Changing Mindsets: Teaching How to Cultivate Intelligence Through an Online Book Study

Kathy Marks, M.Ed. Gifted Program Teacher Gwinnett County Changing Mindsets:Teaching How to Cultivate Intelligence Through an Online Book Study

What is a Mindset? • From Merriam-Webster’s online: • a mental attitude or inclination • a fixed state of mind • For English language learners: • a particular way of thinking • a person's attitude or set of opinions about something

What is Your Mindset? • In Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck writes that her “research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.” • Which mindset are you? • www.mindsetonline.com

Test Your Mindset (from book p.12) Read each and decide whether you mostly agree or disagree: • 1) Your intelligence is something very basic about you that you can’t change very much. • 2) You can learn new things, but you can’t really change how intelligent you are. • 3) No matter how much intelligence you have, you can always change it quite a bit. • 4) You can always substantially change how intelligent you are.

What About a Personal Qualities Mindset? (from book p.13) Read each and decide whether you mostly agree or disagree: • 1) You are a certain kind of person, and there is not much that can be done to really change that. • 2)No matter what kind of person you are, you can always change substantially. • 3) You can do things differently but the important parts of who you are can’t really be changed. • 4) You can always change basic things about the kind of person you are.

Fixed vs Growth Categorize the qualities of a fixed mindset and a growth mindset using the paper strips provided.

Fixed Growth • You cannot grow or learn more in an area, no matter how hard you try. • Risk and effort might reveal your inadequacies or demonstrate you aren’t up to the task. • Everything is about the outcome. If you fail or are not the best, your effort is wasted. • You can learn when you put forth the effort, time, and energy and commit to focus on the area you want to grow in. Talent and ability are developed and built over time. • Challenge and effort are important. • You should value the process of what you are doing — regardless of the outcome.

Fixed Growth • Failure defines you. • If you are rejected means you’re not smart or talented. Overall: • Not successful very long. • Failure does not define you. Failure is not trying hard enough and not fulfilling your potential. • You should show resiliency when faced with setbacks. Overall: • Experiences greater success for a long time.

The Fixed Mindset • In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort.

The Growth Mindset • In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.

Dweck’s Studies • Puzzles with children • Junior high students • College students • Praise Junior High Math Achievement

Sports Examples Natural Talent • Billy Beane (baseball) • John McEnroe (golf) • Pedro Martinez (baseball) • Sergio Garcia (golf) • Patrick Ewing (basketball) • Keyshawn Johnson (football) Effort • Michael Jordan (basketball) • Muhammad Ali (boxing) • Babe Ruth (baseball) • Wilma Rudolph (running) • Jackie Joyner-Kersee (heptathalon) • Marshall Faulk (football) • Mia Hamm (soccer)

Business Examples Talent Scouts • Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling (Enron) • Lee Iacocca (Chrysler) • A&P • Alber Dunlap (Scott Paper, Sunbeam) • Jerry Levin and Steve Case (AOL Time Warner) Constant Improvers • Alan Wurtzel (Circuit City) • Kroger • Jack Welch (General Electric) • Lou Gerstner (IBM) • Anne Mulcahy (Xerox)

Relationship Examples Fixed • Feels judged and labeled by rejection • Strong bitterness and need for revenge • Ideal is instant, perfect, and perpetual compatibility – it was meant to be • Continually have to prove self Growth • Focuses on understanding, forgiveness, and moving on • Wants to learn from experience • You, your partner, and your relationship can all be developed

Parents, Teachers, and Coaches:Messages About Success • Listen to the messages you send about success: “Praising children’s intelligence harms their motivation and it harms their performance.” • As soon as they encounter a difficulty they will think they are not smart, which will cause confidence and motivation to decrease. • Instead, praise for growth-oriented processes: hard work, effort, persistence, practice, study, use of good strategies, etc

Parents, Teachers, and Coaches:Messages About Failure • Protecting children from failure to boost their self-esteem can be harmful in the long run. • Children need honest and constructive feedback. If they are “protected” from this, they will not learn well. • Constructive criticism helps a child fix something, build a better product, or do a better job. • Fixed mindset children feel constantly judged.

Changing Mindsets • Beliefs are the key to happiness and misery. • Our minds are constantly monitoring and interpreting • Fixed: internal monologue focused on judgment • Growth: internal monologue focused on learning and constructive action • Just learning about the mindsets can help shift thinking: workshops, discussions, activities • Student workshops had a significant, measurable impact after 8 sessions • Brainology™: interactive computer modules guided by teachers

Change Your Mindset • Change can be easy…but hard just as often • Dweck’s 4 Steps • Learn to hear your fixed mindset “voice.” • Recognize you have a choice. • Talk back to it with a growth mindset voice. • Take the growth mindset action.

So To Spread the Word We… • Created a summer online book study for 30 staff members (a first for our school) using Desire2Learn software through the county • During the study we read, learned, and discussed mindsets and how they affect us and our students • Exploration of D2L course

Then we implemented mindset ideas in classrooms…

We Also… • Gave a brief presentation to the rest of the staff as a teaser to do the book study in the spring • Reflected on our impact

Next Steps • We wanted to do a Spring online book study, but there were too many other staff development options going on! • We will set up a summer study and replicate with a new set of minds (after making improvements, of course!) 

References and Resources • Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. • www.mindsetonline.com • Desire2Learn program software for online course development http://desire2learn.com/ • My website: http://kathymarksgifted.weebly.com/index.html

Questions?

Changing Mindsets: Teaching How to Cultivate Intelligence Through an Online Book Study