July is half way through and I am reveling in the long days
and hot temperatures that have me finding a quiet place to keep on
reading. This week I tackled chapters
1-3 of Opening Minds by Peter H. Johnston. This book has been on my “To Be Read
Pile” for a couple of months, so the #cyberPD was just the prodding I needed. I have to say though now that I have started
this is a book that is not easy to put down.
My take-away thoughts:
·
Using “Already”: that one little word suggests
that what a student knows has the potential to be ahead of what is being
assessed, and at the same time establishes that there is “nothing permanent
about what is known and not known.” (pg. 2)
·
Mistakes happen at the edge of what we can do,
when we are learning! So helping students to be comfortable with accepting
mistakes as part of the learning process is essential.
·
MINDSET keeps coming at me from so many
different directions! (Carol Dweck’s book Mindset is waiting for me on my
Kindle ap.) I was fascinated by the idea that fixed mindsets tend to choose
performance goals and dynamic mindsets tend to choose learning goals.(pg. 12)
·
Influence: as a teacher I can contribute to my
students developing a dynamic mindset in the ways I use feedback and praise,
the way I frame activities, and lastly in continuing to teach students about
how the brain works. (pg. 18) While I work hard with the last one, the first
two are definitely areas I can grow and improve.
·
The Power of “YET”: “I am not very good at my
multiplication tables, YET!” Helping
students to understand that they can achieve it, that they can grow and learn.
(pg. 27)
Next steps:
·
I feel like I want to list some phrases to refer
to for easy access until I have them imprinted on my brain.
·
I am going to add the charts on pages 17 and 23
to our work with growth and fixed mindsets with our students. While last year Celina and I worked this into
some groups we saw struggling with challenging themselves, this year I feel like
it will be essential information for all of our learners. I also want to talk to our class about what they think it means to be smart.
·
Spend more time focusing on causal processes
(pg. 31) “Causal process comments are the most effective way of promoting the
belief that the important information is how someone did (or could do)
something, because that’s what we learn from.”
I am going to try this one out on my own kids this summer! (Action-based
research!)
·
Ah, and now to blog hop the others reading this
book and then on to chapters 4-6!
~ Ann
Ann,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you have joined the conversation. You have a lot to think about in your post. I was struck by your emphasis on "already." This gives credit to students for what they know and helps them to understand that learning is always evolving.
Your next steps are very helpful in reflecting. When I was reading Johnston's book I was struck by the "casual processes." I'm thinking this is going to be an important shift in the way talk with young learners this year.
Looking forward to stopping by for the next section.
Cathy
Love your blog title. I'm thinking I could hang it in my room to keep me focused on what is important.
ReplyDeleteCathy, thank you for your comments! Our blog title is actually our class pledge, we stack our forearms one atop the other while chanting each phrase, then say "Hizzah!" The kids have loved it and it resonates with them that by working hard, being courageous to try new things, and celebrating our growth we all succeed.
DeleteAnn,
ReplyDeleteThe following sentences really caught my attention: "While last year Celina and I worked this into some groups we saw struggling with challenging themselves, this year I feel like it will be essential information for all of our learners. I also want to talk to our class about what they think it means to be smart."
*I am really interested in how you you talked about the concept of growth or dynamic mindset with your students.
*Secondly, your comment about discussing and shaping students' schema of "smart" hits home with me. Our first grade motto is "Smart isn't something you are, smart is something you get by reading, writing, thinking, and discussing" (adapted from a line we heard Steph Harvey say at a presentation.) Can we emphasize the dynamic nature of smarts by adding the -er ending to smart? What did you do to make yourself smarter today?
When you were talking about this quote,:
ReplyDelete“nothing permanent about what is known and not known.” (pg. 2)
it made me think that the book is kind of saying that nothing is permanent - not just what is known and not known. But anything. We can change almost anything if we work at it.
Ann,
ReplyDeleteI love the way you listed your next steps. Too often, I feel like I read great information, learn new things, and don't have a concrete plan to implement it into my teaching. Having those "next steps" thought out will definitely help me as I head into the next school year. Thanks for joining in the conversation!
~Laura
Ann, reading your post and the others taking part in this Cyper ProD encouraged me to purchase my own copy of the book. I can't wait to start reading it too. Thanks for inspiring me. Karen
ReplyDelete