Encouraging Students to Embrace a Growth Mindset
In education, “We can no longer [afford to] ignore the neuroscience.” This was a statement of Dr. Judith Howard, shared with us at a course I attended. As a neuro-nerd I couldn’t agree more with this sentiment. We need to embrace the learning that science can share with us and let it inform what we do in our classrooms. It is also important that we share this knowledge with our learners.
With this in mind we have started our teaching year with a focus on our brilliant brains and how we learn. And so far it’s been fun. There is a wealth of great material online and we have used video, movement, art, discussion and writing to support our learning.
One of the clips we started with was Ned the Neuron. We actually watched it three days in a row and it is on our class website for further revisits if individuals want to view it again. The first time we watched it I paused at various spots. The class loved being able to say neuroplasticity! We talked about what sorts of things help our brains get stronger, we talked about challenges. In subsequent viewings we focused on different aspects to explore further.
When we discussed the brain growing and challenges, we used the example of learning how to walk to help us understand better. I asked one of our classmates to demonstrate what happens when a baby first tries to walk. Our actor did a brilliant job of showing the baby falling over and then trying again and again. We talked about what happened
when the baby first fell over and I asked the following rhetorical questions: Did the baby just stop there and think, “Oh well. I tried walking but it didn’t work for me so I guess I won’t be a walker?” Did the baby think, “Walking is dumb, crawling is better and I like it better?” Did the baby just stop there and scream out, “It’s just not fair! I can’t walk. I can’t do this?” The class laughed as we went through these scenarios and each time we were able to say that no one would ever learn to walk if we did this. We related this to our own challenges.
After this we discussed how when we learn something we make new connections and the more we try things the stronger the connections get. We talked about how learning something new or different can feel really hard at first but that is OK. I reminded them that is what challenge can feel like, just like the baby learning to walk. We stood up and started off being like a neuron sitting there and trying something new and slowly, with a bit of effort, stretched one arm out and then kept going stretching our fingers out too. Then we stretched our other arm and fingers. After that we stretched out one leg and then another. Slowly and with effort until we were standing like strong stars.
We talked about things that we find challenging and that different people find different things more challenging than others… again that is OK. We are all unique! After this we noticed when we were challenged and our mantra in class became, ‘We try and try again!’ Sometimes we added, ‘Just like the baby learning to walk.’ The students notice when we make mistakes now and they know that making mistakes is part of learning: it helps our neurons stretch and grow.
We have also been watching the Class Dojo Growth Mindset series. There are 5 clips in total. These clips further expand on the notion that through accepting challenges and persisting when we find something tricky we can improve our learning. We can strengthen our brain.
To support our learning about the brain we have made images and written short descriptions about one of our amazing neurons. Just like us our brains, which are made up of billions of neurons, all our images are unique and interesting.
Our descriptions are just as unique. Here are a few examples:
My neuron’s name is Bob. He gets stronger when I learn. Bob likes to run. Bob needs
food and water. Bob loves hugs. Bob is awesome.
My neuron is Geoff. My neuron gets stronger by making mistakes. My neuron likes apples. My neuron needs lots of love. My neuron loves sleep. My neuron is strong.
My neuron’s name is Joe. My neuron gets stronger when I give myself a challenge. My neuron likes it when I give it food. My neuron needs water to live. My neuron loves it when I take it to cool places. My neuron’s clever and friendly.
Our classroom is known as Room 5: The Place to Stretch and Grow. We have developed a learning chant (an idea I have taken from a Teachers Matter Conference) and are practicing it regularly. We are developing actions to support this: It is exciting to hear the language the children are using. They are encouraging each other to persist. They are celebrating attempts. They are noticing when they have learned something new and they are sharing this knowledge with each other.
This has been a great start to celebrating our brilliant brains. How might you celebrate students’ brilliant brains this year?