Growth Mindset: I Have A Changing Brain…and So Do YOU!! Michelle Perry Buncombe County Governor’s Teacher Network Action Research

Using Action Research To Empower North Carolina Educators A Race to the Top Initiative NC Department of Public Instruction Educator Effectiveness Division

What is Action Research? A systematic research process to: 1.Identify an area of focus (critical, challenging issue) 2.Develop an action research plan 3.Implement action research plan in classroom/school 4.Collect, analyze, and interpret data 5.Share findings to inform practice Mills, Geoffrey E, Action Research: A Guide for the Teacher Researcher, 2014

Problems of Practice GoSoapBox

Action Research Plan Purpose - The purpose of my study is to examine the effect of implementing direct instruction of perseverance, effort, brain malleability, and goal setting on student achievement and discipline referrals. Participants - The participants will be a class of demographically diverse first grade students. These students range in academic and social skills. Several of the participants demonstrate challenging behavior. Study Variables – Direct Instruction, academic achievement, discipline referrals Research Questions – 1.Can classroom teachers use strategies to change a student’s mindset? 2.Will infusing and explaining the words: grit, perseverance, and yet into daily classroom language make a difference in a student’s mindset? 3.Will teaching perseverance, effort, brain malleability, and goal setting change a student’s mindset? 4.Will teaching perseverance, effort, brain malleability, and goal setting improve student achievement and student behavior? 5.Will setting goals and giving process feedback (praise on effort and strategy) improve student achievement and behavior?

My Project: Growth Mindset Students with high level behaviors (verbal and physical aggression towards peers and staff) are easily discouraged, unmotivated, or unable to persevere with academic and social tasks in the school setting. Some teachers are not sure how to help these students and there are very few free resources available. Staff, students, and parents can all benefit from this research. Students will develop a life long positive mindset.

Literature Review *NCWiseOwl*NCWiseOwl*EBSCO HostEBSCO Host

What Does Peer-Reviewed Research Say About My Focus Area? “Recent research has shown that students’ mind-sets have a direct influence on their grades and that teaching students to have a growth mind-set raises their grades and achievement test scores significantly” Blackwell, Trzesniewski, & Dweck, 2007; Good, Aronson, & Inzlicht, “In addition, studies demonstrate that having a growth mind-set is especially important for students who are laboring under a negative stereotype about their abilities, such as Black or Latino students or girls in mathematics or science classes” Blackwell et al., 2007; Good et al., 2003; Aronson, Fried, & Good, 2002.

What Does Peer-Reviewed Research Say About My Focus Area? “Students may not realize the influence that effort can have on achievement. One way to help them understand this is to explicitly teach it and share examples” Marzano, R. J., & Dean, C. B Classroom instruction that works : Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement.

Survey

stanford-magazine/ Set a Goal!

Intervention/Implementation - Direct Instruction Once a week – 30 minutes (Morning Meeting – Responsive Classroom) Changing Brain Cool Strategies Ask for Help Never Give Up

ICCAN - Gestures I’m learning I have a Changing brain Cool strategies Ask for help Never give up!

Direct Instruction- Changing Brain Brain Models- Scholastic’s MindUp Curriculum & Dr. Dan Siegel hand model of the brain Brain Language Neurons & Dendrites Good Choices

Resources

Direct Instruction – Cool Strategies Soup breathing Hook ups (Brain Gym) Square breathing Visualization Superman/woman Academic strategies Routine strategies

Direct Instruction – Ask For Help Who, what, when, where, how do we ask for help Sign language Raising hands, visuals It’s okay to ask for help!

Direct Instruction-Never Give Up It’s important to never give up, but we must have a strategy if things are not working! Who uses strategies? It’s okay to make mistakes Mistakes are how we learn

Intervention/Implementation -Goal Setting Every student set academic and/or behavior goals Daily check in on goals with all students. Staff used the language of the goals.

Goal Setting Some students checked their goals throughout the day. Students and staff monitored progress of their goals

Classroom Implementation Classroom Video Clip

Lessons Videos- Michael Jordan Failure, He Touched the Butt!, Meet the Robinsons. Michael Jordan FailureHe Touched the Butt!, Meet the Robinsons. Team building activities- Pass the pulse, pass the ball Hands on activities- Drop the rock, sponge activity Writing- Journal prompts Drawing- Brains & diagraming, vocabulary Reading- Salt in His Shoes, The Little Engine That Could Math- Graphing goals and progress Vocabulary- Pre-frontal Cortex, Amygdala, Hippocampus, Persevere, Neurons, etc. Visuals – Posters, sticky notes, checksheets, etc.

Strategies – For the Whole Class Believe it and practice it in your everyday life! Use the language all day, everyday! Model it! (effort, grit, yet, strategy, ask for help, goal, etc.) Google it! ASCD, Edutopia, Pinterest, MindUp Curriculum, Mindsets in the Classroom, Mindset

Strategies – For the Whole Class Set Goals and give process feedback (Help students set goals related to classroom rules and growth mindset language, write these down, refer to them often) Use formative assessment to help promote the Growth Mindset (Learning is about growth, mistakes are how we learn)

Other Strategies – Tier 2 & Tier 3 Sticky notes with goals/tallies – self-monitoring (timer) Schedule/Checksheet – self-monitoring Take 5 space Small group reinforcement Visuals

Data Collected Pre and Post Likert Scales for Students Interviews with Students and Staff Observations M Class Data Powerschool attendance and discipline data Goal sheets

Findings Based on interviews and observations the classroom teacher started with and embraced the Growth Mindset. She continued to use the strategies throughout the Action Research. We reflected and assessed together regularly. Based on interviews and observations, the majority of students made connections and embraced the Growth Mindset. Interviews revealed that students could verbally give examples of both academic and behavior strategies. Observations and interviews revealed a small group of students with whom the whole class instruction was not effective in reducing extreme challenging behaviors.

Findings Those students continued to receive a separate weekly direct instruction intervention. Observation and interviews also revealed that the students in the ESL program took longer to grasp the concept but by January they were able to make connections and verbally explain a the Growth Mindset. Post implementation surveys show an increase in Growth Mindset in all but 3 of the 18 students. T- Scores indicate that 4 of the 8 survey questions were statistically significant. Post survey data reveals that even when students believe their brain can change they still do not like to make mistakes and they do not like school work that is too hard!

Mindset Scores

Recommendations and Plans for the Future Teachers and students will highly benefit from implementing Growth Mindset and effort based praise. More research is needed in this area. I will add more strategies and lessons to emphasize that hard work and making mistakes are vital in helping our brains grow! I will add a parent night and parent resources. I will continue to implement these strategies in other classrooms.

Follow Up Growth Mindset Padlet

Questions???

Happy Dance!

Research Articles Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindsets that promote resilience: When students believe that personal characteristics can be developed. Educational Psychologist, 47(4), doi: / Downey, J. A. (2008). Recommendations for fostering educational resilience in the classroom. Preventing School Failure, 53(1), Retrieved from d&custid=s &db=trh&AN= &site=ehost-livehttp://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,custui d&custid=s &db=trh&AN= &site=ehost-live Marzano, R. J., & Dean, C. B. (2012). Classroom instruction that works : Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, Va: ASCD. Retrieved from webb.edu/login?url= nlebk&AN=430964&site=eds-livehttp://ezproxy.gardner- webb.edu/login?url= nlebk&AN=430964&site=eds-live Dweck, C. S. (2010). Mind-Sets and Equitable Education. Principal Leadership, 10(5),