Mindsets by Dweck - Chapters 7-8

To be honest, I was hoping for a cookie cutter, recipe type, here's-what-ya-do-and-how-ya-do-it approach to these last two chapters.  Alas, I have decided that when working with things like the mind, you go into it armed with research of what others have tried, observed, and tweaked.  Below are the main ideas of what I grabbed and plan to use this next year.

"Every word and action sends a message to children about how to think about themselves."
I'm going to have to be super vigilant to make sure that the messages I'm sending are promoting the growth mindset and not entrenching my students even deeper into the fixed mindset.

• Questions to ask (Ch. 8)
• What did you learn today?
• What mistake did you make that taught you something?
• What did you try hard at today?
• Talk about skills I have today that I did not have previously.
• I have done this in the past with my stories of studying for tests in college, with how I have learned to make certain food items and all the attempts that went with it.
• When students in a fixed mindset make comments about doing something better than another, switch the focus to "Yeah, but when did you learn?  What did you do to get better?"
• Apply these growth mindsets to non-academic areas...ways they learned how to be a better friend, ways they are learning to understand and help others.

When talking about mathematicians like Pythagoras, continue with the approach I have already used with all the attempts and the passion behind learning new things that led Pythagoras to find his famous theorem.  Do not allow students to think that Pythagoras was just overly smart and it was easy for him to make these discoveries.  

"Tedious things help us learn to concentrate."  Use this message when students want to quit working.  

Tell students you are no smarter than they are, that you are just more experienced.  

Set high standards for all students.

Teach students HOW to read the high standards.  

Growth-minded teachers tell students the truth and then give them the tools to close the gap. 

It's common for students to turn off to school and adopt an air of indifference, but we make a mistake if we think any student stops caring.

"You have to apply yourself each day to becoming a little better.  By applying yourself to the task of becoming a little better each and every day over a period of time, you will become a lot better."

How to Change Mindsets

1.  Teach the mindsets and how to apply the growth mindset in school.

2.  Describe how the brain forms new connections and "grows" when people practice and learn new things.

3.  Show pictures of how the density of brain connections changes during the first years of life as babies pay attention.

4.  Teach study skills.

There is a Brainology program that costs some moola.  I think based on the steps outlined above we could develop our own to meet the needs of our students.