Social and Emotional Learning to support Formative Assessment Growth Mindset

Learning objectives By the end of this session, participants will be able to: Define growth mindset Understand the importance of growth mindset for formative assessment Feel familiar with the research base in this area Use actionable strategies to promote growth mindset with students Train other adults using the materials provided

Growth mindset: What is it? Fixed mindset Growth mindset “I failed because I’m dumb.” “Maybe I need a new strategy.” According to Dweck and colleagues’ research, students may view intelligence as a fixed quantity that they either do or do not possess (a fixed mindset) or as a malleable quantity that can be increased with effort and learning (a growth mindset). Students with a fixed mindset tend to worry about proving it rather than improving it. This can lead to destructive thoughts (e.g., “I failed because I’m dumb”), feelings (such as humiliation), and behavior (giving up). By contrast, students with a growth mindset will often perceive challenges or setbacks as an opportunity to learn, and respond with constructive thoughts (e.g., “Maybe I need to change my strategy or try harder”), feelings (such as the excitement of a challenge), and behavior (persistence). Fixed mindset (intelligence is fixed) “If I have to try hard, I’m clearly not smart.” There’s no point in trying if I’m not a “natural.” If I’m “dumb,” then I have to rely on “luck.” Growth mindset (intelligence is malleable) “Trying harder makes you smarter.” “Obstacles can be overcome through effort, help from others, and use of improved strategies.” “If I have to try hard, I’m not smart.” “Trying harder makes you smarter.”

Growth mindset: What is it? It’s NOT just about a student’s effort. The educational environment is important for changing mindset.

How does growth mindset relate to formative assessment? Formative assessment depends on students and teachers having growth mindsets Both have to think of intelligence as something that can increase Both have to expect that it will take time and effort for learning or mastery to happen Both have to anticipate there will be challenges and mistakes as students learn new things, but those are just part of the learning process Simply put, formative assessment depends on students and teachers having growth mindsets. Teachers have to believe students can learn and their intelligence can grow, and thus that giving feedback is meaningful, worthwhile work. Both students and teachers have to think of intelligence as something malleable that can increase. Similarly, they have to expect that learning will take time and effort, and it won’t always be easy—students will make mistakes along the away and will be challenged by some tasks and content. Put another way, without a growth mindset about student intelligence, a teacher has little incentive to use formative assessment since student potential is limited. A student without a growth mindset has no incentive to accept feedback or work hard on challenging material. Optional: this video is a counterexample showing fixed mindsets in a summative assessment scenario: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRXHgzXQQjs

The importance of growth mindset Growth mindset has been linked to a number of academic and non-academic outcomes including: Grades Test scores Learning goals Motivation Persistence Engagement For more research background, see Dweck, C., Walton G., & Cohen, G.(2014). Academic tenacity: Mindset and skills that promote long-term learning. Seattle, WA: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Promoting growth mindset: What can we do? Small classroom changes can help a lot There is also evidence that interventions in K‒12 settings have large and enduring effects Interventions can be low cost and easy to implement, such as reading articles, doing writing exercises, or playing games

Growth mindset article studies “Most people don’t know that when they practice and learn new things, parts of their brain change and get larger, a lot like the muscles do. This is true even for adults. So it’s not true that some people are stuck being “not smart” or “not math people.” You can improve your abilities a lot, as long as you practice and use good strategies.” ‒ Excerpt from You Can Grow Your Brain by Lisa S. Blackwell and David S. Yeager The most well-known intervention involves giving students an article to read that teaches them about how their brain can grow with effort. Then, they do a short writing exercise to internalize the message. This is an excerpt from an article that students can read to learn about growth mindset. This intervention has proven to be most powerful for students from underrepresented or marginalized groups. Visit Mindsetworks.com for more information about articles and other activities

Growth mindset article studies Students read an article describing the brain’s ability to restructure itself through effort. The article focuses on the implications for students’ potential to become more intelligent through study and practice. This message is reinforced through several writing exercises. Interventions were given to 1,594 students in 13 geographically diverse high schools. The interventions were most beneficial for low-performing students. Among students at risk of dropping out of high school (a third of the sample), each intervention raised students’ semester grade point averages (GPA) in core academic courses and increased the rate of satisfactory performance in core courses by 6.4 percentage points. In the first writing exercise, students summarize the findings in their own words. In the second, they read about a hypothetical student who is starting to think of himself as “not smart enough” to do well in school. Students are asked to advise this target student based on what they have read. Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., Romero, C., Smith, E. N., Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2015).

Classroom strategy to promote growth mindset: praise vs. encouragement Praise can have dramatic effects on students’ mindsets. Praise can create approval-seeking behavior in children, instead of self-driven behavior which enhances self-esteem. Similarly, if youth are given undeserved praise for low quality work, they may start to think that they do not need to work any harder. Praise can also hamper risk-taking. Research found that children who were praised for being smart after they accomplished a task chose to complete easier tasks in the future, so as not to risk making mistakes. Focus on the process, not the outcome.

Classroom strategy to promote growth mindset: praise vs. encouragement Fixed mindset Growth mindset You are so talented You put a lot of work into that. What do you think? You did it right Your effort paid off I like how you did that I can tell you’ve been practicing. You’re a natural Great work Great improvement

Classroom strategies to promote growth mindset What is a growth mindset? Let them in on it! Share stories and observations about how you and other adults (including famous ones) have overcome challenges Model your own growth mindset: ‒ Show how you can grow and improve with effort, feedback, and practice ‒ Make changes in class based on student feedback

Exercise To Promote Growth Mindset: The Mistake Game

The mistake game This activity is adapted from resources found on MindsetKit.org, a site created by the Stanford Project for Education Research That Scales (perts.net) This game can be tailored to different age groups or other subjects besides math PERTS is an applied research center at Stanford University Visit Mindsetkit.org for more information and free resources for educators of all grades

The mistake game First, students work individually on math problems relevant to the lesson. Then, they share their solutions with a group. The group chooses one solution to share with the whole class. IMPORTANT! Each group makes a mistake on purpose while presenting. The class spots the mistake and asks questions about it. Detailed instructions for the Mistake Game are packaged under separate cover. See the “Mistake Game Exercise” materials. Visit Mindsetkit.org for more information and free resources for educators of all grades

Thank You! SEL for Formative Assessment by Davidson, S., Bates, L., McLean, C. and Lewis, K. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.