PD Growth Mindset

Natascha Van Cleave 14 May 2015

In this PD we focused
on Carol Dweks
assertion that praising
effort over production
builds resilience and
improves student
learning as she
showed her research
on comparing the
success of those with
and without a growth
mindset.
I completely changed
my technique for
giving feedback in my
second round to align
with this principle and
noticed massive gains
in students who were
previously
disengaged.
From this I also got
onto the good call
home practice
thinking that maybe
That also helped with the interactions I had with students at parent teacher night.
This might be the most influential PD of the 8 I attended this year as it challenged
my assumptions of how to motivate and what real learning means. It also challenged
my ideas around why some people are more successful than others.
In another way, it gave me tools to pursue the type of teaching I am most passionate
about, project based learning. Building a growth mindset is the cornerstone of a
successful project.
Future reading on growth mindset is needed. I have ordered the Carol Dwek books.