Summary
This professional development session focuses on increasing teachers' knowledge about growth mindset and how it can be fostered in their classrooms. During this interactive session, participants will assess their own mindsets, review research on growth mindset, and develop goals for applying the research to their classroom practices.
Essential Question
How can our perceptions and beliefs affect our learning outcomes?
Materials List
Presentation Slides (attached)
Magnetic Statements Meme Posters document (attached; one set per session)
Research Statements Set 1 of 5 handout (attached; one per session)
Research Statements Set 2 of 5 handout (attached; one per session)
Research Statements Set 3 of 5 handout (attached; one per session)
Research Statements Set 4 of 5 handout (attached; one per session)
Research Statements Set 5 of 5 handout (attached; one per session)
Cart Sort handout (attached; one per group of 2–3 participants)
Pledge Cards handout (attached; one page per four participants)
Mindset Self-Assessment handout (attached; one per participant)
Authentic Lesson Reflection Tool handout (attached; optional; one per participant)
Chart paper (one per group of 2–3 participants)
Markers
Envelopes or small bags (optional, five per session)
Learning Objectives
Reflect on your own mindset and your current classroom practices that support a growth mindset.
Apply research-based practices to foster the development of student growth.
Create a plan of action to continue to foster a growth mindset.
Snapshot
Engage
Participants consider their strengths and abilities and reflect on how their beliefs about their abilities influence their effort and engagement. Participants also complete a mindset self-assessment activity.
Explore
Participants read and discuss research about growth mindset then create a visual summary of the research.
Explain
Participants watch a video that encourages them to consider the impact of using labels like “gifted,” then discuss the impact and importance of failures and mistakes.
Extend
Participants categorize classroom activities and behaviors based on how each reflects different growth mindset values.
Evaluate
Participants reflect on activities discussed in the session and plan for how they could foster students’ growth mindset in their classrooms.
Preparation
Prior to the session, prepare the following materials:
Add facilitator name(s) to slide 2 of the Presentation Slides.
Arrange the session space to allow participants to work in smaller groups.
Print and hang each of the five Magnetic Statements Meme Posters in a different location around the room.
Place one piece of chart paper at each Magnetic Statement Meme Poster.
Print one copy of the each of the Research Statements 1–5 handouts. Cut out the statements from each handout and sort each set into bags or envelopes. You should have five bags, one corresponding to each set of statements.
Print, cut, and organize one set of the Card Sort handout for every 2–3 participants. Each set should include six Growth Mindset Value Statement cards and 30 Supporting Activity Description cards. Consider printing each set on a different color paper or writing the same number on the back of cards of the same set to keep sets together. Put each set in an envelope or bag.
Print and cut Pledge Cards so that each participant receives one card.
Engage
40 Minute(s)
Use the attached Presentation Slides to guide the session. Display slide 2 and introduce the session and facilitator(s).
Show slide 3 and introduce the essential question, “How can our perceptions and beliefs affect our learning outcomes?” Tell participants that they will revisit this question later in the session. Display slide 4 and introduce the learning objectives for the session.
Transition to slide 6 and introduce the reflection questions on the slide. Facilitate a whole group discussion about the questions. Invite participants to share out their thoughts.
Repeat the process for the reflection questions on slide 7.
Transition to slide 8 and revisit the essential question. Encourage participants to continue to think about this question throughout the session.
Display slide 9 and give each participant one copy of the attached Mindset Self-Assessment handout. Allow them time to complete the assessment.
Discuss the results of participants’ assessments. Consider asking questions similar to the following: What did you notice about the assessment? Were your results what you expected? Were there any statements you struggled with answering?
Show slide 10 and wrap up the discussion by revisiting the learning objectives. Share with participants that this session is about expanding knowledge on growth mindsets.
Explore
45 Minute(s)
Display slide 11. Draw participants’ attention to the Magnetic Statements Meme Posters that you previously placed around the room. Introduce participants to the Magnetic Statements instructional strategy.
Have participants identify a poster that they are most attracted to or repelled by and stand next to it. Ensure that groups are similar in size. If too many participants are standing near one poster, have them stand next to their second choice.
Display slide 12 and give each poster group a different set of the Research Statements 1–5 card handouts. Have small groups review their given statements about growth mindset. Ask participants in each group to take turns reading aloud and discussing each of the cards. Encourage participants to discuss multiple cards, if possible.
Remind participants to focus on the importance of the quote and how it supports a growth mindset. Advise them to set aside and later revisit any statements that they have trouble connecting to a growth mindset.
Display slide 13 and introduce participants to the Color, Symbol, Image poster activity. Have participants use the chart paper at their Magnetic Statement Meme Poster to complete the activity. Have them divide the paper into four corners and fill in the top left corner with a color that represents their feelings about a growth mindset. Have them draw a symbol that represents their feelings in the top right and a scene or image that relates to a growth mindset in the bottom left. Have them leave the lower right quadrant blank.
Display slide 14. Have each small group share their poster and explain why they chose their color, symbol, and image to represent their research statements. Encourage groups to read aloud one research statement to the whole group if there is time.
Explain
30 Minute(s)
Display slide 15 and introduce the following quote from Jo Boaler’s book Limitless Mind.
"[Giftedness] is a social comparison that causes students who arrive at school excited to learn—to quickly decide that they are not good enough." (Boaler, 2019, p. 88)
Share with participants that the following video is directly connected to teaching practices that are harmful to all students, but focuses on the impact that labels, like giftedness, have on students’ mindsets.
Display slide 16 and show the video Rethinking Giftedness.
Move to slide 17 and invite participants to reflect with the research and video in mind. Facilitate a discussion using the questions on the slide and additional questions similar to the following:
Do you have personal experiences or know someone who might have experienced this?
How has your thinking about struggle and failure changed in light of this new information?
How does knowing about growth mindset theory change the way you treat yourself when you fail?
How might labels either directly or indirectly be harmful to a growth mindset?
Move to slide 19 and have small groups revisit their Color, Symbol, Image posters. Have them complete the final quadrant by summarizing what a growth mindset is using three bullet points.
Invite participants to share out their summaries and facilitate a discussion. Mention and discuss any key points that were not addressed in participants’ summaries. Allow time for participants to ask questions.
Extend
15 Minute(s)
Transition to slide 20 and give each small group one Card Sort set. Introduce participants to the Card Sort instructional strategy. Explain that participants must now put their understanding of the research into practice. Tell participants that they should sort the 30 Supporting Activity Description cards into the six Growth Mindset Value Statement categories.
Introduce participants to the following six Growth Mindset Value Statement categories and have them find the corresponding cards in their sets.
Teachers and students believe everyone can learn at high levels.
Communication and connection are valued.
Learning is visual.
Learning is open.
The environment is filled with wonder and curiosity.
The classroom is a risk-taking, mistake-valuing environment.
Allow participants time to sort the Supporting Activity Description cards into the six categories.
Lead a whole group discussion about how participants sorted their cards. Have groups share out their Card Sorts and the reasoning behind their organization. Offer validation for the different organization systems by explaining that some cards were difficult to place under one of the six values, and some cards could have been sorted into multiple values, depending upon personal experiences and perceptions. Assure participants that there are no correct answers in this activity.
Connect this activity to the classroom by asking participants what some of these activities might look like in their classrooms. Allow time for discussion.
Evaluate
15 Minute(s)
Transition to slide 22. Have participants survey their completed Card Sorts and choose one activity description that they would like to implement in their classrooms. Ask them to consider how they will use this activity to foster students’ growth mindset.
Give each participant one of the Pledge Cards. Have them describe how they will facilitate that activity in their classroom on their individual cards. Encourage participants to write statements that are SMART.
Follow-up Activities
Have teachers use the What’s Mindset Got to Do With It? model lesson on growth mindset with their students.
Research Rationale
Research suggests that a growth mindset supports student achievement and success beyond high school. When an individual has a growth mindset, they are not as timid to take on challenges and not set back by their failures on the way toward success. Motivation increases because achievement is not only tied to an immediate outcome, but also to the process of learning or growing.
Some research shows that students who were taught malleable intelligence had a clear increase in math grades (Yeager et al., 2016). Teacher mindset also has a big impact on student mindset (Boaler, 2020; Dweck, 2007). Mindset has been linked to academic achievement, and by extension, college preparedness, in that students with a growth mindset are more willing to take on new challenges and not give up as soon as they experience failure.
Yeager and colleagues (2016) reported results in a very large study (N = 3676) of students transitioning to high school. A revised growth mindset intervention was given online during two class periods at the beginning of the fall semester. Semester GPA was better for students in the experimental group than in the control group, but only for those who entered high school as low achievers (based on 8th grade GPA). The growth mindset intervention also meant reduced rates of poor performance for low, but not high, achievers. However, although high achievers in the experimental group did not see an improvement in grades, they did exhibit more hypothetical challenge-seeking behavior compared to the control, suggesting that growth mindset interventions can encourage challenge-seeking in high achievers whereas it improves academic performance in low-achievers.
Resources
Boaler, J. (2020). Limitless mind: Learn, lead, and live without barriers. HarperOne.
Coyle, D. (2009). The talent code: Greatness isn’t born. It’s grown. Here’s how. Bantam Books.
Dweck, C. S. (2007). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Penguin Random House.
Khan, S. (2012). The one world schoolhouse: Education reimagined. Twelve Books.
K20 Center. (n.d.). Card sort. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/147
K20 Center. (n.d.). Color, symbol, image. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/161
K20 Center. (n.d.). Magnetic statements. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/166
K20 Center. (n.d.). Mentimeter. Tech Tool. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/tech-tool/645
K20 Center. (n.d.). SMART Goals. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/4250
K20 Center. (n.d.). Snap, clap, pop. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/190
K20 Center. (n.d.). What’s mindset got to do with it? 5E Lessons. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/lesson/1389
Merzenich, M. (2013).
Soft-wired: How the new science of brain plasticity can change your life. Parnassus Publishing.
Mindset Kit. (n.d.). Assessments for a growth mindset. https://www.mindsetkit.org/topics/assessments-growth-mindset-math
Silver, D. (2012). Fall down 7 times, get up 8: Teaching kids to succeed. Corwin Press.
Yeager, D. S., Romero, C., Paunesku, D., Hulleman, C. S., Schneider, B., Hinojosa, C., Lee, H. Y., O’Brien, J., Flint, K., Roberts, A., Trott, J., Greene, D., Walton, G. M., & Dweck, C. S. (2016). Using design thinking to improve psychological interventions: The case of growth mindset during the transition to high school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(3), 374–391. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/edu0000098
YouCubed. (2017, November 8). Rethinking giftedness [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/241875015