we need to add mindfulness to our research question. there seems to be a direct correlation between the two and thinking forward to my teacher inquiry it would be good to include mindfulness into this research.
What impact does growth mindset and mindfulness have on students achievement?
I am not convinced that all mindsets can be changed if they are deep seated over many years but i may be persuaded to consider that teaching mindfulness could create a growth mindset in young people that they may carry on into their future lives.
I, myself have a fixed mindset with regard to teaching maths. This is deep seated from a young age [refer to DCL1 and DCL2], while it has improved over the years and the mindset occasionally relaxes the fixed mindset overrides it often as it is so deep seated. The moment i am questioned on my teaching on maths, the moment someone comes in on a maths lesson, the moment someone questions my planning or teaching or grading in maths the fixed mindset comes right back and the stress and chip is retained. I don't believe this will ever change; we as teachers are constantly being judged by communities, by students, by parents, by management, by colleagues by media....therefore if our mindset is tentatively fixed we will always revert back to this as a coping mechanism. We all drop back to most learned behaviour.
This post has made me think carefully about my own mindsets. We all have that default place we go to when under stress or scrutiny. Working on our own growth mindset must surely be slowly adjusting it though. Activities that promote mindfulness allow us to be less reactive when dealing with our own deep seated mindsets. It doesn't mean that we will miraculously change overnight. I wonder if there are other areas where you have been able to shift your mindset more successfully? A colleague reminded me recently that even if a parent is challenging my method, I am still the trained professional and actually have more experience than they do. It is important to remember that while we may be trying to improve ourselves, and know our own faults, we are already operating professionally and with the learners interests at heart.
ReplyDeleteI love that colleague of yours! They are so true! That's worth a lot of us remembering that we are the trained professionals, sometimes it gets clouded and we need reminding of that. I recently planned an inquiry into mindsets and mindfulness on the back of the Lit Review and plan on implementing a lot of it next year with a number of colleagues on board. I have already started using mindfulness more frequently in class which has made a difference to me and the children seem to enjoy it too - the challenge is keeping it up and not letting it slide with all the other aspects and requirements in our timetables.
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